Breaking The Bank...And That's You!

In Nelson Nash's book, Becoming Your Own Banker, he mentions 4 "human problems" that would cause the system to fail. Now the "system" was how to grow one's wealth. So who would want that to fail?

Of course the answer is no one, but oddly, many people do indeed fail to increase their savings via personal "banking" because they either lack a true understanding of the nature of finance, disbelieve the "banking" message, refuse to follow the discipline required or fall back into old habits. Now I hate it when that happens, so I am dedicating this blog to addressing that issue.

A quick quiz: What is your greatest asset?

If you said, your house, your retirement account or some other investment, I give you half credit...but 50% is still a failing score!

If you said, your education, your business or your tools of the trade, I give you a C+. You are getting closer to the mark because you recognize PRODUCTION as a prerequisite for wealth and assets.

Now if you said that you and your work is your greatest asset, then move to the head of the class! Your work IS your asset. And the product of your work, usually represented in dollars and cents, is what everyone else is trying to take from you and what you should guard and use on your terms.

Much of modern finance is predicated on the simple idea that the common man (that's you and me) is too lazy and undisciplined to protect himself. That he would rather have discipline imposed on him even if it was detrimental to him and his wealth. Now whether that is a fact of nature or rather that we have been conditioned to be so is irrelevant. What matters is that too many people fit the description and are being enslaved and impoverished needlessly.

Establishing your personal "bank" is only half the problem. You must then, as Nelson Nash says, "use it or lose it." And when should you use it? WHENEVER you expend capital reserves on an item that you would normally finance.

If you do not understand that last sentence, then let me guide you through it with my advice. If you "disbelieve" and think that you don't have to "bank" to get ahead, then all I can suggest is to hit the books again or ask for a refresher course. If you "despise the discipline" that "banking" imposes upon you, then ask yourself how it profits you to have the discipline imposed on you from an outside source...who will gladly relieve you of your money. Finally, if you have a bad habit of making excuses or coming up with rationales that negate the value of "becoming your own bank," then simply accept the fact that you are torpedoing your own future.

Perhaps these are harsh words. But harsh problems require harsh medicine. And my sole goal and purpose is to help you protect your greatest asset and increase the rewards of your labors. Dangers abound that could break the "bank". Let's not let ourselves be one of them.