This is the story of Earl Crawley, a 69-year-old of Baltimore parking. He’s been working as a parking lot attendant for around 44 years. He’s dyslexic and is earning only a little over the minimum wage for employees in Maryland, United States.
And yet, he owns a fully-paid house and a net worth of more or less $500,000. How did that happen and what he did?
Watch this short feature video on Earl Crawley to find out.
Takeaways From the Story of Earl Crawley
1. Stop working so hard and let the money work for you.
2. Save money, even if you’re on a tight budget. Make every penny count.
3. He invested small amounts regularly for many years.
4. He bought blue-chip stocks that paid dividends, and reinvested the dividends.
5. He learned how to invest in the stock market by picking the brains of experts. He was not afraid to ask for financial advice and more importantly, he acted upon what he learned.
6. He believed in the power of compound interest and buying stocks for the long haul.
1. Find a Need in the Market and Provide Products and/or Services to Fill that Need There are very few people who feel completely satisfied - experiencing that they have everything they need and want.
Wealth Secrets
2. Increase Your Ability to Earn - LEARN! To earn more money, you may need to acquire additional knowledge and skills. You may need to improve your ability to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them. You may need to overcome your negativity and increase your personal power. You may need to increase your personal freedom and power. Every hour invested in this respect can earn you much more in the future.
3. Gain Wealth through Multiple Income Streams An advantage of this strategy is that your wealth doesn't depend upon any particular means. Even if one income stream fails, you still have the others.
4. Pay Yourself First One of the most important principles of wealth is to take at least 10% of your earnings and set it aside as your payment to yourself. This is not spending money. It's money you set aside to work for you.
This wealth secret of paying yourself first represents one side of the Most Basic Wealth Principle: Produce more than you consume.
5. Control Your Expenditures If you're like most of us, you spend all the money you earn "hand-to-mouth." It's an operating basis that keeps you stuck and prevents you from accumulating wealth - a formula for poverty! You can break out of this trap by using the strongest criteria for spending are: "Do I really need this?" and "What's the minimum I can pay to get it?"
This wealth secret of cutting your expenses to the bone represents the other side of the Most Basic Wealth Principle: Produce more than you consume.
6. Make Your Home a Profitable Investment Most people, when buying a house, first look for one that they like. Then they find out the price. Then they find out how big a mortgage they can get and how much the down payment has to be.
The more wealth-conscious do it differently. They look for a house that is appraised at, say, $200,000 that they can buy for $150,000. They get a mortgage for $190,000 and invest the $40,000 difference for a higher return than the mortgage interest rate.
7. Discover Your Deep-Seated Attitudes and Beliefs about Money and Correct Them if Necessary Many of us have limiting - even debilitating! - attitudes and beliefs about money. Some of these are culturally widespread - for example: "filthy lucre" = "money is dirty"; "money doesn't grow on trees" = "money is scarce and difficult to get"; and some people believe that "money is the root of all evil" and "you must have money to make money." Correcting your attitudes and beliefs about money is one of the most important wealth secrets.
Estate Planning 101: Managing Your Assets Today and Even After Death
I have been hounded lately with queries about what is estate planning (EP). After a closed door briefing with the expert in EP and my mentor, Atty. Angelo M. Cabrera, I’d like to share with you about this topic.
So What Is Estate Planning?
Estate Planning 101
Normally, regular individuals would see estate planning as the government itself (state). That’s not true at all. Allow me to expound on estate planning in this article.
Estate planning is planning your estate. (How detailed could I be, huh?!) Kidding aside, it is a process of managing your personal and financial assets to help you prepare and plan for the disposition of your properties in accordance with your wishes and in a manner that will give you and your family maximum benefit and satisfaction.
In layman’s term, Ang tama at nararapat na pag-aayos ng mga mana. Whenever this topic arises, most if not all of the Pinoys would react this way: “Wala naman akong ipamamana eh maliban sa kanilang edukasyon.” (I have nothing to give to my heirs except for their education.) “Bahala na silang mag-usap kung kanino mapupunta yan kapag wala na ako.” (It is up to my family to dispose what I have after my demise.) The first statement shows our inability to see and understand the reality of the issue. The latter may end up seeing your family in courtroom battles over your acquired properties.
