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justJeff · 06-03-2007, 07:03 PM

I found this site, and this particular thread after doing a search in a quest to help a neighbor/friend.

This is my first post, and this is the forum of greatest interest to me on this site, so a bit of an introduction is probably in order.

My wife and I are self made millionaires. We are self employed, and the source of our wealth is primarily entrepreneurship involving real estate. We develop and build residential properties. In the past we've also built custom homes for select clients, but in the past couple of years have focused primarily on spec home building. I am also an active options trader, mostly with covered calls.

We recently built a new home for ourselves and moved into a new neighborhood. We live well below our means and suspect that we have quite a bit higher net worth than most of our neighbors. Through somewhat of a fluke, a neighbor couple that we've become good friends with found out that our home is paid for. They have also said that they envy our obvious sense of contentment and happiness. They seem to have an earnest desire to get ahead, and we're trying to help them. We purchased a copy of The Millionaire Next Door for them so that they can begin to understand some of the realities of the wealthy in America as opposed to the general commonly held stereotypes.

In thinking of ways to help them, it's given us a good pause to reflect (which we do often) on the reasons for our past and continued success. For us one of the single biggest contributors was a decision early on to avoid any personal debt for depreciating assets, and to avoid debt in all forms when possible. All of our spec building and development is now done with our own money. There are countless books about leverage and lists of reasons why other peoples money is the way to riches. The fact for us though, is that we get a far better return on our own money than we would investing it anywhere else, and our own money doesn't "cost" us anything. The money that stays invested in spec projects conservitivly doubles about every two years, so a return of well over 35% annually. We don't pay any points to a lender, no needless appraisal and title insurance fees. It took a few years of living extremely frugaly and working very long hours to get there, but in looking back we have no doubt that it was well worth it. That focus and dedication to a purpose are in our minds the reasons that more people don't achieve the financial success that they seek. We believe very much to each their own, and respect that wealth isn't what a lot of people are seeking. For us, initial success started happening at a time when we were both recomitted to personal growth. Karma is something that we talk about, though neither of us could probably quantify it, it's a concept that we very much believe in. Good begets good. We are very upfront and honest with everyone. Subcontractors are paid on the day that we receive an invoice. We are extremely loyal to those that we choose to work with and have established relationships with great people that are key to our success.

We believe that there are many ways to achieve financial success and freedom. It seems to us that self employment is probably the most realistic way for many people to do so. If I remember the approximate statistics correctly, less than 20% of the US population is self employed, but the self employed make up about 2/3 of US millionaires. It was interesting to already be a millionaire when we both read The Millionair Next Door for the first time. It was very much Dejavu for us. Now more than ever when we see someone wearing a Rolex or driving an expensive automobile we think "UAW", or underaccumulator of wealth. Of course that isn't always the case, but it's not an unfair assumption either.

Wanting what you have, no matter what stage you're at, is key, or at least it was for us. As long as your progressing towards your ultimate goal, whether it's a particular net worth, a feeling of freedom, however you personaly define success, be sure to celebrate your victories along the way. It doesn't have to be champagne and a nice dinner, for us talking about it out loud and patting each other on the back and talking about the pride at achieving forward momentum was very rewarding.

The old saw about the first million being the toughest is pretty accurate. That may not be the exact number, but the idea underlying the statement is that when you accumulate enough money that it starts working for you, instead of you always working for more of it, is spot on. Compounding and growth can't be ignored, and must be understood. Take the interest rate and divide it into 72 and the answer will be the approximate number of years it will take a set sum of money to double. Learn concepts like this, and use them daily. There was a quote by Nicolas Cage in Matchstick Men that I really liked, something like "for many, money is a foreign film without subtitles". Most earn, spend, save money each and every day, but very few really understand money. The masses are asses as my wife always says. There is a reason that fewer than 3.5% of people will ever have a net worth of 1 million or more, even though a good percentage desire it. Drive, focus, sense of purpose, commitment and understanding are all key. Don't emulate the guy down the street that's leasing a new 7 series Beemer and living in a bigger house. He probably has a very low net worth. Find someone a bit less flashy that you suspect may have done well at their business. Befriend them. No matter what your specialty or business plan may be, there are a lot of similarities amongst all successful peole and businesses. Read a lot. Think and Grow Rich is a classic. Train your mind to take ownership of key concepts and soon they'll be part of your very belief system. You can't achieve what you cant' believe. With each success will come stronger beliefs that will lead to more success and understanding. Be a genuinely good person, be good to everyone, including yourself. Be your own worst critic, but be fair with yourself too.

Sorry to ramble on. Helping this neighbor has my mind spinning. We're trying to be realistic and realize that there is only a small chance that he'll be willing to do what is neccessary to achieve the financial success that he says he wants for his family. He has a lot of toys, and loans for most of them, depreciating toys with interest paid on them to boot.

