Picking a Financial Planner

It used to be that I thought anyone who worked as a professional in the field of money could do financial planning. Not that they don't all know how to budget, plan and track money, but I've learned that there's more to financial planning than that.

I have consulted with, and paid, 3 different accountants in my career (not including my current accountant), in hopes of having them help me achieve my financial goals. It wasn't until I read the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki, that I started to understand why accountants aren't financial planners. In fact, no single professional is likely to be able to do all my financial tasks for me.

It turns out that there is a wide range of financial planners out there. Quite often you will see the designation "CFP" after their names, which stands for "Certified Financial Planner" (Big surprise!). However, very often someone with this designation is qualified to represent a number of insurance companies and mutual fund companies.

It is very important to understand that CFP's are usually paid a commission up front, and annually by the companies they are affiliated. There's nothing wrong with this, but it's common sense that they are trained and incented by these companies to sell their products.

Once I decided to seek one out, I found that most did not recommend real estate as part of a financial plan. As a result, these planners did not own real estate. This was a shock to me. The basic fact is, recommending investment in real estate does not provide the financial planner with any reward. Therefore, many planners won't recommend anything other than RRSPs and mutual funds.

So, the spectrum ranges from pure "mutual fund salesmen" or "life insurance salesmen" to impartial "non-incented" advisors who charge for their services and are independent of companies.

Of course, most people probably can't afford to use a completely impartial advisor. You could, however, rationalize the fact that such a person could earn you more net worth than their fee by many times. So, it probably is worth it if you pick one that is competent.

I chose to work with someone in the middle, but closer to the impartial side. Firstly, the fund groups available to CFPs are very diverse now. So, in the realm of insurance and mutual fund based investments, they can pick just about any investment strategy and find vehicles in their portfolio that fit.

The important question is, how does a financial planner feel about investments outside their affiliated fund groups? Can they fit that concept into their plans?

Just the fact that a planner understands the importance of multiple streams of income, and the value of leverage (as in mortgaged real estate) is a big indicator. A better indicator is whether or not a planner actually owns investment real estate themselves.

In the model presented by Robert Kiyosaki, there are 3 levels of financial plans for investors. There is the "safe secure" financial plan, which most CFPs are capable of creating for you. Then there is the "rapid growth" financial plan, which a more full-service planner can help with. This level has more aggressive and creative investments. Then there's the "plan to get rich". The latter is hard to find people who can do, and they will charge for their services. I believe it's important to make sure you've got the "safe secure" plan, and if you are interested in speeding up the wealth creation process, then add the "rapid growth" component with the help of a planner.

A lot of people (especially engineers) feel that they should have the math and problem solving skills to set up and manage their own financial plans themselves. Maybe some can, but I don't believe that's really the best use of their time and their acquired skills.

So, to summarize, it is important to shop around for a financial planner who can help you build a "safe secure" financial plan. It should include covering all the bases including having a will, and life insurance. But they should be able to review your personal and business objectives, map out a plan for how to best use your assets, and help you build a team of advisors such as lawyers and accountants.

If you don't hear from your planner at least once a year, I would be worried. It is ultimately your responsibility to monitor who is in charge of your investments, and make changes if you aren't happy with the way your financial plan unfolds.

If you have questions, please feel free to post a comment.

... Scott

Making use of home equity for investing

Before I started investing in real estate, I really thought it was years away before I could gather enough money to put into investments of this size. After I read a few books on real estate investing I realized that this wasn't true. I discovered that being the owner of my own residence makes it very possible because there is often value that you can borrow against for putting downpayments on investment properties.

Secured Lines of Credit

The concept of a secured line of credit can make it much more achievable. What I did was take out a secured line of credit on my house. First of all, I used a mortgage broker that can shop around for the best rates. They also know how to approach the lenders who give the kinds of terms you need as a real estate investor.

The main mortgage lenders in Canada will usually lend up to 75% of the value of your house on a line of credit that is really a mortgage (either a first or second mortgage). They will not usually allow you to owe more than 85% on your house in total mortgages. When you are borrowing more than 75% of the value of your house, the portion above 75% usually costs you in terms of a higher interest rate (eg. 10% rates or more, compared to 5 or 6% for a first mortgage of no more than 75%).

The equity is defined as the difference between the current appraised value of your house (what they think you could sell the house for), and what you still owe on the house. As long as you are not going above 75% (or 85% for a second mortgage) in debt, you may be able to borrow against equity that has been accumulating as you pay down your mortgage, or as your house appreciates in value.

