Seven Paths To Poverty on Unlock Your Wealth Radio

Seven Paths To Poverty co,author Dr. Gary Byrne joined us today to discuss his book about how Americans, each and every one of us should be millionaires and why many of us are not. I really enjoyed this interview as we see things through a similar looking-glass. If you were waiting for some third-party verification that what I have talked about on self-sabotage and your money is true

How Does One “create” Their Day?

Today’s Millionaire Nuts And Bolts was “How does one ‘create’ their day?” This was a great topic idea and I came to the conclusion to feature it because of the victimized mentality I keep hearing from people today some attributable to the public sentiment on life and the economy. “Poor me”, “Look what happened to me”, “Bad luck is my middle name” and the list goes on, we can all personally add a few. Contemplating this topic and conversing with the millionaires that I know whom I could do a brief poll all had this answer which became today’s featured Millionaire Focus Strategy™.
While we don’t necessarily have crystal balls, using this strategy regularly will mitigate much of the risk that seems to beset us simply by living consciously and being aware of our day. What is expected of us at every given moment and remembering to make sure we commit to focusing on our higher purpose EVERY DAY. This simple yet powerful strategy will totally change your day every day and after you listen now and implement the technique you are about to learn, you will see after you have listened that this one simple shift will materially change your outcomes and truly unlock your inner potential. Enjoy the strategy right here http://bit.ly/cvZUEP ! Finally…financial freedom can be yours™!

Heather Wagenhals

Forgiveness: A 4-Step Strategy on Millionaire Nuts and Bolts from Unlock Your Wealth Radio

What a great Millionaire Mind Focus™ for today’s Millionaire Nuts and Bolts from Unlock Your Wealth Radio and it fits in with our “Forget the Perfection Principle” from Last week’s Key in the Keys To Riches™ Financial Wellness Series. Millionaires are able to forgive and move forward while still retaining the lessons learned from the objectionable person, act or event. One thing millionaires and the wealthy know about life’s big secret is that life happens. Life happens to us, for us, around us and the occasional against us. Millionaires know the secret power of the Universe as an energy field and as electrical beings in that energy field, in order to keep growing personally, professionally, and yes…attract and keep the money flowing financially; we must keep our energy fields balanced and free from obstruction. Any blockage of energy and we will not be able to give and receive appropriately.
When we harbor resentment, anger, hostility and negative feelings toward someone or something, it is stored in our body somewhere, creating a block of our energy field. Today’s Millionaire Mind Focus™ on Millionaire Nuts and Bolts from Unlock Your Wealth Radio is about being able to forgive without forgetting, letting go of the negativity for ourselves, not to approve of, condone or demonstrate a weakness for the act perpetrated against us, rather to let go of the emotion associated with that act or event so that abundance and wealth can again flow freely towards us.
Forgiveness is a selfish act, just for ourselves, to release us from the emotion of the perpetrator or the violating act or event. Millionaires know inherently that forgiveness is just a simple release of the emotional tie to the event itself. The wealthy are able to separate the emotion from the offending act. Millionaires know what Don Miguel Ruiz writes about in the bestselling book The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book), Don’t Take Things Personally. Do that up front, and you are less likely to have to forgive yourself or someone else for their inequities or transgressions. In the event you haven’t committed to not taking things personally and done that step yet we have devised a 4 step strategy for forgiveness on today’s Millionaire Nuts and Bolts from Unlock You Wealth Radio to clear out that wasted emotion from our energy fields.
This lifetime is about us, not about what we have specifically, rather what we DO with what we have and how we can affect the lives of others with that abundance. So, are you going to let some silly person or event press your ego so much that you are willing to give up your higher purpose? Which is to accumulate massive amounts of wealth so you can help more people do more things and leave a lasting mark on this planet long after you are gone? I don’t think so. Now that it is put in that way, forgiveness seems much easier, doesn’t it? Yep, I thought so. And the best part of all is, since the forgiveness is for you, you only have to make your declaration and release of that energy to the Universe. If you are really worried that you might somehow be perceived as weak, or approving of the objectionable act or event, just go through the forgiveness process by yourself, FOR yourself. It never actually has to be addressed with the offending party, unless it is you, then you will have to deal with you, but otherwise, it is just between you and the Universe. How great is that? Rise above and clear yourself of that garbage with our 4step forgiveness strategy and you are well on your way to regain what the Universe has to give you and you too can Start Your Day like so many others who listen, the Millionaire Way™.

