Pond Publishing 2012 REVISED & EXPANDED 2nd Edition EDWIN PALMER 2nd Edition Copyright © 2012 by Edwin Palmer, all rights reserved (1st Edition published 2011 © Edwin Palmer) The right of Edwin Palmer to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission of the copyright holder; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or other, without written permission from the copyright holder Cover design and illustrations by RIPPLE-GRAPHICS DISCLAIMER The material in this book is provided to assist you in identifying options that you otherwise may not have been aware of It does not constitute financial advice and you should not rely on any material in this book to make (or refrain from making) any decision, or take (or refrain from taking) any action The content of this book should not be relied upon as specific recommendations It should be used for general information purposes only Always seek independent legal and financial advice from an appropriately qualified person or persons before making a financial decision based on the content of this book or any other source The writer(s), publisher(s) and retailer(s) of this book are not liable for any decisions or actions taken or not taken as a direct or indirect result of reading this book ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book is a collection of wealth wisdom and ideas, old and new, that I have researched and put into practice over the past twenty years It also includes many original concepts and adaptations of my own Where known, I have referred to the source of each idea, although in many cases the link to the actual originator is lost or unclear due to repetition by others over time I would like to thank and acknowledge all of the originators (known and unknown) of the information that I have collated, distilled and revised within the pages of this book I would also like to thank Ken Moon and everyone who has helped to shape the content of the book and those who provided feedback on early drafts Finally, and especially, I would like to thank you (the reader of this book) for choosing this particular pathway to prosperity DEDICATIONS This book is dedicated to the memory of Myrtle and Ellie - two graceful ladies who are much missed Although wealth was of no interest to them, the friendship and companionship they gave to others was absolutely priceless TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD INTRODUCTION: Don’t skip this, it’s IMPORTANT What is wealth and whatexactly does it mean to you? BOOSTER No 1: Positively Align Your Wealth Beliefs and Values (Psy) Your relationship with money guides and drives your financial decisions and actions - turn unconscious, negative beliefs about money and wealth into positive thoughts with prosperous outcomes BOOSTER No 2: The Penny Principle (Psy) Picking up a penny from the floor has much more significance than you might imagine - find out if you are ‘programmed’ to receive riches, and if not, how to easily change course BOOSTER No 3: The Wealth Mirror Question (Psy + Prac) The deceptively simple, yet powerful question that you must ask yourself - the answer will reveal the route that you should take to achieve a wealthy future BOOSTER No 4: Position ‘A’ - Current Wealth Inventory (Prac) How wealthy are you now? Examine your current financial position and prepare to experience some big leaps forward into the world of wealth BOOSTER No 5: Boring Budget? - Treat Your Finances as a Business (Prac) Make your finances transparent and find out why the principle of ‘Personal Profit’ is so important - apply business practices to ensure that your money multiplies Includes 15 x ways to save money and the x main routes to making money BOOSTER No 6: Decide, Divide and Conquer (Psy + Prac) How to set financial goals and make major money ambitions achievable Discover the crucial elements required to create stepping stones to abundance and prosperity BOOSTER No 7: Don’t Keep Up With The Joneses (Psy) The Joneses have a lot to answer for they are a very bad influence! - find out why it is essential that you don’t fall into their trap, and soon they’ll be trying to keep up with you BOOSTER No 8: Reduce Your Grocery (and other) Bills (Prac) x ways to reduce one of your biggest monthly expenses plus 11 x supermarket and x retail mind tricks aimed at parting you from your money Be aware of them and hold on to your cash BOOSTER No 9: Cash-back Credit Cards and Websites (Prac) Not all credit cards are bad (although most are) How to make money from credit cards and cash-back websites BOOSTER No 10: Create a Cash Cascade System (Prac) Organise your finances to create positive cash-flow momentum that is geared to increasing your wealth The step process that can be automated, or used manually to generate wealth BOOSTER No 11: Turn Your House From a Liability Into an Asset (Prac) In some circumstances turning your house from a liability into an asset can be a better use of your money than saving - here’s why and how BOOSTER No 12: Create an Appreciation Log (Psy) Why appreciation is better than gratitude and how you can incorporate an ‘Appreciation Log’ into your wealth strategy to lay the foundations for consistent financial success BOOSTER No 13: Write Yourself a Wealth Cheque (Psy) A psychological technique to focus your mind on your wealth goal and condition you to recognise the opportunities available to achieve it It has