An Example Line of Credit for Investment

If I bought a house for $100K with a 25% downpayment (75% mortgaged) 10 years ago, I might have paid down $20K, and maybe I now owe just $65K on the mortgage. In that 10 years, my house might have appreciated by $60K. That means that the house is worth $160K and I owe $60K. A bank might allow me to owe up to $120K in first mortgage debt (75% of $160K). If I have good a good credit rating and a solid income, I might qualify for a line of credit of $60K ($120K minus $60K owing on my original mortgage).

With $60K, I could buy a $160K investment property with a 25% downpayment ($40K). I would keep the other $20K available on the line of credit to cover any emergency repairs or mortgage payments during vacancies. This way, expenses that can be treated as tax-deductable for the purposes of investment property can all be kept in the same account.

It's important to keep in mind that as you use your available secured line of credit, the equity in your house decreases. You should think of your mortgage as being the total of any original mortgage plus any secured line of credit balances.

How Do I Use a Line of Credit After the Downpayment?

I also use a line of credit that requires only interest payments each month. Since the interest is tax-deductable and princpipal repayments aren't, this is actually to the investor's benefit. If you're really lucky, or make it clear to your mortgage broker, you might find a line of credit that allows you to automatically capitalize interest payments.

What that means for me, as a landlord, is that if rent payments are late, or there are vacancies, then mortgage payments, taxes and everything else can be covered on the line of credit, plus the interest payment on the line of credit gets added back onto the principal amount. So, if the rent cheques don't get deposited by the day the interest is due on the line of credit, the balance goes up for a few days. Then, when rent cheques are deposited, the balance goes back down to cover the related expenses.

Investments Shouldn't Adversely Affect Your Monthly Cashflow

So, with the right structured line of credit, I can ensure that my investment related expenses don't impact my day-to-day cashflow. The way I look at it is, any money that a bank would loan me for investment purposes is money I should have working for me instead of being worried about getting my home mortgage paid off.

The banks actually like this setup because they get more opportunities to collect interest from you while you are accumulating net worth with leveraged assets.

... Scott

The Rat Race - we learn it at a young age

I talk a lot about Robert Kiyosaki and his books. That's because he's been one of the biggest influences on me. If it wasn't for the book "Rich Dad Poor Dad". I would probably still be working in a permanent full-time position, barely getting by, and getting deeper in debt (bad debt, that is).

One of Robert Kiyosaki's biggest initiatives has been educating not only adults, but kids, about the subject of money. I think this is extremely important, and something that has been lacking in most school programs.

Kiyosaki has developed a number of games that aim to teach while entertaining. We purchased the "Cashflow for Kids" game a couple of years ago, and our kids actually enjoy playing it. I think it has started getting them to think of where money comes from and where it goes.

If we can start to break the cycle of "keeping up with the joneses" (what he calls the Rat Race), by teaching our kids about it, then maybe they have a chance of retiring earlier than we do.

Just a note about the links that I put in this Blog. When you see the ads in the Google box at the top, they are chosen and placed by Google. When I place text links on my site, it may be informational, or it may also be an affiliate link, which is another part of my recent education about making money. I will write about affiliate programs as a source of income in future posts. I have started to join some programs, but I only plan to link to affiliate programs of merchants that I believe have good quality and value.

Here is the link to the Cashflow for Kids game...





... Scott

Financial Success and Investment Gurus - Who Do You Trust?

No excuses. This is a long post. But my intent is to give you some insights that could save you a lot of time, or at least set your expectations about working with gurus of investment, real estate or success in general.

What about the gurus?

In a previous post, I mentioned in passing that the claims of some "get rich" infomercial gurus aren't exactly what they seem to be. The pitch usually looks "to good to be true", and because people are in such bad shape financially these days, it is easy to be open to things that look like quick fixes for your situation.

The ongoing debate about "get rich quick" schemes will continue forever. The main thing I've learned is that it's good to be skeptical of everything until you have met someone in person who is active in the area you want to move into, and can tell you, in detail, about recent deals that worked for them. If you see a "recent deal" testimonial presented as a video clip that's used in an introductory seminar or infomercial, then it's probably not that recent.

That's not to say that everyone who puts testimonials on video are running scams. But you have to realize they have a marketing department and a marketing budget. From experience, I know that marketing departments often stretch the truth much farther than the average person would (even more than the person giving the testimonial would stretch it).