T. Harv Eker Really said that on Today’s Unlock Your Wealth Radio???

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind author T. Harv Eker dropped in on Heather Wagenhals’ Unlock Your Wealth Radio this morning and it was explosive! Harv can really get an audience stirring as was evident in the chat room comments about what he was saying how he can predict your financial future in five minutes. Actually, he corrected himself on air saying that it was really five seconds but no one would believe him if he said that. Tune in to see how he proved it on air though!

It was so great for all of our listeners to hear it from someone else that your programming is what brought you to where you are now. I am constantly saying on the show we are a product of our programming and unless we take an active role to change that programming, we will continue to get what we have always gotten. Harv’s direct approach adds the shock value most of us need to start examining our habits a little more closely and identify what resides in our current “money blueprint” so on next week’s episode we can work to replace those files and clean up our money folder in our mental filing cabinet. Tune in and download the episode to learn more.
Using our featured strategy last week from http://www.unlockyourwealth.com on credit report review, comedienne Cocoa Brown found some inaccuracies on her credit report and began the dispute process. Today’s Key in our Keys To RichesTM Financial Wellness Series, Remember Real Estate focused on the four layers of risk an underwriter uses to determine mortgage creditworthiness and affordability. This week’s featured strategy is a “Know Your Ratios” strategy that you can download free at http://www.unlockyourwealth.com to give you step by step instructions to determine what your ratios need to be and how close you are to affording that first home! Next week’s key is Forget The Perfection Principle and we will learn how to get back in the saddle after financial catastrophe hits.
After downloading these episodes remember to add your reminders for Tuesday’s Millionaire Nuts and Bolts from Unlock Your Wealth Radio at 6:30am to grab this week’s Millionaire Focus and “start your day, the Millionaire way! TM”

New Vs. Used, To Buy or Not to Buy…

As vehemently as those of us here at Unlock Your Wealth have preached about the importance of purchasing used items when the opportunity presents itself, there are certain products which one simply has to buy new, straight from the store. Often times, when it comes down to it, safety and performance cannot be sacrificed in the name of scoring a great deal on Craigslist, especially when it comes to the following:

Children’s safety
Used children’s furniture, especially cribs, can be safety hazards. A crib is not to be purchased at a garage sale or even on e-bay, as the history of that crib–and any damage it might have fallen victim to over its lifetime–is rarely documented when purchased through such methods. In the same vein, bicycle helmets and car seats should be purchased new, as not only does the technology utilized in making these items improve every year, but the damage inflicted upon helmets and car seats is usually rather subtle and hard to detect with an untrained eye–not to mention, helmets are only designed for one accident. Bottom line: If your child’s safety could be sacrificed by buying a used product, just buy it new.
Computers, cameras, etc.
Laptops, due to their portability, are prone to violent, unintentional abuse. When you buy one used you have little idea of what it’s been through (often times, neither does the owner), or what important parts will soon die on you. Also, when you buy a used laptop you don’t get the warranties and tech support that come with buying one new.
Like laptops, used digital cameras have likely been tarnished over their careers, and the damage is usually rather obscure. While not apparent upon purchase, the expense of repair will far outweigh what you would have spent on simply buying a new camera in the first place. The same goes for used speakers, microphones, camera lenses, photo light bulbs and DVD players: Don’t buy these used.
Suits, hats, shoes and make-up
Wetsuits, bathing suits, underwear, hats, shoes and makeup are all worn or applied intimately close to the body. If you buy any of these items used, they will have been intimately close with the body of their previous owner and will be carrying that owner’s mold, bacteria, bodily fluids and dirt when you touch them to your skin. One should be weary of buying these things used, not due to possible financial repercussions, but out of a concern for cleanliness and health. Shoes mold to one’s feet, so if you buy them used they will fit poorly, and poor fitting shoes not only cause discomfort but countless health issues, as well. A stranger’s used makeup is a breeding ground for bacteria and contagious diseases such as pink-eye. And wetsuits lose the ability to keep a person warm over time, so buying a used wetsuit is a poor decision.

It is true that many things are better purchased used rather than new such as DVDs, CDs, video games, toys and cars but concerning the items described above, it is always best to buy them off of a shelf.
Staff Writer
Daniel Moore

Stop The Spending Impulse Please!!!

One of our members in the http://www.unlockyourwealth.com forum posted a question about beginning the Carry Cash Challenge from our Mid Week Update. I liked the question so much and felt that others might also feel this way that I wanted to add it to our blog. My point with the answer I wrote was, we cannot control the stimulus, but we can control the response, we just need to build up our mental and intestinal fortitude to say, “for this impulse, not right now, maybe later”:

Q: How do I start the “Carry Cash Challenge”? I am an impulsive buyer, and I don’t want to be!!

