Passion Archives - MoneyWatch101

Give Back Story

What’s going on my friends today we will discuss charities and why I find it important to give back? So I usually give to charities every year because giving makes me happy and so far this year I’ve given the most ever. I hope that the amounts donated have made an impact on those organizations and the people they support. That truly is what charity should be meant for, to make a difference in the lives of others. Keep reading below to find out why my give back story changed this year for the better.

On a random weekday morning I get an email for J. Money over at Budgets are sexy and he goes on to say that he is looking for a group of 20 bloggers who will help spread joy and cheer by donating 100 dollars to cause important to them. I immediately jumped on it because it is the season of giving and since it rings true with my beliefs. I come from a middle class family and my parents encouraged giving back to those less fortunate, because it was the right way to live.

So the task began to find 3 organizations that we can help with their cause this holiday season. After thinking it over for a few days, something clicked and I thought why not support 3 organizations that are present in my life right now and that I have never been a contributor before. The 3 organizations I picked were the Les Turner ALS Foundation, The make a wish organization, and last but not least the Havasole organization. The reason why these 3 entities were chosen is because each one has a special meaning in my life right now.

Continue reading Give Back Story

Who are you really?

This question was asked in a Oprah interview I saw on TV over the weekend. Who are you really? I know what your thinking, but keep those crazy thoughts to yourself. Oprah asked this question to a famous celebrity, because they live life partly open and mostly secretive. So I get why she asked this question because this person has millions of fans and you guessed it fans are curious. Furthermore I still think it is very important for everybody to answer this question so here it goes.

I feel it is my obligation to share a little bit of myself from time to time to let you in to my world. I am doing this blogging thing and started it without disclosing everything 100%. I do not feel comfortable sharing my income and my net worth yet because a lot of family and friends read this blog.

Because of this I can still share with you some of my goals and what I want out of this life in greater detail. Hopefully you can read it as a way to help me along the way if you enjoy the website and care to give some support or maybe you don’t give a rats @ss and will never read my blog again. Either way I respect your decision, but I do feel I add some value to my readers lives.

Who are you really? : A Family man who wishes to provide for his family all the things necessary in life with a few luxuries from time to time in order to enjoy life. I want to do these things year after year while decreasing my currently restricted time given towards work and increasing my free time to spend on the things I want to do. (Family time, hobbies, volunteering, and personal goals) I want recognition for the things I do,(PF Blogger and Financial Professional), but I do not want or expect full-blown fame at this point in my life. Kind of daunting to fathom blowing up from one day to the next, like MJ. I want success but in the financial aspect of it. Meaning I want my efforts to pay me more than my bills and lifestyle while allowing me to save for a secure future. I want to get the things that I need first and foremost, then my wants, without having to worry if the income will be their next month or if a layoff is around the corner. Meaning I want to take matters everyday more into my hands and work for myself and less for somebody else.

Goals prompted by asking myself: Who are you really?:

– Increase twitter followers to 500, Facebook to 200, and email readers to 100.

– Increase income by 25% by getting a better paying career, side income, or business income.

– Become Certified in financial planning and also become certified in personal training.

– Double Family Net Worth in two years and every two years after that.

– Eliminate school loan debt in two / three years.

– Travel to new places and learn different cultures with the family.

Article on finding yourself: Link

Comment if you agree or disagree that knowing who you are really will help you achieve goals?

Rich Uncle EL

How many times have you failed?

Failure is a tough subject to speak about, but did you know that we all must go though some type of failure in order to reach success. Only the extremely lucky or the extremely gifted persons try something, see it through and succeed on the first attempt. For the most part people have to do something over and over again in order to really succeed and be recognized with what you are doing. For example a singer who has a good voice may sound good because they have practiced a particular type of song, but as soon as the singer is thrown into another genre or style of song they may choke. Practice takes a lot of effort and it really helps to get the help you need from the right people. A singing coach or a blogging mentor or a tennis instructor might get you from novice to expert with time, patience, and dedication. I ask you now; How many times have you failed?

