From the Author of Secret Wealth
Rich Hamilton
SellBetter Tools Publishing
Phoenix, Arizona
A Note for Readers:
In your hands you hold a special report based on information in the book Secret Wealth. The book contains a simplified plan for financial success. It’s not the only plan out there, but it is the easiest plan, combining a focused mindset with careful, systematic investing to enable you and your family to become Wealth Builders rather than Debt Builders.
Revealed in that book:
• How part of everything you earn is yours to keep
• Who can build wealth and retire a multimillionaire
• What amount of money you will need at retirement
• Why you should keep your wealth building a secret
• Why the best road to wealth is owning a business, but owning a small business is often like buying a job
• Why the best business to own is a big, successful business like Walmart, General Electric, Coca-Cola, Disney, or Comcast
• Why it’s better to own a business than to work for it
• Why it’s safer to own more than one business, even hundreds of businesses
• Where to get the money to invest
• When is the best time to get started
• How to start a step-by-step investment plan expressed in understandable language
Secret Wealth is a letter I wrote for my grandchildren to give them a head start on building an affluent life. It’s also good for older adults who want to build wealth. It’s the book I wish I’d had when I started out. While I hope you find this special report interesting and useful, I’m sure you’ll find the book handy for opening a dialogue in your family about building wealth without getting too personal.
My wish for you and your family is tremendous success!
Magical greetings,
Rich Hamilton
Phoenix, Arizona
Winning a 310 Million Dollar Lottery Jackpot
Imagine this… winning a really big lottery jackpot!
A Michigan woman did just that in 2015, winning a $310,500,000 Powerball jackpot. “We’re simple people, we don't know how to deal with money,” 50-year-old Leech told NBC affiliate KJRH.
She took a one-time lump payment of $197.4 million, about $140 million after taxes.
She has three children and 11 grandchildren. “We want to buy a bunch of land,” she told reporters, and bring all the kids and grandkids together and “have our own little community.”
I do wish her well. News reports indicate she has hired a financial planner to help assure she manages the money well. Smart move. I hope that planner is a good one!
Winning a big jackpot sounds like such a wonderful thing.
But there are problems… and there is something better!
There are several problems with winning a jackpot.
First, you have to win it.
You’ve probably heard that the odds of winning a big jackpot are less that the odds of being hit by lightning.
Do you personally know anyone who has been hit by lightning? I do; well… I did. But only one.
How many people do you personally know who have won a big jackpot? Me? None. (Don’t get hung up on someone who wins a few thousand dollars. I know someone who won $10,000 and someone else who won $240,000. That sounds like a lot but it won’t buy you financial independence. I think of a big jackpot as ten million dollars or more.)
The point is: There are very few winners. You knew that, of course, but it’s not a good retirement plan.
I asked a guy once how his wealth plan was working out with his job.
“Not so well,” he told me, “but I’ve got a Plan B!”
“What’s your Plan B?” I inquired.
“I have to win the lottery.”
Funny, yes, but it’s no joke. Face it: You won’t win. And that’s the biggest problem with choosing the lottery as a financial plan.
Then, if you win it, you have to spend it well.
Okay, let’s suppose you do win. Wow! Now you have to spend it well.
Most people are not used to winning huge amounts, so they spend it foolishly.
Evelyn Adams won the Lotto in 1985 and 1986… twice! Her story ended badly.
“Winning the lottery isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be,” she said. “I won the American dream, but I lost it, too. It was a very hard fall. It’s called ‘rock bottom.’ Everyone wanted my money. Everyone had their hand out.”
The money is gone. Evelyn lived her remaining days in a small mobile home.
There are dozens of stories on lottery winners who don’t have the first inkling of how to spend well.
Finally, if you win it, you have to keep it.
I read that 65% of lottery winners are bankrupt within 15 years.
Some blow it on drugs, sex, and gambling. Or contributions to charity or political campaigns. Or just living it up with fancy cars, travel, and parties.
Others get into business ventures that fail quickly.
At least one “lucky” winner was shot dead by his financial planner after that planner took control of all his money and property.
Is there really something better than winning a big jackpot?
Yes! What could be better than winning a big lottery jackpot?
It’s a “sure thing!”
The average lottery player spends $700.00 a year, about $58 a month. It seems small; it’s just about seven dollars twice a week for a couple of PowerBall tickets, a couple of Mega Millions tickets, and an occasional one dollar scratcher.
But it adds up faster than you would think. That’s $35,000 over 50 years if you kept it but didn’t invest it. If you invested that $700 a year like we teach in Secret Wealth, that $58 a month for 50 years could be worth $3,052,250!