A: This is a great question. The purpose of the “Carry Cash Challenge” is to teach ourselves restraint and when the cash is gone, so are our discretionary spending decisions, until the cash is replenished at the next pay cycle. It will only take a time or two of the impulse spending and lack of additional funds for items we truly need, to learn to live within our means. Here is how to start the challenge:

1. Make a commitment with yourself that you will only spend the cash you have on hand for discretionary items and once it is gone, it’s gone.

2. Start filling the discretionary spending cash stash after you have: Saved the 10% of your paycheck off the top, taken the next 10% and allocated it for debt reduction (This is in addition to your monthly minimum payments on your credit obligations) and utilized the last 80% to live off. Whatever is left over from the 80% is yours to spend any way you wish. Is it a negative amount (meaning you do not have any cash leftover)? Then you wait until the next pay period to see if there is any leftover cash to add to the discretionary spending cash stash.

Remember, on the Unlock Your Wealth Radio show we always talk about how powerful the mind is and what we think about, we bring about. We always get what we ‘SAY’ we want. If you want to be a disciplined spender, you will be, if you enjoy the reckless abandon of impulse spending, you will continue to do just that, spend with reckless abandon.

Let’s examine your statement for a moment, “I am an impulsive buyer, and I don’t want to be!!” The first part of your statement is, “I am an impulsive buyer”. That is an affirmative statement. “I am”, so when you tell yourself that and voila, that is what your brain creates. The second part of that statement is “I don’t want to be!!” Again goes to work the greatest super computer of the entire Universe, the brain works so fast and doesn’t hear the word no, so “I want to be…[an impulsive buyer]” is what it is listening to and achieving. The brain ALWAYS WINS.

What we can do is state what it is we “DO” want. Because the speed and accuracy with the brain hitting our ‘stated’ goals, we need to carefully choose our words and say what we DO want, not what we don’t want. We can change our brain’s targets simply by rephrasing what it is we “do” want. For example: “I am a disciplined spender” or “I am a careful spender” will give us the strength, once the brain has a chance to process and change our belief about spending, in words that will evoke the kind of spender we desire to be.

The last thing we need to consider when beginning this “Carry Cash Challenge” is that we always do things with a positive intent and purpose. In some way, this impulsive spending is doing something for you on some level (right, wrong, or indifferent) that reinforces the behavior and keeps you doing it, even though it is totally destructive to you, financially. After you restructure your affirmation about the type of spender you are, and, if you are still having a challenge with the impulses, I encourage you to download the episode with Unlock Your Wealth Protégé Cocoa Brown on July 10th where we addressed her impulsive shopping behaviors and did a six step reframe to create different alternatives for her to choose to give her that same feeling the impulsive shopping did, without the financial consequences.

Between stimulus and response there is a space. That space gives us the creative control we need to effectively respond to any stimulus. We may need to come up with some creative alternatives BEFORE we receive the next stimulus so we can replace the old patterned response, with one we truly desire.

After listening to the episode and creating options for your spending stimulus, start the “Carry Cash Challenge” and pop by to let us know how it is working for you.

Good Luck!

Heather Wagenhals

Spaving and Other Spending Dysfunctions

Spaving and Other Spending Dysfunctions
Spaving: To purchase a product, item or commodity on sale–usually under misconstrued expectations of the product’s potential for garnering a purpose and saving money in the future–that has no apparent, quantifiable utility in the present. Some people, usually fiscally responsible people, can successfully utilize the art of Spaving in their lives. For instance, many people purchase Christmas gifts for their children while that gift is on sale during the summer. However, Spaving is also notorious for being an abused practice, a concept which convinces the relatively naive into making investments that will never prove advantageous, convenient or practical at any point in their lives. Spaving persuades people to spend, and, many times, waste money that could have been collecting interest in a savings account on, once all is said and done, an obsolete television set collecting dust in the attic, or a pair of designer jeans that were two sizes too small (but 50% off) at the time of purchase, and which now hang lifeless in the closet like a condemned pirate dangling from the gallows.
Spaving, especially in the alligator-infested swamps of strip malls, outlet stores and Internet sites, is a dangerous practice, similar, in a way, to playing online poker; if one is conscientious and responsible about Spaving, it at times can be a profitable enterprise. However, people often Spave without abandon, rummaging through clearance racks like rabid raccoons through trash with vague intentions–in some weird, distorted sense of the term–of saving money. Spaving is dangerous because it triggers a shopper’s most wistful inhibitions from behind a thin promise of saving said shopper money in the future; it tricks people into buying things they don’t need. Advice: If you tend to be rather promiscuous with the plastic in your pocket, don’t Spave!
Of other common spending dysfunctions, perhaps none plagues society more than Retail Therapy. A perpetual nemesis of the female shopper, Retail Therapy is exactly what it sounds like: Shopping for comfort. The urge to indulge in this practice is often triggered by a tumultuous break-up, a long, stressful day or even the untimely birth of an obnoxious blemish. Obviously, the thought of treating yourself to a new outfit or accessory after such strenuous events is quite comforting to many people, and far from condemnable. However, like gambling, or flirting with a level-1 narcotic, few can dabble in Retail Therapy without drowning. In fact, most gorge themselves until their closets are bulging with high-heeled pumps and their bank accounts are emaciated. Similar advice as that provided for tempering your inclinations to Spave is suggested for Retail Therapy: Unless you know yourself to be of that rare breed of human who can occasionally smoke a cigarette without becoming addicted, don’t allow yourself to even consider heading to the mall after being assigned jury duty, being denied that promotion, or even after the death of your dog–the slope is too steep.