Continue reading How many times have you failed?

Quotes III

Hey friends it’s time for some great quotes to turn your Friday, into the most motivating day of the week. I hear quotes all the time from various sources and it is great because quotes just put things in a better perspective for me. The quotes in some way or another just make me stop and think how can I incorporate what I just heard in my life. Get inspired today and live better tomorrow.

Quotes III:

– Your destiny is only told by you, your journey is only accomplished by stepping forward. – Rich Uncle EL

– Support those lesser than you, and you will be rewarded. – Rich Uncle EL

– I feel anxious because success is in my sights but not in my grasps – Rich Uncle EL

– Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other – Abraham Lincoln

1. What I mean to say by the first quote is that some people feel that, hey my destiny will all fall into place. But I see things as, we make our destiny by the choices we make in this life. If you sit on the couch day in and day out, what will that add to your destiny? Think about it because nobody is going to help you form a better more successful you.

2. This one is self-explanatory give support and later you shall receive it back one way or another.

3. This one is personal because lately I have been feeling anxious about pushing myself to win by achieving goals everyday and be the best person I can be with business dealings and with my personal life.

4. A quote by one of the best presidents of all time. I found it and added it here due to what he stood for and how he became what he was from humble beginnings.

Comment below if you get inspired as well to follow random quotes you hear?

Thanks for your support!

Rich Uncle EL

As always you can show support by following: E-Mail, Twitter, or Facebook.

How I started Blogging

Would you like to know how I started blogging? OK I think this story should be told by all the bloggers out there in the blogosphere. It establishes how each of us got started in the crazy journey to reading an insane amount of posts and then eventually writing another thousand posts. The time frame was 2007 and I had some debt I wanted to get rid of, I read the Dave Ramsey book called,The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness and this gave me a better direction for my money goals. But my thirst for more didn’t end here, in early 2008 I searched in Google for money and debt articles, I believe the site directed me to Get Rich Slowly. Talk about having good SEO. I started to see that this blog was the real deal, not only do they have 100 thousand followers on RSS, the site gets a ton of comments.

Continue reading How I started Blogging

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Hello As I think back I have seen many episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and frankly who hasn’t. But I started to think how to incorporate what I saw on the show with finance, business and entrepreneurship. One of the important factors on the show was Will’s ultimate desire to succeed with his business ventures.

Will Smith:
-He never stopped striving to succeed
-He had multiple business partners-Carlton / Jazzy Jeff / His Uncle-Phil
-If he failed, that didn’t stop his drive, he tried again and again
-He mixed hard work with a little bit of fun
-He saw opportunities for a business idea that people overlooked
-Even though he lived comfortably he did not give up to make his own path

What is your take on how you perceive the ideas that are hidden within you. Do you write them down and take a few action steps towards attempting to achieve them or do you just have that great idea and forget about it. Things cross my mind for a split second and I for the most part make a reference somewhere as to record it so that I will never forget it. Even if you feel that an idea is not good enough now then maybe when the time is right you can and should act on it. It all boils down to how much motivation you have and how you can embrace it to better yourself. I have a couple of ideas in the works on how I can find my own path and make a mark in this world. Success can be measured by what you have accomplished in life that you set a goal for and it doesn’t have to be publicized for all to see.

Maybe you do not have sufficient capital to begin a project or maybe lacking in the knowledge to make it happen, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking the first steps to attempt them. Well first you can figure out how much it will take and begin saving as soon as possible. Next thing you can do is to find a mentor who will provide you with some value added feed back for the business you want to see yourself doing in the future. See below for the common barriers I noticed for anybody looking to break into a business.

Common Barriers to Entrepreneurship:

Capital or Invest-able Assets
Experience Limitations
Difficulty in Establishing a Business Plan
Hiring a team of Legal, Accounting, and other experts
Finding the right Marketing Plan
Time Restrictions

Comment below if you have hidden business Ideas that you would like to succeed at? Also if you remember a few of the crazy business ideas that you saw on the fresh prince of Bel Air.

