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Category Archives: Passive Income

How the Rich Make Money

Written on April 27, 2009 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Money, Passive Income

The Federal Reserve recently published some new wealth data [PDF]. They looked at levels of net worth and the income associated with each. They defined net worth as total assets (including a primary residence) minus any money owed.

You need a net worth of over $8 million to make the top 1%, $2 million gets you in the top 5% and it takes about $900,000 to place yourself in the top 10%.

So those are your targets if life on your own terms means being in the top 10% or above.

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Making more doesn’t mean having more

This report also looked at share of total wealth. As it turns out, the richest of the rich – the top 1% – didn’t get richer. They still held approximately one-third of the country’s total wealth in 2007, the same as 1995.

However, their share of income was up significantly – from 17% in 1997 to 22% in 2007.

The wealthiest people in our country saw a bigg increase in share of income, but their share of net worth didn’t go up. Does that mean rich people got caught up in the “spend, spend, spend” economy? Possibly.

We often think, “If I could just make a little more money.” This study offers further proof that making more doesn’t necessarily translate into having more – even for the richest among us!

Make do, then make more

The crucial thing – the starting point – is to figure out how to make do with what we already have. Then when we make more, we’ll have more because we manage it all better.

We can enjoy some of it now and invest the rest for our future – for the life we dream of living.

How the rich make money

As might be expected, the average person gets most of their income from salaries and wages. As we move to the top 5%, we see that a larger share of income comes from business ownership and investment real estate.

It really kicks in for the top 1%. Plus they have built up enough assets to get a significant boost from selling those assets for a profit. It’s Economics 101 – buy low and sell high.

But it’s no panacea

We’ve recently seen people losing money in business and real estate. Like most things, it’s no panacea. It’s risky. But if you aren’t trying to get rich quick, you can greatly improve your odds.

The best advice

We also found it revealing that this study showed that the bottom 50% lost money holding assets and from the ownership of businesses and real estate.

The rich made a lot. The bottom half lost money. What do the rich know?

Before you jump into investing in a business or real estate, educate yourself. Get advice from someone who’s actually succeeded at it. If they’ll mentor you, that’s great. If they charge you for it, it will be worth every penny.

You’ll get where you want to be faster by learning from people who have done it rather than trying to learn it on your own.

So if life on your own terms means building wealth, get started creating multiple streams of income today – even if it’s just part-time!

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9 Questions to Answer Before You Make Extra Mortgage Payments

Written on May 15, 2008 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Bigg Solutions, Challenge, Debt Reduction, Financial Freedom, Money, Passive Income, Real Estate

Bigg Challenge
One of our listeners, Randy, is considering making paying his mortgage every two weeks instead of every month so he can pay it off faster. He wants to know if this is a good idea..

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Bigg Advice
We can’t give you a direct answer, Randy, but we will give you nine questions that will help you determine if you should make the extra payments.

#1 – Do you have any other debt?
Chances are your mortgage is the cheapest debt you’ll ever find, after taxes are considered. So if that’s the case, you should pay off your other debt first.

#2 – Do you have an emergency cash reserve?
The general wisdom among financial planners is that you should have somewhere between three months to a year of living expenses in an account that’s readily available.

#3 – How good is your credit rating?
The better your credit rating, the better chance you have to borrow in the future at a reasonable cost should the need arise. When you make extra payments, you’re essentially investing in an illiquid asset. So if your credit score needs some improvement, work on that first.

#4 – How do you feel about debt?
Some people don’t like having any debt at all. If you’re one of them, and if you’re happy with the answer to the first three questions, then make extra payments!

#5 – What’s your interest rate?
This question gets you ready to determine your best financial move. There are two things you need to know:

the interest rate on your mortgage

your tax bracket (i.e. how much you’ll pay in taxes on your next dollar of income, that’s called your marginal tax rate).

Multiply your interest rate by (1 – your marginal tax rate) to get your after-tax cost of interest.

#6 – How disciplined are you?
If you’re likely to just spend the extra money if you don’t make extra mortgage payments, then by all means just make extra payments. If you’re disciplined
(or set it up so you don’t have to be), then you’re ready for the next question.

#7 – When do you plan to retire?
In general, the longer you have until you retire, the more aggressive you can be. So if you plan to retire in a relatively short time, lean toward extra payments. If you have a relatively long time before you retire, you’re probably better off investing.

#8 – What could you earn if you didn’t pay off your mortgage early?
You figured out your after-tax interest cost in Question 5. That’s your cost of money. Now you’re going to look at how much you can make from your investments. That’s your projected return. If the return on your portfolio is greater than your cost of money, that’s a sign you shouldn’t make extra payments on your mortgage.

#9 – Will your current portfolio support your desired lifestyle?
If you already have enough money to keep you happy for the rest of your life, why do anything risky? Just pay off your mortgage and reduce your risk even more.

We’ve offered some general advice here. Find a certified financial planner or CPA to help you with your specific situation.