What Is Included in My Estate?
“Eh wala naman akong ipamamana eh.” (I have nothing to give in the first place.) Not really. Every earning individual has an estate to manage and protect. To name a few:
1. Assets held in your name alone or jointly with others (including bank accounts, stocks and bonds, which includes your Citiseconline account);
2. Real estate/properties;
3. Furniture, appliances and clothing (that includes the baul your great, great, great grandmother gave you on your 25th birthday);
4. Cars;
5. Jewellery;
6. Retirement accounts;
7. Payment dues such as tax refund, outstanding loan or inheritance.
The government is not taking this lightly. With Project R.I.P. (Rest in Peace) by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) headed by Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares, they intend to intensify assessment and maximize collection of estate tax by increasing awareness of the public on its proper payment.
A recent memorandum came from Secretary Purisima of the Department of Finance mandating BIR to set a P50 billion Estate Tax Collection before President Aquino ends his term in three years.
In addition, this will allow the legal heirs to know that after the death of a loved one, to comply with the law, they have a responsibility to pay for estate taxes corresponding to the value of the decedent’s estate.
So How Does One Compute for Estate Taxes?
Let’s say you own an estate worth P100 million (Wow, Bro! That’s a lot of money). The corresponding estate tax will amount to 19 million. The shocking reality is, it is payable only in cash. (Now that is a big amount of money indeed!).
Apart from this, your heirs will need to settle the estate taxes within six months from the date of your passing. Beyond six months, the following charges will be added on to the computed estate tax:
• Twenty five percent as late filing surcharge up to 50 percent for deliberate non-filing or fraudulent return.
• Interest rate of 20 percent per annum for continued non-payment.
As you see, the longer you are unable to settle your estate taxes, you effectively diminish the size of the estate you have worked for.
So What Are Your Options?
Let me mention some ways on how to settle the estate tax.
1. Liquidate the property.
Given that we have to settle it within six months, we have to sell our properties such as real estate below the market value.
2. Borrow money at interest.
Borrowing large sums of money in such a short period of time will put the borrower in a difficult position, opening the possibility of paying higher rates.
3. Donate or sell property.
Accountants and lawyers would recommend either of the two, donate or sell.
a. Donating the properties before demise will subject us to another form of tax, the donor’s tax. It will bring down your tax to 15 percent.
b. Selling your estate will bring down the tax (also known as capital gains tax and the most widely used) to 6 percent. The effect of transferring properties during your lifetime is the loss of ownership, control and possible possession of the assets.
4. Create a new estate.
The best way to settle estate tax without giving up ownership and control is by creating a new estate that will produce the cash needed to settle the obligation at the precise time.
“What Can I Do While Still Alive so That I Can Plan Well for the Estate That I Will Leave Behind?”
First, you have to create a new estate to pay your dues to the government. To do so, you have to get a good insurance policy, which will salvage your hard-earned properties.
Next, write a last will and testament. You need a pen, paper and good lawyer to help you with this.I am just scratching the tip of the topic with this one. In fact, there are numerous topics that were not tackled like incorporation, co-ownership, income tax and other related issues, due to limited time and space. Again, being informed about this reality is in itself a key to financial freedom.
As the old saying goes, “There are only two things that we cannot escape in our lifetime: death and taxes.” Might as well, face death paying your dues the righteous way.
Below are some of President Aquino's advice to investors on how to detect money scams:
1) You can't explain how the interest is earned.
Avoid Investment Scams
Aquino said he understands why people are enticed to invest especially when the promised returns are high. Aman allegedly lured investors with promises of up to 40% returns in just 20 or 30 days.
The President said that if you cannot explain how a company is able to afford such high interest rate, it is best to step back. "Para mabayaran ka ng ganito kalaking interes, paano niya babayaran ito? At ‘pag hindi mo masagot nang maayos ‘yon, malabo siguro itong pinapasukan mo," he said.