Do I need to tell you most lottery players won’t win $35,000 in that time, certainly not $3 million?
Even better is figuring out an investment plan that has you investing serious money every month so you can retire in comfort, build wealth, and have the money you need for unforeseen expenses.
I’d rather have a secure financial investment plan that will give me 20 to 75 million dollars or more when I retire. (Yes, that’s what the book, Secret Wealth, is about.)
Knowing that a plan like that is working for me, and knowing that my children and grandchildren will be working on similar plans to assure their own wealth and retirement, is, I think, far better than winning the lottery.
Does this mean you can’t buy a lottery ticket?
No.
In Secret Wealth I lay out a plan that makes it clear what to invest (think of this as your “investment program”) and what to spend (your “spending plan”). If your spending plan has room, you can buy a ticket, secure in knowing your investment program will assure your future wealth. If you win, your investment program, as outlined in Secret Wealth, has a sound path for investing your winnings. And I wish you good luck!
Thinking About Wealth
The nature of life tells us that there will be good times and bad, happy times and sad, times of depression, times of fear, times of joy, and times of satisfaction.
Wealth is security. It gives you the ability to take care of your needs without worry and without begging for help from others, or crying about what you need but can’t have. That’s something to be happy about.
I’ve done some of my financial investing right and I’ve done some of it wrong. And much of it I did right some of the time. Looking back, I know I should have been doing that right stuff all the time.
My truths may not be your truths. While what’s right for me may differ from what’s right for you, each of these situations is worthy of consideration; maybe each is a point of discussion. Think about each one, and consider it in the grand scheme of the rest of your life.
If you’re just starting out, don’t be dismayed because you’re not in a position to invest. You’re probably closer than you think. The Secret Wealth book initially was written as a letter to my grandchildren who were just starting out, so it includes help on getting started from zero, or even below zero if you’re in debt. It’s okay. We’ve all been there, and this is designed to help.
Understand Financial Independence
“I’m 39, and my birthday is next week,” the nurse at the hospital told me. “I’m retiring next week, because I can.” If you’ve invested well, retirement doesn’t have to mean waiting until you’re 65 or 70 years old.
You may reach “financial independence” long before you reach retirement age. That’s a good thing. It gives you options and choices.
When you reach financial independence, you can choose when to stop working for wages. Or you may reach a time when you could retire early, but continue working by choice.
Building wealth is about creating choices and opportunities, having your money work for you rather than you working for it, and having your money support you however long you live.
Should you be thinking about retirement if you’re just starting out and you’re only 19 or 20 years old? Absolutely! That’s the only way to start on a road to wealth.
I didn’t know how much I would need to retire.
A financial writer recently suggested you should be debt-free before you retire.
Many financial advisors suggest you need 75% of your pre-retirement income when you retire.
I think that’s not nearly good enough. When you retire you’ll have more time for yourself, time when you can go places and do things. And you’ll likely have medical expenses that are not covered by Medicare. You’ll need more after you retire than before. And you need to adjust that amount up for inflation.
I Misunderstood Credit Cards
Visa and Master Card went national when I was in college. I was impressed with the ease of getting and using credit.
I thought a card with a relatively low interest rate was a good deal.
I thought a card with a high credit limit was a good deal.
Since then, I’ve learned that banks use credit cards to trap people into running up debt they cannot afford. Banks are in business to make money and have no qualms about offering you credit cards and other services that will help build their profits with little regard to how it affects your finances.
Payments on credit cards and other credit accounts are money that you should be investing. Of course you have to know how and where to invest.
Knowing What to Spend
In The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Clason shares that “A portion of all you earn is yours to keep.”
Building wealth is about knowing which money you can spend
and which not to spend.
Every paycheck you get includes two hidden amounts: The amount you should invest and the amount you can spend. The “spend” portion is the biggest part.
Somehow, most people get the idea that they can spend it all, then when they come up short they borrow (or beg) money to get by. That’s the debt builder approach.
Secret Wealth
There’s a really nice guy in my area who is retired and well-invested. He tells me, “Rich, I can’t believe what I’ve done. I invested in a few mutual funds and left them alone. The stock market has been good to me. I’ve given over a million dollars to each of my children and still have about twelve million left. I can do what I want and the kids will inherit a lot.”
This guy lives in a modest home in a decent neighborhood. He travels several times a year, drives a nice, intermediate size, domestic car, and looks like most of my other neighbors.
