The James Dicks Blog

These are tough times – emotionally and financially – and in order your start your day on a positive note, you must take active control of your thoughts.

A while back I wrote an article that explained how I use a method to compartmentalize my own personal situations. In other words, I know that there are problems and situations that I must deal with at some point in my life, but that time might not come for another day or another month. I’ve taught myself to put those issues in the back of my mind – in a mental “compartment,” if you will – which allows me to deal with the most immediate situations first. Those issues that I have to concern myself with next week won’t be interfering with my current daily routine until the time comes to deal with them appropriately.

It’s not that I’m ignoring the problem; it’s more about postponing action until action is required. It takes time to master the knack of doing this but once you can control your thoughts a little better, you’ll notice that life won’t seem like an insurmountable task. Taking little chunks and handling each thing in a priority order certainly will help you develop a more positive attitude about your life.

Even before you get out of bed, stretch your body and your mind and prepare for the day ahead. Quote to yourself some positive affirmations knowing that if you think it, it will likely happen. If you get up in the morning with a negative mindset, your whole day will reflect that attitude. I guarantee it! Instead, get up with a positive thought, before a random life event takes hold of your daily routine. Things happen and most of how these events affect you is entirely the result of how you mentally handle and accept each situation that comes into your life.

It’s really very easy – if you think you CAN’T you will never accomplish anything. You remember as a child when you were first read the story of the “little engine that could.” The little train was chugging up the hill just saying to itself over and over – “I think I can, I think I can.” Well, it didn’t make any progress until it started telling itself– “I KNOW I CAN!” The moment you know you can you will help you begin to see how your mental state of being will always assist you in attaining the next goal, your next life objective.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of rough spots in my life and there were times when I felt the only thing to do was to give up. But someone gave me this same advice and I decided to try it. Once I could rearrange my thoughts from mostly negative to mostly positive, amazing things started happening to me. Those issues that I once thought were “mountains” that I could never climb suddenly flattened out and I could now run rather than limp through my life. I also found that there were quite a few people out there who were willing to help me overcome some of my challenges. In short, my life started changing for the best and I’ve never looked back.

Unexpected things in life will occur, anther great and logical reason to get your mind set on a more positive course now. If you have a stable mental process, when you hit one of life’s snags, you’ll be more likely to handle it more productively. Kind of like saving up financially for the proverbial “rainy day.” By preparing, whether mentally or financially, you’re ready for anything that might throw some problems your way.

So from this day forward, begin each new day by first taking positive control of your thought process. Don’t dwell on the bad stuff; instead think about the good things in your life a little more than you have been. Be thankful for your family and friends, your health, your experiences, and your dreams and you will soon find that your dreams will soon become the reality you’ve always hoped for. It happens – it’s happened to me.

You’ve heard the old saying, “it’s not what you make; it’s what you keep.” That has never been truer than in today’s very weak economic situation. Everyone has had to change their lifestyle – no matter how much money they are making. I know ”millionaires” who have to change their personal financial habits. It’s tough al over and families have redirected their priorities because of the money question.

So, what’s the answer? One phrase, “spend less – save more.” It’s time to design a very positive approach to actually changing your habits and develop individual goals. This kind of action will better secure your success in obtaining meaningful returns through an actual meaningful reorganization of your financial life. A recent government report showed that Americans cut their spending and saved more for a sixth straight month as more and more people were either worried about finding a job or keeping a job.

Goal setting is another top priority. Determine specific and attainable goals, short and long term, and make sure you write them down. Physically writing them down gives them power. The act of writing and visualizing your goals makes it much more likely that you will actually achieve them.

You must also understand your current financial situation to know where to make your changes. Add up your assets and your liabilities. Find out how much you owe on your home, your cars and your credit cards and conclude how best to shape and maybe cut those liabilities down a bit during the year ahead. It’s always a good idea to get rid of debt, especially high interest debt. You might also consider establishing new insurance needs. Examine the validity of your current life, disability, home, health or auto policies and decide whether changes are required. If you’re like the rest of us, you probably haven’t looked at your policies in quite some time.

Again, the best way to establish a solid financial plan is to save, save, save. The general rule is to put away 5 percent to 10 percent of your take-home pay, if you can. Remember to pay yourself first and don’t wait for what’s left over after you pay your bills. If that’s your strategy, you’ll find it difficult to save anything. You should also be sure to set aside your savings in an interest-bearing account, such as a money market account, or in a tax-deferred account like an individual retirement plan (IRA). If your company offers a 401(k) plan, start contributing as soon as you possibly can, especially if the company matches your contributions. Once you’ve finished the basics, then you can start examining your portfolio and other investment opportunities.