(For the company to be able to pay you such high interest, how can the company afford that? And if you can understand that question clearly, then what you are engaging in is probably unsafe).
The company said profits were produced by a Malaysian brokerage firm Okachi (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. -- with whom it had a customer agreement -- and which engages in trading commodities such as oil, manganese, palm oil and nickel.
2) It seems 'too good to be true'
Comparing companies that promise investments to legitimate banks is another way to detect a sketchy proposition. Aquino pointed out that when you deposit money in a bank, savings interests are only about one per cent per annum or less.
Companies that offer exponentially higher rates are suspicious, he said.
He offered advice he received from his parents as a child. "So ‘nung bata ako sinabi sa akin ng mga magulang ko, 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true'," he said. "Sana makatulong na talagang (kapag) ang ganda-ganda (ng) inaalok, malamang hindi totoo."
He said he hopes Filpinos would take this to heart to avoid temptation.
Do you know of a young person who ISN’T investing? Pick a heavy-duty megaphone and position it near the young person’s ear. And then shout to the top of your voice, “You’re wasting the most important thing that can make you rich!”
As your young friend is lying on the floor, wondering what comet hit him, you kneel in front of him, and still using your megaphone, shout again, “I’m talking about your TIME!” Here’s the wealth winning formula that has been proven beyond any doubt: Small amounts of money PLUS big amounts of time will make you very rich.
How? Through compounding interest. The “Magic of Compounding” has been called by many fancy names: It’s the “eighth wonder of the world”; “the most powerful force in the world”; “the royal road to riches”; and the “greatest mathematical discovery in human history”.
Because the stock market is very exciting today, a lot of people think that THIS is what will make them rich. Nope, it won’t. What will make you rich is the long boring season when the stock market is doing poorly for an extended period of time, and YOU KEEP INVESTING EVERY MONTH while others are shying away… Ahh! Those seasons will make you a multimillionaire in 10 to 20 years.
So as everyone is excited at these crazy times, I’m just waiting for “better” times. Because at the end of the day, only time and compounding interest will make you very wealthy.
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
P.S1. TrulyRichClub members ask me if we have new stocks to recommend, since most in the SAM have gone beyond our “Buy-Below-Price.” My Answer: Nope, none yet. We’re still studying. In the meantime, invest in the one or two companies that we still can invest in, and sit on your remaining cash!
PS2. By the way, the TrulyRichClub isn’t just all about the Stock Market. It’s also about having an abundance mindset. Why? Believe me, all the technical stuff I’ll teach about The Stock Market WON’T WORK if you don’t have an abundance mindset. So in the Club, you’ll also receive a lot of Audio Talks and eReports from me about having an abundance mindset. To take charge of your financial future, click here now.
One Single Email Will Make Your TrulyRichClub Membership All Worth It…
One Single Email
Last month, while walking in a mall, a man came up to me and gushed, “Bo, you don’t know me but I’m a TrulyRichClub member. My name is Gerry. Because of you, my investments are growing. I really thank God for the day I picked up your book in the bookstore—and that started everything. Soon after, I joined the TrulyRichClub, and my life has changed. I’ve been investing for two years now and I’m so happy…” “Thanks Gerry,” I said, “But you did it. I just guided you.”
“I can’t imagine how TINY you charge for the TrulyRichClub. For such a small monthly fee, we get SO MUCH!” he spread his arms like an eagle. “I mean, aside from the stock market guidance, you send us your talks, newsletters, Godwhispers, etc..…” I smiled, “Actually, there’s one more gift that I will give all TrulyRichClub members some time in the future.
And a lot of people don’t know this. But this ONE gift will be so crucial, members will say, “Even if I didn’t get all that monthly stuff I received, if Bo just gave me this one gift ALONE, it would have made my TrulyRichClub membership all worth it.” “Huh?” Gerry raised his eyebrow. “What in the world is that?” “Let me explain. In 2008, when the stock market was still zooming up like a rocket and everyone was deliriously happy with 90 percent of stock market “socalled” experts were telling every man, woman, child, dog, and cat to BUY, BUY, BUY… My mentor—the same wise man guiding us today—was singing a different song. He was telling everyone to pull out everything. He warned everyone that the market has overheated and it will topple very soon.”