There’s no flash in his life, yet I’m sure he has everything he needs or wants. If his car breaks down he gets it fixed or replaced; there’s no trauma. If the air conditioner gives him trouble, he gets it fixed. He delights in getting a good deal just like everyone else.
He’s done better than others because he decided to invest and became a Wealth Builder.
No one else in the neighborhood knows how well he has done. And it’s no one else’s business.
People Who Wish They Were Broke
The average American is broke and buying things they cannot afford with credit cards and other debt, putting them below broke!
That’s most people. In the United States most households carry too much credit. On average, each household with a credit card carries card debt of $15,191, resulting in interest payments of $3,200 or more per year.
These people can’t afford the $3,200 credit card interest, let alone the monthly payments.
Add car loans, student loans, home loans, home equity loans, and other loans and you punch that average up to $117,951. The average mortgage debt is $154,365. The average student loan debt is $33,607.
Most of these payments are amounts that could be invested and building wealth.
It’s Your Choice
You can be a consumption focused debt builder.
Or you can be a Wealth Builder.
No one else can make the decision for you. No one else can get you to take the first step. No one else can get you to make the hard choices and the easy choices to build your future.
Not making a choice is a choice itself, and leaves you on the path to be a consumption focused debt builder.
So I urge you to make the Wealth Builder choice.
Building wealth is a lot more satisfying than building debt.
What Secret Wealth is About
The Secret Wealth book is divided into several parts:
1. Being wealthy and how to become a Wealth Builder.
2. The plan for financial success and an understanding of credit.
It’s about getting a job and investing a portion of your income and letting it grow to build wealth. I’ll also discuss how much you’ll need when you retire – it’s more than you thought!
3. Investing, including two easy-to-use strategies.
Strategy A is the easiest plan and will return a handsome profit, allowing you to build wealth.
Strategy B offers an opportunity to grow your wealth considerably more than Strategy A in return for taking more risk. It also requires a time investment for a bit of research and thinking, but I’ll share with you exactly how to go about that. It’s nearly as easy as Strategy A, and I consider it the better approach.
4. Living life as a Wealth Builder, including advice about how to retire.
5. How to get started, including step-by-step instructions and a section on what to do if you’re so far in debt you think you can’t get started.
Becoming a Wealth Builder involves investing and there’s always some risk in that. I firmly believe these strategies will minimize your risk.
In the book I show you how spending $1,000 on something today will cost you $176,000 later.
I’ll also show you how to turn $1,000 into $176,000, with very little work.
That is real magic!
The magic secret which I will reveal precisely in Secret Wealth is that by taking action now and using time profitably you can let time do most of the work for you as you build wealth.
Start Now
Time is the biggest secret.
When you’re young you think you have a whole long lifetime ahead of you. And you’re right.
The secret is to take advantage of that time instead of frittering it away.
Most people put it off, hoping to get around to building a little wealth when they’re making a bit more money. It never happens.
I started my investment program when I was 35 years old. I wish I’d started 10 or 15 years earlier, but I know I can’t let regrets get in the way of doing what needs to get done. After I started, I made plenty of mistakes.
While time is a magic potion for building wealth, it’s never too late. You may be younger or older than I was when I started. No matter your age, you can still build a lot of wealth to add on to what you already have.
Warren Buffett said, “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Get your copy of Secret Wealth now at SecretWealth.com/books
Secret Wealth: A Financial Plan to Share With Your Grandchildren
http://SecretWealth.com/books/
Copyright © 2015 Rich Hamilton
Published by SellBetter Tools, PO Box 50186, Phoenix, Arizona USA
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that neither the publisher nor the author are engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If you require legal advice or other expert assistance, you should seek the services of a competent professional.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. The performance data featured in this book represents past performance which is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate; therefore, you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted.
Any stocks or mutual funds described here are for illustrative purposes only and not listed as a recommendation. You must do your own research to determine which securities to buy. The performance of an index is not an exact representation of any particular investment, as you cannot invest directly in an index.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this report, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting, or alleged to result, directly or indirectly from the use of the information contained herein. If you do not wish to be bound by the above, you may return this report with receipt to the publisher for a full refund of the purchase price.
Trademarks: Secret Wealth is not authorized by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Fidelity Investments, The Vanguard Group, their subsidiaries, or any other investment company. Fidelity is a trademark of Fidelity Investments. Vanguard is a trademark of The Vanguard Group. Other trademarks are property of their respective owners. All references to these and other trademarked properties are used in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine and are not meant to imply that this book is a Fidelity or Vanguard product for advertising or other commercial purposes.
