Ex-Oakland Raider, Phillip Buchanon, is creating a buzz now that he’s off the field. NO, he’s not broadcasting or coaching. He’s making moves to help others better their financial literacy. His latest venture is a board game called, “New Money: Staying Rich”. The board game (in development) was inspired by his own struggle after achieving success, experiencing the financial upswing that it brought and then blowing it all. Through his personal experience, he was inspired to find a way for entrepreneurs and others to manage their financial success without falling victim to the trappings of that success.
Buchanon’s scenario and what he’s trying to achieve brings to mind a great question, “Are you prepared for success?” Part of what we hope to achieve at Carod Properties, for those seeking to become real estate investors, is financial freedom and success. Real estate can help you make the money, but you will need to do work after purchase to make that money work for you…and, last. By work, we mean beyond the renovations and construction. To make the income that is generated by a successful rental more than just a monthly check, you have to put in work to make that check translate into long term benefits. That means increasing your financial literacy.
Some tools you can implement to increase your financial literacy are:
- Make a plan. Identify your financial goals and objectives and use a free calculator like WealthRulerTM to help you assess your financial situation and devise a plan to help you pursue those goals.
- Know thyself. Be sure to consider your goals, risk tolerance, and time frame when you choose the one that makes sense for you.
- Protect your assets. Understand your tolerance for risk and use it to determine the size of every investment you make.
- Search for additional opportunities. Build a list of opportunities to "watch" and invest in when your criteria indicate the time is right.
- Keep emotions in check. Investing should be rational. Always refer back to your investing plan, especially during times of extreme volatility in the market when you are tempted to respond to panic and fear.
- Practice first. Using paperMoney® allows you to get your feet wet with investing concepts before you dive in with real money. Test your investing plan and new trading strategies until you're comfortable.
- Commit to learning. Make financial education an ongoing priority. Identify resources that can help, follow financial experts in social media and sign up for investing courses and seminars when they are offered.
The hardest, but most essential part about financial success, is finding a way to keep it. It can be especially hard if you first started with nothing. Instead of having a mind that you’re going to have and/or provide your family with everything you never had, adjust your thinking to make sure you take steps that they never have to work as hard as you did to get where you are. While building your fortune, increase your knowledge so that you keep it!
