Synopses & Reviews
Chapter One
Secret #1
They Carry a Mortgage on Their Homes Even Though They Can Afford to Pay it Off.
If you had enough money to pay off your mortgage right now, would you? Many people would. In fact, "The American Dream" is to own your home -- and to own it outright, with no mortgage. Imagine owning your home without having to send a check to a mortgage company or bank every month! Being so fortunate must evoke such a sense of security, satisfaction, and well-being that you could only dream of it! Imagine the feeling you'll enjoy when, after 30 long years -- 360 monthly payments -- you finally make your last payment, and the house is yours forever!
If The American Dream is so wonderful, how can you explain the fact that thousands of financially successful people -- people who have more than enough money to pay off their mortgage right now refuse to do so?
Consider these facts derived from my survey research. Of the respondents:
The average home value is $255,700; the average mortgage balance is $142,000. Even though 100% have the ability to own their home without a mortgage, 83% carry a mortgage anyway. 100% have the ability to send in extra money along with their monthly payments, to eliminate the mortgage ahead of schedule -- but 90% choose not to. Instead, 85% of the respondents have a 30-year loan and no one in this group sends in extra principal payments or participates in bi-weekly mortgage plans. Clearly, these successful Americans are not bothered by carrying a big, long mortgage. Compare yourself to them. If you have a mortgage and are struggling to pay it off, or if you're dreaming of the day when you make your final payment, you'retrying to do something that financially successful people do not do.
What do they know that you don't?
It's vital that you understand what's happening here. And we begin with the fact that talking about mortgages is not a conversation about economics or finance.
It's about emotions.
You "love" the idea of owning your own home. You "hate" your mortgage. If you're like many, you may even "fear" it. All of these are emotional words; none of them are financial. Yet, a mortgage is a financial tool -- not an emotional state of mind.
Why, then, do you feel the way you do about your mortgage?
Blame it on your parents.
Just about everything you've learned about money, you've learned from your parents. Even though Mom and Dad never said a word to you about money, they had lots to say about mortgages -- especially when you announced you were planning to buy your first house. "Make a big down payment," they told you, "and keep the mortgage payment low." "Pay it off early, child. You don't want that mortgage hanging over your head."Indeed, your parents and grandparents made it very clear to you that mortgages are bad, something to minimize, or to avoid whenever possible. A necessary evil at best. But what they never told you was why they felt this way about mortgages. It's important you understand their perspective or you'll fail to understand why their advice is bad for you. So let's look at mortgages from your parents' and grandparents' point of view.
Why People Fear Mortgages -- and Why You Shouldn't
Our story begins in the 1920s. Back then, houses typically cost $5,000. Sure doesn't sound like much, until you consider that the average annual income in the US. was $1,434 in1925. Consequently, few people could afford to pay cash for their homes -- just like today. So, people borrowed the money from banks -- again, just like today. But the loans were structured differently back then. A common clause in the loan agreement gave banks the right to demand full repayment of the loan at any time; if you failed to repay your loan when asked, the bank had the right to take your house from you and sell it to recoup its money.
So although the terms called for you to send $24 to the bank every month to pay off that $4,500 balance over 30 years, you knew you suddenly might be required to repay the remaining balance in full at any time. You didn't worry about that clause, because you knew that having the bank ask you for $4,500 in cash, well, they might as well ask for the moon.
Then came October 29, 1929.
When the stock market crashed, millions of investors lost huge sums of money. Problem was, it wasn't their money they had lost. You see, most investors back then had bought stocks with borrowed money -- money lent to them by their stockbrokers, called a "margin account." Under rules then in effect, you were allowed to buy $100 worth, of stock by giving your broker just ten bucks; your broker would loan you the other $90. So when the Crash hit, knocking 30% off the value of everyone's stock portfolios, a typical brokerage account that previously was worth $100 now contained stocks worth only $70. But the investor had borrowed $90 to buy them! This led to a "margin call," where the broker would tell the investor that because his account had exceeded the "margin limits," he had to come up with more cash. If the investor failed to do so, the broker would begin tosell some of the investor's stocks, and the broker would continue selling until enough cash was raised to meet the margin call.
Selling off the portfolio was the last thing the investor wanted his broker to do. The stocks were already down 30% -- this was the worst time to sell. So, to avoid the margin call, the investor went to his bank and withdrew enough cash to meet his broker's margin call. The investor had to act quickly, because under stock exchange rules, margin calls must be fulfilled within 24 hours. Therefore, in the days following the Crash of '29, a lot of investors went to their banks and made withdrawals.
It didn't take long for the banks to run out of cash.
When they did, word quickly spread. Bank depositors stampeded the banks, demanding their money. To get more, the banks started calling their loans due. They sent telegrams to their borrowers, demanding they pay off their loans immediately and in full. Because these homeowners didn't have the cash -- you might as well ask for the moon -- the banks foreclosed and put the houses up for sale in a desperate attempt to raise capital.
It didn't work.
With no one willing or able to buy the houses, banks found themselves owning virtually worthless real estate. Unable to satisfy depositors who were demanding their cash, the banks closed their doors, many of them never to reopen. With investors unable to get their cash from their banks, they were unable to meet their margin calls -- so their brokers started selling out their holdings. But everyone was in this dilemma, so the brokers couldn't find buyers for the stocks. With no one willing to buy, the brokers had to continually drop the stocks' prices.