Don't give up!

You can still learn important concepts from some of these gurus, and even the free seminars can teach you something. But I don't believe there are very many successes among the people who go to the free seminars, then pay $1,000 to $5,000 for the "institute" version (2 days), just to face the prospects of more courses. I attended a Russ Whitney free seminar, then a $2000 course in 2004. While there was a ton of information I would have had to learn by reading several books, and some good motivational speaking, I was surprised that so many people signed on for further training at a cost of at least $10.000 or more.

What did I do?

My feeling was that I might have been able to reach financial freedom in as few as 3 years if I paid for training or mentoring. But if I kept to my own plan, I might be able to do it myself in 5 years. I elected not to pay for the training. I don't regret that decision. In fact I have met a "testimonial guy" from one guru's video ads, and while he is probably contractually obliged to not say anything negative about his guru's system, I can tell that the real story is not as bright as the video portrays. It's often much harder to do than they say it is.

By all means, though, read as much as you can on different aspects of financial success. Even if you are advised to take action immediately, make sure you know the risks and are comfortable with them before you do anything. As real estate guru "Dolf De Roos" says, "The deal of the decade comes along about once a week." It's not far from the truth.

A Breath of Fresh Air

The good news is that "testimonial guy" and I have recently both found a breath of fresh air amid all this slick marketing machinery. It takes another change of mindset from realizing that RRSPs aren't the only kind of investment you can do part time without watching the markets every day.

This one just needs you to take an inventory of who you know and what they need. Most people don't really care about your needs, but if you can help others to be successful, it will eventually come back to you.

Money, Time and Risk

That's why I think Dollar Makers is such an innovative, common sense approach to building wealth. I only recently joined, but this blog is a direct result of changing my mindset in this way. So, I am actually looking for people who need help with their businesses. I can connect them together in a process called Joint Venture Brokering. It sounds complicated, but it's a wide open space with room for everybody to help each other. It takes no money, very little time, and has virtually no risk. These are things that most gurus can't honestly claim about their systems.

Robin J. Elliott

Robin J. Elliott is not so much a guru as a prolific business enabler. The Joint Venture Forum that he runs is a growing "High-Value Business Network". There is a code of ethics that is strictly enforced, which gives you the environment of trust that is often missing in other niches.

Instead of repeating everything myself, I am including (with Robin's permission) an excerpt from his Dollarmakers.com Blog below, which contains many other valuable articles, located at:

http://realsuccess.blogspot.com/2006/02/you-can-create-time-and-money-freedom.html


You Can Create Time and Money Freedom

You want to be free to do what you like, when you like, right?You want to be free to go where you wish, when you wish, and to be able to afford to buy what you want. Ayn Rand said, “Freedom is to ask for nothing, to expect nothing and to depend on nothing.” Sounds good to me.

But, to many people, this just seems like an impossible dream.In fact, you can create this freedom in your own life to a large extent. It won’t happen overnight, but it can happen. You can consciously and systematically create this free lifestyle. I have. And you can, too. This is a technology, not some “Pie in the sky” scheme. It’s not MLM or Network Marketing. It’s proven and it works. Here is a simple plan to create freedom in your life: more than enough time and money and independence for you.

We should remember that Robert Kiosaki, in his “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” book, told us that you don’t need millions in the bank to retire. What you do need is more passive income than you need to live comfortably on. That’s not what some “financial planners” will tell you; they want to sell you lots of risky stocks and bonds and they tell you that you need millions in the bank. So, if you need $5,000 a month to live on and your income exceeds that, plus you have a little financial cushion stashed away for unexpected costs, you’re looking good!

And we all know that it’s better, by far, to have multiple streams of income than just one. That way, we reduce our risk, don’t we? Not all your eggs in one basket. Have many baskets, so you can afford to drop some and still survive. Spread the risk. That way, you don’t lie awake at night, worrying about losing your income because of a crash in the stock market, a grumpy boss or a dishonest business associate.

So, step by step, this is what we need to create time and money freedom and peace of mind, and all the quality of life that brings with it; ten simple steps:

Reduce and remove debts and overhead. Most people buy things they don’t need and can’t afford, with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t like.

We need to reduce our monthly expenses and cut away the fat. Do you really need two cars and all the flash? The less you need to live on every month, the easier it is to get free. Take a good, hard look at your expenses and lifestyle. Do your things own you?

