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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Simple and accessible strategies to build personal wealth and improve your life In Close Your Wealth Gap: Financial Lessons to Upgrade Your Life, veteran wealth manager Rob Luna delivers a collection of actionable lessons you can implement immediately to ensure you make the most of the money you make and retire comfortably. You'll learn everything you need to know about generating personal wealth, from how to understand balance sheets and cash flow statements to constructing a personal portfolio that effectively balances risk and potential reward. The author explains the basics of maximizing your income with side hustles and passive income while, at the same time, increasing the impact of every dollar you earn. You'll also find: * Action plans for every stage of your life, including ways to prepare your children for a lifetime of financial independence and security * Explanations of the difference between qualified and non-qualified accounts * Strategies for avoiding "bad debt" while intelligently incurring--when necessary--good debt Perfect for young professionals, people with new families, and anyone else with a desire to live well and retire rich, Close Your Wealth Gap is an indispensable recipe for financial security that belongs on the bookshelves of people everywhere.
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Seitenzahl: 321
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction
What Is Financial Literacy?
I'm Just Like You
It's Up to You
Part I: All About the Wealth Gap and Your Relationship to Money
Chapter 1: The Wealth Gap
Who the Gap Affects
What You Can Do About the Gap …
… And How This Book Will Help
Note
Chapter 2: What Is Your Relationship with Money?
What Do You Dream Money Will Do for You?
Money Questions to Ask Yourself
My Answers to the Money Questions
Knowing Your Why
Part II: Financial Boot Camp
Chapter 3: Starting Today
Start Today, Not Tomorrow
The Cost of Waiting
Where Are You at Today?
Chapter 4: Managing Your Financial Life in a Dashboard
Balance Sheet
Net Worth Statement
Cash Flow Statement
Managing Your Dashboard Means Controlling Your Life
Chapter 5: Improving Your Financial Dashboard
Improving Your Balance Sheet
Improving Your Net Worth Statement
Controlling Your Cash Flow
Note
Chapter 6: Building Your Financial Roadmap
The Magic Shortcuts
Summary of the Shortcuts
Part III: How to Match Your Investments to Your Needs
Chapter 7: Managing Your Financial Buckets
Your Portfolio, Bucketized
The Art and Science of Managing Your Buckets
10 Rules to Reduce Risk in Your Buckets
Notes
Chapter 8: Minimizing Taxes
Minimizing Taxes Based on Asset Location
Investing Strategies to Minimize Taxes
Note
Chapter 9: Buying or Avoiding Life Insurance and Annuities
Life Insurance as an Investment?
The Misinformation of Annuities
Chapter 10: Developing a Wealth‐Maximizing Mindset
Believe and Invest in Yourself
Ditch the Safety of a Steady Paycheck
Stop Looking for That One Investment to Make You Rich
Build Mutually Rewarding Relationships
Maximize Your Passive Income
Have Extreme Focus and Clarity
Greatness Comes from Accountability and Execution
Part IV: A Financial Case Study
Chapter 11: Building Your Own Action Plan
Meet Jackson and Maria
A Qualified Second Opinion
Selecting a Custodian
Your Plan for Success
Chapter 12: Start Young: What to Do Ages 0–18
Chapter 13: Welcome to Adulthood: What to Do Ages 18–24
What He Is Doing Right
Where He Should Be Investing
What You Should Do If You Are Behind
Chapter 14: The Ramp‐Up Years: What to Do Ages 24–30
What He Is Doing Right
Where He Should Be Investing
What You Should Do If You Are Behind
Chapter 15: Learn and Earn: What to Do Ages 30–40
What They Are Doing Right
Where They Should Be Investing
What You Should Do If You Are Behind
Chapter 16: Full Speed Ahead: What to Do Ages 40–50
What They Are Doing Right
Where They Should Be Investing
What You Should Do If You Are Behind
Chapter 17: Catch Up and Assess: What to Do Ages 50–60
What They Are Doing Right
Where They Should Be Investing
What You Should Do If You Are Behind
Chapter 18: The Work‐Optional Years: What to Do Ages 60+
What They Are Doing Right
Where They Should Be Investing
Success!
