Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps Financial Guide of Getting Out of Debt and Becoming Wealthy

Many people out there are always trying to figure out how to get out of their debt and become wealthy. They tiredly work so hard in their job but felt like they are going nowhere financially. Dave Ramsey, who is a financial mentor that wrote a book which title is "The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness" had inspired many on how to get out of debt and become wealthy. Before he became a financial guru, he went through the same mistakes many people go through, which is to use debt. At the age of 26, Dave Ramsey was a millionaire who used leverage (debt) to finance his real estate investment strategy. He has a real estate portfolio asset of $4 million dollars, which $3 million dollars of the asset is financed with debt. However, he lost everything two years later. He had to downgrade his financial lifestyle and felt humiliated for his downfall. It was a very tough moment for his life, which eventually changes his perspective of how he wants to live later life. He eventually worked his way out of his financial problem and became wealthy again (has a net worth of $240 million as of 2019). Now he became a multi-millionaire personal money management expert that mentors many people the problem of using debt as a tool through his talk show host and TV personality. Moreover, he has helped many people to get out debt through budgeting and invests gradually to build wealth.

I read his book and often listen to his radio talk shows on YouTube. I had learned a lot about how many Americans are stuck in debt and have difficulty getting out of the rat race. His book preaches about the simple 7 Baby Steps technique that many can easily follow to get out of debt and build wealth. Following his technique to get out of debt and acquire wealth is not a get quick rich scheme, but discipline steps that people need to follow. People who are wealthy didn't become a millionaire overnight, but through discipline spending habits, budgeting, and of course, frequent investing. I felt his teachings in his books and radio talk shows on YouTube are excellent for people who are sick and tired of being lost financially. Anyways, I know some readers here don't want to go through the hassle to read his book. Because of that, I want to point out the 7 Baby Steps that Dave Ramsey preaches that help many people get out of debt and build wealth.

Why Many New Businesses Fail and What to do About It

Many people dream of starting their own business ventures. These people dream of wanting to become their own boss and not have to work for others. Moreover, starting a business on the side may help a person build different sources of alternative income in order to generate more wealth and have a lifestyle that many dreams of. The vast majority of wealthy people started businesses and built them from nothing. In the last 20th century, businesses and fortunes have been built by people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Walton, and Larry Ellison. These people started with almost nothing and became wealthy by building their businesses from scratch. Knowing the benefits of owning your own business inspires me to have something of my own, aside from just working at my dad's home appliance manufacturing company. I am currently working on my own side business ventures such as my finance blog that you are reading right now, and my other online venture such as my online e-commerce business called Cash Flow Hobby. Starting a business that turns out to be income-generating assets is awesome since it can give you the freedom to pursue other things in life. However, the problem arises when the business venture actually fails. According to the Small Business Association (SBA) states, 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years, and 66% during the first ten years. The SBA goes on to state that only 25% made it to 15 years or more. These high percentages of people who fail in starting their own business have lost not only their valuable time but the money they have invested in their business.

I personally have seen many businesses opening, and end up having them close in just a matter of time. I'm not here to discourage you readers from starting your own business, but to create a successfully running business is not simple. Even my business ventures such as my finance blog and my online e-commerce business that I'm currently working on the side is not generating me any income (not a single dime). This shows that starting a business is not as easy as it sounds. To create a successful business requires huge dedication and strategy. Even my dad, whose manufacturing business is now considered to be successful, has to undergo many challenges and difficulties to be where he is right now. In this article, I would like to share with you readers the reasons why many new businesses fail and what to do about it to prevent them from making fatal mistakes that can turn your business venture into a nightmare.