worked for others and it can work for you BOOSTER No 14: Time is Money - Get Rich Slow(Prac) The overwhelming majority of wealthy people did not ‘get-rich-quick’ Learn how to use time as your ally instead of trying in vain to beat it BOOSTER No 15: Money is Time - Spend it Wisely (Psy) Convert your perception of the value of money into time periods and use it to your advantage when spending and saving BOOSTER No 16: Your Wealth Hero Rich List (Psy) The best way to learn how to become wealthy is from those who have already achieved it Here are some conventional, and unconventional ways to just that BOOSTER No 17: The Law of Attraction vs The Law of Action (Prac) Which is the most effective, the latest trend towards ‘Cosmic Ordering’, or real world actions? There is one clear winner The other could actually be delaying or stopping your progress BOOSTER No 18: Multiple Streams of Income (Prac) In today’s uncertain economic climate having only one source of income can be risky Increase wealth and financial stability by creating multiple streams of income 16 x methods are included here BOOSTER No 19: Become a Solution Provider (Prac) Learn why problems are seen as opportunities by entrepreneurs and how you can become wealthy by actively seeking them out and capitalising on them BOOSTER No 20: Invest in Your Personal Development (Prac) The ability to create and attract wealth is linked to your knowledge, skill-set and experience By investing in yourself you increase your earning potential BOOSTER No 21: Always Over Deliver (Psy + Prac) The small change to the way that you work that can BOOST your career and which could lead to promotion and increased income Plus, how to ask for a pay rise with the best chance of success BOOSTER No 22: The 10% Minimum Savings Rule (Prac) How much of your income should you save? Progress from the minimum and learn the next steps of your savings plan BOOSTER No 23: Pay Yourself First and Last (Psy + Prac) This is a classic, but it is still one of the best ever techniques for improving your financial position BOOSTER No 24: The Savings Ramp System(Prac) A stealthy saving method that is so ‘underthe-radar’ that you won’t even miss the money that you are putting away month after month BOOSTER No 25: Don’t Virtually Save Actually Save (Prac) What money saving really is, and what it isn’t Why spending less money is not saving, and what you should to achieve real, tangible money accumulation BOOSTER No 26: Automate Your Savings (Prac) How to use the automated services provided by your bank(s) to take the hassle out of saving BOOSTER No 27: Self Employ Yourself (Prac) If you are really serious about making a massive difference to your finances, this technique will completely alter your perspective and your level of wealth for the better Also includes ‘The Envelope System’ as an alternative if you are not yet ready to self employ yourself BOOSTER No 28: The Coin Machine (Prac) The easy savings method with surprising results BOOSTER No 29: Successful Saving Motivation (Psy) Having the motivation to save is one of the most important factors in achieving, maintaining and increasing wealth This BOOSTER shows you how to fuel your saving motivation and avoid the pitfalls of taking it too far BOOSTER No 30: The Wealth Commitment (Psy) Use this tool to cement your commitment to achieve wealth and make the desired outcome far more likely Wealth, Happiness and Giving to Others AFTERWORD: Your New Prosperity Perspective APPENDICES Sixty Wealth Boosting Questions Recommended Books Recommended Websites ABOUT THE AUTHOR ONE LAST THING (Prac) = Practical BOOSTER / (Psy) = Psychological BOOSTER FOREWORD Wealth is relative If you were to ask ten different people what their definition of wealth is and how much money they would need to be wealthy, the chances are that you would get ten different answers This book will take you from the starting point of defining what wealth really means to you, and then through a step-by-step process designed to transport you to toward the achievement of your specific wealth goals I won’t lie to you, or exaggerate for effect I’ve never been bankrupt, up to my neck in debt or even just plain broke I don’t have an inspirational story to tell you about how I hit financial rock bottom and then managed to get back on my feet and finally triumphed against all the odds No, my story is not particularly remarkable, but it is probably more typical of most of the readers of this book, at least to begin with I wasn’t even aware that I had a problem, in fact I believed that my finances were in pretty good shape My realisation that I was in trouble and my initial transition out of it and towards a wealthy future was gradual My friends and family would probably tell you that I have always been good with money and that I was sensible about how I used and saved it The truth is, they would be wrong I haven’t always been good with money, far from it I have been fortunate enough to pursue a relatively successful career path that created a financial ‘cushion’ in the form of a good level of pay In effect, this allowed me to a lot of stupid things with my money and be ‘unconscious’ about how I was spending it without my outgoings exceeding my income You could say that I was lucky, and I suppose I was, however, I definitely wasn’t in control I wasn’t extravagant with my money and I did have some (very) modest savings I didn’t