RichUncle EL

Failure is not an Option Series II

In this series you remember I said to first try something and if you fail then your a better improved version of yourself. See previous post-Failure Series I Why you ask? Because you attempted something that was out of your comfort zone, you didn’t settle with the usual and that is what sparks improvement from within.

Granted nobody wants to fail in life and I would never wish failure upon someone, but without entering the game you will not know if you will succeed or not. What I am attempting to express to everyone with this sports metaphor is that time is ticking and it will not stop for you. Every second wasted not applying yourself towards your future desires / goals is a travesty in disguise.

Why is it in disguise because if you do not attempt it nobody will ever know the idea you wanted to take that is still stuck in your mind. I have been hearing the word legacy lately and it is filled with massive pressure being placed on many individuals to make something out of their lives as they were destined to do. Every attempt you make towards your dreams is a step closer to a better more improved you. This can be applied to any area of life for example, financial, relationships, career wise, etc. How am I doing all that can be done to avoid failing? By doing the baby steps towards all my goals and by coaching others to do better for themselves. See below my 5 steps on how to help others in this failure is not an option mentality.

One of my dreams is to help others realize their hidden potential. Why you ask?

1. It is a part of who I am. Teacher at heart for anything relating to finance and self improvement.
2. Success breeds more Success- If I share with you something that can potentially make you successful then my efforts will someway be reciprocated back to me. (Sort of like Karma)
3. I honestly like being a part of success stories and if I contributed to that then I am better for it.
4. If I am open with you then I hope a more successful person will be open with me and share some of their past success stories.
5. It feels great to help others. Especially educate others on avoiding major errors you once made in life.

Comment if you relate to this failure is not a option mentality. I would ask you to also offer up any ideas of your own on how to avoid losing it all and failing at life.

RichUncle EL

Failure is not an Option Series I

Quote of the day: Failure is not an option, it is a springboard to success.

One thing I find mind-boggling is how many people are scared to fail and will not attempt what they want to do in life for fear of failing. Risk is embedded in everything we do and people must learn to calculate the level of risk involved so that they can determine if it is worth pursuing or not. How do you calculate it you ask? A simple pros and cons list is one way, a SWOT analysis is another example. Where you can list the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of that new venture you so desire to achieve. If you follow sports and in particular basketball you will notice that Michael Jordan had a commercial with Gatorade where he expresses how many times he failed in life and how it made him a better man and finally a success on the court. Which in turn will transition anybody to be successful in other aspects of life.

Road To Success:

1. Analyze your Desires / Risk Trade off
2. Make an Attempt- If the pros out weight the cons
3. If Cons out weight the pros – Find an alternative Desire /Goal
3. Give a 100% to this new venture and you’re less likely to fail
4. If you are having a difficult time during the process- Ask for help
5. Always perform whatever you do as if it were your first day on the job
6. Find a mentor who has expert knowledge based on your desire
7. If you Fail do not accept Defeat- Try Again.

If you follow these steps you can do better in your new ventures. If you want some of the steps can be done in any order you wish that is best for your situation. This can be related to many areas of life including personal finance / money issues. Those things we dread the most are the things that will help us be better individuals.. If we accept the challenge to overcome them and not let them overcome us. By not pursuing your dreams and desires in life you will let your fears get the best of you.

For me a day is complete when I have achieved a goal that I wished to accomplish in the morning or the day before. I have daily, monthly, and longer term goals that I always set for myself. In a big picture sort of way once you have this type of mind frame you will always keep striving for more as you check off each newly attained goal / desire. This might seem to others as if I will never be satisfied in life, but from my point of view I see it as never being stagnant and always improving on my life. This is what life is truly about from my perspective.

Please comment if you have taken a risk recently or achieved a new goal / desire.

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