Wealth Today » Achieving Goals

Forbes Warns of Banks Retaliating through fees

joshuak — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:50:31 +0000

Forbes wrote that as banks are grappling in their battlefield, they may have civilian casualties. Expect to be bled when banks are given the opportunity to offer a premium service such as overdraft fees and ATM fees for a hefty rate, and that those fees will be increasing and less frequently waived. Banks have realized that they must collect from their customer base in every corner of the market if they are to expect to survive in this gory economic times.

Forbes comforts the reader by offering the same common sense advice I believe in for dealing with the opponent: know the battlefield and plan ahead.

Will my 401k continue to increase in value in 2008

joshuak — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:54:21 +0000

So far 2008′s been a bumpy year for my 401k It’s dipped to some of it’s lowest lows. The past week has seen a slow and steady increase back to the bottom of last year’s median range. I’d like to see it really take off this year, but what with economists saying there’s a 50-50 chance of a recession, I’m cautious trying to make any assumptions this early.

Ten things that should be on your daily to do list, but probably aren’t.

joshuak — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 21:41:52 +0000

I’ve been thinking, and I’ve discovered a few things that I think would make us more successful, both socially and financially, if we implemented them in our daily To Do list. Many of these are common sense, and maybe we already do these on some kind of regular basis. But when it comes to our daily To Do List, they should be there, but they probably aren’t.

Review yesterday
Make someone happy
Brainstorm
Make a new friend
Give something away
Learn something
Invest in yourself
Invest in a partner (spouse, family, friend)
Surprise yourself
Plan for tomorrow

Opening an ING direct account

joshuak — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 18:48:46 +0000

Yesterday, I took advantage of the $25 bonus with ING Direct. I opened an account at ING Direct savings account with an opening balance of $250 on a referral from a friend. I should get the bonus deposit in 30 days. I’m excited to finally get started on an emergency fund account. This marks the first achievement of my 2006 goals and new years resolutions.

Happy New Years – A List of Lessons I Learned In 2005

joshuak — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 06:22:44 +0000

Here it is, a few minutes before 2006.

I’d like to wish everyone has a safe and happy new year.

As I’m taking this time to look forward to what lies ahead, I’m also looking backwards and reflecting on some of my achievements.

Looking at my accomplishments, I know I have it in me to overcome challenges. I’ve set goals, and I’ve met them.

I’ve learned some incredible lessons this year. Here’s the list of lessons I’ve learned this year (in no particular order):

There are no problems, only challenges.
Never give up.
Make daily progress.
Be grateful.
Be generous.
Be fearless.
Time is on my side.
Everyday is a gift.
Learn continuously.
There may be a better way for everything.

Please share what you’ve learned in 2005.

The Wealthy Barber Lesson 1

joshuak — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 04:56:08 +0000

I’ve switched to another book and this is a quick read, so I’ll be moving quickly. This book gives a few simple lessons to become wealthy rather slowly and steadily. This book is for everyone intent on building long term riches. I’ll share the lessons as I learn them and follow up with a summary when I’m through with the book.

Here is the first lesson:

Wealth beyond your wildest dreams is possible if you follow the golden rule: Invest ten percent of all you make for long-term growth.

Congratulations to my brother.

joshuak — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 04:43:44 +0000

All of my step-brothers have always been financal inspirations to me. One recently had a big success that I would like to share. He’s worked very hard and I’m very happy for him in this accomplishment. He’s a salesman for a very large computer company, and has now made a deal for 9.7million, which if I’m assuming his commission correctly, at 3% that’s $291,000. He’s spent quite some time and effort on this deal, but knowing my brother, I’m sure that his wonderful people skills, charisma, and attitude had a lot to do with this triumph.

Implement a Personal Power Hour

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 05:44:00 +0000

Give yourself a gift. Every day, set aside one hour for yourself. Use this hour to strengthen your spirit, your health, your mind. Make it a routine. Make it happen every day. I suggest inserting this hour promptly after risin out of bed. I know, it’s not easy to get an hour in before rushing out the door for work. Think about how much more enjoyable the whole idea of leaving for work would be if you’d had an hour to be thankful, to honor yourself and your spirit, to exercise, to plan your activities for the day, to set your goals, to train your mind to be in a wonderful, favorable, and receptive attitude that will benefit you. I You may think “an hour?! I don’t have enough time as it is! How am I going to get another hour?”. This is where you can be creative. I began by setting my alarm 5 minutes earlier, and my mind has found the answers to those very questions with little reluctance and without a lot of extra effort. I woke up, said aloud how thankful I was that I was alive (and it helped it was a Friday), spent an extra minute or two stretching while mentally rehearsing two goals for the day, and then followed up with some mental positive attitude affirmations. After I did it a couple of times I thought I could make a little more out of it if I had another couple minutes, so I set my alarm for 7 minutes earlier which allowed me to write down my goals on index cards I could carry with me during the day. I was also able to squeeze in another goal, so instead of 2, I now had 3 things to achieve. I continued to build this up to suit my needs. I now set aside about an hour that gives me some time for stretching and walking while reciting affirmations and daily goals, some time for prayer where I give thanks, and where I’m able to do some creative goal setting. Everyone is different, but I found it helpful to be flexible and liberal on myself and build this up rather gradually. You may respond better to a strict discipline. Some days I may only “need” 10 minutes if everything is going smoothly and I’m well prepared even before my hour. Other days it might work better for me with 30 minutes and sometimes I’ll make use of a full hour. You can also shift this to the end of your day, or even split it up doing part in the morning and part at night before retiring to bed. Perhaps after work would be best for you. Try and play with the idea and work with it to discover what works best for you. This kind of mental preparation makes financial decisions easier because you’re more prepared and directed towards your goal and have yourself in mind more. If you’re not giving yourself this kind of time, who else are you giving it to?