Chapter 19: Case Study Executive Summary
Age 18 Executive Summary
Age 24 Executive Summary
Age 34 Executive Summary
Age 44 Executive Summary
Age 54 Executive Summary
Time to Act
Epilogue
Appendix A: Resources
My Resources and Related
Social Media Accounts
Twitter Accounts
Websites
Appendix B: Glossary of Financial Terms
About the Author
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 The wealth gap, illustrated.
Figure 1.2 The investing gap, illustrated.
Figure 1.3 The business owner gap, illustrated.
Figure 1.4 The wealth gap by race.
Figure 1.5 The wealth gap of real estate holdings by race.
Figure 1.6 The wealth gap of investment holdings by race.
Figure 1.7 The wealth gap of business ownership by race.
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 The cost of waiting, with a goal of $1 million.
Figure 3.2 The cost of waiting, showing the difference between starting now ...
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 Example of high net worth.
Figure 4.2 Example of low net worth.
Figure 4.3 Example of negative net worth.
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Worksheet calculator.
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 Investing $6,500 a year.
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 Dividends are consistent.
Figure 7.2 The growth of Amazon stock.
Chapter 13
Figure 13.1 Jackson's current investment dashboard.
Chapter 14
Figure 14.1 Current investment dashboard.
Chapter 15
Figure 15.1 Current investment dashboard.
Chapter 16
Figure 16.1 Current investment dashboard.
Chapter 17
Figure 17.1 Current investment dashboard.
Chapter 18
Figure 18.1 Current investment dashboard.
Guide
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Epilogue
Appendix A Resources
Appendix B Glossary of Financial Terms
About the Author
Index
Wiley End User License Agreement
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Close Your Wealth Gap!
Financial Lessons to Upgrade Your Life
Rob Luna
Copyright © 2024 by Rob Luna. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
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Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data is Available:
ISBN 9781394195602 (Hardback)ISBN 9781394195626 (ePDF)ISBN 9781394195619 (ePub)
COVER DESIGN: PAUL MCCARTHY
I dedicate this book to everyone who is trying to improve their life and the lives of their families. Education is the greatest equalizer I know. Please use this information to take action.
Acknowledgments
All glory to God because through Him all things are possible.
I want to thank my wife Sabina, who is always my biggest fan. Thank you for helping me balance my passion about business and investing with my blood pressure levels. Your love and support mean everything to me. I couldn’t imagine my life without you. #Godsplan
To my daughter Bella, I am so proud of the young woman you are becoming. Your wisdom is beyond your years. I look forward to watching all the greatness that lies ahead of you. You are such an incredible person. I am very blessed to have you in my life.
I want to thank my business partner Luis Galdamez for all the hours helping me gather and proof check all the data that is used in the book and on the book’s site. You are not only a great business partner, but you are also an amazing friend! I couldn’t have met my deadlines without you!
To Charles Payne, thanks for allowing me uncensored access to your audience each week. You inspire me both professionally and personally. I share your relentless commitment to help people get their own slice of the American dream, no matter how hard people try to keep it from them. You are an absolute legend.
To Kenny Polcari, the first time I saw you on TV as a 20‐year‐old Wall Street rookie, I said, “That is exactly who I want to be when I grow up,” and today we are friends. Such a small world. You are a rockstar!
To Neil Cavuto, after the first time I appeared on your show, a handwritten card showed up at my office from you thanking me for being on the show. I was shocked you even knew my name, let alone took the time to write me. Your humility is what makes you so great in my eyes and is a lesson to us all to check your ego at the door. Thank you.
To Professor Jeremy Siegel, thank you for inspiring my passion for financial markets. What that inspiration has done for me and my family is more than you will ever know.
To Tim Grover, you are a beast. You are consistent, authentic, and one of the few people I chase daily. From the moment we were introduced, I knew I still had a long way to go. I strive to perform at your level one day.
Finally, to everyone who purchased this book. Thank you for helping me continue to live my dream. I wasn’t supposed to be here. God is good.
Introduction
Warning: this book is going to provide you with a plain‐English and very specific financial roadmap that will show you how to significantly improve your life. The problem is that this knowledge will shatter any excuses you had up to this point, cause you to act more strategically, and force you to deploy discipline into every aspect of your financial life. Furthermore, once you see how easy it is, you will want to kick yourself hard for not learning and implementing this stuff sooner! With all that said, I think you can handle it, and I can't wait to hear your success story.
What Is Financial Literacy?