Money can be saved and condolence can be found at places without mannequins in the windows. Remember that.

Staff Writer Daniel Moore

Carry Cash Challenge

Staff Writer
Elena Difiore

Can’t afford that new 70” flat screen? Charge it now and pay for it later! After all, everyone else is doing it.

With their overwhelming simplicity and accessibility, credit cards have become the financial crutch of far too many Americans. Breaking free from your prison of purchases starts by recognizing the underlying emotions that fuel your desire to spend. Don’t think you have enough will power to simply say no? For all the impulsive shoppers out there, here are a few tips on how to protect your wallet from yourself.

One option is to go the old-fashioned route and simply cut up your cards. If they’re in pieces, there’s obviously no way you can use them. However, there’s no doubt that credit cards can be a necessary evil. Whether you’re booking a week’s stay at a hotel, or enrolled in some form of automatic bill pay, credit cards can serve a beneficial purpose, so cutting them up isn’t always the best option.

A classic remedy for credit card abusers is the ice block approach. Take your credit card and place it in a large tupperware container or old ice cream carton. Next, fill the container with water and place it in the freezer. This way, you still have your credit card as an option in case of an emergency, but you’re much less likely to splurge on a new pair of shoes if you have to pick away at an icicle for hours on end.

A similar approach is burying your credit card in a shoebox in your backyard. Just like freezing your card, burying it in your yard acts as a deterrent to emotional or impulsive spending. If you want to use your card, you have to take the time to dig it up, which gives you time to ponder the legitimacy, or lack thereof, of your purchase.

For a creative, unique way to hide your card, try placing it in a plastic sealable bag and filling the rest of the bag with some form of thick substance, such as peanut butter. Everyone knows how hard it is to clean peanut butter off of anything, so hopefully having to clean it off your card will make you think twice before rushing off to the mall.

Another option is hiding your credit card in your attic. However, keep in mind, this method is pointless if you have an easily accessible attic. But for those who seldom, if ever, go into their attic, this could be the perfect solution.

Looking for a more formal approach? Place your credit card in a safety deposit box at your bank. Not only will you have to drive to your bank if you want to use your card, but the hoops and red tape usually involved with accessing safety deposit boxes will force you to seriously evaluate your decision.

When all is said and done, you are the only one who can help yourself escape the destructive cycle of credit card debt. Breaking free from the clutches of excessive consumption starts by taking responsibility for your actions and putting a freeze on your spending, figuratively or literally.