“Did people believe him?” Gerry asked. I shook my head. “Most people didn’t. His friends didn’t believe him. His peers didn’t believe him. So when he pulled out his money from the stock market, people called him crazy. And when the market went even higher, they ridiculed him.” “Wow…” Gerry asked. “Four months later, the stock market CRASHED.
All of them got wiped out, losing 40 percent of all their money. But while everyone else were crying tears of despair, my mentor got all his hordes of cash and quietly returned to the stock market, buying great companies for a song making one of his grandest profits of his life.”
“That’s super…” “So here’s the special gift I’ll be giving you and all members of the TrulyRichClub. Today, the stock market is growing smoothly. But this is nothing compared to what will happen at a future date. The stock market will explode upwards. Everyone will be partying. And one morning, my mentor will call me up. I’ll hear him tell me, ‘Bo, it’s time… Get out.’”
In less than five minutes, you’ll receive a short email from me—our usual Stocks Alert. But this time, instead of telling you to buy this particular stock or sell that particular stock, I’ll be telling you to sell the entire enchilada. Gerry’s eyes were larger than golf balls, shocked at what he just heard. I smiled again, “I don’t know when that will happen.
Perhaps a few years from now. But just for that one single email, everything you’ve paid for your TrulyRichClub membership all these years will be all be worth it.”
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
PS1. Take Charge Of Your Financial Future. Don’t leave your 2013 to chance. Do something today that will give you financial freedom in your advanced years. I believe investing little amounts each month in the Stock Market will give you financial freedom in the later years of your life. To take charge of your financial future, click here now.
PS2. By the way, the TrulyRichClub isn’t just all about the Stock Market. It’s also about having an abundance mindset. Why? Believe me, all the technical stuff I’ll teach about The Stock Market WON’T WORK if you don’t have an abundance mindset. So in the Club, you’ll also receive a lot of Audio Talks and eReports from me about having an abundance mindset. To take charge of your financial future, click here now.
Last couple a months ago. One reader of this site ask me to discuss about PAG-IBIG FUND. I find a YouTube video were President & CEO Darlene Berberabe discussing and explaining all about PAG-IBIG Fund.
I think it is worth to shared here in my site for those who want to know more about PAG-IBIG FUND.
PAG-IBIG stands for
PAG = Pagtutulongan
I = Ikaw
B = Banko
I = Industriya
G = Gobyerno
Please watch the video below for more related information.
If you put your money in a bank savings account, it grew by 1%. Actually, if you really want to be specific about it, it grew by 0.75% MINUS 20% withholding tax.
TrulyRichClub
So you earned something next to…uh…air.
Okay, with some dust particles.
But not my 5000+ TrulyRichClub Members. I taught them how to invest in the Stock Market. And this year, they grew their money by 20%, 30%, 40%....(The differences largely depended on what specific Stock they bought in my list of recommended Stocks.)
They’re extremely happy. How happy? When they see me in the mall or on the road, they rush to me and hug me tight. But when they say, “Bo, I’m a TrulyRichClub Member…” I know why they’re hugging me.
Because I just made them richer in 2012.
I can’t make promises that the same thing will happen next year. Because anything can happen—a comet hitting planet earth, or World War III breaks out, or, shucks, we get an alien invasion from the next galaxy.
But this is what I will promise: I’ll be committed and strive my very best to make them richer again in 2013. Today, I’m not writing to everybody. I’m specifically writing to people who want to grow their financial life—and who want my guidance in investing in the Stock Market.
Are you tired of being stuck in a rut in your finances?
Are you tired of your lingering debts?
Are you tired of feeling the pain of wanting to help people you love, but can’t, because you don’t have the resources?
Are you tired of your big fears and uncertainty?
Are you tired of working very hard everyday, only to realize that you don’t really have any savings for your future?
Just in case you’re that person, let me help you.
