In the Behavior section of The ABCs we talk about the strategies for saving and
growing your money. For example, one of the biggest wealth robbers involves
carrying a balance on a credit card. The average American carries a balance of
$6,000 on their credit card. This is shocking and at that level, it is unlikely that you’ll
ever be debt free unless you take serious action, immediately. The problem is that
bank associated credit cards like Visa and Mastercard charge really high interest
rates; and the big box stores and department stores charge even more. Then, they
entice you into paying the minimum due – say $50 - which is their way of keeping
you on the hook for a very long time. Never, ever carry a balance on a credit card is
the best advice.
Insurance is another example. You always want to have coverage for your car, your
home, or a rental package if you’re a renter, health insurance if you live in the U.S.,
but don’t let anyone convince you that you need a policy with an investment
component like Whole Life or Cash Value. These are only appropriate in certain rare
tax strategies. So, keep your insurance and your investments separate.
Avoiding rip-offs is crucial. Just as important is understanding and controlling
where your money goes. Use some of the tools like the Daily Money Monitor
(http://www.abcguys.com/our-books/the-abcs-of-making-money/free-resources/)
available in the free resources section of our website to track how you spend your
money.
Once you have spending under control, you can concentrate on the fun things like
cutting down your cell phone bill or cutting back on your cable or satellite bills – if
you only tend to watch, say, 10 channels on an average week, why pay for 100?
There are lots of tips in our books, and on our website there’s a chart of savings and
how they add up over a 30 year period (http://www.abcguys.com/our-books/the-
abcs-of-making-money/savings-chart/). It’s easy to do and it’s all money back in
your pocket either for paying down debt, having fun or investing for the future.
Those are the Behaviors for success.