The $5 Trick to Saving $5,000

I was speaking with an investment adviser the other day, and he let me in on this little tip to save $5,000. For lack of a better name, we’ll call it the $5 trick.

A woman recently walked into his office with $5,000 cash, and asked him for advice on putting it on the sharemarket. She explained that she was on welfare benefits, with two small children, and wanted a nest-egg that could eventually help her own her own business. My friend was impressed - it is difficult for many of us even on full-time incomes to raise $5,000 for investments. If she didn’t mind him asking - did she do it on welfare payments?

Easy, she said. Each time she was given a $5 note in change, she put it aside, in a special place she wouldn’t spend it. It wasn’t long before $5 became $100 (only 20 notes), then $500 (100 notes), and then $2,500. Before she thought it possible, she had raised the desired amount.

This trick worked firstly because she had a goal amount and a purpose for the money. Her plan also worked because we have to break larger bills every day, and chances are you will receive a $5 bill on most days. $5 is small enough that you won’t miss it - yet large enough to make a difference (if you are on a higher income, why not try this with a $10?). If you can do this most days of the year, you will have $1750, without breaking a sweat. Combined with other saving tips, like automatically reserving a section of your paycheck, that $5000 investment fund is looking closer by the minute.

The Five Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

Ok, schooltime again, everyone take a seat and spit out your gum. Today’s lesson is from Jerry Kaplan (Google it), and a lecture he gave at Stanford listing the five biggest mistakes he’s seen others make.

The first of these is not having a clear enough mission - or idea of what constitutes success. I also liked his idea of working with people you dislike, as working with friends necessitates working with people who already think like you.

There won’t be a test, and we won’t ask you the other points - but we would like to know if you think he’s on the money.

Making Money From Your Art

Many of us have a skill, art, talent or dream we know is lying dormant, ready to let rip if the opportunity arises. Perhaps you are a keen musician, have a novel rattling around in your head (or at least the love of coffee and the sense that you could have been a French bohemian in another life).

My old bank manager now plays with "Subprime Mortgage Death"

Perhaps you are a good, but not professional, sportsperson, artist, or have a great craft bent waiting to erupt. Whatever it is - - there is a way to make a living from your art - - and it might be less impossible than it may seem.

Legendary wealth author Robert Kiyosaki says that - - for all the get rich quickly (or get rich slowly) methods out there - - nothing beats capitalizing on a talent you may already have. For instance, Michael Jordan was much better off capitalizing on his childhood skills on the basketball court than being yet another wannabe on the real estate market. It’s better that Bob Dylan indulged his love of playing music, rather than merely starting a music magazine (although he does have his own radio show these days).

Capitalizing on a skill or interest is such a great wealth strategy because it fulfills some of the key requirements of effective entrepreneurial activity:

• Identifying an untapped niche is one of the key acts in starting a successful venture. Your creativity is necessarily your own. Using it is a great way to find something that no-one else can offer.

• Most businesses take years to turn a profit - - sometimes as many as 7 years, in the most competitive industries. Utilizing an existing talent or skill, you can draw upon years development you might have taken place  - - perhaps going back to childhood. Instead of learning a new skill, such as web design or share trading, adding implementation skills to the one you already have gives you an instant advantage.

• Using an existing talent gives you one key asset - - authenticity. The used car salesman who would rather be a ballet star isn’t going to sell many cars. Conversely, Donald Trump is Donald Trump - he doesn’t have to pretend to be any differently in the boardroom. Go with your god-given talents and abilities to really do your best.

• Successful entrepreneurs combine talent and skill with that most elusive commodity - passion. They live and breathe their industry, 24 hours a day. If your business is your talent or dream, getting the ‘passion’ part should be easy. And it will be difficult to find someone who knows about your particular area of interest as yourself - suddenly you are an instant expert.

So, if you have a skill that has never really flown as a full time career move, consider these tips to making money from your art or talents:

• Often we think too small. For instance, we might try to make enough money from our hobby to get by. But self employment is a tough business, and there are rich and lean periods you will need to cater for. Instead of calculating the amount of money you need to cover an average week or year - double it. That way, you will factor in the considerable time you won’t be working - a real possibility in the early years.

• If you have lost passion for your talent lately, think of the fundamentals required to keep it strong. Are you surrounded by like minded people? Do you dream, and have a clear idea of where you’d like to be? Do you have a routine, so that your interest isn’t pushed into “free time” that never comes? Also consider you might need to move out of your comfort zone. Scare or frighten yourself by moving city, or taking more risks than you otherwise would - so that you feel your heart pumping again when you act.

• Think of your talent as a business - - or if you really want to give it a boost - - as a get-rich-quick scheme. We all know the talent industries take a lot of time, but apply the same money-orientated thinking as you would with any other scheme will shake your dream into reality. For instance, how good is your online presence? Is it easy for people to turn an interest into a following, and eventually, a purchase?

• Other get-rich-quick thinking that might be useful is networking - - do enough people - - and the right people - - know what you do? Consider outsourcing - - if selling isn’t your strong point, find someone whose it is. Perhaps selling your products online will be less threatening than dealing with people face to face. Or if you have no connections besides your peers - consider ‘brokering’ or representing each other. Sometimes it is easier to wax lyrical about someone else’s work and they for you.

• And if you merely gave your talent as much time as your ordinary day job, imagine how far progressed your dream will be. Many writers swear by clocking on at 9am and clocking off only once they have filled a full day’s work. You might also need to be as disciplined with other ‘days’ in your self employment schedule - - marketing yourself, finishing up half completed projects, and dealing with your finances.

Think of your passion as not a “one day, maybe after the money is sorted” activity - - but potentially the greatest advantage you have in your quest for wealth.

Read more about Op Art on OpArt.net.