Make sure you are properly insured against lawsuits and unexpected loss. Get many quotes and be very careful which salesperson you talk with. Remember, the salesperson wants as much commission as he can get out of you. A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing here. When I was offered dental insurance and I looked at my benefits and costs, I decided to do without. It has saved me thousands of dollars. Read the small print; insurance companies really don’t want to pay you.

Incorporate your business for protection and definitely have a business – the tax breaks are excellent, especially if you’re a Joint Venture Broker as there are many more deductibles, including trips, entertainment and the like.

Remove unnecessary costs and especially regular costs from your life. Visit your bank manager and the competition bank manager and an accountant. Look at refinancing and reorganizing your debts, line of credit, credit cards and mortgage – this exercise alone can save you a fortune and radically reduce your monthly costs.

Simplify your life as much as possible. What can be cut out? What is working, and what is not working? Are you attending a club or group out of habit, but not really getting any benefit anymore? And it’s costing you money? How much time and money will you save by leaving?

Educate yourself. Read Robert Kiosaki’s books. Read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. Read “Think and Grow Rich” – again. Attend courses. Don’t go out and spend a fortune on schemes and dreams and “get rich quick” schemes. Be very careful. Attend free seminars but don’t buy stuff when the speaker turns into a used car salesman at the end and the mindless herd goes scurrying to the back of the room to buy his overpriced products. Sleep on it first. Don’t get emotionally whipped up. The more you learn, the more you earn. Understand money and debt. We don’t have money problems; we have thinking problems.

Align yourself with winners, not whiners. If we mix with people who are richer, wiser and more successful than we are, we will earn more as we learn more. Be open-minded and get that ego out of the way. People who are free can teach you how to be free.

You don’t learn by talking; you learn by listening and then applying the new information.In everything, maintain the Joint Venture Broker mindset: “No Money, No Risk, Very Little Time.” You don’t have to pay for things when you understand Joint Ventures. You can trade, barter and JV.

Become a Joint Venture Broker and create multiple streams of increasing, passive income.

Maximum potential, unlimited opportunities, no geographic limitations, no industry limitations. Anyone can do it, regardless of education, age or background. All you need is access to a telephone. If you have internet access, even better. Work from home, a car, a beach, a forest, a hotel, an airport, or a wheelbarrow if you like.

And you don’t have to go out and buy a business, sell stuff, sign leases, employ people or buy inventory. You can use existing resources – everything you need is available through other people and other businesses.

For more information, free podcasts, free teleclasses and seminars and much more, visit: http://www.dollarmakers.com/ and http://www.nomoneynorisk.com/

Copyright Robin J. Elliott


Epilogue

So, there you have it. This is where I am right now; helping to build the JV Forum, working to develop my own network that is connected to dollarmakers, and aiming to prove that this new model for small business marketing success will work.

... Scott

Saving Money on Travel, or Making Money From Travel Agent Referrals -

In return for making you read my philosophical blather, I suppose I should put in some real tips on saving money and making money.

This one comes as a result of a real estate seminar I attended that was put on by the Russ Whitney organization. You may have seen him on early morning infomercials telling his story about how he was working on a pig farm for minimum wage, got fed up with it all, and lived the American dream by becoming a real estate millionaire in something less than 5 years. (There is at least another article or two on real estate gurus and becoming a "real estate millionaire" which sounds much better than it is...)

Anyway, in this case, there may still be a way to get something of value for free. When you register to go to one of the free seminars coming to a hotel in your city, they will tout a "free gift" that they are offering just for showing up.

If you go and sit through the free introductory seminar, you will hear about Russ' amazing story (told by one of his sales people), and a couple of times throughout the seminar they will mention "discounted travel" that you will also have access to, or the opportunity to set up your own "travel agency".

They have a deal with a company called "Global Travel International", based out of Florida, I think. In any case, at the end of the seminar, they hint that you can sign up for this great deal if you buy the $2,000 real estate course coming in the next month (after the traveling road show moves on). If you go to the Russ Whitney web site, you will see a signup button. On the list of hotels where you can choose to sign up, it clearly states that you will receive a free gift worth $195, just for attending the seminar.

That free gift is the introductory registration fee for the affiliate program of Global Travel International (GTI). This is where the value is. Normally it costs about $200 US to join GTI, but here you get it free for sitting through a one hour seminar.

GTI is an interesting concept. It's a bit like a Multi-level Marketing business, but in the travel agency industry. You can choose to sign up and as soon as you send them a picture of yourself and fill out the forms, you will get a valid travel agent ID card.