Something else to pay close attention to, especially during this time of the year, is your tax strategy. When you receive your annual W-2s, make sure your monthly tax payments are being deducted at the proper level. The trick is to come as close to breaking even as possible on your federal tax returns. You should keep and invest your money throughout the year rather than allow the government to use your hard-earned cash.

Remember, it doesn’t matter how old or young you are, or how much money you’re making; now is the time to start improving your financial situation. There are a lot of important events in our lives that rely on our financial health – education, weddings, vacations, security, and retirement just to name a few. These times are tough, there’s no doubt about it, but we all must start to rebuild what we have lost and set goals to get back to where we want to be. It’s important and the sooner you start the sooner things will start to improve for you and your family.

Your path to financial success never ends. I know for me, there’s always something new to learn in order to give me an advantage when making my financial foundation even stronger. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you will never reach financial independence; it does mean that once you’ve achieved a sense of financial success, you must keep working in order to maintain your wealth while making it grow steadily. I have found that the best way to do this is to become as educated as I possibly can in the ways of money. But, just like anything else, there’s always something new to learn. Studying about your financial life is going to be a lifelong pursuit, at least it will if you ever hope to be financially successful throughout your life.

The topic of money never remains fixed. Tax laws are always changing, and as we’ve seen recently, the laws pertaining to credit changed and were updated, plus there are always new and different investment opportunities that are developed and must be considered. These are just a few examples; I could list many more, but you get the point. Your financial education on the subject of money will never be finished so just adjust your thinking accordingly. One of the things I suggest is to spend some time researching financial papers and periodicals. So congratulations, if you are reading this, you have already started. Keep it up.

Additionally, there are lots of other methods in becoming a student of money. Many local community colleges offer courses in basic money management, which are normally taught by Certified Financial Planners and other similarly credentialed financial professionals. These classes can be an excellent resource for you. The only caution I’ll offer you about these courses is that sometimes the instructor may use the class as a platform to give out his opinions on how to invest, or even as a means of adding clients to his list of customers. So, you’ll want to pay close attention to the information, and be sure to “weed out” those bits of information that seem to be less than standardized financial knowledge and more financial propaganda or a sales pitch. Something to consider as your wealth builds, you will actually have to spend more time, not less, watching your money. Hey, this is a good problem to have, but it is an issue nevertheless.

You probably spent a lot of time and effort gathering the money you have available to you. So it goes without saying that you must watch out for the scam artists. We’re all familiar with these folks; people who just seem to represent the lowest echelon of human existence. And I’m not only speaking of hardened criminals, but people who live in such a way that their lives are centered on the acquisition of negative energy using risky tactics. Behavioral science has shown us that when honorable people are brought together with those who are less than admirable for an extended period of time, it is very likely that the decent folks will more than likely drop to the level of their counterparts than the other way around. There are a variety of theories as to why this is the case, but chief among them is that it simply requires less effort to fall down than to rise up. The activities in which the less honorable folks are frequently engaged are admittedly very appealing at an instinctive level. So just remember what you were told as a kid – “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Be careful!

One thing is for sure, it’s going to take a lot of hard work and self-control to build a solid financial future for you and your family. There’s not just one method of doing so but there are certain constants that apply to all of us. One of them is that you will have to commit yourself to getting the education you need and then taking the time to do so. Once you realize that there are hundreds of factors that must be studied, considered and applied every day, you will be well on your way. Start your research today. If there’s one thing that we all should have learned in the past couple of years, the financial stature of our lives depends on the decisions we make today. Poor choices create unfortunate situations when times get tough. Start creating an economically sound plan that will guide you to a more solid financial life for your future.

I don’t know about you but, so far, this year has been very busy for me. Dealing with the current state of the economy, politics, trying to understand the new paradigm of American commerce, more politics, the housing dilemma, stocks go up big…then go down big, more politics…well, you get the message. From the moment we wake up in the morning until the time we go to bed at night, there seems to be some kind of controversy going on and, frankly, it’s getting tiresome. We struggle daily to make more money so we can buy more things and many times it appears that our 20th Century pursuit for a life of personal happiness and material comfort has become a real chore for us in the 21st Century.