Financial literacy is a major buzz word that grabs a lot of attention these days. If you ask five different people what it means to them, you will probably get five different answers. For the purposes of this book, we are going to define financial literacy in this way:
Financial literacy is gaining and/or accessing the knowledge that is required to optimize all the financial decisions you will need to make during your lifetime. By consistently making wealth‐maximizing decisions, it will allow you to achieve your highest quality of life in the fastest possible timeframe.
That is what this book is all about: living your best life as soon as possible and providing you with the knowledge and means to sustain that lifestyle throughout your lifetime. No matter what type of dreams you have, they require money. I have yet to meet a dream that is completely free. Becoming financially literate means having the knowledge to pay for those dreams so that they may become a reality in your life.
In this book I am going to teach you both conventional and nonconventional methods to increase your financial literacy and upgrade your life. Some of this information you may have heard before, and some I promise will be completely new and even controversial. I don't care about any of that. I only care about changing your life, and to do that, I need to make financial literacy more approachable, multidimensional, and executable no matter where you stand academically or where you rank on the socioeconomic ladder today. That in a nutshell is my mission.
What we won't be doing in this book is diving into the dirty details needed to become a financial analyst. You won't have a lot of academic theory thrown at you, or pages upon pages of financial diagrams with Greek letters attached to them. The truth is that, unless you are looking at becoming an analyst as a career, it is completely unnecessary to dive that deep just to build personal wealth.
What I am going to do in this book is hand you the CliffNotes version of everything you need to do to become the CEO of your own financial future and upgrade your life. I will make things as simple as possible but not so simple that it won't provide you the vital information that you do need to succeed. Even though I am going to simplify this as much as possible, it is still going to be new and somewhat challenging information. I want to set clear expectations up front that financial freedom requires a commitment, so be prepared to put in the work. You may need to read some of this information three or four times and work through it on a spreadsheet or piece of paper. There will be no extremely complex math, so a calculator, pad of paper, and a pencil will be just fine.
You may also want to spend some time on the www.closeyourwealthgaptools.com website to work with our tools to figure out your own situation. We have taken the complex work of putting together spreadsheets and done that work for you so that you just need to plug in your info. I do promise you, though, that if you are willing to put in the work, this information will be your fastest and most sustainable path to achieving your dream lifestyle.
I'm Just Like You
Let me first tell you a little about myself. I want you to know who I am primarily so you can understand I am not exceptional, I was not given an advantage over you, and if you follow what I teach you in this book, I am confident you will be more successful than you have ever imagined.
My name is Rob Luna. I am a Cuban/Italian American who grew up in Los Angeles, California, during the 1980s and early 1990s in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. My mother was addicted to drugs, and my older brother got caught up in heavy gang violence that dominated southern California during the late 1980s and 1990s. He was eventually imprisoned, leaving me to navigate a very tough environment alone. I had many close friends who were killed by drive‐by shootings, and, in short, my life was purely about survival as a child and teenager—survival in the sense of not only dodging gunshots daily, but also having to feed and clothe myself from about 11 years of age on.
From the perspective I have today, it was a tough life. There was no running water at times, our electricity turned off usually for a few days each month, and we moved from apartment to apartment just to dodge eviction notices.
Financial literacy was obviously not a hot topic of conversation in my house. What necessity taught me though was the fine art of entrepreneurism, which delivered some of the best financial and economic lessons of my life at a very early age.
As a young “entrepreneur” I was constantly hustling. I would negotiate a broker fee with neighborhood kids to sell their old bicycles on consignment, I peddled five‐dollar candy bars door to door, washed cars, cut lawns, and picked up whatever job people needed done to earn a buck.
As I grew closer to adulthood it seemed as though the gang violence in my neighborhood was increasing daily. I avoided much of it by staying involved in sports—baseball, then boxing, and finally wrestling. It was sports that offered me an opportunity to get out of Southern California at 18 and go to Arizona where my coach was able to secure a job for me, money for college, and a chance to wrestle. He told me simply “this is your one chance don't F it up”! I took that to heart. My wrestling career was short lived, but it was an education that saved my life and put me on a path to achieve a lifestyle that I still sometimes must pinch myself about.