You may already know that travel agents get big discounts on lots of things. There are also things called FAM (familiarization) trips where agents get to go for a very small free on new promotional vacations.

Another benefit is that they set up a fully automated travel agency web site for you. And any trips booked on that site earn you an agent's commission. You can see what the travel booking site looks like, and book trips on it, at insider.globaltravel.com .

Or you can just book trips by phone on their 1-800 number and earn commissions. You can't combine a commission on a trip for yourself and a travel agent's discount as well. But it's still a discount no matter how you do it. Airlines don't offer much, if any, commission any more. But hotels do.

The last benefit is that if you refer others to become agents, you get $50, plus a cut on their commissions (like an MLM). I've used it and it does save me a lot. I haven't earned commissions yet. Just a note that the second year and each year after require about $200 per year in membership fees. But by that time you should know whether it's worth renewing the membership.

If you don't like this idea, another way to save on travel is with CAA memberships. They are good value in themselves for roadside assistance, but the travel benefit is also sometimes good.

... Scott

Starting Your Own Business -

Ever since I was young, I always sort of assumed I would someday have my own business. I remember going with my parents to a relative's house that had just been built, and seeing their new 3 car garage with new cars in it.

My Dad said, "You can't afford this kind of lifestyle when you're working for someone else." I think that was the moment when I implicitly decided I would have to have my own business. This was one of the few times I remember someone trying to give me career advice that I actually believed. Most times since then, when people have said things like, "You need to do a Master's degree immediately following undergrad, or you'll never do it at all...", I sub-conciously set out to prove them wrong.

I guess I must have let the dream slide a bit, because in university I chose to do more technical courses than management courses when I had the chance. Computers were just too much fun to give up for artsy courses like "Organizational Behaviour".

But shortly after graduating, I decided that I needed to prepare for being "management". I saw too many unprepared technical people being put into management positions they weren't ready for. So, after 3 years of fulltime work, I "retired" and went back to school for a Masters in Business Administration. This actually disproved the advice I had been given; that I'd never do it if I didn't do it immediately after undergrad.

Anyway, after finishing my MBA, I still had no distinct idea of what kind of business I would own myself. I kept working my way up in management of small software companies.

The day I figured it out was when I attended a Product Management course and saw a guy with an independent consulting company who charged $1000 per person for a 2 day seminar. There were about 50 people in his average class, which he ran twice a month rotating through several cities, plus on site seminars for $10,000 each. Let's see, nice hotels, work 5-10 days a month, earn $100K per month (minus hotels, airfare and conference room costs). Now I'm glad I took that MBA course!

I haven't got there yet, but I am still working on building the content for seminars.

During the next 6 years, I couldn't help but realize that all the time and effort I was spending as an employee was helping someone else become successful and wealthy. On top of that, I found it harder and harder to buy in to the visions of senior management when I often had doubts about their strategy or tactics. Mostly, I didn't feel my skills were being used as effectively as they could have been. I was drying out on the vine. I had very little control over my own destiny.

I felt that the simplest way to start building my own business was as a consultant in the areas of technology that I knew. This would also allow me to quickly build up experience with multiple clients and technology challenges.

I just started by looking at the list of partners on my employer's Web page. Then, I looked at the partners' partners, until I got a good view of what kinds of companies might need consultants with my knowledge. It didn't take long to narrow down a few candidates in the local region near where I lived.

Next, I prepared a short introductory telephone script and called the president of each one (they were relatively small companies, with fairly accessible executives).

I set a 3 month minimum limit on my first contract opportunity. Either that, or a full-time position for a while just to get familiar with consulting. It took 2 years of constant calls and emails before I got an offer. In fact, it never rains, it pours. I got two full-time offers and a 3 month contract offer that would probably have renewal possibilities. That's what I did.

Immediately, the excitement of running my own company took over. I did whatever I could to show I was thorough and giving good value to the client. Then, word began to spread among client contacts to the point where I am confident of being able to sustain demand.

