Happy Independence Day!

We live in a great country that allows us to make money without limits. Happy Independence Day to you all!

How do you celebrate the 4th? I will be spending time with my family and eating hot dogs and hamburgers.

Go Green to Find Your Green ($)

No doubt that within the last week you have already had multiple conversations with people about the environment. Some probably think if we don’t stop the path that we are on as a human race, the world will be destroyed for our children. Others might think that global warming is made up by the politicians to lobby for money for various grants. No-matter what side of the fence you are on, taking a stance can help you to find your money maker.

Don’t let THE MAN Steal Your Money

Typically I try and stay away from things that take your money and focus only on the things that make you money.  However, it is important to have a foundation of good principles regarding general money matters.  This foundation is crucial in freeing up capital so that you can pursue the things that are your money makers without restrictions.

One of the best ways to keep your money in your pocket is to think of anyone and everyone as wanting to steal your money from you, aka the Man.  When you go to the grocery store, they want your money so they strategically place items along the isles to steal as much of your money as possible.  When you buy a new car, the dealership is designed to get you to bend over while they steal your money.  When you turn on your AC in the summer and your heater in the winter, living in comfort is a way for the utility companies to steal your money.  Every time your money exchanges hands, the government steals your money in the form of taxes.

By having the mindset that everyone is out to steal your money, you will quickly find ways to keep your money in your own pocket.  Maybe you’ll drive less because you don’t want the gas stations stealing your money. Maybe you’ll tell your friends that you would rather rent a movie then go to the movie theater.  Whatever it is that you decide to do that helps keep your money in your pocket, the more money you will have as capital when you need it.

So remember that everyone is out to steal your money. The question is, are you going to let them?

Health 101: Foods that Help You Stay Focused

I read an interesting article about foods that can help you to stay focused. The thing that really stuck out to me is that it’s not one single food that helps you to stay focused, it’s the full diet. Eating foods that keep your energy levels up, but not too high, can help you to have greater concentration and focus.

This is important to understand and I think most people do. However, oftentimes I think we wish there were a magic food or pill that we could take to give us all the nutrients we need. It just doesn’t exist.

One thing that the article points out is to stay away from foods that give you too big of a high like coffee and sodas. They give you a nice boost, but the low that comes after causes you to loose concentration.

Just like eating a diet full of good foods takes some time to implement, figuring out how to stay focused on your money maker is a lifestyle that has to be learned. If you cheat a little here and there on your money makers, the lows may be too much to recover from and you may end up losing focus on the things that make you money.

Who is the Big Dog Financial Guru?

I just want to do an impromptu poll.  Who is your favorite Financial Guru right now?  Is it Dave Ramsey?  Maybe it’s Suze Orman.  Maybe it’s someone I’ve never heard of. Maybe it’s no one.

Please post a comment and let us know who it is and why you like them.

New Look

I decided to change things up a bit. Let me know how you like the new look.

Profile of a Money Maker: Shanel Yang

I’m really excited today because we have our first profile of a money maker. Shanel Yang has an amazing story of coming to the United States from South Korea in 1971 and the obstacles she had to overcome. Her parents were in charge of earning money by taking whatever jobs they could find and she, in turn, was in charge of learning everything else this country had to offer.

Hit the jump to see our complete interview with this amazing person.

*Image courtesy of shanelyang.com

Profile of a Money Maker

One thing that I hope to accomplish with this site is to profile as many people as possible. No matter what phase a person might be in their financial goals, I believe that everyone has a story to tell and that we can all learn from those stories.

In the process of trying to get people to profile, I had an interesting response come back from one individual. The E-mail reads like this:

Hello! I love being profiled, but I’m a terrible financial example. My
website makes no money, my paycheck goes to bills, and I never seem to
be able to get out of debt. So…I really appreciate your kind
request, but I think I’m probably not what you’re looking for!

All the best,

I felt saddened by the response. This person has a great looking website and a nice little niche in the market. I really felt that they had something to offer the community. The sad part was, this person didn’t see it.

This site is not about debt elimination. There are plenty of other sites that already tackle that subject. We aren’t focusing on the stuff that makes us poor. Our only goal is to focus on our money makers, not our money takers.

No matter what stage you are at on the path of financial freedom, whether you are dead broke or uber rich, you have a story and we want to learn from you.

Starting next week, we have our first profile of a money maker, so make sure to come back and check it out.

Does the Robin Hood theory work?

There was an interesting article at msn.com yesterday that estimated the net worth of all the current millionaires (10.1 million millionaires) in the world to be around $41 trillion.

I began to ask myself if they could really support the whole world with their money or if there is a limited amount that even the richest of the rich can do for mankind.  Call it the Robin Hood theory.  Take from the rich and give to the poor.

Can $41 trillion really support all of mankind?  I took the $41 trillion and divided it by the worlds current population of 6.7 billion people.  The answer is a measly $6119.40 for each person. I can’t even survive two months on that amount.

Granted, my cost of living is a lot higher than someone in remote Africa.  I understand that.  $6119.40 might be more than they could ever make in an entire lifetime.  However, I think it’s fair to say that it would be impossible for the richest of the rich to take care and support the worlds population with money alone.  So the question then becomes, whom do they take care of first?

This question alone has made me realize why the richest just don’t give their money away for free.  They are taking care of themselves first, family second, community third, and so on until they get to the remote places of the world.  Though they might be over the top with taking care of themselves first (I still don’t see the point in a $20 million home), I believe that most of the wealthy are in fact helping a great number of people.  Can they help more?  Yes, but they can’t help everyone so someone has to be left out.  So who do you leave out?

Your Image, Your Money: Led Zeppelin

What is the worth of a song?  According to Portfolio.com, $572 million plus.  That’s right, Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin is estimated to be worth $572 million and counting.

Led Zeppelin have found their money maker in a single song.  Sure they have a portfolio of great hits, but Stairway to Heaven is by far their biggest cash cow and they know it.  It is their image.

So how did they turn a single song into the money maker it is today?  First, its a great song.  It is one of the most requested songs of all time.  Every time the song gets played on the radio or otherwise, they make money.

Second, they didn’t whore it out.  They were very selective of when and where it was released.  It was never made a single because Zeppelin wanted to make people purchase the whole album.  By purchasing the whole album, Zeppelin made more in royalties.

Third, they use it to generate sales of their other songs.  Cadillac targeted baby boomers in a 2002 ad featuring “Rock and Roll”, another song of Zeppelin.  Cadillac knew that baby boomers would be drawn to an ad that had Zeppelin playing.  Zeppelin could have used Stairway to Heaven, but instead keeps it close to home for the perfect deal.  Now that companies know that Zeppelin is licensing their songs, the longer Zeppelin holds out on Stairway, the larger the price it will fetch to the lucky bidder.  In the meantime, companies are licensing Zeppelins other songs.

There are some important lessons you can learn from Zeppelin.  Once you have your money maker image, take care of it and you will reap the rewards over the long run.