Laziness, Vanity and Sharks

Staff Writer
Dan Moore

As a species, human beings are obsessed with spending money; we spend money to ameliorate our appearance, appease our anxieties, and flaunt what is often a false facade of luxury and financial comfort. Many of the biggest money-wasting tricks and traps humans are suckered into feed off of these insecurities, along with our laziness and our vanity, although some simply cater to our misconstrued concepts of what products are “best.” Advice: Beware of inclinations that direct you toward making a purchase for the wrong reasons. Increase your self-awareness, and steer clear of the myriad of money-hungry predators lingering on the Internet, on the phone and on the T.V., as they are all foaming at the mouth for the opportunity to scam, swindle and seduce you. Of the plethora of different ways humans tend to waste their money, the following conglomeration of illogical expenditures and decisions–and the mindsets which inspire them–are particularly detrimental to one’s bank account and, subsequently, one’s serenity and peace of mind.
Laziness
The easiest way to waste your money is to be lazy. For instance, instead of taking the extra time to research their next big purchase, and instead of entering a store, lobby or office determined to unearth the best deal, humans tend to drift toward the brightest colors, the flashiest name and, most often, the most expensive price. Advice: Next time you buy a car, buy a model two years older than the newest in stock–that new-car smell will cost you 30% more money. Or, at least–and this goes for every other type of endeavor you sign up for–read every word of every contract you sign.
Laziness plagues the average consumer in facets of their life far removed from the local Mercedes dealer, as well. Always remember to unplug your appliances when you leave your place of dwelling for extended periods of time; of the total energy used to run home electronics, 40% is consumed when the appliances are turned off.
Another avenue of spending which caters directly to our lazy tendencies are credit cards. It is one thing to charge a large expenditure to your credit card, but it is something entirely different to pay for meals, cigarettes or candy bars with that little piece of plastic. Most major credit cards charge between 15% to 30% interest on the unpaid balance you have charged, and you can end up paying an astounding amount of interest over a year for very modest purchases–sometimes with the interest costs exceeding the original amount of the purchase.
Vanity
The easiest way for a salesman to strip an innocent consumer of their riches is to tap into their desire to look and feel like the models said salesmen vehemently exploit. For instance, many companies advertise with strategies that sound a lot like: “Unless you buy this expensive brand of makeup, this expensive line of designer blouses, or this expensive muscle-enhancing substance you will be destined to a life mired in mediocrity along with the other ugly people of the world.” Advice: Don’t be fooled! In most cases, generic versions of such aforementioned items are the same as the brand name versions, as they often use the same formulas; what you’re paying for when purchasing brand name items is the advertising and artwork utilized in suckering you in to buying them in the first place. As well, many of the advertisers who shamelessly market these beauty products or enhancement supplements are flat-out lying when they say only their commodity will succeed in changing you as a person. Don’t be fooled!
Sharks
Perhaps an even easier way to waste your money than being lazy is being susceptible to the money-hungry sharks lurking the murky waters of your Internet connection, your phone lines, your cable receptions and your mail boxes. Not only are the products you buy or the memberships you sign up for over the phone or on sketchy Internet sites often completely fraudulent in every way, but they usually require you to fork over your credit card number to a source you know nothing about in order to apply, thus creating a dark, endless abyss for the average consumer to blindly toss his or her money into. Advice: Don’t purchase anything over the phone, or at least refrain from supplying unreliable sources with your vital information. Just don’t do it!

Suffocating under heaps of debt is an unfortunate, avoidable fate. Be careful, be aware, and be smart when making any kind of purchase, and do the same in day-to-day life, as well. The money you earn shouldn’t seep through the unsealed cracks of your financial strategies and attitudes. Good luck.

Staff Writer

The Five Dollar Phenomenon

It is amazing what little value we receive for five bucks today…really. Until recently I was a two latte-a-day girl. Now, it wasn’t a stark financial realization that stopped me, it was health. I was reflecting on my bank balance being higher than normal and it dawned on me there were no five dollar debits all over the place. Then I began to observe what other places five dollars lost its value.

When we were kids my brother and I each were given 50 cents to buy candy or popcorn at the movies. My husband handed over a finsky to his 12year old and received mere pennies in change, after having to ask for it. We will pay up to five dollars at the movies for a bottle of water! Tell me why we are outraged at gas prices again when we pay 31.25 cents an ounce for water??? That’s $40 a gallon if you don’t have a calculator handy.

five dollars- in the form of $4.95 is now standard shipping & handling charges for anything on TV commercials minimum.

But ask someone to invest $100 a month in a mutual fund and all you hear is squawk and guff about how that’s just not possible. If you do the math that’s five dollars/day five days a week! Not even every day, a lousy 20 day business month, Monday through Friday. That is $76,569.69 over 20 years at 10% interest!!! Wholly cow!

I’ve always been a proponent of $3/day but heck, take it up to five dollars and take the weekends off. The extra $100 annually means an extra $4500 on the back end in interest.

Just my super simple savings tip for the Summer of Savings Challenge.

Got a great way to save? Email us your ideas at sos@unlockyourwealth.com. If we like them enough to use them on our show we will have you on the show live to share your tip and how you came up with the idea.

Have you signed up for the Summer of Savings Challenge yet? Email us at sos@unlockyourwealth.com. Sign up to receive your commitment sheets and start building your financial future $1 at a time. Also ask for your Declaration of Financial Independence too!