Secrets of rich mindset

TRUMPUNIVERSITY.COM 877.508.7867 201TRUMP SECRETSof a RICH MINDSET It’s Time to Start Thinking Differently About Money The way you relate to money is about to change. We’re going to train your brain to think like a wealthy person! Simply by changing the way you think can change your outlook on your financial situation, and while this alone will not make you a millionaire, your mindset plays a big role in achieving massive wealth. Once we get you to make financial decisions in a wealthier way, then you can move onto wealth-building tactics. Trump University is equally dedicated to teaching personal finance as we are to molding future entrepreneurs and real estate moguls. To that end, we have recently created a wealth-building action plan (www.TrumpUniversity.com/actionplan) unlike anything on the personal finance market today. Led by top experts in their field, this program is designed to: • Help you build the foundation of success • Introduce you to four specific pathways to wealth: launching a business, buying a business, investing in the stock market, and investing in real estate. • Give you the essential information on how to protect your wealth from the very beginning • And much more! Designed to change your financial life, the tools and information provided in this program will empower you to dramatically increase your personal wealth. But before you begin that journey, let’s get you started on revitalizing the way you think about money! www.TrumpUniversity.com 877.508.7867 Trump Secrets of a Rich Mindset 1 Adopt a Trump Mindset for Wealth 1. Follow your passion. You are much more likely to become rich by doing something you love. 2. Set immense goals. Why decide that you want to make $1 million when you can decide to make $100 million instead? Big dreams make your potential vast. 3. Learn something new every day. Small parcels of knowledge – about a new kind of mortgage or a new building material, for example – boost your success potential in immense ways. 4. Cultivate patience. For example, you will sometimes need to own a property for a very long time before the time is right to develop it. You need the maturity to wait. 5. Never settle for second best. Build the best buildings, hire the best people and make the wisest decisions. Excellence costs no more than mediocrity and it will make you richer, faster. 6. Live big. Within your budget, of course. But remember that the point of becoming successful is to live well, not walk around with holes in your shoes so you can have an extra $20 in the bank. 7. Work only with honest and moral people. Crooked people will cripple your success. Steer clear of them. 8. Be direct with people. It saves time – and time really is money. 9. Reward worthy people. It doesn’t matter if they cut your grass or who manage your money. Be fair and generous and the good you do will come back to you many times over. 10. Learn to negotiate. (See Page 10 of this book.. Most everything in life hinges on effective negotiation, so learn to do it well. And remember, not every negotiation is of the win/win kind. You sometimes have to be willing to come out ahead. Get Organized to Get Rich 11. Remember that computers crash. Back up all your critical information in at least two different locations, such as in your filing system and in your lawyer’s files. 12. Keep financial records indefinitely. You never know when some check stub or receipt is going to save you from an audit or another cataclysmic problem. 13. Don’t let anyone sign your checks until he or she has worked for you for a minimum of five years – preferably 10. The moment you let someone do it for you, they can turn from honest to dishonest in a heartbeat. 14. Shred all your financial statements, bills and credit cards before you dispose of them. Not all identity theft occurs online. 15. Keep a paper notebook next to your office phone and quickly summarize phone conversations you have. It’s a pain, but when someone calls someday and says, “We never discussed that!” you will have them dead to rights. 16. Return phone calls within a day. If you can’t manage that, return them the next day. And if you can’t manage that, hire somebody to do it for you. To get rich, you need to be responsive. 2 Trump Secrets of a Rich Mindset 877.508.7867 www.TrumpUniversity.com Let a Success Image Carry You to the Top 17. Follow the ancient advice and dress for the job you want, not the one you have. It’s a cliché for a reason. 18. Sweat the small stuff. A stain on your tie or scuffs on your shoes will tarnish your professional image a lot faster than you imagine. 