I want this article to destroy the mindset of the person who thinks you need a lot of money to invest and be successful. As you will hear through out this site and in the video further down in this article, self-education is key. If you do not educate yourself on the topic of money, you will never have any money. Before we talk about who Earl Crawley is, lets talk about how the small guy can win.
Living modestly
It is important that you stay in your lane financially. Don’t worry about what the latest car is, who is wearing the latest fashion, or what is the latest technological gadget. Those who try to keep up with the Jones’s never do. Money management is one of the most underrated concepts in the urban community. It is important to pay yourself first before you pay anyone else. Let me repeat this: it is important to pay yourself first before you pay anyone else. This include mortgages, car notes, utilities and whatever else. If you are working hard for yourself, it only makes sense to pay yourself first. Whether it is something small like $20 dollars a paycheck, or something bigger like $200 dollars a paycheck, make sure to live in a way that you are paying yourself every two weeks. What you pay yourself should be the money you invest.
Let your money work hard, not you
Has your mother or father ever told you to work smarter and not harder? This single concept is how the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Your money should be making money, not just sitting in a checking account. Your checking account should consist of the bare minimum for you to survive from month to month. In order for you to do this, you will need to create a budget and figure out how much money you have coming in and how much money you have coming out.
The rest of the money you have left over should be split into two categories: Rainy day fund and Investments. I believe that 30% of what you have leftover should go into your rainy day fund while the remaining 70% should go into your investments. When your money is making money, well, you are working smarter and not harder.
View how Eric Crawley turn $12/hour into 1/2 million dollars
Talk to those who are knowledgeable
Those who are knowledgeable on the subject and successful love helping others. As crazy as this sounds, people who are at the top love the idea of helping someone get to the top as well. Do not be afraid to open your mouth and ask for help. Self-education is the best education you can have. It would also be advantageous to begin reading books and blogs that deal with investments. Continue to seek knowledge regardless of what age you are, what status you have in life, what race you are, and etc.
And finally, what are mutual funds
After watching that video, I hope that you are inspired by Earl Crawley. He mentioned a key point in the video about mutual funds. If you paid attention, he invested only $25 a month into a mutual fund. That eventually turned into $25,000. This is probably the point your mouth should be open, taking notes, and getting excited about mutual funds. Lets take a look at exact what a mutual fund is.
An investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets. Mutual funds are operated by money managers, who invest the fund’s capital and attempt to produce capital gains and income for the fund’s investors. A mutual fund’s portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in its prospectus.
One of the main advantages of mutual funds is that they give small investors access to professionally managed, diversified portfolios of equities, bonds and other securities, which would be quite difficult (if not impossible) to create with a small amount of capital. Each shareholder participates proportionally in the gain or loss of the fund. Mutual fund units, or shares, are issued and can typically be purchased or redeemed as needed at the fund’s current net asset value (NAV) per share, which is sometimes expressed as NAVPS. (via http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mutualfund.asp)
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