live in a big house or have multiple residences I didn’t have flashy cars or dress in expensive designer clothes I didn’t go on luxury vacations several times per year - none of that As I became older, I began to get the feeling that something was wrong and some increasingly concerning questions kept popping into my head that eventually I just couldn’t ignore Friends and colleagues who I knew were earning considerably less than myself appeared to be better off and more financially secure than I was What was going on? Had they inherited the money from somewhere, or won the lottery? Was there some big secret about financial success that they knew that I didn’t? How would I cope if I lost my job and couldn’t find work? How would I manage when I retired? Would I have to keep working into my old age before I could retire? (It turned out that I had fallen headlong into the trap of ‘Parkinson’s Second Law’ - more about that later in the book at BOOSTER No 24) I may not have been good with money, but I set about doing something that I was good at, which was researching and learning everything that I needed to know to solve the problem I was faced with I immersed myself in the process of seeking out, learning and applying all the wealth creation principles and techniques that I could to feed my hunger for financial knowledge After a while, I noticed some major improvements to my monetary situation I also noticed something else - I was actually enjoying the whole process I leapfrogged from one month’s worth of saved net income to three, then six, then twelve, then eighteen and so on It had transformed from a problem solving exercise into an active and ongoing pursuit of a single, but clear goal I had defined what wealth really meant to me and I had developed a strategy, supported by actions, that was propelling me at an ever increasing rate towards my goal This book contains the knowledge that I have personally sought out, studied, trialled and developed over many years This is information that has cost many thousands to acquire, learn and apply I have been, and continue to be, a dedicated student of personal success and wealth creation I have read hundreds of books, attended seminars, completed training courses, listened to countless audio programmes and watched numerous DVD presentations in my quest to absorb success principles and specific skill sets I ditched the techniques that didn’t work or were clearly crazy and ended up with a filtered and cohesive system that includes the best thinking from the leading teachers in the fields of success and wealth creation During the course of writing this book, I have put my own ‘spin’ on some of those ideas and techniques to make them more accessible and relevant to today’s world Through personal trial and error, I have also developed a few new tweaks and additions of my own to increase their effectiveness and make them easier to use This is not just a ‘financial’ book, it also includes many elements of personal change and development that are inherently linked to wealth success As has been said many times in the past, in order to have more, you must become more My career, income and wealth position have been greatly BOOSTED by practicing the methodology you are about to learn If I could travel back in time, I would give a copy of this book to my younger self and ensure that I studied and applied every single one of the BOOSTERS presented in the following pages I would have achieved a level of wealth even further beyond where I am now if I had held this book in my hands and (crucially) had recognised its importance twenty years ago However, it is never too late to start creating wealth and the levels that you can reach are virtually limitless All the ‘tools’ you will need to get there are here at your disposal Wherever you are on the journey toward your destination of wealth, this book will accelerate your progress and provide you with short-cuts that are collectively known to relatively few (wealthy) individuals The vast majority of people don’t seek out this type of information and even fewer actively apply it By reading this book and using the information it contains, you too can join the ranks of the wealthy few This 2nd Edition of ‘Wonderful Wealth Boosters: Break Through the Barriers to Wealth’ has been revised and expanded to include several additional ideas and insights within the overall framework of the 30 main BOOSTERS I hope you will find an abundance of valuable information and inspiration in the following pages Ed Palmer INTRODUCTION About this book Whether you want to become wealthy, or you are already wealthy and want to increase or maintain your wealth, this book is for you It is a collection of ideas brought together in the form of a ‘Pick & Mix’ assortment that can be used to structure a ‘Prosperity Plan’ to suit your own aspirations Each of the thirty techniques outlined in the following pages, if applied, will BOOST your wealth and help to move you towards a future of financial independence and freedom Each of the BOOSTERS you are about to learn are simple, straightforward and easy to apply to your own personal finance situation They don’t require detailed financial knowledge and are either ‘norisk’ or ‘low-risk’ strategies that won’t involve ‘gambling’ your security Each BOOSTER is either apractical financial technique (Prac) or a psychological technique (Psy), or a combination