555. Why We Should Pay Our Debts

Pay off your just debts. When you do this you become wealthier (paradoxically) because it is always more expensive to owe money than to be debt free, even with the "tax-breaks" that sometimes attach to debt. It can be difficult to pay your debts but if you take the decision and focus on the process, it can be done. Use the Snowball technique and attack each debt in turn until you are clear. All the money you have been using to clear the debts can now be diverted into investments and you will begin to accumulate wealth. Being debt free makes it cheaper to stay alive.

553. Invest in Your Own Education

The best investment of time, money and effort that you can make is in your own education, but only if you apply what you have learned in practical terms. Apprendre pour apprendre is the French expression that carries the sense of learning for the sake of learning. This is a fine and noble idea but it is a luxury. Make sure you can afford it. Your learning should follow a plan. There should always be a practical, material benefit to your learning. It should enhance your career (i.e. give you a better paycheck) and it should bring benefits to those around you. (i.e. the practical application of your new skills for the benefit of the less fortunate). It is a never-ending process.

551. When Should I Sell ?

Sometimes, you hold a profitable investment and wonder whether or not to sell it. Do not be in any doubt. If you are asking the question at all then you should sell. Nobody ever went broke by taking a profit. As part of your financial plan, you should already know your selling price and if the investment has reached it then you should sell and move on. Remember that your profit is made on the day you buy not the day you sell.

484. Financial Freedom

Work every day towards your financial freedom. Each day take a new step along the path that you have planned out to create financial freedom for yourself, even if it's a negative one like cutting up that high end credit card. Rather than putting yourself to work for money, put your money to work for you. Working for money is a necessary evil sometimes but you should always aim for making an investment at least once a month. "Profits are better than wages." -Jim Rohn

408. Academic Qualifications

Whatever else you may do in life, make it a priority to secure for yourself at least one strong and solid academic qualification. Even if you eventually end up doing something completely diffeent, your qualification(s) will always be respected and can be worth, on average 15% extra income to you every year. This 15% extra could fund a very nice retirement for you if invested well from day # 1.

366. Daily Focus

Focus each day on increasing and improving your skills in the following areas :

a. Business
b. Investing
c. Money management

118. The Past Does Not Equal the Future

This is an important fact to remember especially when it comes to investments. Just because a share did well in the past, it does not go to say that it will continue to do well in the future.

59. Discipline and Responsibility.

As you grow, you are learning to become more and more disciplined. Ultimately, all your discipline comes from within. You will learn to take care of yourself, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and materially. This involves the practices of good hygiene, meditation, martial arts, exercise, diet, study, investing and saving. Disciplines like these can be fun, rewarding and exhilirating. They help to give you control over your life. Acquiring these disciplines and embodying them is about taking responsibility for your own life.