06-03-2007, 07:03 PM	#59 (permalink)
justJeff Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 6	Interesting Thread I found this site, and this particular thread after doing a search in a quest to help a neighbor/friend. This is my first post, and this is the forum of greatest interest to me on this site, so a bit of an introduction is probably in order. My wife and I are self made millionaires. We are self employed, and the source of our wealth is primarily entrepreneurship involving real estate. We develop and build residential properties. In the past we've also built custom homes for select clients, but in the past couple of years have focused primarily on spec home building. I am also an active options trader, mostly with covered calls. We recently built a new home for ourselves and moved into a new neighborhood. We live well below our means and suspect that we have quite a bit higher net worth than most of our neighbors. Through somewhat of a fluke, a neighbor couple that we've become good friends with found out that our home is paid for. They have also said that they envy our obvious sense of contentment and happiness. They seem to have an earnest desire to get ahead, and we're trying to help them. We purchased a copy of The Millionaire Next Door for them so that they can begin to understand some of the realities of the wealthy in America as opposed to the general commonly held stereotypes. In thinking of ways to help them, it's given us a good pause to reflect (which we do often) on the reasons for our past and continued success. For us one of the single biggest contributors was a decision early on to avoid any personal debt for depreciating assets, and to avoid debt in all forms when possible. All of our spec building and development is now done with our own money. There are countless books about leverage and lists of reasons why other peoples money is the way to riches. The fact for us though, is that we get a far better return on our own money than we would investing it anywhere else, and our own money doesn't "cost" us anything. The money that stays invested in spec projects conservitivly doubles about every two years, so a return of well over 35% annually. We don't pay any points to a lender, no needless appraisal and title insurance fees. It took a few years of living extremely frugaly and working very long hours to get there, but in looking back we have no doubt that it was well worth it. That focus and dedication to a purpose are in our minds the reasons that more people don't achieve the financial success that they seek. We believe very much to each their own, and respect that wealth isn't what a lot of people are seeking. For us, initial success started happening at a time when we were both recomitted to personal growth. Karma is something that we talk about, though neither of us could probably quantify it, it's a concept that we very much believe in. Good begets good. We are very upfront and honest with everyone. Subcontractors are paid on the day that we receive an invoice. We are extremely loyal to those that we choose to work with and have established relationships with great people that are key to our success. We believe that there are many ways to achieve financial success and freedom. It seems to us that self employment is probably the most realistic way for many people to do so. If I remember the approximate statistics correctly, less than 20% of the US population is self employed, but the self employed make up about 2/3 of US millionaires. It was interesting to already be a millionaire when we both read The Millionair Next Door for the first time. It was very much Dejavu for us. Now more than ever when we see someone wearing a Rolex or driving an expensive automobile we think "UAW", or underaccumulator of wealth. Of course that isn't always the case, but it's not an unfair assumption either. Wanting what you have, no matter what stage you're at, is key, or at least it was for us. As long as your progressing towards your ultimate goal, whether it's a particular net worth, a feeling of freedom, however you personaly define success, be sure to celebrate your victories along the way. It doesn't have to be champagne and a nice dinner, for us talking about it out loud and patting each other on the back and talking about the pride at achieving forward momentum was very rewarding. The old saw about the first million being the toughest is pretty accurate. That may not be the exact number, but the idea underlying the statement is that when you accumulate enough money that it starts working for you, instead of you always working for more of it, is spot on. Compounding and growth can't be ignored, and must be understood. Take the interest rate and divide it into 72 and the answer will be the approximate number of years it will take a set sum of money to double. Learn concepts like this, and use them daily. There was a quote by Nicolas Cage in Matchstick Men that I really liked, something like "for many, money is a foreign film without subtitles". Most earn, spend, save money each and every day, but very few really understand money. The masses are asses as my wife always says. There is a reason that fewer than 3.5% of people will ever have a net worth of 1 million or more, even though a good percentage desire it. Drive, focus, sense of purpose, commitment and understanding are all key. Don't emulate the guy down the street that's leasing a new 7 series Beemer and living in a bigger house. He probably has a very low net worth. Find someone a bit less flashy that you suspect may have done well at their business. Befriend them. No matter what your specialty or business plan may be, there are a lot of similarities amongst all successful peole and businesses. Read a lot. Think and Grow Rich is a classic. Train your mind to take ownership of key concepts and soon they'll be part of your very belief system. You can't achieve what you cant' believe. With each success will come stronger beliefs that will lead to more success and understanding. Be a genuinely good person, be good to everyone, including yourself. Be your own worst critic, but be fair with yourself too. Sorry to ramble on. Helping this neighbor has my mind spinning. We're trying to be realistic and realize that there is only a small chance that he'll be willing to do what is neccessary to achieve the financial success that he says he wants for his family. He has a lot of toys, and loans for most of them, depreciating toys with interest paid on them to boot.