I have no regrets after 2 years of independent consulting. The most significant advice I can give, in hindsight, is to:

1. Have a long list of potential clients to call on;
2. Have enough of a cash buffer (whether it's in savings or a line of credit) for those "long receievables cycles" (they do happen) and downtime between contracts;
3. Try to pay yourself on a regular, fixed budget;
4. Get an accountant you trust, and don't haggle over his hourly rate. Just make sure he is professional and has integrity (and uses tax software - my first accountant did tax returns by hand!);
5. Listen to your accountant's tax advice but don't expect him to be your big picture financial planner. They are most valuable in planning for taxes;
6. Get a financial planner who can help with your retirement plan (check the yellow pages)

A Change of Mindset About Money -

Up until my late 30's I was pretty much just trying to do the same thing as everyone else we knew when it came to financial and retirement planning. Not much.

When I got married around age 30 and we were expecting our first child I remember reading David Chilton's "The Wealthy Barber". This was a very unique book that put personal finances in perspective from the point of view of a young man learning that his unassuming barber was actually quite wealthy and wise about financial planning and investment. I never had a barber like that, but I did have a high school teacher that was rumoured to be a millionaire.

I remember the first order of business in that book was to have a will made up by a lawyer, which we did. Very depressing conversations. Then came life insurance, which we did. Being an analytical person, I spent way too much time trying to figure out exactly how much either of us would need if one of us died, and how much the guardians would need if we both died...

Then, I think it was the "pay yourself first" philosophy where you arrange for your employer to deduct 10% of your pay and put it directly into a tax-sheltered retirement savings plan (RRSP in Canada). Ten percent seemed like a lot, but you get used to it eventually. You also get tempted to cut back when times get tough. But that's not the answer.

Then, after about Chapter 4 we seemed to fizzle out and put the book on the shelf, thinking we were well on our way. Or at least we were no worse off than anyone else.

As kids and house maintenance expenses were added to our list of priorities, we barely noticed our increasing line of credit balance. Then, one day I realized that our consumer debt was a significant fraction of our savings. So, our net worth was not really making any progress. We were also approaching 40. Something had to be done, and fast. However, in financial planning and investing, I've come to realize that most things that happen "fast" aren't usually good for me.

In 2001, we saw Robert Kiyosaki on Oprah, talking about his book,
"Rich Dad, Poor Dad". He talked about investing in assets which created cash flow. So, we decided to read it. Somewhere in that book was a major life-changing revelation fo us. We actually had some equity building in our house, and were not making very good use of it.

The Rich Dad, Poor Dad book was an easy read, again because it put finances in the context of someone's life. Real estate was an area I really hadn't thought much about as far as investing goes. But while Kiyosaki doesn't say it's always the best investment, he does say that it is a good way to build equity relatively quickly, if it's done right.

So, I set about learning how to do it right. Something I've learned about investing in real estate, it's easy to learn many things about doing it right, it's actually pretty easy to do, but there are also many things you learn on the spot, as you do it... like tenants don't think like home-owners, and owners shouldn't think they know what a tenant wants or how they will handle any given situation.

Being a landlord is full of fun surprises. But for me it has been worth it. The main reason is, I use a Property Manager. For people who aren't interested in learning about a whole new lifestyle, I highly recommend using one. It doesn't relieve you of all headaches, but it makes it much more manageable for the average person with a full-time job.

Realizing how much more I could be doing to build equity for retirement, through real estate, was a huge change in my outlook for the future. Everything started looking brighter. I had more confidence, and I was actually excited about starting what really is my own business of buying houses.

I will post many more comments on real estate investing in future. So come back again.

... Scott

As this blog progresses, I will post references to various resources and sites that I have used or learned about.

Here's the first one I'd like to mention. If you are looking for innovative ways to create new income streams, the first thing I will mention is what I would call a "high-value networking forum" called Dollar Makers, reachable at www.dollarmakers.com . It is full of new ideas and contacts that can help you create new revenues, either for an existing business, or from referral fees you can receive by connecting businesses with new clients they would not have otherwise found.

If you decide to join, and they ask for the source of your referral, I would appreciate it if you tell them it was "Scott" at "Money Mindset Blog" (moneymindset.blogger.com).

Thanks,

...Scott

Hi,

I'm Scott; a middle-aged professional who learned later than I should have about the importance of knowing how to manage money. I hope this site helps you to learn about your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to money. Hopefully, it will enable you to learn from my experiences so you can plan your own financial success.

Just a disclaimer up front. I am not a financial advisor or professional, and am not qualified to give financial guidance. The intent of this site is to share experiences in dealing with money.

When planning to make investment or financial decisions, please consult a professional financial advisor, and consult a professional tax accountant to make sure you are acting legally and in a fiscally responsible manner.

That said, have fun reading about my experiences with money-related problems and opportunities.

... Scott