How Much Money Do You Need to Retire Comfortably

Everyone has a dream to be able to stop working one day in their career life and retire comfortably. Retirement can be an endless summer that anyone can get to enjoy during their golden age. However, they know to retire comfortably require to save a substantial sum amount of money from sustaining their everyday living expenses without having to work again. Just by relying upon and living off from Social Security (which millions of people do it) in your older age won’t be very enjoyable. Some studies show that the average monthly payout that social security will provide these days is around $1,300 per month. Many of you readers and I know that this number is impossible for someone to retire comfortably, especially if you are living in developed countries such as the United States. I’m not an American citizen, so I won’t even get the benefit of having Social Security to aid me when I’m old. I have to find my solution to achieve this dream. However, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to fulfill my retirement dream. I dream of being able to retire comfortably without having to worry about money problems. Moreover, I want to enjoy my old age, being able to spend quality time with my loved ones and family members. I mean, don’t you readers dream of having the ability to not worry about money again and getting out of the nine to five lifestyle (rat race). But how much do you need to save up to achieve this lucrative goal? Furthermore, how do you know if you meet the desired amount? Different people have different expectations of how their retirement life is going to look like. I have my own expectations on the way I want to retire, and my standard can be quite high compared to others. But to achieve that dream, I am required to have a certain amount of money and an excellent strategy to achieve that goal. In this article, I will discuss how much money you need to retire and how to check if you are qualified to do so.

Altria: A Great Value Dividend Stock to Buy Now

Altria Group, Inc. (Ticker: MO) is a company that has been established for a long time. This company has been paying dividends to its shareholders for a long period of time and is considered to be Dividend Aristocrat Stock. Altria Group, Inc. is a well-known American company that produces and market tobacco, such as cigarettes and related products. The company headquarter is in Henrico County, Virginia, close to the city of Richmond and was founded by Philip Morris in 1847. The company sells the Marlboro brand cigarettes in the United States. They also sell non-smokeable products such as Skoal, Copenhagen, and the Ste. Michelle brand of wine. Moreover, they also have 10% ownership in global beer giant Anheuser Busch InBev. 

The stock has been going down in price due to the pessimism of the market. Most of the current worries are due to the declining volume of cigarette sales. The outcome has inevitably caused the stock value at the current price. Investors should ignore the noise surrounding their holdings and, instead, focus on the fundamentals of the company. I had been purchasing this stock since the beginning of 2018 and had been adding more additional purchases that make Altria (Ticker: MO) my 4th largest position in my portfolio. By adding more shares to my portfolio, my cost basis of Altria is currently at $52 per share. This also means that I am currently losing on this particular stock pick; however, the generous dividend multiple, steady earnings, dividend growth, and historically low valuation make it impossible for me to ignore this opportunity to add more shares into my portfolio. I believe Altria is a great dividend growth stock to purchase now despite many warning signs. Altria's current low valuation is too attractive to be ignored. This pessimism is the perfect time for value investors to initiate the purchase of this stock at the current price.

8 Reasons to Drive a Beater Car

First of all, before I start writing this article, let me explain what a beater car is. A Beater Car is a car that is generally more than ten years old and one that is typically cheap to be purchase. Many people believe that driving a used old car such as a beater car is embarrassing and shows a symbol that you are not successful in life. Used cars are usually not as comfortable as brand new cars that are out in the market. A person tends to want to drive a vehicle that is new and have up to date equipment system that comes along with it. I personally like new cars that out there available in the market. However, owning a new car can cost you to slow down your journey to financial freedom and early retirement since vehicles are assets that depreciate over time. 

I am driving a beater car at the moment. The brand and model of the vehicle is Mitsubishi Pajero 2009, and it was first purchased by my dad for my brother to use in the year 2009 when my brother returned from the United States. When I came back from my education in the United States in the year 2013, my brother gave me the car and decided to purchase a new car himself. The car which he gave me to use is currently ten years old and is considered to be a beater car. The mileage on my car is approximately 85,120 mileages (137,000 kilometers), which shows that the vehicle has been driven a lot. However, I'm still driving it to this day and planning to stick with it for another 5 to 10 years. I have seen many of my friends have newer and nicer cars than mine, but I'm still content with the car my brother gave me. Despite the vehicle for being old, I feel this beater car is the right car for me to use while walking the journey to my financial goal. It is interesting to note that the reasons for and benefits of driving a beater car.

