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If you truly don't owe a cent, never have and never intend to, then you
have passed one of the major hurdles towards becoming wealthy, and you can skip
this section. Go straight to page 12.
For the rest of you...... Getting
Out of Debt
Remember I told you an interesting thing about
Inner Circle initiates? They are all completely debt-free. Do you remember
that? When I say 'debt-free', I really mean it. They don't owe a single penny -
and that includes mortgage. Being debt-free is a vital step in the direction of
wealth.
Why?
Because when you are in debt, a certain proportion of your income (= your
time = your freedom = your life) goes into servicing that debt because you
always pay interest on any loan.
When you start to look at big debts (like mortgages), then a
great deal of your money (= time = etc..) goes into servicing this debt.
You can't be free when you are in debt.
Why?
Because you have to work for a certain length of time each week to pay
off the interest on the loans. In contrast, when you have money in the bank,
every £1000 you have buys you roughly ten hours of precious life (assuming you
get £100 interest per year, and you pay yourself £10 an hour). £10,000 in the
bank buys you 100 hours per year (about two and a half working weeks) of
freedom. £100,000 buys you a massive twenty-five
working weeks
a year of freedom.
This is the way I like to look at it.
Now although we've never met, I know quite a lot about you. Why? Because I've been where you are now. It might surprise you to know that I
wasn't born a millionaire!
I know, for example, that you are in debt right at this very moment. A
brilliant deduction - almost worthy of Sherlock Holmes! But I also know several
other things about you. For example, I know that you've been in debt for quite a
while and are getting pretty fed-up with it. Often you feel depressed and even
trapped.
Sometimes you don't know which way to turn to make ends meet - to pay the
next bill. It seems that just when you see light at the end of the tunnel, along
comes another unexpected bill or expense to knock you back down to the start.
It's a bit like snakes and ladders after a visit from a ladder thief!
You also don't know exactly how
much you owe (although you probably think
you know).
You don't even know how fast you are slipping into debt - and it's a
racing certainty that you don't even know how much you need to live on each
week, and by how much your income falls short of this amount.
How do I know all this? Because, surprise, surprise, you are no different
from the seven million other people in
this country who are seriously in debt. And a few years ago you could have
made that seven million and one, because I was up to my ears too!
Just to give you something to relate to, let me divulge the situation I
was in before I discovered The Midas Method and started making real money.
Here's what I owed:
MORTGAGE
£71,000.00
VISA CARD
£4,670.00
ACCESS CARD
£2,990.00
BARCLAYLOAN
£5,000.00
BANK O'DRAFT
£6,400.00
H.P. #1 £3,780.00
H.P. #2
£14,500.00
(Don't ask!)
H.P. #3 £4,200.00
TOTAL
£112,540.00
And remember, we're talking ten years ago so that equals nearly double in
today’s money.
Now you may owe more than this, or less than this.
Who cares?
Can you pay off your debts? No. Could I pay off mine? No. Furthermore, I
was slipping further and further into debt with each month that passed.
I didn't know by how much because I was scared to look at the figures. I
shoved bills and final demands into dark cupboards hoping that the Invoice
fairies would take them away in the dead of night! I dreaded the arrival of the
postman in the morning, because he always bought another letter with a red final demand peeping through the envelope window.
Whenever I was forced to look at my increasing burden of debt I became so
depressed that I immediately went out and bought something expensive to cheer me
up! On credit!
If you think that's stupid, then listen to this:
When my Access and Visa cards reached their spending limits, they would
write to me and ask if I wanted a higher credit limit! I said "yes" -
every time. Then, when I'd spent up to that limit, I took out a Barclayloan to
pay off my Visa card.
Does that sound sensible?
It might, except that I added another few thousand onto the loan in
addition to the amount I needed to pay off my other loans. I used this extra
money to buy a few things I 'needed'; you know, really essential stuff like a
new Hi-fi and a leather sofa. Stuff you can't live without...
Sounds pretty dumb so far?
You haven't heard anything yet!
I then used the Visa card (you know, the one I paid off with the loan)
over the next year, until I was once again at the limit of my spending. So now I
owed Visa exactly what I had owed them a year before, plus
a £5000 Barclayloan at some horrible rate of interest.
Does this sound a bit like anyone you know?
Meanwhile, a 'friend' had advised me that I was crazy to pay the kind of
interest charged by Access and Visa, and that the cheapest source of finance was
a Bank loan. So off I trot to the bank manager with some cock and bull story
about needing money for a new kitchen extension, or some such crap. He was
reluctant to stump up more than about £6000, which is actually quite a lot. But
I was a good customer, with an excellent credit profile! After all, I had Access
and Visa cards and made regular large lump sum payments to them.....ahem.
The money was duly transferred to my current account. I felt rich! £6000
in my account! Now....what to spend it on.... Well, I wasn't completely
stupid (!) so I paid Access and Visa £1000 each; that left £4000. Not
enough to pay off the Barclayloan, so I may as well spend it on some more
goodies!
So, over the next six months I spent the lot on various 'essential' bits
and pieces. I justified this to myself (as one does). One of my best
justifications went something like this:
"For God's sake, you're going
to be dead a long time. Enjoy life, now, whilst you have the chance."
Or a slight variation on the theme:
"If you can't even treat yourself to a (fill in some non-essential
crap) then what’s the point of
working?"