of both Do not be tempted to skip the psychological BOOSTERS, they are extremely important Failure to address psychological aspects is often one of the main reasons that people not make progress with their conscious desire to achieve wealth Knowing what to is the easy part, actually motivating yourself to carry out the required actions (and to keep doing so) requires a background mindset that will help to drive you in the right direction instead of holding you back This book is not specifically about getting out of debt, although many of the ideas in it will certainly help you to reduce, eliminate and stay out of debt if that is your aim In general, where the book advises you to save and / or invest any money as a result of applying one or more of the BOOSTERS, you should instead use this money to pay off debt, if that is your current situation This is definitely not a ‘Get-Rich-Quick’ program - you should usually steer clear of those However, if you are prepared to implement each of the BOOSTERS in this book, you will see immediate and steady improvement in your financial situation The most common and stable method of becoming wealthy is to ‘Get-Rich-Slow’ It may not be the route that is the most glamorous, or the most reported and talked about, but it is the most common and reliable method Pounds, Dollars, Euros, Yen, Rupees The term pounds (GBP) / £ will be used throughout the majority of this book However, this reference is interchangeable with any currency, except when mentioned as part of a specific story or anecdote The fundamentals of wealth creation apply to any currency, any country and anybody Master or servant ? Do you work hard for your money, but struggle to make ends meet? Or you make your money work for you? Is money your Master or your Servant? The overall objective of this book is to help you to take full control of your personal finances and create a cash flow system that works to your advantage “The poor and middle class work for money The rich have money work for them.” (Robert Kiyosaki) Become the wealthy future you Just imagine if some of the basic rules of economics suddenly stopped applying to you Suppose that you retained all your regular income and future income increases, but all your expenditure going forward was cancelled In other words, you could still have whatever you needed and wanted, but you wouldn’t have to pay for anything If you tracked this vision into the future by 5, 10, 15 or 20 years, you would see yourself sitting on an ever increasing fortune relative to your financial situation now The results could be astounding, especially if you also invested your income wisely and received good returns on your input capital, besides, what else would you with your money if you didn’t actually need to spend it? Now suppose that, one thing after another, you had to start paying for everything again Each item of expenditure would start to eat away at your future wealth and the future you would become steadily less wealthy You would probably try all the tricks, tips and techniques that you could to reduce or eliminate each of these expenses to protect your future wealth This book is a comprehensive manual of those tricks, tips and techniques and much more Having this vision of future wealth and acting in the present to protect and expand it is not a ridiculous dream, it can be a solid and achievable goal Many have achieved it before, many are achieving it now - there is absolutely no reason why you can’t achieve it too The meaning of wealth The word ‘wealth’ is derived from the old English word ‘weal’, which means ‘well-being’ This is probably not the meaning that most people would associate with the word ‘wealth’ today, although well-being may be one of the desired by-products of achieving wealth for many In order to work towards the goal of wealth, and before you embark on the rest of this book, you will first need to define what it means to you personally If you don’t know what wealth means to you, how will you know when you have achieved it, or at what stage you are at on the route to accomplishing the final outcome? To help you define your personal definition of wealth, a few general definitions are listed below for your consideration If one of them ‘feels’ right for you, write it down and tailor it to exactly suit your idea of what wealth is You may decide that ‘wealth’ is a combination of some of these definitions, or one that is completely of you own making If you can also decide on an amount of money that will fulfil your definition and when you want it by (realistically), you will have outlined a timed and measurable Wealth Goal to work towards Wealth definitions (1) Having enough money to give you the freedom to whatever you want with your time (including working if you want to, or not working if you want to) without any lifestyle compromises (2) Realistically protected, nurtured, and accommodated X numbers of human lives for Y numbers of forward days (Buckminster Fuller) Another way of expressing this definition is the number of days, weeks, months or years worth of future living expenses (for you and your family) that you currently have saved or invested (3) Accumulation of valuable non-necessities (4) Abundance of valuable material possessions or resources (5) Financial independence - no reliance on other people for your income - creating sufficient income from your own personal