11 Basic Financial Metrics to Value a Stock

Value investors often try to find a stock in the market that is trading in a undervalue territory. Investors usually use financial metrics to evaluate a stock whether the market overreacts to good or bad news. We can see a stock price movement that doesn’t correspond with the stock company financial fundamental. There are many successful and well known value investors out there such as Warren E. Buffett, Peter Lynch, and many others that use this strategy to analyze a stock. Looking at financial metrics gives the ability for a value investor to see whether the stock is overpriced or oversold. Also, they can use these metrics to see whether the stock is trading at a fair value or not. It is fine to buy great companies that have long term business potential at a fair price as mentioned by Warren E. Buffett himself. He also mentioned that it’s better to purchase a great company at fair price rather than a low quality company at an undervalue price. It’s great when you have this financial knowledge to evaluate whether a company is a potential buy or something that you want to avoid investing. Having the knowledge of utilizing financial metrics when investing give investors a more understanding of what’s going on with the company. People that have been following my blog know that I am a dividend growth investor who adopts value investing techniques. I’ve been using this technique since I initiated this blog to find great dividend growth stocks. It has a long term potential of increasing the companies’ dividend payout as well as capital appreciation to the stock price. I’m here now to share my experience on 11 basic financial metrics I use to find great dividend paying stocks.

What is Value Investing: The Beginner’s Guide

Investing in stocks is considered to be one of the most powerful methods you can use to attain financial independence. However, it’s also a great way to lose your hard earned money if you don’t know what you are doing. In the stock market, many people have different strategy to invest. Some uses chart and technical analyst when picking a stock which can be considered to be speculating. Some prefers to invest in stocks as if they are investing in a business. This is where the term Value investing comes in.  It is like an art skills on picking a stock as an investment. Value investing is a strategy of which so appealing for beginners because it is designed to both reduce risk and unlock potential profits. It is an investing strategy that involves on how picking stocks listed in the stock market that appear to be trading less than or within their intrinsic value. The term was first inspired by Benjamin Graham who is the author of “The Intelligent Investor” and in some circles, he is known as the “Father of Value Investing”. Benjamin Graham was also a mentor to one of the most successful investor name Warren E. Buffett. With this method of investing, many investors had made fortune in their investing career. Some of the successful investors such as Peter Lynch, Joel Greenblatt, Ray Dalio, and many more had done very well using value investing method. These investors had used value investing principle when picking a stock to invest. Anyways, are you curious about this method of investing? If you want to invest in stock safely, I think value investing is the right investing method for you. In this content, I would share with you readers the investing method of Value Investing, and how you can apply this investing term to the way you invest in the stock market. Moreover, I would like to share why I use this method as my investing strategy to pick my dividend growth stocks to my portfolio holding.  

8 Traits of People Who Are Millionaires

Many people work hard in their career hoping they can someday become a millionaire. I think most people in the world would answer “yes” if they were asked whether they want to become a millionaire. There are studies that show that there are 10 million “millionaires” just in the United States alone. So how did millionaires become wealthy in the first place? Did they inherit the money from their wealthy parents or maybe win the lottery? You would be surprise when I answer this question. The truth is that 62% of billionaires in the United States are actually self-made, meaning that they got to where they are by themselves. I was curious about millionaires that became wealthy and went to do a deeper analysis by reading the book “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas Stanley. I read the book and learned that 80 to 86% of millionaires in the United States become one by creating their own wealth. I was surprised with these facts about millionaires. I always thought that people who are wealthy made it is because of financial support from their parents or got lucky in certain aspects of their life. So what made these millionaires or billionaires different from us? Why are they able to achieve this magnificent wealth by themselves? The truth is that the traits of millionaires do have can be adapted by anyone who chooses to adapt them. I am willing to share my knowledge and research about the traits of millionaires in this article.

12 Steps to Purchase Your First Rental Property Investment

For generations, real estate investment has been used by many investors who seeks passive income stream. Not only it provides excellent passive income coming in your pocket but it can also increase your overall asset value and earn higher rental income futures ahead. Real estate has produced many people to become wealthy. No wonder, my brother and my dad had become a real estate investor themselves. They are able to benefit from the passive income as well as capital appreciation from the properties they own. It’s almost everyone’s dream to be able to own a rental property. I myself want to own rental properties since there are many benefits of owning them. I’m blessed that my dad let me collect the rental income from one of the property he owns. It allows me to receive passive income that I use to purchase more dividend growth stocks. My dad was also blessed since the property he let me manage actually increases in value which of course made him wealthier. Anyways, the question to becoming a real estate investor is how to actually become one. Buying an investment property is a big deal. It’s not like buying a few shares of stocks in the stock market that only require a small amount starting capital. Moreover, many people don’t have the starting capital to purchase one since it requires you to have a huge sum of money. The reason why I’m not a property investor yet (own by myself) is also because I don’t have the knowledge and the capital to invest in one. But this doesn’t stop me to learn more about it. Because of my curiosity and ambition of owning one myself, I decided to study this topic on the internet. After hours of research on how to purchase your first rental property, I would like to share the knowledge and tips in this article.