To know more about my TrulyRichClub, click the link below:
PS. By the way, the TrulyRichClub isn’t just about Stock Market investing. That’s only one part. In the TrulyRichClub, aside from teaching people how to grow in their financial life, I also teach people how to grow in their spiritual life. For what’s the use of growing in your finances if you lose your soul?
To know more about the TrulyRichClub, click the link below:
Perhaps some of you, saw this video already but I think it worth to share. It’s a story of a mutual fund investor who was able to grew his money from Php 300,000 to almost Php 2.9 Million in 10+ years time.
He is Alfonso Gonzales– who invested his Php 300,000 in mutual funds. Why mutual funds? Please watch the video below, he revealed why.
Moral lesson of the story – If you don’t watch & protect your money, it will disappear quickly unnoticed.
How This “Financially Ignorant” Young Woman Almost Doubled Her Money In 2 Years
TrulyRichClub Updates...
TrulyRichClub
Everybody loves an underdog story. And this is an amazing underdog story.
This is about Rowena, a young woman who works as a video editor in our TV and Radio ministry. Two years ago, I challenged ALL my employees to invest in the Stock Market. Today, 90% of them are now investing—from my managers to vice presidents to messengers and janitors. (Give me 20 years and all my employees will become huge multimillionaires!)
Please read Rowena’s amazing story below…
Two years ago, I started investing P3000 to P5000 in the Stock Market. (It becomes P5000 when my very generous Dad gives me money. Thank you Dad!)
But I was totally ignorant about the Stock Market. So I just followed Brother Bo’s TrulyRichClub’s instructions each month, buying the stocks he recommended through his Stocks Update eReports.
And in two years, from October 2010 to October 2012, my Dad and I put in a total of P102,000 only. But it’s shocking for me to know that my Stock Market investment now stands at P193,325. That’s 89.53% increase in two years. Or an amazing 44.77% a year!
-- Rowena Mallari, Video Editor
Perhaps you’re someone who saves your money in big banks. If so, you’re earning LESS than 1% a year. To be exact, about 0.75% MINUS 20% withholding tax! It’s actually lunacy to keep your long-term investments in the bank. Yes, put your short-term money and emergency funds in the bank. But NEVER your long-term investments.
NOTE: Just to tell you how insane 44.77% is, I read the returns of the best and brightest, most sophisticated Mutual Fund Managers of BIG COMPANIES in 2011. The highest achieved was only 8.18% growth; A second mutual fund company got 8.17%; a third mutual fund company got 2.66%; and a fourth mutual fund company got 2.39% for the year. But Rowena Mallari—who doesn’t know anything about the Stock Market except what she got from my Stocks Update eReports—got 44.77% growth. Crazy but true.
Do You Want To Be A Multimillionaire? You’ve Got To Start Today…
Warning: I’m not promising that Rowena will also get 44% next year or the year after. The Stock Market doesn’t work that way. It’s always like a rollercoaster ride. But here’s my point for telling you this underdog story: You can be like Rowena and become a multimillionaire in 20 years.
How? Like Rowena, join the TrulyRichClub and use my Stocks Update e-Reports that will guide you how to invest in the Stock Market.
To join the TrulyRichClub and start creating your millions, click the link below:
PS. Don’t Delay! So many people POSTPONE investing. From experience, people who postpone never do it. But I know that you’re different. Start now. Click the link below…
Now You Can Be A Multimillionaire… Even If You’re A Driver
Join Truly Rich Club
Arnold is one of our company drivers. He’s married with four kids. They live in a little barrio in Tarlac. He goes home twice a month and works here in Manila.
One morning a year ago, my regular driver wasn’t available, so I asked Arnold to drive me to a meeting. I was busy reading at the back of the van when he interrupted me. He said, “Sir, nagsimula na po ako sa stock market.” (Sir, I already started in the stock market.) I looked at the rear view mirror and saw his big, toothy smile.
I know Arnold. He’s a quiet guy who usually doesn’t start conversations. Especially with his Boss. But the fact that he did meant the guy was genuinely excited about what he was telling me.