resources (e.g savings and investments) (6) Wealth is the ability to fully experience life (Henry David Thoreau) Assuming that you are now clear about what wealth means to you and what you want from this book, let’s get started on the BOOSTERS that, one by one, will move you closer to your goal You don’t have to read or apply them in order (unless you want to) Decide which are the simplest and easiest for you to apply first, apply them, and then work on the others in the order that gives you the most benefit, or which best suit your personal situation “Wealth - any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than the income of one's wife's sister's husband” (H L Mencken) BOOSTER No 28 The Coin Machine A great idea for ‘painless’ saving is to choose a particular denomination of coin (e.g £2 coin, or a 50p coin) and every time you receive one of these coins in change from transactions put it into a large storage jar or container You won’t miss these small amounts from your overall finances and you may find that after a year or two you have enough money to pay for an annual vacation (or, even better, put the money into a savings account, or invest it) If your coin machine is not accumulating coins at the rate that you want it to, add another coin denomination to accelerate the process It is better not to count or even look at the amount of coins you are saving on a regular basis - just keep dropping them in Over time you will be pleasantly surprised at the amount that you have saved This is an excellent way of introducing children to the wonders of saving By encouraging them to put money aside in this way when they are young, you will help build positive habits that will serve them well in adulthood If you wanted to take this method to the next level you could choose a higher value coin or even a note BOOSTER No 29 Successful Saving Motivation Towards or away from? In order to maximise your motivation to save, it can be very useful to analyse what lies behind your reasons for saving and what drives you to save The two main forms of motivation are (1) Towards and (2) Away From Towards motivation can be viewed as positive motivation because it is an attraction towards something At its basic form it is an attraction towards wealth, although there may be many elements and sub-variants of this (see diagram below) Away From motivation can be viewed as negative motivation because you are motivated by avoidance of something This does not mean that it is destructive or less powerful than positive motivation, it can actually be much more useful and effective than positive motivation The basic form of Away From motivation in the context of wealth would be avoidance of poverty There are also many sub-variants of Away From motivation (see diagram below) Your motivation may well be a mixture of the two forms of motivation, but one will usually be dominant over the other If you really examine your own motivation for saving you can identify the reasons and values behind it and how it fits into the Towards / Away From model This can be done by asking the same question over again until you reach the root cause of your motivation Initially just ask yourself why you save money, then when you have an answer, ask and what will that for you? (what benefit will it give) When you have the answer to the second question, ask it again (i.e what will the answer to the second question for you?), then keep going until you reach a point where you really can’t answer the question Your final answer may be one of those in the diagram above, or it may be something completely different (although it is likely to fit into either the Towards or Away From aspects of motivation) Once you know your core motivation(s) for wanting to become wealthy, all you need to is think about it to give your saving, and money making motivation a BOOST Spend and save (1) Saving money can and should be just as enjoyable (or more so) than spending it and there is a simple way of combining the two Save twice the amount needed for a luxury item and save / invest half of it when you make the purchase This method helps you to save and teaches you self control This works on a number of levels, for example, it introduces a critical delay, or ‘cooling off period’ in the purchase as you have to save twice as much for the item and this will usually take longer The longer you delay a purchase, the more you can think about whether you actually need or want the item In some cases you may decide against buying the item, but if you go ahead, that’s fine too because you have saved an amount equal to that which you are spending The beauty of this method is that you actually save more, the more expensive the items that you want to buy are Spend and save (2) If ‘Spend and save (1)’ is too big a step, you might want to work your way up to it by using the ‘Spend and save (2)’ method If you want to buy a luxury item round up the price to the nearest whole increment of the price and save the difference between the actual cost and the rounded up figure e.g This has two benefits, one is that the rounded up price may put you off the purchase and make you realise that you don’t need the item (saving the whole cost) The other is that if you decide to make the purchase, you will save the difference Of course, you have to ensure that (a) you can afford the item without borrowing and (b) you genuinely save or invest the