They say that we make plans and God laughs at us. My life is a testament to that. My plan in my freshman year at college was to become a child psychiatrist. I was hired by a company working with at‐risk youth. This allowed me to get experience in the field, pay my bills, and attend school in the evenings. Within a very short period of time the company filed for bankruptcy, and I needed to find something to be able to make my rent payment. At the time, the newspaper was still the first place to go for job ads. I opened the paper and immediately spotted a big ad that read “Hiring Stockbroker Trainees.” I had no idea what that meant, but I had seen the movie Wall Street and knew that stockbrokers made a lot of money. Even though I was broke, I always aspired to achieve the “better things” in life. I also understood those high aspirations would take a lot of money to realize. I applied for the job with about 100 others. I was one of the lucky few selected. I was told by the hiring manager Pat Donovan, who had a heavy Brooklyn accent, that I was hired because I had the best tie, so they were going to give me a “shot.” Funny thing is that it was a tie I could barely afford at the time, but it turned out to be my best investment ever. Thank you, Nordstrom!
I was all‐in on this career because I truly knew it was my one opportunity that may not come again. I spent every hour I could soaking up financial content, earned numerous designations, more degrees, and read every book I could get my hands on, with my favorite being Stocks for the Long Run by Jeremy Siegel. Dr. Siegel's book took me to the Wharton School where I enrolled in an investment analyst program. This experience fueled my passion for higher education and helped me take my wealth management firm Surevest to the next level. I built Surevest from my bedroom on credit card debt. The firm grew tremendously over the years and allowed me to do financial planning and manage money for some of the nation's wealthiest people. I was invited weekly to speak on national media, I was named a Forbes Best‐in‐State Wealth Advisor, and eventually built my company into a multimillion‐dollar business that I sold to a publicly traded company and finally exited at the beginning of 2023. In a strange way I also was able to fill many of my earlier dreams, using my psychology education over those 20+ years to consult and console my clients through personal ups and downs and to manage the emotions that come with investing.
I tell you my personal story because I want you to forget any preconceived notions that you have been using for not becoming financially literate and living a better life. In this book, I am going to give you the same roadmap I use for myself today and have used for hundreds of multimillionaire clients over the past 25 years who have paid me millions of dollars for this information. I want you to throw away any excuses that will keep you and generations of your family from experiencing a better life. I want you to have no justifiable reason for not reaching your full potential.
It's Up to You
The problem, from my experience, is that I also know that even after I give you proven step‐by‐step instructions on how to put yourself in a better financial position, many of you will fail. That is not because the information isn't good (I am living proof that it is), but because you refuse to execute it. You refuse to be accountable to what it takes to break the mold of mediocrity. You refuse to adopt a different mindset—a winner's mindset, a wealth‐maximizing mindset. Some of you, however, will use this information to exponentially change the trajectory of your lives. You will live in the house you always wanted, eat at the restaurants you enjoy, go on the vacations you dreamed of, but most importantly you will empower yourselves with wealth's greatest gift of all, choice. Wealth provides the freedom to do things because you want to do them, not because you are financially forced to do them. I bet you would like to be able to say that in your own life.
When we talk about having the wealth necessary to stop working, I do not like to use the word retirement. That word conjures up the image of a couple of old people playing bridge in a nursing home in Florida. I call it “work optional.” The definition of work optional is working because you enjoy what you are doing, not because you must. My goal is by the end of this book for you to be on a path to making work optional as soon as possible. What I mean by that is for you to clearly know what your ideal lifestyle will cost, how much you need to save, how to invest, and where to find resources to stay on track to get it done.
As I mentioned, however, the ultimate accountability will be left in your hands. If you really want to change, this book will show you how to do it step by step.
Part IAll About the Wealth Gap and Your Relationship to Money
Chapter 1The Wealth Gap
There is a major problem in our country that our education system and government unfortunately are not getting any closer to solving. It is well publicized that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, which is squeezing out the middle class. This is not an uncommon problem in other countries where you have the ultrawealthy living alongside people experiencing extreme poverty. I have seen it in my travel abroad to places like India. The difference is that in America, we don't have caste systems. We are born with the ability to be who and what we want to be—a freedom by the way that we must continue fighting to preserve each day.