Or:
"You work bloody hard. It's
about time you treated yourself to something which will give you pleasure. After
all, what's it all about? You can't take it with you."
Etc, etc. etc.. Blah, blah, blah.
So now I owed the bank £6000, Barclay £5000 and my Access and Visa
cards were up to their limits. And so it went on, and on, and on.
Does this sound a little bit like you?
I became so thoroughly sick and tired of being in debt that I
decided one morning to become completely and utterly debt-free.
Does this sound crazy? To just wake up one morning and decide that you've
had enough - that you've reached the end of the line, that you can only be
pushed so far, etc.., etc..? Dirty Harry would have reached for his gun at this
point and started to shoot the punks who had been pushing him around! Well, in a
sense, this is what I did. I started to get angry!
I started to get angry at myself for allowing myself to become so
bogged-down, so tied up in money worries, that I couldn't move. Angry that I had
not really enjoyed life (despite buying lots of expensive crap) for years. And
angry that I had become so conned by the 'system' that I believed that this was
normal, even okay
I’m only telling you this for two reasons: 1. In case it sounds even a teensy-weensy bit
like...you. 2. To stop you thinking something like: “What does
this millionaire know about being in debt? He hasn’t got to worry. He’s
never been where I am.”
To cut a long story short, over the next few years I blasted
my way completely out of debt until I became entirely free from debt. I don't
owe a penny to anyone. Furthermore I know that I will never owe anyone money,
ever again. I don't have any special talents or abilities. My father isn't a
stockbroker. No-one left me a penny in their will. I did it all by myself - and
so can you. It's the best way anyhow.
I did have three weapons in my arsenal. And you will need only
these weapons to get out of debt (and into wealth). They are:
KNOWLEDGE
ANGER
GRIM DETERMINATION
The first weapon 'knowledge' I will be giving you as a member of Inner Circle. All you have to do is to follow the various releases
and act upon them.
The other two essential weapons, anger and grim determination, are
non-transferable from me to you - although I hope that I can stimulate them a
little!
Let's see if I can: Getting
Angry
If you want to be free from your debts, and get wealthy, you have to get
angry.
What do I mean by this? I mean that you have to be thoroughly pissed-off
with waking up every morning with that depressed, sinking feeling. You must be
sick of dreading the arrival of the morning post. You must be hopping
mad that you never have enough money, even for the essentials of life, let
alone the luxuries. And whilst we're working ourselves up into a lather, here
are some more things to be angry about:
Being stuck in a boring, lousy, stinking job which you hate because you
need the money to pay your debts, and you're too scared to change in case
anything goes wrong and you end up in more
debt.
Shuffling bills around until you find one small enough that you can
actually pay!
Hiding bills in dark cupboards and hoping they will go away.
Having to live on charity and state handouts. Borrowing
money from friends. Feeling
completely out of control of your own finances. Basically, not even knowing
how much you owe.
Knowing you're sinking, but not knowing how fast.
Being jealous of other people who seem to be surviving without all this
hassle.
Trying and trying to get a job (or better job) and failing.
And most of all, feeling angry at yourself for allowing yourself to get
into this mess -
because that's what it is, a total, bloody mess.
Feeling a bit angry yet?
I hope so, because you will need lots of anger to get yourself out of
debt and into wealth. You have to start thinking something like: "Right.
This is it. I've just about had enough of this stupid, pathetic way of going on.
Things are going to change - starting right now!"
I have to tell you that if you don't feel angry enough, then you probably
won't succeed in becoming debt-free, or wealthy for that matter.
Why?
Because if you're not angry then it isn't hurting enough yet. You've got
a few debts, yes. You'd like a bit more money, but you have a mild, wishy-washy
approach to this situation, and you don't really care that much if the situation
changes. Perhaps you have a vague, wistful, half-hearted desire to see your
debts paid off, but they're not really hurting you. Perhaps you think it would
be 'nice' to be debt free, or 'nice' to have more money, but you can't really be
bothered to take the decisions required to bring this goal to fruition. It's
got to hurt before you get angry.
There is a close parallel to alcoholism here.
No amount of counselling, knowledge or advice will convince the alcoholic
to give up drinking until he or she reaches their own, private 'rock-bottom',
and they think to themselves: "Thus far, and no further". At this
point, they truly start their fight - and then they will fight with guts and
grim determination.
It's exactly the same with debt. You can't blast your way out of debt
with a wishy-washy, half-hearted attitude. It's a bit like trying to knock down
a double brick wall by throwing the odd wet sponge at it now and then! At best
you will succeed in paying a few old bills in a fit of enthusiasm (like giving
up drink for a day or a week) before lapsing back into your old spending habits
once the enthusiasm has worn off. After all, it's no fun paying bills - in fact
it sucks!
You have to be so totally disgusted with the way you have been carrying
on, that you become determined to fix
this problem now, once and for all.
What are the penalties if the alcoholic never finds what it takes to beat
their problem?
Simple. They spiral downwards, relentlessly, until they die - usually
early. And they DO die. In their tens of thousands. Why? Because, ultimately: There
is no 'safety net' in life
And you'd better start believing it.
This is the end of the free preview
of this part of Freedom Factor. Excerpts taken from all the other chapters
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