We often romanticize about what life would be like with more money. We may think we would have more leisure time. We may picture ourselves spending some of that time in front of our new plasma TV. We may assume we would be happier.

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But then the reality kicks in.

Research shows that we tend to quickly spend our new found cash. It also shows that new material possessions make us happier for a very short period of time.

More importantly, we make an incorrect assumption about what it takes to make more money. We often have to spend more time working and commuting. So we actually have less leisure time.

We end up in the rat race.

We work more to make more money. Then we spend more money so we have to work more to make yet more money. Then we spend more so we have to work more and on and on.

There are two lessons here for us:

• Be careful how you define bigg success. If it means more money, understand that there is a price. You’ll almost certainly have to invest more time.

• Our definition for bigg success is life on your own terms. For you, that may mean more money. But it may not. We focus so much in our society on money. It’s important to remember that money is the means to an end, not the end itself.

The funny thing is that you often end up with more money when it’s not the center of your focus. Here are four ways to make your money multiply magically:

Focus on your whole life.

Find work that you love. Take up a hobby if you don’t have one already. Build strong relationships personally and professionally. You’ll find that it often doesn’t take much money to spend your time doing the things you love with the people you love.

So your money will multiply magically!

Spend less than you make.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? But we all know that it isn’t. It isn’t simple but it is necessary.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking life would suddenly be much better if you just made more money. Make the best of the money you make now and your money will magically multiply.

Avoid consumer debt.

If you have it now, pay it off aggressively. Get used to paying for purchases with cash. This is a timeless principle that applies to all economies and all people. We’ve recently relearned this lesson.

Here’s a question to ask anytime you’re tempted to buys something with borrowed money:

“If I can’t afford it today, what makes me think I can afford it, with interest, tomorrow?”

Many people assume they will make more money in the future. They don’t factor in that their costs will likely be higher in the future. That’s how they end up in the rat race and debt just compounds it.

Note that we didn’t say avoid all debt. It may make sense to borrow money for a legitimate investment. You have to prove out the opportunity, but a lot of people have made their money multiply magically by using leverage.

Invest wisely.

As we learned last year, stocks don’t go up forever. As we’re seeing this year, they don’t go down forever either. So invest in a diversified portfolio of assets. One of the best ways to do this is through no-load mutual funds as part of a qualified retirement plan.

Don’t let your money control you. Control your money and watch it multiply magically! That’s bigg success!

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Thank you so much for checking in with us today. Please join us next time when we’ll look at the first win entrepreneurs must achieve. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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