The Meaning and Benefit of Having Economic Moat

The term Economic Moat is a term that is used by many value investors in the investing world. The bigger the moat means the safer for the investors to invest their money in the company. It was a term that is popularized by a successful investor Warren Buffett. Economic Moat refers when a company or business that has the ability to maintain its competitive advantages over its competitors in order to protect market share and its future earnings. It’s like a castle in the olden time that have a moat around it, the moat functions is to protect those inside the fortress and their enemies from coming in. Having a stronger moat such as having water surrounding the castle makes it difficult for enemies to attack. This is similar in the investing world. It’s great to buy stocks which companies have a strong economic moat. These companies are able to sustain their business and to stay one step ahead of their competitors. One of Warren Buffett’s secret of success in his investing career is to invest in companies that have strong economic moat. Warren investing in companies with great economic moat allowed him to hold companies for a long period of time. He likes to invest in companies that have a long business prospect so that he’s able to keep holding them in his portfolio without the need to sell the companies often. In this article, I will discuss further about economic moat and why it’s important in the investing world. I will then also explain about how to spot whether a company has an economic moat and why I prefer investing in companies with moats around in my dividend growth portfolio.

How to Know Whether a Stock is a Value Trap & How to Avoid Them

Value Investing is an investing strategy and method that was taught and inspired by Benjamin Graham. Benjamin Graham is the author of “The Intelligent Investor” and considered as the father of value investing. The basic concept of value investing is pretty straight forward and pretty simple to be comprehended. The stock market is a place where many listed companies are available to be purchased or sold. Companies’ stock prices changes every day and it’s very liquid meaning that you are able to sell or buy the stock at any given time (during opening market). The strategy of value investing is to invest in stocks where the companies’ fundamental are trading in the stock market less than their intrinsic value. It’s similar like buying a Television set on sale, and knowing the price of the TV is supposedly worth more than its usual price. You’ll probably wait before purchasing because you know that there will always be times when the item is on sales. When the time comes, you’ll buy that certain merchandise at a discount getting a great value for your money. Many great value investors have made fortune in investing using this technique. Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, David Dodd, Charlie Munger, Joel Greenblatt, David Einhorn and many more are some examples of successful value investors. 

I myself have been using this strategy in investing in the stock market and made pretty good return since I initiated this blog. Looking at companies’ financial metrics gives me the advantage of purchasing a stock that is on discount. However, there is a challenge when investing using this value investment strategy. It’s not as simple as you would think to be and this is where the term value trap comes in. Value trap is a stock that appears to be cheap having low valuation financial metrics such as multiple of earnings, cash flow or book value for an extended time period. Such stocks of course attract many value investors such as myself thinking that the stock is trading at a bargain price. The trap happened when investors purchase the stock at a low price thinking they are getting a bargain but the stock continues to weaken and drop further. Its price appears to be a bargain but in fact the stock is not selling below its intrinsic value. This of course results for the investors that purchase that particular stock to lose money on their investment. I myself experienced value trap when investing in the stock market. It result me losing approximately $40,000 on that stock (Ticker: GME). After going through this horrible mistake, it made me become more experience in investing in the stock market and be more cautious when investing. So how do we spot a stock that is a potential value trap? In this article, I will explain my experience and knowledge to know whether a stock is value trap.

