Be Wealthy & Smart

Learn how to keep track of your bills so you never have to pay a late fee. I recently saw a statistic that was startling to me: 23% of people pay bills late and have to pay late fees because they are unable to find their bills. Wow! 23% is a lot of people. That's millions of people! They can't find their bills? Are they losing them in their inbox or in the mail? It's easy to lose electronic bills, I can understand that, but it's a bit harder to lose a hard copy. Think of the late fees that are happening! This is costing people hundreds of dollars per year and they could be investing that money and growing wealth. There is also a ding that happens to your credit score when you are late. I had a friend who had an awful time one time when she moved out of state. Her address didn't get changed on some of her bills and as a result they were forwarded to her too late. Some didn't reach her for a month. Even though she paid them as soon as she received them, because they were a month late she had a mark on her credit score that took 7 years to go away. It's not good to be losing your bills, so let's talk about how to fix this. First of all, there is no penalty for having your bills mailed to you instead of emailed. If you are a chronic late bill payer because you are losing your bills online, you can do one of two things. You can set up your bills for automatic payment through your bank so you don't miss a due date. Some people like this because their bills are paid automatically. Others put their electronic bills in a folder and have a spreadsheet of the day of the month their bills come due, so each month they know when they have to be paid by. I'm not good with spreadsheets, so I prefer the low-tech way! I also like to review my bills before I pay them, so you might think I'm old-fashioned, but I attribute my system to my great credit score! Most of my bills are still received by mail. When I receive them, I open them up, I look inside at the due date and write on the outside of the envelope of the bill the date it is due. I put it in a designated drawer. As more bills come in, I repeat the process and file the new bills in by the most current date on top and oldest date in the back of the stack. So if I have 3 bills sorted by date, it would be the soonest to pay on top, with the next soonest date due, and then the farthest date away. I usually pay my bills online through my bank and pay them two or three days before the due date. My mortgage is set up (with extra principal added) as an auto pay. So let's review what might help you find your bills and pay them on time so you can avoid late fees: 1. Open your bills immediately and record the due date on the envelope. 2. Put your bills in a designated area, whether it's a letter holder or a drawer. 3. Keep arranging your bills by date due, with the soonest on top or in front. 4. Pay your bills 2 or 3 days before the due date. 5. Set some or all bills to autopay if you are comfortable with that. If you're a chronic late bill payer, that's probably your best option. 6. If you are good with spreadsheets, you can keep a spreadsheet of the dates your bills are due and refer to it at least once a week. Staying on top of your bills will not only keep your credit score high but also save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in late fees.

Learn why positive thinking helps your wealth building. I've always said creating a wealthy mindset and how you think is so important to your wealth building. As you know, it's Step One of the 6 Steps to Wealth. Recently a study was done with children about whether thinking positively affected them. Here is the article: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/stanford-university-study-positivity-makes-kids-smarter.html So we know positivity will impact your success. It's like you are steering but your mind is the engine and has the power. You have to direct it to where it will go. Just like it impacted these kids, it also impacts you. How you think is going to determine whether or not you reach your goals. As Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." He became one of the wealthiest men in the world. I like to modify that a bit and say, "Whether you think you can be wealthy or think you can't be wealthy, you're right." It's up to you. I'm encouraging you to think yes I can! Review episodes of how you can get your brain to think more positively by listening to podcasts 318, 313, 308, 23, and 3. You may have to go to my website to find the earlier ones at http://lindapjones.com/podcasts.

Learn the 10 things you should know about the tax act. This comes to us from CNBC.com. This podcast clears up misnomers about the tax act. A copy of the article is posted on my website at http://lindapjones.com. See podcast #378. Get "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" and subscribe to my weekly newsletter with wealth building tips at LindaPJones.com.

Learn 3 savvy things to do to get rid of debt. I've also included my favorite way to save thousands of dollars in interest.

