Let us consider 100 teens aged 15 and then think about where they will be in 50 years, based on newly released statistics:
Of the 62 that will then be alive:
- 38 will be dead broke
- 16 will still be working
- 7 will be retired on a livable income
- 1 will be wealthy
So what am I saying? Of these 100 people ONLY 8% will lead a life which could be called being "Financially Independent" - SHOCKING - and that includes EVERYONE reading Factoidz right now. NO EXCEPTIONS!
If we are to learn from this, and find out what the "8% ers" did that was different, we should be well on our way to discovering the REAL road to REAL Wealth. Oh, and before you start jumping to conclusions about successful "8%’ers" the people in this research, they did not come from privileged backgrounds, have above average incomes, or above average IQ. They were just ordinary people using sound financial principles.
One thing possessed by the "8%’ers" was a willingness to learn. NOBODY knows how to create that desire and the person who does discover how to do it will make a fortune. But if you are simply not interested in learning about financial matters there is NOTHING anybody can do to help. I regularly give talks at a local Fayre, and in the course of the day some 1000 people come through the doors. When I gave a talk on how to budget sensibly, even in times of recession, only 80 people attended. Guess what? That is 8%. Guess where they are going?
Many more people attend my astrology talks to find out what life has in store for them, or to play PowerBall to see what they can win, and others enjoy the very good attentions of the Psychic or even the masseuse. All of them are HOPING that ONE Day their ship will come in. But Earl Nightingale knew what he was talking about years ago when he said: "There is very little chance of their ship coming in - for every safe harbour there is 1000 km of rocky coastline" Winning the Jackpot is 1 in 14 million chance. Why trust something as important as your financial well-being to luck?
From years of coaching folk from all walks of life, I have discovered that it is the following factors, which separate the goats from the sheep, or the losers from the real winners.
The FIRST Drawback - Lack of Knowledge
Try to answer this one honestly: how much of what you learned in school has been of day-to-day practical use to you for use? (I Iearned more about life by being a member of the Boy Scouts than I ever did at school) I put in so much time in High School learning Geography, History, Latin and then German - and when I got to Austria years later I could not even make myself understood when asking for a glass of milk. What was even more embarrassing was that it turned out that the waitress was an American exchange student who could speak perfect English (well, American English) 
So, the first problem that the losers have is a lack of knowledge - usually coupled with a lack of desire to gain that knowledge. This can often stem from low self-esteem and a feeling that, due to their lack of ability, or because they were not born into a wealthy family, there is no chance for them anyway. Actually this is just how I felt for the first 35 years of my life! Another problem with a lot of financial advice is that most people giving it have a vested interest and this makes the chances of receiving unbiased advice less likely.
The Second Drawback - Lack of foresight.
We ALL need money, but it can ONLY come from THREE sources:
In this country, Government Pensions are meagre - the equivalent of $125 a month, and then there must not be any other source of income. So, if you want to live decently, there are ONLY two choices left. And when you get too old to work, then there is only ONE source possible: Your own money working for you. Unless you are expecting to inherit something, or win the lottery then the main element of financial planning MUST be to siphon off part of all current income where it can multiply in tax favoured growth investments such as pension funds, retirement annuities, provident funds and Unit Trusts. In this country we have a VERY good financial vehicle called Retail bonds. But financial losers can never see the need to do this until it is too late.
The Third Drawback - The "Must-have-it-now" mentality.
The MAJOR secret behind becoming financially independent is to live NOW within your means and this is just like keeping to a diet - it is SIMPLE, it SOUNDS easy, but boy oh boy, is it VERY HARD in practice. Why is this the case? Because from the day we are born everything around us conditions us to want it NOW. As soon as the baby cries Mom or Dad is standing at the ready with the pacifier (we call it a "dummy" in our neck of the woods - easy to understand why now when relating it to finances) or the bottle.
But, the financial winner always puts something away out of each and every paycheck (cheque in our lingo here) and then places it where it will increase in value. And the CARDINAL rule when saving is the compound interest factor of money increasing in value is much more powerful than realised when taken over a minimum of 20 years. That is just where people fall down - they want it yesterday - maybe tomorrow is never good enough.
The Fourth Drawback - Borrowing for things that lose value.
It is in the area of spending and borrowing priorities that we really notice the difference between the loser and the winners. The winners have their money in savings accounts, or shares, unit trusts, or unencumbered property and the like. If we look at the losers position we find very little savings, loads of expensive furniture being paid off, wardrobes full of clothes, and plenty of Hire purchase accounts for motor vehicles and assorted gadgets and appliances. That includes TV’s, Laptops, cell phones and gaming apparatus.
They have acquired most of their possessions by paying them off at very high interest rates. So, in effect they have paid MUCH more for them than their initial cost on the price tag. What is so sad is that these goods have minimal sales value. The end result? - A lot of money is spent on goods which have no lasting value - imagine today if you had found that Superman No1 Comic Book found last week in the USA - if I remember correctly it was sold for $80,000 (maybe more I am not sure) and the owner paid something like 10 cents (one Dime in the US?)
So, you can appreciate how vastly different spending and borrowing priorities can make a difference to the start that two different married couples can give themselves - even after just 4 years: If both of their incomes are the same, and each channeled their income differently (One into purchasing goods for NOW, and the other into paying off a house and putting money into savings ask yourself which couple will actually have NOTHING to show after just, say four years? The answer is not rocket science.
The FIFTH Drawback - No Goals and No Plan
One of the secrets to success in ANY area of life is PLANNING - and that is what I am preaching at the pulpit of coaching ALL THE TIME. The major difference between winners and losers is that the winners are working with a plan, and towards a goal. The losers just follow the crowd, doing whatever everybody else is doing.
The Sixth Drawback - Confusing Good Current Income with Financial Independence
Most people seem to think, from my observations, that a little bit more money would put them on easy street. Of course it seldom does.
Only in rare cases are financial problems caused by financial catastrophes such as fires or cyclones. In the majority of cases it is simply POOR financial management. That is why it is simply self-delusion to believe that an increase in income will correct bad spending and borrowing habits. You and I know that tax may take almost half of most pay increases. An increase in income, in most cases, acts only as a temporary repair until the NEXT emergency.
The SEVENTH Drawback - Bad Mental Attitude
Probably POOR Mental attitude has caused more personal problems than anything else! "What we expect to happen usually does." Optimism always wins over pessimism. Those who expect the worst to happen are NEVER disappointed. The problem is that daily doses of negativity hold people back and stop them realising their TRUE potential.
Conclusion
The financial winners EXPECT good things to happen but take the trouble to find out all the facts about the opportunities that are around, often by seeking good financial advice from the real experts, LISTEN to what they have to say, and learn along the way. It has been said that the secret of having a happy marriage is to mix with happily married people! In the money field, the secret is to mix with positive people who are successful in that field. HAMBA GAHLE…..Go Well! 