Figure 1.1 illustrates how the wealth gap has been widening since the 1990s. In 1990, the total household wealth in the United States was $21.17 trillion of which the top 0.01% of households owned $1.83 trillion, while the bottom 50% owned only $0.77 trillion combined. This means that the wealthiest households owned about 2.4 times more wealth than the bottom 50% of households. Fast‐forward to 2022 where the total household wealth in the United States was $135.33 trillion of which the top 0.01% of households owned $16.93 trillion, while the bottom 50% owned $4.52 trillion combined. That means the wealthiest households' share increased to 3.7 times more wealth than the bottom 50% households.
Figure 1.1 The wealth gap, illustrated.
SOURCE: Survey of Consumer Finances and Financial Accounts of the United States, Federal Reserve.
Imagine for just a moment if the wealth gap had remained the same in 2022 as it was in 1990. That would mean that the bottom 50% of households would be expected to have a combined wealth in 2022 of about $7.12 trillion. That is $2.6 trillion more wealth than the actual figures, which is more than the $2.1 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) of Italy in 2021.
Of course, the point is not to keep the wealth gap the same, but rather to shrink it.
The missing link for many to change their own future is the right information to do so. I continue to be astonished by the high degree of financial illiteracy in our country. CNBC said that in 2022 15% of Americans lost at least $10,000 in that year alone due to financial illiteracy.1 The average person lost $1,800. Financial illiteracy I believe is the primary driver of the increasing wealth gap we are witnessing in America.
The top 0.1% of the households that own most of the US wealth are not necessarily smarter than everyone else. They just acquired the knowledge to do a few simple things that drive wealth creation. They have learned to purchase appreciating assets. Figure 1.2 illustrates the total amount of dollars invested in stocks and mutual fund shares by the top 0.01% and the bottom 50%. It is a staggering difference, and the gap between the two groups is widening. In 2022 the top 0.01% owned $6.89 trillion of stocks and mutual fund shares, while the bottom owned only $0.19 trillion.
The top 0.01% of households also own privately held businesses. I have said for a very long time that the way to build generational wealth is by becoming a business owner. Figure 1.3 clearly illustrates how much wealth is concentrated in private businesses by the top 0.01% and how little wealth is held by the bottom 50% in privately held businesses.
Figure 1.2 The investing gap, illustrated.
SOURCE: Survey of Consumer Finances and Financial Accounts of the United States, Federal Reserve.
Figure 1.3 The business owner gap, illustrated.
SOURCE: Survey of Consumer Finances and Financial Accounts of the United States, Federal Reserve.
If you pay close attention to Figures 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3, you will notice they move in tandem. That is because household wealth is driven by owning appreciating assets such as stocks, mutual funds, and private businesses.
Who the Gap Affects
This wealth gap is impacting everyone, but disproportionately, it is minorities who are feeling the greatest sting. Figure 1.4 breaks down US household wealth by race. As you can observe, in 1990 Hispanic and Black households owned a combined wealth of $1.32 trillion, while whites owned a total household wealth of $18.79 trillion. By 2022 Hispanic and Black households owned $10.59 trillion, while the wealth of white households grew to a total of $111.49 trillion.
For this to change, the United States must adopt the appropriate policies to incentivize education and create awareness in underserved and underrepresented communities. Policy needs to move from handing out “fish” to incentivizing “fishing.” I believe that if we can help underserved communities create wealth, then we can change enabling policies to more productive polices so that everyone can rise together.
For example, encouraging minorities to own their own home can have a drastic impact on wealth creation. Figure 1.5 shows the amount of wealth held in real estate by race, and it is clear to see a direct correlation between household wealth (Figure 1.4) and real estate ownership. We also want to encourage stock and mutual fund share ownership (Figure 1.6) and private business ownership (Figure 1.7). In other words, we need to motivate minorities to own appreciating assets.
Figure 1.4 The wealth gap by race.
SOURCE: Survey of Consumer Finances and Financial Accounts of the United States, Federal Reserve.
Figure 1.5 The wealth gap of real estate holdings by race.
SOURCE: Survey of Consumer Finances and Financial Accounts of the United States, Federal Reserve.
Figure 1.6 The wealth gap of investment holdings by race.
SOURCE: Survey of Consumer Finances and Financial Accounts of the United States, Federal Reserve
Figure 1.7 The wealth gap of business ownership by race.
SOURCE: Survey of Consumer Finances and Financial Accounts of the United States, Federal Reserve.