19. Stand up and shake hands when people enter your office. When they leave, stand up and escort them to the door. Those little customs single you out for success. Teach Your Children the Value of Money and Work 20. Let your kids work. The only way to learn to appreciate money is to earn it. 21. Show respect for people who are less privileged than you are. Be cordial to waiters, parking lot attendants, electricians – and everyone else whose services you require. If you don’t, you are teaching your children to disrespect people and the value of the work they do. 22. Talk to your kids about the financial decisions you are making – the stocks you own, the properties you are considering, the amount of taxes you pay. The more you anchor economic knowledge to the realities of your life, the more vivid it will become for your children. 23. Discuss economic priorities and decisions with your spouse or partner so you can present a united front to your children. The last thing you want is to teach one financial philosophy to your children while they are getting a different message from your husband or wife. 24. Give your kids an allowance, so they will learn to tie the spending of a given sum to a finite period of time. It’s called budgeting. 25. Don’t use your credit card to mop up after your kids. Show them the money as it leaves your hands, or as it leaves theirs. 26. When it is time to buy clothes for the school year, give your children a finite amount of money and let them do their own shopping. You will be surprised at how quickly they find their way to the sale racks. 27. Don’t give your teenage kids credit cards. Instead, give them debit cards that are tied to your own accounts, so you can transfer funds to them as needed. This allows you to monitor spending via online banking and step in - instead of waiting for a jumbo credit card bill to surprise you at month’s end. 28. When discussing educational opportunities with your children, approach different schools with a consumer mindset. Which college offers the best courses per dollar spent? Which offers internships and other fast-start employment options? Being a good educational consumer shows kids that an education is not something they are entitled to, but something that demands hard thinking and hard work. www.TrumpUniversity.com 877.508.7867 Trump Secrets of a Rich Mindset 3 Cultivate Healthy Financial Habits 29. Pay your bills on time – especially your credit card bills. For recurring bills, schedule automatic payments through your bank’s online services so you will never miss a payment. 30. Save enough cash to see you through three to six months of lean times. If you lose your job, you won’t then have to use credit cards to pay for daily expenditures. 31. Don’t buy the latest new gadgets today. Wait a few months for prices to come down. 32. Buy airline tickets as far in advance as possible. The cheapest tickets are often the ones you buy two months in advance. 33. Pay off your credit card balances as soon as you receive your bills. Don’t just believe in doing so – do it. Remember: Earning 5% in your savings account doesn’t mean much if you are paying 23% interest on unpaid card balances. 34. For one month, keep a log of everything you purchase. At the end of the experiment, you will get some surprises about where your money goes. Make adjustments. 35. Automate your saving process. One way is to have your paychecks deposited automatically into a checking account and then have your bank automatically transfer a set amount each month into your savings account. Invest Wisely for Income 36. Set your investment objective. Do you want to: 1. preserve your capital; 2. generate income; or 3. grow the value of your holdings? In general, those are the three objectives that you can reach through investing. 37. Avoid picking stocks to invest in, unless you are an expert. Rely on advice from a tried and tested investment advisor instead. Use the time you save to work hard and make more money to invest. 38. Also avoid stocks if you are looking to make money quickly. Over the long term, they out perform other investments. But if you need short-term profits, look elsewhere. 39. If you do decide to invest in stocks, stick to an industry that you know a lot about. If you are a physician, for instance, buy stock in a pharmaceutical company that produces products you understand. 40. To get a quick education about investing, ask your broker to explain these terms to you: 1. stocks; 2. mutual funds; 3. municipal bonds; 4. corporate bonds; and 5. government bonds. 41. Don’t invest heavily until you have a cash reserve that can prevent you from having to liquidate your investments if you suffer a financial setback. 42. Do not invest in collectibles. A plate or coin is worth only what a buyer will pay on the day you decide to sell it. 4 Trump Secrets of a Rich Mindset 877.508.7867 www.TrumpUniversity.com 43. Learn about the best mutual funds and their managers. Top-rated mutual funds are the greatest risk-minimized, high-income investments ever invented by the human mind – and they’re the best place to start investing. 