Learn one crucial thing for you to review under the new tax act. In this podcast I review some changes made under the new legislation and the one thing you must do to be smart with your money. A link to the article is on my website at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn how and where to begin investing and why it shouldn't be with individual stocks. This is a listener question from Instagram. She said, "I'm listening to all the podcasts, reading all recommended books (and then some) but I get stuck with hoarding knowledge/questions and not actually taking action. Still trying to figure out how to read charts, prospectuses, where do I go for p/e ratios, and what are all those other #'s and %'s, etc.? There's the investor part of this question and the mindset part, so I'll cover both. If you'd like to get a short wealth building idea from me each week, sign up for "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn the causes of the stock market's wild swings and how to know when the bull market will resume. What is causing the swings in the stock market? Why have we gone from low volatility to high volatility? How will you know when it is over? I share with you details from one of my Be Wealthy & Smart VIP Experience webinars. It's my investing inner circle just for members. I go in depth about: What the market is telling us about volatility going forward. What is causing the stock market to drop? What are the signs to watch for to know if it is over? Check out the Be Wealthy & Smart VIP Experience here: http://lindapjones.com/vip Limited offer, use promo code "SMARTVIP" and save 50%!

Learn what to do when the stock market is volatile. The stock market pulled back 1600 points in one day. A new record. I saw one TV reporter make a big deal of a 500 pt drop because that's what happened in the crash of 1987. Percentage-wise that was a 22% decline vs. a few percent. Yesterday the Dow dropped 567 then gained 567. Don't pay attention to the number of points it moves, pay attention to percentages. Now that the Dow is so much higher at 25,000, it would take a drop of 5,500 points to equal 22% like in 1987. Stock market pull backs, and crashes, are part of investing so you need to have a strategy to handle them. Rather than hoping they won't happen, you have to accept them as part of investing and learn what to do because the stock market drops about 10% every 11 months on average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 20% 12 times since the end of WWII. That's about every 6 years. You have 3 choices whenever there is volatility: Buy, hold or sell. Since there are bigger corrections every 6 years, that is the best time to buy. It will also feel the most scary. People will move from complacency to panic. It's just how it works. You can hold for the long-term. It's good to make sure your asset allocation is where you want it to be. If you are going to need the money in less than 2 years, then you may want to be aware of how much risk you are taking. Is it the right amount? You usually don't want to sell, because there are dead-cat bounces that happen after a large decline. Panic selling is never a good idea. So your options are really hold or buy. If you're dollar cost averaging like in your 401k, then you are buying regularly and automatically. It's common for funds to invest at the end of the month, and if the market is a little lower than the month before, then you will buy lower. Start to think opposite of the crowd. Watch the sentiment indicators. They poll investors and tell us whether they are optimistic or bullish or pessimistic or bearish and what percentages are which. Usually if 60% are optimistic bulls, then the market will pullback and get a little fear back. Fear is actually good because markets are said to climb a wall of worry. When too many people are expecting it to move higher, it's like everyone is on one side of a boat and you know what happens then. More volatility happens until the fear comes back into the market and some move to the other side of the boat. So here are some things to think about: 1) Is your asset allocation (percentages in small, mid, large, etc.) correct for your age and circumstances? The younger you are, the more you want in stocks. 2) Are you keeping a long-term view? 3) Volatility is part of investing. Usually the best thing to do is nothing. Just ride it through, unless you want to buy. 4) The only thing that will help is time, so give it time to work it's way through. 5) Expect pullbacks, they are normal and eventually end.

Learn how to shorten the path to wealth. It's listener question Friday! Yesterday a listener asked me what was the quickest way to become a millionaire? Although getting rich quick is not recommended because it's usually accompanied by high risk of loss, I want to talk about something related to it that is important for you to know. First, let's talk about what creates wealth? When creating wealth, the one thing that matters the most is the rate at which you compound money. It's not all about how much money you have to start with. Compounding grows your money and creates additional money. Learn more by listening to the podcast. If you'd like short wealth building ideas emailed to you once a week, join my email list at http://lindapjones.com by opting into the "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth."

Learn 2 things wealthy investors believe about working with financial advisors. This comes from a Spectrem Group survey. The survey graphics are posted on my website at http://lindapjones.com. While you're there, get "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth." Subscribe to the podcast to get updated when new shows are uploaded!