A few weeks ago, I was reading a political message board where some commentators espoused their sincere belief that all of humanity’s problems will be solved when they succeed in implementing dominion theology. Intrigued, I began to research the concept. What I found was frightening.
A week or two ago, I wrote an article called Understanding Stock Repurchase Plans for About.com, a division of The New York Times, which discussed Sonic Restaurant and the massive stock buy back program that had taken place over the past few years. In it, I walked the readers through a lot of the math and explained that I had purchased a couple hundred shares to watch and monitor the stock through one of my companies, Mount Olympus Awards, LLC. (I’ve since increased it to about 500 shares to continue watching and waiting to see how events unfold).
Early in life, I developed a theory that there were five levels of building wealth that most self-made men (and women) go through to reach financial independence. The theory began due to my love for Carl Barks Scrooge McDuck comics.
I believe one of the signs of a life well lived is the fact that you wake up every morning and jump out of bed because you can’t wait to spend your time focusing on something that makes every part of you – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – satisfied. This is going to be different for everyone.
We are in the process of rolling out some pricing changes for our letterman jacket business (we’re going to get aggressive on certain discounts for certain products). As we were updating the website, a beautiful, huge snowstorm hit. It’s really peaceful working here right now.
I was reading a site called Student Loan Justice as well as a piece at the Huffington Post where people are talking about their “overwhelming” student loan debt that is – wait for it – $15,000 or $30,000. Basically, less than the value of a car. Or tobacco costs for a couple, both of whom smoke a pack of cigarettes each day for five to ten years. Or 4 to 8 months of pre-tax income for the average American household.
Everyone focuses on the stuff the rich people collect. Yet, the biggest secret is that the rich are really collectors of rents, royalties, dividends, and interest. Whether song rights, hotel ownership, businesses, sales commissions, stocks, timberland, or patents, these are the things they truly amass.
A member of my family has been using a technique to build substantial wealth that doesn’t require a high income or any specialized knowledge, extra work, or effort. I was so impressed by the way he implemented this program, I thought I would share it with my other family and friends (as well as anyone else who reads my blog) without giving away who it is.
I was up until 6:30 this morning reading Stop Acting Rich … By Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D., the author of the incredibly successful The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind. It’s remarkable because so much of what the “average” millionaire did to achieve his or her wealth is exactly, precisely the same things I, and members of my own family, did to become financially independent.
John Templeton was a billionaire mutual fund pioneer that specialized in using a value investing strategy to buy stocks around the world. By practicing a disciplined version of Benjamin Graham’s teaching on a global scale, Templeton amassed an astounding record that made shareholders of his fund wealthy and earned him hundreds of millions of dollars in well-deserved fees. Toward the end of his life, John Templeton ran his international investments from his mansion on Lyford Clay in the Bahamas.