44. Invest only in the no-load mutual funds. A “load” is a fee you pay the salesperson or company behind the fun. 45. Remember that just because a stock has been up for the last six months does not mean it will continue to go up tomorrow. 46. Never invest more than 10% of your stock portfolio in any one company, even if everyone says it is a “sure thing.” 47. If you don't understand how an investment works, don't buy it. 48. To select the best investment advisor, get referrals from at least five friends. Meet with the five advisors they recommend. To keep your selection simple, go with the advisor who takes the most time with you, who shows interest in your objectives and situation – and who shows no frustration about answering your investment questions. Invest Wisely for Long-Term Growth and Retirement 49. Start saving for your retirement today, not tomorrow. Thanks to the magic of compounding, even late starts can make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars – maybe hundreds of thousands – and a better-funded retirement. 50. Buy your retirement residence as early as you can – even if you only buy a piece of land where you will later build a home. Get in early, because property prices will only go up over time. 51. Optimize your 401(k) If your employer matches your contributions, set your 401(k) contribution at the highest level possible. 52. Don’t forget to increase your 401(k) contribution when you get a raise. 53. Monitor your Social Security account so you always know how much income you are entitled to when you retire. 54. If you are setting up a new IRA, make it a Roth IRA. It is rarely advantageous, however, to roll a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. As soon as you do, all your earnings and tax-deductible contributions may become taxable. Be sure to talk to your CPA. Build Your Get-Rich Support Team (CPA, LAWYER, BROKER) 55. Ask “What would you do if you were in my position?” to get a glimpse of a potential advisor’s ability to plan flexibly. 56. Ask a potential advisor to describe what he or she did to help another client who was once like you. Does it sound like that process will work for you? 57. Don’t hire someone who will not answer all your questions clearly, patiently and positively. www.TrumpUniversity.com 877.508.7867 Trump Secrets of a Rich Mindset 5 58. Trust your gut. If you have a negative initial reaction to someone, why would you consider putting him or her on your team? 59. If you hear, “Here’s what I do for all my clients . . .” you are getting a spiel, not individualized attention. 60. Ask for a timeline about what the advisor will do in the first meeting, in the first six months of your work together – and out into the future. You want to hear a structured plan. 61. Call your potential advisor on the phone before you agree to work together. If he or she is tough to contact, go with someone else. 62. Look around the waiting room while you are waiting to interview your potential advisor. Are the people who work in the office the kind of professionals you want to get to know? 63. In the early days of starting a business, don’t get stuck paying monthly retainers. Start out with scheduled meetings and retain professionals only when doing so makes financial sense for you. 64. Ask for a detailed fee schedule. If he or she can print one off and hand it to you, that’s a very positive sign. Don’t Lose Your Shirt to the IRS 65. To automate record-keeping, pay for all your business and/or deductible expenses using one card, such as American Express, that will generate a year-end summary of your expenditures. 66. Practice tax strategies, not tax evasion. If your CPA has risky ideas that scare you, work with someone else. 67. Learn to bunch income and deductions into different calendar years. If you want to reduce your income tax this year, for example, ask your best client to pay you in January, not December. 68. Recheck your withholding every year. If you get married, have kids, or become the head of a household, add these allowances on your W-4 and have fewer taxes withheld. 69. Consider buying a new hybrid vehicle. They will save gas and possibly entitle you to a tax credit of up to $3,400. 70. Alimony payments can often be deducted from your adjusted gross income. Talk to your tax- preparer. 71. If you are paying for the care of elderly parents, ask your tax preparer whether you can structure your expenses to make them deductible. 72. Maintain well-organized records of all your expenses and income. An IRS audit will not scare you if you have your paperwork organized. 6 Trump Secrets of a Rich Mindset 877.508.7867 www.TrumpUniversity.com Make Your Home Earn Money for You 73. Make your home more energy efficient. Then take all the applicable tax deductions you can for it. 74. Refinance your mortgage, but only if you can cut at least one point from your interest rate. 75. Put at least 20% down on a home. A lower down payment usually results in a private mortgage insurance (PMI) fee of 0.5% annually, which would cost you about $1,500/year on a $300,000 mortgage principal. 