Eight Ways a Poor Man May Build Wealth (C) 2013 by Wayne Dan Lewis, Sr.

from the blog:

http://thecovetedcommandment.blogspot.com/

 

I was asked very recently by a very special person, how can I talk to people about building wealth, when I am not wealthy?  I answered that it was a fair question, and to look at me, I am not wealthy.  But I, as well as she, and you, have all of the makings of wealth.  I told her that she was right, because right now, I basically, don’t have a dime to my name.  But based on the signs, I am on the road to being wealthy, to having those things which I not only dream of, but I believe are mine to have.

 

As a result of her observation, I am forced to pose that same question here in this edition of The Coveted Commandment.  “How does a poor man build wealth?” Or, “Can a poor man build wealth?” I believe that a poor man can build wealth.  I don’t it’s extremely difficult, but it does require hard work and commitment to goals that we must set in order to improve our quality of life.

 

I remember my dad, Dan Lewis, used to share some tidbits of wisdom, which to me made little sense at the time.  But I never forgot one piece of information that he shared with me. It was,  “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealth and wise.[1]”

 

Little did I know that it may have originated with one of America’s earliest inventors, and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, as the editor of Poor Richard’s Almanac.[2]

Obviously, as a poor man, I can’t speak to those who may listen to multi-millionaires and billionaires such as, Donald Trump[3], Mark Zuchaberger of Facebook fame [4], Jack Dorsey of Twitter[5], or Bill Gates of Microsoft[6].  But maybe, I can speak to someone who is similar to me in one way or another.  Maybe, I can speak to someone who has worked low-income jobs where they have mopped floors and cleaned bathrooms.  Maybe, I can speak to someone who has driven trucks, washed cars, or pushed hamburgers for a living.  Or maybe, I can speak to someone who has stood as a night guard in freezing rain, or in dark buildings and who, having lost their job(s) due to no fault of their own, may want to know, how can they rebuild their lives.

 

My dad (who was originally my uncle when he first bought me to live with him and my aunt) was always employed.  He was a Longshoreman from the time I was six years old until I was 13, at which time he became disabled.  But he never stopped working.  He never stopped getting up and going into the garage  or the back shed to build something, or fix something.  He was a worker by trade.  He didn’t specialize in anything except going to work, and working hard.  I always remember seeing the fruits of his labor when he would fix a broken lawn mower, or repair the washing machine, or work on the car.  I point this out more because I was proud of a man who was ashamed of his educational achievements in that he was 8^th grade dropout, but he never quit trying to make a living, and never gave an excuse for he didn’t accomplish in life.  My dad and mom always made sure that I never got laxed about school. 

 

But my parents failed in one area: teaching me to save money.

 

I remember that my parents owned three homes since I had come into their lives.  But I remember that they had owned other homes, simply by buying and investing in rental properties.  There was always money coming into our house, but it wasn’t talked about much.  The most that I was told was to save my money.  I was always told to “prepare for a rainy day”.  It was an idiom as I later learned, but it was the best that they could tell me on how to build wealth. They even tried to help me by putting money on the side for me, whenever I would get money for my birthday, or Christmas.  But it was never enough to save to me, it was always enough to spend on something, or to “buy something”.  I always had the itch to “buy something”, not worrying about the return on what I would buy.  I had not grasped the concept of getting something for my money (Building Principle # 13- Look more often for your ROI for your investments (Return on your Investment).[7]

 

So, as I look back on how much my parents tried to teach me how to save my money, I have to realize that telling someone to save money was only good for those who were telling, if the one being told doesn’t have a clue about what they have to loose.  It’s just that for me, telling me was not good enough.  I had come to realize that everyone doesn’t learn the most obvious things in the same way.  I don’t fault Sarah and Dan Lewis for not teaching me to save according to my learning ability, or lack thereof, I fault myself.  But, at some point, I had to realize that money was going to run out, or that I wasn’t going to always have a job, or that the $2 or $7 I won playing lottery would only take me so far.  Unfortunately for me, like so many of us, we learn some things too late. 

 

By too late, I mean after a job layoff; I mean after a bankruptcy, or after a major disaster and our home is destroyed.  So, how does a poor man build wealth after all of that?  Well, it’s a work in progress for me in particular, but I would like to hope that while I still learning how to rebound, that I can still reach back, or reach out from my experiences and share some important things with you, that depending on your ability to comprehend, that you apply something that I share with you to apply in your life- soon, quick, fast and in a hurry.  It is my hope, that you aren’t like me, as I was, where two wonderful people, who adopted me, tried to share with me something very important on how to build wealth.  So what do I have?

 

I am going share 2 things on how I believe a poor man can build wealth.  After that, I am going to share 4 other things that I will pull from my research that I hope you will take a look at, and go further by clicking on the related links.  Please don’t do like I did and take wealth building lightly.  There is a reason why I want you to be successful, but it matters not, if you don’t want that same success for you and your family.  Here are some suggestion on how a poor man can build wealth:

 

1. Surround yourself with people who are wealth-oriented- When I think about surrounding myself with people who are wealth-oriented, please be aware that wealth is not necessarily limited to things such as priceless vases, or gold bouillons, or expensive paintings.  Bearing in mind that these things are the sum efforts of relationships and activities that were as a result of learning who and what were essential to align ourselves in order to acquire paintings, vases and gold.  It is important to know people who are not only committed to building wealth, but also conducting themselves in a manner where wealth is assured.  By that I mean, people who are wealth-oriented, limit themselves to places that they go, how they spend their money, and most importantly, how they invest their money.  Finding these people will be no piece of cake for those of us who are considered poor, so maybe, we should build a network of individuals who could very well share the same mindset, and are ready to begin committing to building wealth as well.