I have seen this play out my whole life, starting with myself. Education and wealth change politics and political views. They changed me. For our country to prosper over the long run and remain the greatest country in the world, we must help lift everyone through empowering and educating, not by enabling through agenda‐driven government policy. Free market capitalism works if people understand and can participate in its essence. I am living proof of that. I came across this knowledge by luck. Luck is not a reliable enough strategy to count on changing our country and creating a more optimistic and prosperous America, though. We must take a strategic and intentional approach to closing the wealth gap.
Unfortunately, I don't currently see an awful lot being done to change this wealth gap, which is why I have made it my mission in the second half of my career to do my part in helping close the gap.
The way I see it, you basically have two choices. You can become a statistic and use the “wealth gap” as your excuse to live a subpar lifestyle, or you can use it as motivation to have change begin with you. When you change yourself, it not only improves your life, but it sets up your kids and future generations for a much better life.
Our schools are still not teaching basic financial literacy, and most teachers themselves don't even understand the foundational elements of what a solid financial plan should look like. I have even spoken to economics majors who never learned personal finance in any of their classes.
What You Can Do About the Gap …
As mentioned, in this book, I am not going to give you a very detailed description of cash flow analysis, stock valuation models, cap rate analysis, or modern portfolio theory. There are books specifically dedicated to that, and, unless your goal is to become a financial analyst, that is not the level of information you need to upgrade your life.
Instead, what I am going to provide you with is the CliffNotes version of all the actionable lessons that I have learned, from 25 years of experience, and from three of the top business schools in the world. These are the real‐life lessons I have implemented for myself and I have implemented for others as a wealth manager working with people who had a minimum of $5 million of investable assets. I already know this information works, and I have been paid millions of dollars in my career to help others execute this exact information I am now sharing with you.
This is not some random academic theory or some get‐rich‐quick scheme. I will teach you the exact framework that has been proven to work, and I will break it down into simple steps that you can use to upgrade your own life. These lessons have significantly changed people's lives and given them access to a world that they believed was reserved for people other than them.
I am here to tell you that everything you want is achievable. I am living proof. You just need the knowledge and drive to go after it. At the end of this book, you will be armed with that knowledge. You will not only understand what you are doing, but also, importantly, when, why, and what the outcome should be. Unless you understand the destination, you will never have the right map to get you there. Most people spend their lives going in circles because they lack that type of clarity. I want to change that for you. I want to provide you the clarity you need to begin to operate strategically and with purpose daily toward improving your life.
… And How This Book Will Help
To make things easy to understand, I am going to take you through a financial journey that will strategically walk you through the most important concepts you will need to master to gain control of your financial life.
First, in Chapter 2, we will identify your relationship with money and why it is so important to clearly understand what that is early on in our journey. Next, in Chapter 3, we will jump into your financial boot camp where you will go through a basic training in financial literacy to give you a solid foundation in which to begin putting the pieces of your financial life together.
We'll continue with your bootcamp in the next three chapters. In Chapter 4, you are going to build the dashboard for your financial life. This dashboard will give you clarity and transparency over your financial life like you have never had before. After you have that transparency, in Chapter 5, you are going to clearly identify the areas you need to improve on. No worries—I will show you some actionable strategies that you can begin to improve your financial results right away no matter what financial position you find yourself in today.
Now that we have assured addressing all the low‐hanging fruit, it's time to get to work building your financial roadmap in Chapter 6. This roadmap is going to take your from where you are at today and build an action plan for you to achieve your ideal lifestyle. I will also share with you my “Magic Shortcuts” that take some very extremely complex issues and make them as easy to implement as two plus two. Once you have your plan dialed in, it's time to learn how to invest. I am going to share with you a bucketing system that I have used for high‐net‐worth people in my practice for more than 20 years. You are going to be amazed at how simple it is to use and how much more control and certainty you will have over the investments that you make. No more guess work. This is the solution that you have been looking for.
Once you begin to see your investments and your income grow, you are not going to want to hand over all that hard‐earned money to Uncle Sam! In Chapter 8, I will show you some smart and importantly legal ways that you can reduce your tax bill and keep more of what you earn.
Two of the most misunderstood and misused tools I have seen in financial planning has been life insurance and annuities. In Chapter 9, I will fill you in on everything that you need to know to avoid making any mistakes.
Now that you have maximized what you are doing today, in Chapter 10 I will teach you what I call the wealth‐maximizing mindset
