Biography of Bodo Schaefer is foggy: there is no reliable information about the times of his youth, and he himself does not seek to open the veil of secrecy. Success brought him coaching and writing books, but several attempts to build a business turned out to be a failure..
Schaefer's works on financial literacy are very popular in Russia and abroad. The most famous of them is "The Path to Financial Freedom", "Laws of the winners", Breakthrough to Financial Success, "Money has a good effect on a woman", “It's time to earn more. How to constantly increase your income", “Mani, or the alphabet of money ", "Kira and the secret of the bagel".
1. You must have a financial safety cushion.
«Learn to save money. Rich is not the one, who buys a lot, and that one, who knows how not to waste money. To become a self-respecting person, you need to have an emergency financial reserve for six months ".
The main problem is not, that a person earns little, – he spends all the money on things he does not need. Learning to save money is just as important, how to find a way to earn more. The higher the income, the more temptations and unreasonable spending. It is necessary to control yourself and refuse to, what you don't really need.
The sign of a mature person is the ability to manage money. If he is unable to manage his own funds, how can you take it seriously?? It is frugality and financial literacy that open the door to wealth., not solid income. Wealthy people understand, that savings lead to even greater profits, received from savings.
2. Put off 25% from ordinary income and 50% from unplanned receipts.
There is a well-known recommendation to create savings from 10% from wages. However, Bodo Schaefer believes, that this amount is not enough: you need to try to postpone at least a quarter, and in some cases half of the income. To overtake inflation, you need to learn how to invest these funds. According to Schaefer, "Shares have always been and will always be more profitable than money", because they are a business investment.
Not to worry, giving up something, the speaker advises to perceive savings as "salary". Same way, how people pay in a store or for utilities, you need to get into the habit of paying the most important person - yourself. It is best to use an automatic saving system. For example, set up regular transfers from a bank account, which will help create significant savings.
3. Don't work for money, let them work for you.
“Decide for yourself, whether you want to own a "money machine" or be a "money machine" for others all your life ".
A person becomes wealthy, when he starts living on interest from his investments. First he must learn to save and earn more, and then - invest the funds received in earning assets. To do this, you need to change your life strategy.: not work for money, but to do so, to make money work for you.
Investing will help to implement this approach., that is, receiving passive income due to the growth of the share price and the payment of dividends. Never invest all your savings on the stock exchange: you must have some money left for an emergency. Or for that, in order to profitably buy securities at the time of a sharp drop in their rate.
4. Remember, that stock market fluctuations are cyclical.
"On the stock exchange, good and bad times follow each other".
Investing is risky and requires self-control, but if you want to achieve financial independence, you need to be ready for this. After the fall, rate goes up, and so it can be repeated many times. The main mistake of an investor is selling securities in a panic, when their value went down. This decision is unwise and leads to losses..
One should not only stay cool during the fall, but also look for new profitable opportunities. In a crisis, the cost of quality stocks can significantly decrease: while others panic and get rid of securities, experienced investors actively buy them. And here it is impossible to delay - courses able to recover quickly, do not miss a good moment for a deal.
It is necessary to aim at long-term investment: invest money for at least two to five years and not buy shares with those funds, which you may need soon. If you need them just then, when the asset price fell, you will not receive income, but you will go to the minus. For the same reason, you cannot invest money., borrowed, - unknown, can you earn, to give them away in time.
5. Keep in your portfolio stocks of five to ten companies.
A financial trainer advises to purchase securities of firms from different sectors of the economy and even on foreign exchanges (taking into account the specifics of the selected country). The more diversified the investment portfolio, the less the risk of incurring losses. However, keeping track of a large number of stocks is difficult., so if you are not professional trader, stop at five to ten types.
If you want to receive dividends, you need to choose securities of large reliable companies with a large financial reserve. According to Schaefer, should "bet only on quality and strength", that is, to the leading enterprises in their industry.
Well-known financiers urge to carefully study the company's reporting, attaching great importance to odds and statistics. Schaefer says, that for an investor, common sense is first of all important. If you think, that the chosen company will continue to actively develop, buy her securities.
6. How much did you earn on the exchange, it will become clear after the sale.
“If your stock drops sharply, you have not suffered any losses yet. You only incur losses if, if at this moment you sell your shares ".
Fluctuations in the stock exchange rate alone do not generate losses or profits.. They arise at the time of the transaction with securities. Do not forget about, that the broker's commission is deducted from income and taxes.
Emotions need to be pushed into the background and decisions should be made, guided solely by reason. Be sure to follow, how much have you earned or lost. Record all transactions carefully, that you commit. For example, by purchasing shares, should be recorded, what course do you expect from them, and if you decide to sell them - why are you going to do it. According to Schaefer, written support for asset transactions increases the level of financial awareness.
7. Don't be influenced by the crowd.
“90% of stock exchange traders incur losses, because they do not follow the rules described here. The majority of shareholders finance the profits of the minority ".
Bodo Schaefer notes, that many investors are acting unreasonably: sell stocks on a downturn, but they buy when prices rise, but it would be logical to do the opposite. And they impose such a disastrous "strategy" of investment on others.
When quotes go up confidently, real excitement begins around securities - everyone calls to "quickly jump on the bandwagon of the stock exchange train", although in fact it's too late. Buy, when everyone sells, and sell, when everyone buys, - this is the golden rule of successful investing.
8. To have more, need to mean more.
To achieve financial independence, you need to think about, how to become more valuable in the labor market - earn more. Work is the same market relations: wages depend on the ability to sell oneself and convince the bosses of their importance.
The best investment is in your own personal and professional development. Try to acquire as many skills and abilities as possible, distinguishing you from others. Then you will become an indispensable specialist., who are willing to pay large sums.
9. Focus on being, what brings results.
Most of the actions are unproductive: Pareto's law applies here (only 20% bring results, 80% - useless). To become successful, you need to concentrate on that small part, which is effective, and put maximum effort into it.
For most people, a series of unnecessary tasks seems important and interesting.. Doing productive things is boring: they require significant effort, but this is exactly the path to success. Habits and ways of thinking pull a person back - to achieve success, you need to get rid of useless actions, on which most of the time is spent.
10. Forget living on debt.
“Surely, it will not always be easy for you to walk the path of financial freedom. Much more difficult, but, live in financial dependence ".
Today it is considered normal to be in debt., because people strive for a beautiful life: buy expensive houses, Cars, clothes and phones on credit. In fact, they don't need all this.. Furthermore, this way of thinking leads to the impossibility of achieving financial well-being.
Can't waste that, what you haven't earned yet, but this is how it happens with loans. As a result, a person falls into bondage., he loses confidence, becomes addicted.
“Debt is a strategy for losers, which means, saving is a winning strategy ".
You need to get rid of debt wisely. Don't pay all the money you save right away.. Bodo Schaefer believes, that half needs to be postponed, and the second part - to use to pay off loans. This is necessary in order to, so that the money airbag was formed even during that period, when you still pay the bills.
