14 Money Success Tips

Buy Air conditioners in the winter

This is a reminder to buy things when the demand is low as you’ll get a better deal. Anything that’s seasonal could have this effect.

Making Money

Book vs. Software – Which is the best method to make money? Books seem to be better as people don’t want to pay for software currently (2016). Most software products make money via advertising model.

Trading 

See the Red paper clip story to learn an example of great trading. Sales is trading cash for something you’re selling. In the stock market, buy low sell high. Set stop losses. Don’t get caught in yo-yo trades. This is where you buy a stock and it goes down so you sell it. It then goes back up so you buy it. Then it goes back down. Study one stock and learn how it moves. I did this with WD40 (WDFC) and quadrupled my initial investment. Only use money you can afford to lose.

Momentum 

The stock market runs on momentum up and down. 200 day moving average indicators can show you the momentum of a market. In playing hockey using momentum works well. Skate hard for loose pucks that you can get to. Try not to stop. If you have a long goal or difficult task doing something no matter how small can give you momentum. Use an egg timer to do something for 5 minutes to get some momentum. Get small early victories as this creates momentum. Get momentum moving towards your goals. Break a bad habit or create a new good habit and gain momentum with conquering your bad and good habits

Buyers/Sellers Remorse

You want what you can't get. If you get it you don't want it any more. You want what you don’t have. I recently bought a new car. The salesperson offered me a price I counter-offered and she accepted my offer. I knew right away that I offered too much. I was remorseful that I bought the car.

The same can happen to anything you want badly.

Pay your bills on time

If you don’t pay your bills on time then you will incur service charges and interest charges. This can be very high for some credit cards. This can also lower your credit rating. If and when you go to buy a house you could pay thousand's more. If your interest rate is higher based on bad credit rating over the course of a 30 year mortgage the extra amount will cost you.

Pay Full Amount on your Credit Cards

Each month when you bill comes around don't just pay the minimum amount, pay the full amount due. The reason to do this is that most credit cards charge exorbitant interest rates from 12% to 30%. That $500 purchase with all the interest charges is now a $5000 purchase.

Have Overdraft Protection

For your checking accounts you should set up Overdraft Protection. If you exceed your balance you won't get a high service charge just a loan at a high rate. Just make sure you pay this off as soon as possible.

Have Money in the Bank

I've worked since I was 13 years old at various jobs. I started as a paperboy, delivering the New York Post in Co-op City New York. I made around $30 a week and saved most of the money. I always had money in the bank.

Work

I'm made well over a million dollars in my career. I didn't keep it all as Uncle Sam likes to take his share.  But making $100,000 over 10 years is a million. There's no faster way to accumulate wealth than to have a good paying job and the one way to ensure that is to ...

Have a Skill That's in Demand

If you have a skill that people need and no one else can do, you have the ability to make money. Currently the STEM fields (Science, Tech, Engineering and Math) currently have the greatest opportunity when it comes to jobs.

Pay Uncle Sam On Time

When April 15th, rolls around it's Tax day. Make sure you prepare and pay you taxes on time. The IRS is happy to charge you higher interest rates than credit cards until you pay your bill. Go to your Outlook  or Google calendar and put a reminder there right now.

If you make money from a business, make sure to make your estimated tax payments.

Losing Money in the Stock Market

I've done  this. It's much easier to lose money in the stock market than to gain. Especially when bubbles and greed take over.

In the bull market of the late 1990's the internet bubble was in place. I purchased many stocks in the biotech and internet sector. Many of them were touted by Investor's Business Daily.

It didn't turn out good for me. I lost a lot of money in the market. It was basically gambling and I lost.

Losing Money in Real Estate

I've lost money in real estate also. There's no guarantee that what you bought will appreciate in value. I bought a co-op in Scarsdale, NY in 1984 for $65,300 and sold it 13 years later for $60,000. At one point the co-op was worth $130,000.

I'm not saying to not invest in real-estate, I'm just saying it's not always a slam dunk.



To get more tips check out my latest work in progress Wisdom of a Dad and please leave any feedback you have.