76. Consider making your first-home a multi-family — it could enable you to live virtually for free. Then upgrade to a private home when the time is right. 77. An in-law apartment can help trim the costs of home ownership if you invite the in-law tenant to pay rent or help you buy the home. 78. If you own a home in an urban area, you can generate extra income from it by renting out office space, parking spots or a storage room. Invest in Real Estate Like a Pro 79. Buy properties that excite you. Passion counts in real estate, too. 80. Accompany home inspectors when they examine properties you have under consideration. Ask tons of questions. The knowledge you gain will be one of your most important real estate assets in the years to come. 81. Know the important trends in municipalities where you might buy investment property. A new commuter line, a new hospital or a new school can dramatically increase property values. 82. Visit Trump University (www.trumpuniversity.com) and the Donald Trump Blog (http://www.trumpuniversity.com/blog/index.cfm) often to stay informed about the current fore closure boom and other real estate opportunities. 83. When developing a property, make it the Most Valued Property compared to other properties on the market. You could make it the most smartly renovated, or the one with the most attractive financing package. To sell a property, it has to stand out in at least one obvious way. 84. In the current real estate market, “fix and flip” doesn’t work because prices are soft. “Buy and hold” (buy today at low prices and sell later when prices rise) is the best strategy for today. 85. Don’t let false optimism convince you that you will beat the odds and sell a house for lots more than comparable properties in the area. 86. If you find the worst property on a block and see a cost-effective way to turn it into the best, that property is a probably good investment. But work the numbers to be sure. 87. Remember, you can improve not only a property, but its neighborhood. If you can add a new bus stop, improve the lighting or turn a street into a cul-de-sac instead of a through-street, you could turn an investment from good to great. www.TrumpUniversity.com 877.508.7867 Trump Secrets of a Rich Mindset 7 88. Always get to know different real estate agents in the areas where you might invest. They provide a great, no-cost source of tips and information. 89. Remember, Internet listings aren’t the only place to run ads for properties you are selling. Sometimes a flyer in a daycare center or church lobby can offer a more effective way to get your property sold. 90. When you have a property to sell, start by talking to people in the neighborhood. Many of them will have friends or relatives who would love to move into the area. 91. To buy a property with little money down, ask for owner financing or for a lease with an option to buy. If the property has been on the market for six months or more, you will get a very cordial hearing – and probably a deal. 92. Don’t fail to consider investing in multi-families, apartment buildings, retail locations, office buildings and even raw land. Single-family houses are only one option for investors. 93. Resist the temptation to borrow money from friends and relatives to make your first real estate purchase. Wait a little longer and borrow more intelligently. You will have greater control over your future in real estate. 94. Do the math. When buying a house to renovate and sell, deduct the cost of your renovations from its fair market value. That’s how much you should pay, not one cent more. 95. Timing is everything. If you are about to send a child to college or retire, it might not be the wisest time to tie up large amounts of money in real estate, not matter how positive the potential profits seem. Apply Trump Negotiation Skills to Real Estate Investing 96. Aim for win/win outcomes, like all the books on negotiating say. But remember that sometimes you actually get to win more than the other guy or gal. 97. Add one or two new pieces of knowledge every day. You never know when a piece of information will transfer into a powerful advantage when you are negotiating. 98. Be willing to walk out. It will often move you towards your goals more quickly than agreeing to the wrong terms. 99. Put a dollar value on your objective – the most you will pay, or the least you will accept. Your opponent will sense when negotiations are nearing that line and will back off. 100. Understand what the other side wants. (If you don’t know that is, ask.) If you can’t offer it, negotiations are going to be harder – but not necessarily impossible. At least you will know what you are up against