Why Reinvesting Dividends is a Smart Investing Strategy

Becoming a Dividend Growth Investor is not a quick way to get rich. It requires you to have a strict discipline to hold those dividends paying stocks for a long term period. The longer the investment horizon you have, the better the result your portfolio will have in the future. Historically, the total return of the S&P 500 has delivered just over 9% per year. Half of the total return comes from price appreciation while the other half comes from dividends. This proves that dividends are driving force to S&P 500 total return performance. Readers that have been following my blog know the benefit of owning dividend stocks. As a Dividend Growth Investor, you will receive dividend payment that will be paid every quarter for the stocks you own. Whether you are looking for a source of income for now or building your portfolio for the future, owning dividends stocks can be beneficial towards your long term investing. With dividends coming in, you will have the choice to either use the dividends received for your expenses; put a down payment on your property, or you can just store the extra cash in your brokerage account. However, one crucial part of becoming a successful dividend growth investor is to use the dividends received from your portfolio to be reinvested in stocks that pay dividends. This might seem to have very little impact to your portfolio of having the dividends reinvested in the beginning, but over a long period of time, the power of compound interest can multiply your dividend growth portfolio at an exponential growth. Dividend reinvestment is one of the simplest ways to grow your portfolio. When you reinvest your dividends, you get a massive advantage compared to not reinvesting your dividends. Since my goal to financial freedom is still far ahead, I am currently not using the dividends I receive from my portfolio for my daily expenses. In fact, I personally am reinvesting the dividends I receive from my portfolio in order to have better financial result. When my dividend growth portfolio produces significant amount of passive income (dividends) in the future, then I will start using the dividend earnings for my early retirement. In this article, I will explain why reinvesting your dividends is a smart investing strategy for your portfolio.

The Definition of Circle of Competence in the Investing World

Circle of Competence is a term used by many value investors. Warren Buffet, a successful investor wrote in his 1996 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that you don’t have to be an expert on every company, or even many. You are only required to understand few companies that are within your circle of competence. Just investing in companies you understand and feel comfortable with can create great wealth for you in the stock market or any other investment. What I mean by that, it’s better to invest in companies that you have understanding in rather than gambling your way to invest in companies that you don’t understand. This does not only apply in investing in stocks but also other investment such as real estate, and other assets. If you don’t understand how the businesses operate in a company or the investment, it’s better to stay away from it since you might actually lose money when investing in them. Understanding your circle of competence in investing helps you avoid making investing mistakes, it helps identify opportunities that you have understanding and confidence in.  So before you start investing in a stock, it is the best you really understand the companies you are going to invest in. In this article, I’m going to explain what circle of competence mean and how you can apply this term to be a better value investor.

How to Have Alternative Incomes

If you want to be wealthy, you can’t just depend on your job. Your primary job only gives a fixed income every month for the hours you put into. Sometimes your primary job income barely covers your living cost, which results in you not to have spare cash to be saved or invested. This becomes a problem if you want to achieve financial freedom and early retirement. You can live frugally; however, it’s still going to be challenging to get out of the rat race if you only rely on your job since it is the only source of your income. Moreover, if you get unlucky and get fired by your boss, you will not get any more income. This then can be a problem for you. You will not be able to pay for your living expenses such as your bills, taxes, or even the debt you inquire. You might have to downgrade your living lifestyle by selling things or property you own, such as car, house, or things that may have some resale value. Many of you and I don’t want to be in that situation. It’s terrifying and horrific when you have to end up in that situation. Since we do not want to be in that situation, I did many types of research for me to have alternative incomes coming in. I have learned that wealthy people don’t rely on just one income; they have multiple sources of income. Having multiple sources of income enables you to have different sources of income, filling your pocket. Alternative income can come in the form of rental money from properties, interest and dividends, part-time jobs, side hustles, and businesses. To have alternative income enable you to pay your living expenses or extra money to invest. 

As part of my journey to early retirement and financial freedom, I learned that I couldn’t just depend on my main job. I worked for my dad, who owns a manufacturing company; however, I have been getting the same monthly income since I started working for him in the year of 2013. Also, the salary I received is in Rupiah (Indonesian Currency), and it is considered low compared to people who work in America. Even by having me to live a frugal life is not enough if I want to retire early and live comfortably. Furthermore, I won’t have income coming in if I decided to quit the main job. This is the reason why having alternative income streams is crucial in order for me to have early retirement and financial freedom. With alternative income coming in my pocket, I would be able to pay my bills, to be reinvested again and again until I have enough assets that can sustain my living lifestyle. So what are ways for us to have multiple streams of incomes?