Financial Vertigo

Although Pathfinder focuses on generating money, this lesson covers one of the biggest misconceptions we have about money: if we make more money, we’ll be better off. It doesn’t matter how much money we make, but rather how we spend and save it. Take two Pathfinder clients as examples: Client A worked at Home Depot making $30,000 a year and had his finances in order and spent less money than he made. He was financially free. Client B was a doctor making $250,000 a year and was financially upside down; as he received salary increases, he’d incrementally spend the increase and more.

The more people make, the more they spend. Being upside down financially affects every aspect of your life: family, marriage, leisure activities, emotional health and the list goes on. Whether you earn a salary of $50,000 and you spend $55,000 or if you’re organized and have your finances in a row—there’s always room for improvement and new information to learn.

Purpose of the Pathfinder Program:
Learn how to get out of debt completely (including your home mortgage in nine years or less)
Improve your relationships
Pay up to 50 percent less taxes each year
Learn how to make a smooth transition into retirement
Establish lasting wealth for generations to come

Navigating the promotional maze

Pros and cons to three hot topics

Invited to be officer on the board—flattering or dangerous?
Officer and director liability is staggering. If a friend of yours is starting a company or charity and she asks you to sit on the board, carefully make your decision to accept or decline the position. If a mistake happens and the shareholders file a lawsuit, you could be named in the lawsuit because you’re a director or officer of the company; you are also personally liable for the salary of any salaried employees (if you’re an officer of a company). Before you casually accept an offer to become an officer or director of a company, make sure you have insurance, which is called “director of liability policy.” If you’re not pursuing the position and it’s something you’re invited to accept, you may want to ask them to pay the premiums on your insurance.

Limited partnership vs. general partnerships
Limited partnership: Your liability is limited to the amount of your investment
General partners: You have unlimited liability. Because you have the day-to-day control of the company, the trade off is more liability.

Smile. Some debt can be great
Good debt verses bad debt is another way to say credit verses debt. Not all debt is bad. Credit that entitles you to invest is good, such as your home mortgage (assuming your house has appreciated), starting a business, or purchasing investment properties. What determines if it’s good or bad is what you do with it. If you’re buying depreciating assets, you’re not incurring good debt.

Also, be sure to read up on these Wealth Building Tax Tips