Rich with Ro$$ Your Guide to Smart Investing
Real Estate Investing Done Right! The top 4 investments.
#1 – Continually Invest in You
Spend more time, energy and resources developing you. Invest in the un-investible – which means if you don’t invest in you no one else will. It is by far the best investment you will ever make. Investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. The first step in an attitude and realization of abundance in your life is to acknowledge the most important investment you will ever make is an investment in you. You cannot “freeze” your investment resources by investing it in things that simply “store” wealth. Think of investing in yourself as sowing seeds that will grow and multiply into more. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you. They can run up huge deficits and the dollar can become worth far less or even worthless. You can have all kinds of things happen personally and professionally, but if you’ve got knowledge and talent, and you’ve maximized them, you’ve got a tremendous asset that can return ten-fold in any situation. You know I believe in you “being the servant you were born to be”. If you want to have something to invest in others, you must make sure you have something to give. You can’t give what you don’t have. If you want developing and investing in others to be seen as authentic, you must be able to demonstrate intentional growth yourself through continual investment in yourself. Don’t expect others to follow you if you are not willing to lead by example.
You are the most important place you can put your time and money, and yet, if you’re like many, “you” are probably the one thing that tends to get neglected in life. When other people’s priorities come up or it’s time to sacrifice something, you might be the first to bend. But investing in you is not a selfish act. In fact, by helping make your life better, you will by default make the lives better of everyone else around you. And investing in yourself is the best way to ensure that you are well-taken care of in the future, too. You can decide to minimize costs in other areas of your life but NEVER minimize the investment in you.
Besides being the person you have to spend the most time with, you are also the best example of seeing an immediate return on investment. Unlike other investments out there, investing in you is never a risk, because it always pays off. Even the seemingly “bad” investments are good if you learned something. AND no one else will invest in you – again – only you can invest in the un-investible!
#2 – Invest In Your Business / Trade / Profession
Once again I will say that you cannot “freeze” your investment resources by investing it in things that simply store wealth. You must think of investing in yourself and your business, trade, or profession as sowing seeds that will grow and multiply into more. Do not skimp on the sowing or you will never reap a harvest.
#3 – Invest In Getting Rid Of Bad And Ugly Debt
If you are currently in a debt crisis I am sure you feel like that;
- Debt is breathing down your neck and you need to pull it together,
- You don’t make enough doing what you are doing,
- Business has not grown at the pace you expected it to,
- You feel like you are scrambling and feeling desperate,
- You know that slow and steady wins the race but you don’t have time for that “turtle” approach anymore! – You need money and answers fast!
There’s nothing wrong with being broke – it just limits your choices in life and for many it puts tremendous stress on the individual and their family. It also hinders, to some extent, the amount of people we can serve. A lot of people Ross coaches have financial problems and it makes them anxious and stressed.
Debt is an enslavement tool. We can choose to be either the master of debt or the slave of debt. We can collapse under the stress about money and give up, or we can use it as a tool to capture our freedom. We can also posture and pretend that everything is okay when it really isn’t or be the ostrich and bury are head in the sand and hope it all goes away. When you are in debt you are someone else’s investment.
The amount of money we accumulate, make or spend doesn’t make us more real, legit, cooler, more successful, or better. Most of us are not interested in being a billionaire – a millionaire would be OK though! I think most of us underestimate how much money (and creativity) it might take to responsibly create the kind of sustainable lifestyle we really want. I think because of the typical aversion to money most of us resist taking a real honest look at our money situation. Sometimes incurring debt is good and sometimes it’s not okay. My rule for debt is simple. I only use “good debt” (leverage) to purchase assets (things that can pay the debt all on their own and put money in my pocket) and not on liabilities (things that depreciate and take money out of my pocket). Let’s define the difference between the “Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” as far as debt is concerned.
Good Debt – This kind of debt is good. Good debt is that which the investment alone can support the debt. In general, good debt is that which increases your net worth, and/or helps you to generate value, and/or cash flow, and a debt that someone else is willing to pay the principal and interest for you.
Bad Debt – Get out of this! Bad debt is where the investment cannot support the debt OR even worse – the investment is a depreciating asset (like a vehicle, boat, ATV etc.) If bad debt is used in a real estate deal then restructuring the deal to a different exit strategy may be your best option. This starts with an in-depth analysis to see exactly what your choices may be.
Ugly Debt – This is bad debt multiplied!! This debt is insured in case of a loss (i.e. – CMHC insured loans where the investment cannot support the debt) and remember that if insurance is used to cover a non-payer the insurance company will sue the non-payer to recover the amount they paid out to the creditor (the lender).
Making money can become a fun challenge. It can be approached as a game. It doesn’t have to feel like a heavy burden. It’s one of the many metrics we can use to measure our business growth and challenge ourselves like some people do with sports and exercise. It has zero to do with our self-worth. And, ironically, the more you realize that the amount of money you make and your fundamental self-worth have absolutely no relationship . . . the more fun making money can be, because you’re no longer taking the ups and downs personally.
#4 – Invest in Real Estate (using only good debt)
Remember this – the truly wealthy do not make money – they make good debt. The truly wealthy do not pay interest on the good debt. And the truly wealthy pay a minimum amount of income tax – legally. When Ross coaches clients he shows them how they can start living like the wealthy live. It is so simple. Remember that the entire system of business and government was designed to support the wealthy so you better learn the system because the middle class is getting slaughtered financially.