Traditionally, Americans have tried to attain what became known as the American Dream through hard work and cautiousness as it pertained to their personal finances. This approach helped our grandfathers develop a solid financial foundation that insured a comfortable life and a tranquil retirement. But in the past few decades those values have been pushed to the sidelines in favor of a “get it now” financial attitude tied to a “get rich quick” philosophy. Our population seems to be constantly searching for instant riches through state sponsored lotteries, game shows, pro sports, show business or litigation. Many psychologists actually believe that the idea of quick riches has served to deteriorate our traditional American work ethic.

A few decades ago, the vision of the American Dream was essentially universal. You attained it by earning and saving enough money for an education for yourself and your children, a home in the suburbs, a dependable car, through a first-rate job to sustain the dream. But today it’s different for each one of us – today the dream is how you personally define it. For many of you, trading is a method of attaining the dream but remember that trading is not a get rich quick scheme but rather a technique of adding to your personal wealth in a methodic manner.

Trading will allow you to adjust your personal prosperity at your own pace based exclusively on your own parameters – things like risk tolerance and your specific financial goals. But never doubt that you will have to work industriously and deliberately in order to excel in your trading. It takes some planning, some preparation and some education. It also takes a calculated work ethic to attain a positive end result. There is no “get rich quick” plan – it’s going to take some time and you have to be prepared to expend the energy necessary to attain a successful final outcome. A winning trading experience represents how Americans used to reach for the dream – with a determined and unwavering resolve while developing a sense of self-reliance and confidence in their plan.

Ideally, we might all feel more secure and content if we could go back in time and live a less complicated life but that’s not going to happen. It is time to develop a new principled strategy that will insure growth in the short-term and in the long-term.

Today, American society seems to be extremely focused on the intrinsic power of the almighty dollar and, many times, totally discount the joy we can find in our lives for reasons other than material gain. We should remember that while money is an important aspect of life, it certainly isn’t something that genuinely brings joy – you can have lots of money and be totally miserable. I believe it’s time for us all to redirect our attention and values to the things that are truly important in life in an effort to not just attain, but enjoy, our personal American Dreams.

I wish everyone a very joyous and profitable 2010, but in order to make it profitable, you must start planning. I’m not going to tell you to make resolutions for the New Year (resolutions normally fall by the wayside very quickly anyway), but rather organize and design a positive strategy to actually change your habits and develop individual goals. This kind of action will better secure your success in obtaining meaningful returns in 2010 through a meaningful reorganization of your financial life.

Goal setting is the top priority. Determine specific and attainable goals, short and long term, and make sure you write them down. Physically writing them down gives them power. The act of writing and visualizing your goals makes it much more likely that you will actually achieve them.

You must also understand your current financial situation. Add up your assets and your liabilities. Find out how much you owe on your home, your cars and your credit cards and conclude how best to whittle those liabilities down a bit during the year ahead. It’s always a good idea to get rid of debt, especially high interest debt. The beginning of the year is also a great time to establish any new insurance needs. Examine the validity of your current life, disability, home, health or auto policies and decide whether changes are required.

The best way to create a solid financial plan is to save, save, save. The general rule is to put away 5 percent to 10 percent of your take-home pay, if you can. Remember to pay yourself first and don’t wait for what’s left over after you pay your bills. If that’s your strategy, you’ll find it difficult to save anything. You should also be sure to set aside your savings in an interest-bearing account, such as a money market account, or in a tax-deferred account like an individual retirement plan (IRA). If your company offers a 401(k) plan, start contributing as soon as you possibly can, especially if the company matches your contributions. Once you’ve finished the basics, then you can start examining your portfolio and other investment opportunities.

Something else to pay close attention to is your tax strategy. When you receive your annual W-2s, make sure your monthly tax payments are being deducted at the proper level. The trick is to come as close to breaking even as possible on your federal tax returns. You should keep and invest your money throughout the year rather than allow the government to use your hard-earned cash.

There are an almost infinite number of financial topics to consider but the bottom line is getting the education you need to determine what you need to do to establish a positive financial position for 2010. Go to the library and check out books that deal with the financial issues you are most interested in (plus, you’re already saving money by checking the books out of the library rather than buying them). Subscribe to magazines, listen to radio, watch television programs that explain the financial news of the day and surf the Internet. There are so many top-notch areas where you can find the information you need to educate yourself about your financial situation. You might even take a course at the local community college or university. Remember, it doesn’t matter how old or young you are, now is the time to start improving your financial situation.

Again, I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year! You will increase the chances of experiencing a joyous and profitable 2010 if you constructively plan for your financial future.

Happy Investing!