I asked, “When did you start?” “December po. Naghuhulog ako ng P2,000 bawat buwan.” (I started last December. I add P2000 each month.) “That’s great,” I said. “So how much do you have now?” “P17,000.” He said it with so much pride, you’d think he said he won the Lotto. Arnold continued, “P11,000 lang po ang naipasok ko, pero ang pera doon sa the Stock Market ay P17,000.”
This conversation happened more than a year ago. Today, I bumped into Arnold again in the office. I asked him, “How much do you now have?” Arnold beamed at me with that same pride in his voice and said, “Sir, P67,500.” If I could only take a picture of his smile, I would. It was a smile of wealth.
Look. I know that some of you will laugh at P67,500. You may think this is loose change. But for a Driver from a small barrio, he feels massively rich already. It’s the first time in his life that he’s holding that much money.
So I told him, “Arnold, in less than 10 years, you will be a millionaire. And in 20 years, a multimillionaire.”
“Thank you, sir!” he said. In our office, I’ve already taught ALL our employees to invest in the Stock Market—from our managers to vice presidents to messengers and janitors and drivers. When you enter the office, you could feel a rising sense of hope in them.
I want you to experience this sense of hope and excitement too. Take charge of your finances. Don’t leave it to chance.
Start now! If you want me to help you, I’ve created the TrulyRichClub to guide its members to build their wealth. I’ll teach you how to do it. I’ll send you my Stock Updates every two weeks to tell you what Stocks to buy and sell. To know more about the TrulyRichClub, click the link below:
The definition of financial freedom varies from one person to another. Some may think that as long as we are debt free, then we are financially free. Others believed that having the luxury to spend money in a worry-free way is financially free.
Financial Freedom
From Wikipedia, financial freedom is defined as a well-planned lifestyle where one is no longer required to work for income to cover their expenses. Contrary to popular belief, it does not require being free of debt, as a debt payment is just another expense.
Typically, "Financial Freedom" can be attained in one of two ways (or a combination of the two):
1. Enough passive investment income to cover one's expenses.
2. A large enough "nest egg" that can be liquidated over time to cover one's expenses.
Simply said, financial freedom is one point in life when you do not work for money anymore. A passive income stream is one where money is received usually on a regular basis, without continuing effort.
This does not mean no effort at all; most passive income streams require great effort at the beginning. For example, rental income from property, royalty income from patent rights or writing a book, bonus income from network marketing or set up online businesses by selling digital products like eBooks, software's, etc whereby you can still generate income while you are sleeping.
I personally believe that financial freedom is having adequate money to survive without working while still maintaining my preferred life style. It eliminates all the unnecessary stress from work and enables us to stay healthier. It provides a comfortable life at present and in future whereby we can have worry-free early retirement. Financial freedom practically enables us to do absolutely anything we want and we have total control of what, where, when and how with minimal restriction.
Only the rich deserve to have financial freedom?
OF COURSE, NOT! EVERYBODY DESERVES FINANCIAL FREEDOM. Yes, everybody includes you, your family, relatives, friends, neighbours, etc. If we have the mindset that “achieving financial freedom is something very hard and impossible for us”, “financial freedom is just a beautiful dream”, “money is the root of evils”, “I don’t have capital to start off like the rich”…etc, these are all excuses that we have created for ourselves.
“Achieving financial success is something very hard and impossible?” Nothing is harder than when we realize that we don’t have enough money to retire by 65 years old.
“Financial freedom is a just beautiful dream?” If we are going to dream any way, why not dream big since dreaming is free whether big or small.
“Money is the root of evils?” Think about it again… Lack of or no money is the root of all evils. “I don’t have capital to start off like the rich?” We have to take immediate action to start small and make a difference. If not, we will be stuck with no capital forever. The list of excuses that prevent us from financial freedom can go on and on…These are mind block that stopping us from making any move to improve our life.
To be rich or millionaire, the first thing that we need to do is not learning the best strategies on how to make or invest money but having the right mindset. Acquiring knowledge and skills about running business, marketing, investment, etc are great “tools” to be rich. We will eventually lose the tools if we do not have the right mindset which is acting like a “toolbox” to keep the tools.
How did that happen and what he did?