difference by moving the money into a savings account or investment vehicle that is not readily accessible Make a habit of saving your receipts and arranging the appropriate savings according to your ‘luxury item’ spending Convert savings into forward salary If you don’t like your current job, or you don’t feel safe in your current job, it is also motivational and comforting to view your savings as the means to buy time For example, convert your savings / investment total amount into forward number of month’s wage or salary For example, if your net salary is £2,000 per month and you have £6,000 of savings / investments, you have enough savings to ‘buy’ yourself months of freedom (should you need to) Imagine how you will feel once you have or 12 months worth of savings / investments Don’t overdo it Once you get the hang of regular saving and begin to enjoy watching your savings grow, it can start to become addictive if you are not careful Whilst this is certainly not a bad thing in itself, taken to extremes it can actually end up de-motivating you and could lead to disillusionment and eventually cessation of the saving process altogether The problem to be aware of is that it is tempting to keep stretching your savings goals beyond what is realistic This then leads to you falling short of your saving expectations and you can start to believe that you are not achieving anything, or that it is not happening fast enough The symptoms of saving addiction … You’ve worked out what you can spare each month and have been saving that amount for a while now by automatic standing order from your current account to your savings or investment accounts You are pleased with how your savings and investments are growing and you start to check more and more regularly on the amount saved / invested Then, you start to think, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could save a bit more’, and you increase your monthly standing order by £50 A few more weeks or months go by, and you the same again, and again Then, one month, you notice that you are, or are about to go overdrawn on your current account and you have to transfer money out of your savings to cover it You try to put it back after pay day, but at the end of the month the same thing happens This turns into a vicious circle and you end up becoming more and more disillusioned because you think you are not saving as much as you should The cure … Simply recognise that this can happen, or is happening Then go back to your monthly budget to assess exactly the amount that you can afford to save and adjust your expectations (and your standing order) accordingly Savings goals should not necessarily be ‘easy’, they ought to stretch you a little, but they need to remain within the realms of what is possible and be flexible (given potentially changing circumstances) BOOSTER No 30 The Wealth Commitment In order to make any progress towards wealth, you must be committed to behaving differently than you have in the past and to taking decisive actions in the pursuit of your goals Use the attached format (or a version of it that suits you) to make a written commitment to wealth This makes your intention more ‘concrete’ as it is more than just an idea held in your mind Refer to this commitment regularly and hold yourself accountable for actively following through If you want to increase your chances of sticking to your commitment, ask a trusted friend or member of the family to counter sign the commitment as a witness and get them to encourage and push you (if necessary) towards achieving your goals Wealth, Happiness and Giving to Others The achievement and maintenance of wealth is unlikely to be your real end goal, it is what wealth can give you that is the ultimate goal Subconsciously, for most people this will include the feeling of financial security and financial freedom, but usually the underlying purpose of having wealth is to provide or facilitate happiness Studies have shown that, in general, wealthy people are in fact marginally happier than poor people, but the difference is only slight and there are many exceptions “Money won’t make you happy but everybody wants to find out for themselves” (Zig Ziglar) So, having wealth in itself is no guarantee of happiness, however, how you choose to use your wealth can have a major impact on your level of happiness and wellbeing It is no coincidence that many of the most wealthy individuals in the world (past and present) have become major philanthropists These individuals include Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, George Lucas, J K Rowling, Sir Tom Hunter and many more Some of these people are giving away more than half of their total wealth in their own lifetimes and setting up charitable foundations to carry on this work after their deaths According to the Action for Happiness Campaign, the ‘Great Dream’ 10 keys to happier living are as follows: (G) - Giving - things for others (R) - Relating - connect with people (E) - Exercising - take care of your body (A) - Appreciating - notice the world around (T) - Trying Out - keep learning new things (D) - Direction - have goals to look forward to (R) - Resilience - find ways to bounce back (E) - Emotion - take a positive approach (A) - Acceptance - be comfortable with who you are (M) - Meaning - be part of something bigger For more information go to www.actionforhappiness.org A common ‘trap’ that people fall into when it comes to being happy is to put it off until a point in the future and make it conditional For example, ‘I will be happy when X happens’, or ‘I will be happy when I achieve Y’, or ‘I will be happy when I become wealthy’ There are three problems with this pattern of thinking: (1) When you get what it is that you are waiting for, it may not have the effect on your level of happiness that you anticipate and this can lead to feeling even more unhappy than you were originally (2) You may not get or achieve the ‘trigger’ for your happiness and remain unhappy (3) By linking your happiness to an event in the future you are, in effect, telling you subconscious mind that you can’t be happy (or as happy as you want to be) until you have reached the set of circumstances that you have linked your future happiness to In other words, you are telling yourself that you can’t be happy now, or until, or even unless, you get to your target point Don’t delay your happiness It may sound over simplistic, and for some it is not easy, but being happy can be achieved just by making a conscious decision to be happy You will probably need to work at it and give yourself regular reminders, but being happy can be achieved now and without the need for any external influences Wealth can provide an excellent foundation for happiness as it enables you to experience financial freedom and security It also gives you an increased ability to give to others and make a positive contribution to society It facilitates the option of choices that otherwise you would not be able to make, and opens doors to additional opportunities and life experiences Create your own path to wealth using the ‘stepping stones’ within this book - BOOST your way to a wealthier and happier life AFTERWORD Your New Prosperity Perspective Congratulations thank you for reading this far and getting to this point in the book By now you should have absorbed a wealth (no pun intended) of information that will be of enormous value to your current and future financial situation Hopefully this book will have created a ‘shift’ in your perspective on wealth creation and provided you with specific and solid elements that you can use to construct your own ‘Prosperity Plan’ Remember, the key to becoming wealthy is to take decisive action based on the information which is now at your disposal Without action you won’t even stand still in the financial world, you will actually go backwards So, implement the necessary changes and you will soon be entering the wonderful world of wealth and financial independence “To know and not do, is to not yet know” (Confucius) APPENDICES Sixty Wealth Boosting Questions Questions are an extremely powerful way of getting your mind on track when it comes to anything that you want to focus on or achieve This is because it is almost impossible not to search for the answer to a question (in your mind), even if you try not to For example, try not to think of the answer to the following question: What does a pink Elephant look like? Chances are that you instantly saw the image of a pink Elephant in your mind and then tried to dismiss it - too late, your mind had already provided you with the answer Even if you don’t know the answer to a question immediately, your subconscious will not let it go and will continue to search for the answer whilst you are consciously thinking of other things, or even while you are asleep Ask yourself the following questions If you can’t answer all of them, come back to them in a month’s time to see how many more you can complete: (1) Is money your master or servant? (2) What is your personal definition of wealth? (3) What financial figure you associate with your personal definition of wealth? (4) When (realistically) you expect to be wealthy? (5) What is your main reason for wanting to become wealthy? (6) What other reasons you have for wanting to become wealthy? (7) What resources you need to become wealthy? (8) What positive beliefs you have about wealth? (9) Do you have any negative beliefs about wealth? (10) If you have negative beliefs about wealth, can you change them to positive beliefs? (11) If you saw a penny on the floor would you pick it up or leave it? (12) Why aren’t you wealthy already? (no excuses) (13) What is the value of your current assets? (14) What is the value of your current liabilities? (15) What is your net worth? (assets minus liabilities) (16) Are you regularly using a budget? (17) Are you making a ‘personal profit’ each year? (18) What have you done to decrease your expenditure? (19) What have you done to increase your income? (20) What is your overall wealth goal? (21) What are your sub-goals and how many have you achieved? (22) What were your last three big luxury item expenses for? (23) Did you buy them because you actually wanted them, or to impress others? (24) Do you remember Dr Amen’s 18/40/60 Rule? (25) Have you applied the tips on reducing your grocery bills? (26) How much have you saved using these methods? (27) How much cash back does your credit card give you? (28) Which cash back websites you use? (29) Can you name the four main funds of the Cash Cascade System? (30) Do you use the Cash Cascade System? (31) What should you to turn your house from a liability into an asset? (32) Name the ten things that you currently most appreciate? (33) Are you maintaining an Appreciation Journal? (34) How