 

2. Set goals that allow you to gradually build wealth-  Many of us set financial goals more often than we realize.  If we have ever gone to the store, we go with a set amount to spend.  For example, we may decide to only spend $150.00 on groceries, and more often than not, wind up spending $175.00.  If that is the case, we are not necessarily on track to wealth building.  If we set a goal to spend $150.00 at the grocery store, then that’s what we need to stick to, otherwise, why set a goal?  Setting goals is how I see many wealth builders achieve wealth.  They set a goal.  If, for example, they decide to buy a 1960 Mercedes Benz convertible for $300,000, then at the very least, they probably will stop at $290,000.  I could be wrong, but I can’t believe that those who invest on a regular bases go over what they plan to spend on something that is considered valuable.  The key for these investors is that they know that the Mercedes Benz is most likely worth $375,000, and they want to build some equity into their purchase of 8-10%, because they know how much the vehicle is actually worth.  As an investor, they are going to stay within the goals that they set.

 

The above suggestions are my own.  Will they take you to the next level of investing your hard earned money?  Not necessarily.  But nothing is ever guaranteed.  You have to do your own homework.  You have to do whatever it takes to make something great and wonderful happen in your life.  Just in case you are looking for additional suggestions on how to build wealth, here are a few other suggestions:

3. From the website: Young Finances[8]
1.  Use Active Income –is based on your personal efforts to make money by exchanging hours for dollars.  It is the income that comes in when you are actively earning it, but ceases to exist when you stop your earning activity.
2. Use Passive Income-Income that is recurring such as royalties, dividend payments, rents, etc.  “When you can stop tradin hours for dollars and receive dollars even without giving up hours, you will have passive income.
4. From the website Ehow and wealth building strategies-[9]
1. Investments-One of the best ways to build wealth over long periods of time is investing in the stock market and in real estate. These two assets make up the lion's share of the net worth for many individuals in the United States. Buying a home has traditionally been a solid investment, as home and real estate prices have historically trended upward over time. Similarly, economy-wide stock prices have tended to trend upward over time, making long-term investment in the stock market a profitable wealth-building strategy.
2. In practice, debts are best paid off as fast as possible if the interest rate on the debts is higher than the return you could get if you put the money toward a different investment. For instance, if you had a debt that was at a 5 percent interest rate, but you could save your money in a CD at a bank for 5.5 percent, you should not pay off the debt quickly because you could use the money that you would have spent to pay off the debt to invest in the CD. In general, credit card debts should be paid off as quickly as possible to build wealth because they usually have very high interest rates that far outpace any alternative returns.
5. Here are two (2) additional suggestions from the website: About.com speaking to us about investing for beginners.[10] 
1. Wealth Building Rule 3: If You Don't Like Where your Parents Were at Your Age - Do Things Differently - The old cliché that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results," holds just as true today as it did when it was originally written. If you don't like where your parents were at your age, stop what you are doing. During your childhood, they taught you all they knew about money. For many people, these early years established how they feel about their finances today. In order to become financially successful, you must do something different than they did. Otherwise, you will end up exactly as they are.

Wealth Building Rule 7: Your New Commodity is Not Your Labor, It's Your Ideas- With the advent of the Internet and other technological advances, you are no longer limited to supporting yourself or making a living by your physical labor. The only limit you have on yourself now is your own imagination - your ideas are the most valuable thing you possess. Every man, woman, and child is a salesman for a living; if you don't own a business or investments, then you sell your manual labor to a company in exchange for a paycheck. Change your product. The gap between the rich and poor does indeed grow larger with each passing year, but not because of inequalities or any other such injustices. Instead, it is because the rich understand money and how to use it. Capital is literally a seed; learn how to plant it to produce the best harvest. When you do this, you will rule your finances, not the other way around.

I have pulled together ideas from several other sources to join with my own above.  Whichever you choose to follow, or pull from is up to you.  I do not endorse these ideas, not even my own.  The intent here and all throughout The Coveted Commandment[11] is to focus on as many avenues of investing and building wealth as you can find.  Find what is right for you.  Find what fits your financially.  There are so many ways and resources from which to build wealth.  Chances are, my approach will fade into the background.  But what I hope will not fade into the background is your desire to build wealth, and to improve the quality of life for you and yours.  You deserve it and there is no reason why you should not have more than a lions’ share of opportunity to have the best that life has to offer.  Best wishes.

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[1] http://voices.yahoo.com/phrase-origins-early-bed-early-rise-makes-7704036.html

[2] Franklin, Benjamin  Poor Richard’s Almanac. http://books.google.com/books/about/Poor_Richard_s_Almanac.html?id=a-CH_RKOiw4C

[3] Donald Trump- http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump/

[4] Mark Zucheberger Facebook- http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebooks-zuckerberg-announces-100m-donation-schools-oprah/story?id=11718356

[5] Jack Dorsey, Twitter Founder- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Dorsey

[6] Bill Gates, Microsoft- http://www.thegatesnotes.com/

 

 

[7] Building Principles for the Coveted Commandment © 2013 by Wayne Dan Lewis, Sr. http://thecovetedcommandment.blogspot.com/2013/01/building-principles-for-the-coveted.html

[8] How You Can Build Wealth, http://www.younadultfinances.com

[9] http://www.ehow.com/way_5409248_wealth-building-strategies.html

[10] http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/personalfinance1/a/031001a.htm

[11] http://thecovetedcommandment.blogspot.com/