Ultimately, theGreat Depression saw the stock market fall more than 75%, from its 1929 highs. More than half of the nations banks failed. Tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs as companies went bankrupt. And millions of homeowners, unable to raise the cash they needed to pay off their loans, lost their homes. The American Dream had become a national nightmare.
But not for those who owned their homes outright. These lucky few were immune to the banks' collapse, With no loans to repay, they got no telegram demanding full payment. As their neighbors went broke and lost their homes, with thousands committing suicide, those who owned their homes outright succeeded in keeping them. They might not have found work, or had much to eat, but they kept a roof over their children's heads.And thus was born America's mantra: Always own your home outright.
Never carry a mortgage.
Synopsis
How did a secretary, a firefighter, a retired naval officer, a housewife, a construction worker, a schoolteacher, and a pharmacist become wealthy? Bestselling author Ric Edelman has studied the wealth-making habits of these 5,000 other ordinary Americans and reveals his findings in this extraordinary book that outlines in eight easy, practical steps to secrets to achieving and maintaining wealth.
Here you′ll find a lifetime of wealth-building experience from people just like you -- people who have figured out how to arrange their finances and make wise investment decisions so that they can reach their goals and achieve financial security. Plus, you′ll find tips on
How to turn your mortgage into a wealth-enhancing tool
Why small investments work better than big ones
How to max out on your employer-sponsored retirement plan
When to hold investments and when to fold them
When to pay attention to financial news and when to turn it off
Let your neighbours lend you a hand. And let Ric Edelman guide you through their lessons in this eye-opening journey with thousands of ordinary folks who found their way to extraordinary wealth.
Synopsis
< p=""> How did a secretary, a firefighter, a retired naval officer, a housewife, a construction worker, a schoolteacher, and a pharmacist become wealthy? Bestselling author Ric Edelman has studied the wealth& ndash; making habits of these 5,000 other ordinary Americans and reveals his findings in this extraordinary book that outlines in eight easy, practical steps to secrets to achieving and maintaining wealth.<> < p=""> Here you'll find a lifetime of wealth& ndash; building experience from people just like you & ndash; & ndash; people who have figured out how to arrange their finances and make wise investment decisions so that they can reach their goals and achieve financial security. Plus, you'll find tips on<> < p=""> < ul=""> < li=""> How to turn your mortgage into a wealth& ndash; enhancing tool<> < p=""> < li=""> Why small investments work better than big ones<> < p=""> < li=""> How to max out on your employer& ndash; sponsored retirement plan<> < p=""> < li=""> When to hold investments and when to fold them<> < p=""> < li=""> When to pay attention to financial news and when to turn it off<> < p=""> Let your neighbours lend you a hand. And let Ric Edelman guide you through their lessons in this eye& ndash; opening journey with thousands of ordinary folks who found their way to extraordinary wealth.<> < p=""> < i=""> < i=""> < i=""> < i=""> < i=""> < l=""> <>
Synopsis
How did a secretary, a firefighter, a retired naval officer, a housewife, a construction worker, a schoolteacher, and a pharmacist become wealthy? Bestselling author Ric Edelman has studied the wealth-making habits of these and 5,000 other ordinary Americans.What he found is revealed for the first time in this book: the eight great secrets to attaining wealth.
This extraordinary book is filled with the advice of everyday people—people like your own friends and neighbors—who entered the world of personal finance, often with no real plan at the start, but who found ways to accumulate astonishing amounts of money.
A rich, irreplaceable lifetime of wealthbuilding experience is now at your fingertips.Here you will learn to arrange your finances and make your investment decisions so you can reach your goals and achieve financial security.Including:
- How to turn your mortgage into a wealth-enhancing tool;
- Why small investments work better than big ones;
- How to max out on your employer-sponsored retirement plan;
- Your investments: when to hold them and when to fold them;
- Financial news: when to pay attention and when to turn it off;
- Plus, of course, much, much more.
Let your neighbors lend you a hand and let Ric Edelman guide you through their lessons.So come along for an eye-opening journey with thousands of ordinary folks who found their way to extraordinary wealth.
Five thousand of your neighbors found hard-won financial success using the same eight secrets to attaining wealth.The lessons they learned through many years of life experience, and lots of trial and error, can now be yours!
After studying the habits of thousands of financially successful people, bestselling author Ric Edelman found that they shared eight fundamental methods for attaining wealth.Now you can adopt these same eight strategies yourself.
Let the extraordinary experience of ordinary investors—along with Ric Edelman's expert analysis—help you create your own financial success story.
About the Author
Ric Edelman, CFS, RFC, CMFC, CRC, recently wrote Financial Security in Troubled Timesto aid consumers in the aftermath of September 11. He is also the author of three bestsellers, The Truth About Money, The New Rules of Moneyand the #1 New York Timesbestseller, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth.His firm, Edelman Financial Services, Inc., is one of the largest financial planning firms in the nation, handling $2 billion for Americans across the country. Ric lives in Great Falls, Virginia, with his wife, Jean, and their weimaraners, Dojar and Liza.