Rule #1: Don’t be Stupid

Anyone that runs up credit card debt is stupid.  How can you ever get rich paying someone else 20% interest?  The way to get rich is to have other people pay YOU 20% interest.  But you can never have that happen when you have no money to lend out or invest. If you don’t have common sense or have common sense but cannot follow it, give up now. Common sense and the avoidance of stupid behavior is the number one rule to get rich.

Rule #2: Live Within Your Means

ANYONE and EVERYONE can live within their means.  My mother lived comfortably in a 2 bedroom apartment the last 10 years of her life on $20,000 a year. That included going out to eat  occasionally and going to the movies. You say that you can’t live comfortably on what you earn and feed 6 kids?  Then who told you to have 6 kids? See rule number 1.  It’s not about what you think you deserve, it’s about what you earn.  If you want more things, then you need to earn more.  If you don’t know how to do that then it’s time to sell the house and rent, get a roommate, move to Mexico–whatever you need to do to reduce your living expenses.  That includes selling the BMW and driving a 15 year old car that costs only $3,000 to buy but runs just fine.  If you think you cannot reduce your living expenses, then rent a copy of “Pursuit of Happiness” and watch it.

Rule #3: Exploit the Opportunities Created by People who Cannot Follow Rules One and Two

I did not say exploit those people, I said exploit the opportunities they create.  Example–people who can’t afford the house they are in often don’t pay their property tax.  Many municipalities need the money so they sell a lien against the person’s house to investors.  The investor (could be you) eventually either gets 18% interest plus your principal (if the homeowner eventually pays the tax bill) or gets the home.  You can never exploit these opportunities unless you have money to invest which means you need to follow rules one and two, first.

Rule #4: Constantly Learn About Ways to Make Money

They don’t teach this in a class.  You need to read magazines (e.g. Money, Smart Money, a dozen  other similar magazines) or do searches on the Internet.  It’s more difficult to get rich if you do what everyone else does–invest in stocks and bonds and mutual funds. If you don’t like to, or are  unwilling to, read and learn, you’ll have to get very lucky to get rich–a long shot.  It’s much easier to be smart because then you only need a little luck.

Rule #5: Be Willing to Change Direction

There’s really bad advice that’s given out like “Don’t give up” and “Be persistent.”  Generally, this is bad advice because it keeps people doing the same wrong activities thinking they will eventually be successful.  If you screw in a light bulb by turning to the left, it will never go in no matter how persistent you are.  Let the universe teach you.  If you’re doing something wrong, you won’t get the result you want.  The universe tells you when you are doing the right things and the wrong things. No matter how persistent you are with the wrong activities, you still  won’t have success. So if you try an activity and don’t get the result you want, change direction, do something differently.

What’s the proof these rules work?  Read the biography (doesn’t need to be a whole book–there are tons of articles on the Internet) on any one you see is successful.  Pick any successful sports figure, business person or politician.  Names that come to mind are Mark Cuban, Donald Trump, Dana White, Barack Obama.  But pick your own favorites, read how they got successful and rich and prove to yourself these five simple rules work.

Courtesy: http://www.javelin-marketing-commentary.com/2009/05/26/five-simple-rules-to-get-rich-and-the-proof-they-work/

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