much is your Wealth Cheque written out for? (35) Have you harnessed the power of compound interest yet? (36) What is the Rule of 72? (37) How many hours did you work in order to pay for the last big luxury item you bought? (38) Was it worth it? (39) Who are your Wealth Heroes? (40) Law of Attraction or Law of action - which one gets results? (41) Other than your job, what other streams of income you have? (42) What other sources of income could you have? (43) What money generation solutions to other people’s problems can you think of? (44) How much time and money you invest in your personal development? (45) Can you give three examples of how you have, or will over deliver? (46) Do you use tithing, or The 60% Solution? (47) Do you pay yourself first? (48) How much money have you saved using The Savings Ramp? (49) Can you give examples of how you have ‘actually’ saved? (50) Have you automated your savings? (51) Have you self employed yourself? (52) How much you pay yourself, and how much is left for savings? (53) Have you used the Envelope System? (54) Which coins you use in your Coin Machine? (55) Have you progressed to notes yet? (56) Which Spend and Save method you use, (1) or (2)? (57) Are you addicted to saving in a good or bad way? (58) How much forward salary you have? (59) How much forward salary would you like to have? (60) Have you made the Wealth Commitment yet? Use this set of questions regularly to monitor your progress, highlight gaps in your strategy and to identify the things you need to to keep you on track Recommended Books The Millionaire Next Door - (Thomas J Stanley / William D Danko) Rich Dad Poor Dad - (Robert Kiyosaki) I Can Make Your Rich - (Paul McKenna) I Will Teach You to be Rich - (Ramit Sethi) The Hour Work Week - (Tim Ferriss) The Automatic Millionaire - (David Bach) Your Money: The Missing Manual - (J.D Roth) Show Me The Money - (Alvin Hall) - Note: this is a visually oriented book aimed at children, but it is recommended for adults too - published by Dorling Kindersley (DK) What Self-Made Millionaires Really Think, Know and Do - (Richard Dobbins / Barrie Pettman) The Pursuit of Happyness - (Chris Gardner & Quincy Troupe - inspirational true story) The Wealthy Author - (Joe Gregory & Debbie Jenkins) How Come That Idiot’s Rich & I’m Not? - (Robert Shemin) Recommended Websites www.moneysavingexpert.com excellent UK based money saving website www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com personal finance, saving, investing www.getrichslowly.org personal finance, saving, investing www.thesimpledollar.com personal finance, saving, investing www.stevepavlina.com personal development, wealth building www.richdad.com personal finance, saving, investing, entrepreneurship www.johncummuta.com debt elimination and wealth building info products www.thisismoney.co.uk personal finance news www.ft.com financial times - personal finance, investing and business news www.nightingale.com audio programs, many related to wealth creation (US) www.nightingaleconant.co.uk audio programs, many related to wealth creation (UK) www.beingamillionaire.com one million pound note and other motivational tools www.google.com/finance# up to the minute financial news www.moneymagpie.com money saving, money making www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk UK government funded, independent money advice ABOUT THE AUTHOR Edwin (Ed) Palmer is an author and entrepreneur and has previously held positions at Director level with national and multinational businesses Ed has studied and created personal development, business management and wealth building systems for over twenty years and continues to feed his ‘addiction’ to these subjects via a continuous process of applied self evolution His approach to personal development and wealth creation is based on a synthesis of practical and psychological ‘superskills’ underpinned by cutting edge, proven techniques Ed is also a qualified Hypnotherapist and when not writing or researching his latest project he enjoys reading, swimming and walking in the countryside with his dogs ONE LAST THING One last thing When you turn to the last page, Kindle will give you the opportunity to share your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter If you found this book useful and believe that it is worth sharing, please would you take a few seconds to let your friends know about it? If it makes a positive difference to their lives and finances, they’ll be forever grateful to you May the dreams of your present be the reality of your future Ed Palmer - author of ‘Wonderful Wealth Boosters: Break Through the Barriers to Wealth’ If you enjoyed this book, please also consider leaving a review at Amazon Amazon US: http://amzn.to/NjczmW Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/Qs9RGv ... it contains, you too can join the ranks of the wealthy few This 2nd Edition of Wonderful Wealth Boosters: Break Through the Barriers to Wealth has been revised and expanded to include several... still remaining on the list, they were to carry them over on to the next day’s list of six actions and put them at the top of the list (to be actioned first) This was to be their routine each... with, there will be corresponding actions for each of them that can be applied to redirect you onto the pathway to wealth Other simple yet revealing questions which have a similar effect to the wealth