Expanding Your Financial Horizons

Do you like to dream big or do you prefer to keep your financial dreams in check? The way that you answer this question may have a big impact on your future. If you’re consistently dreaming small, you may be shooting yourself in the foot before you ever take that first step on the road to financial independence. Sometimes, dreaming big is an absolute necessity and more often than not, those that do dare to dream of big financial rewards are the ones that are able to achieve those dreams.

If you limit yourself to small financial dreams, you may be automatically removing the potential to secure your financial future. This doesn’t mean entertaining pie-in-the-sky fantasies however, but it does mean that you should start thinking about expanding your financial horizons, even just a little bit, to help you achieve and exceed your financial goals.

In order to expand these horizons, it is helpful to come up with actual goals that you want to meet, and then find ways to build on those goals. For example, let’s say that in the next five years, you would like to be able to save up a 10% down payment on a $300k house. This means putting away approximately $6000 a year, which is easy enough to achieve. But, what if you were able to add an extra $100 to that savings every month. In five years, instead of having just $30k, you would now have $36k.

That’s money that could be used to pay off your closing costs, get some new furniture or even free up more equity. This is just one small example of how expanding your horizons a little can pay off, especially over the long term. If you start with small little changes like this, before long, expanding further will be easier than ever.

Using this example again, up the ante to $200 extra a month. Now, at the end of that five years you’d have $42k, a full $12k more than your original goal. Once again, small changes become bigger changes that in turn lead to greater expansion. After you have this formula down, you can begin trying it in new ways and in new fields.

For example, instead of focusing on just buying a house for yourself, consider getting a rental property as well. This is an investment that can pay off well, and you’ll always have the option of selling the property, especially if the real estate market in your area goes through an improvement. In many cases, this is how millionaires are made. They are willing to expand their financial horizons, leverage a bit of debt, and in turn, they enjoy a bigger payout at the end.

When you are able to expand your financial horizons and start thinking and dreaming bigger, the sky can become your limit in no time at all. Dare to dream big and then take the steps necessary to achieve those dreams. Even if you fall a little bit short, you’ll still be ahead.

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3 Reasons Why Paying With Cash Hurts You in the Long Term

seascapeMany of us have been conditioned to think that living debt free is the only way to be. While there is some truth in this statement, if you’re completely debt free and using only cash, you’re hurting your chances of getting a new home, and you may end up in a situation that requires more money than you have without any recourse. Let’s find out why paying with cash is not always the smartest idea.

1. It hurts your credit rating.

You wouldn’t think this would be the case, but you do need to have some debt if you want to build up a credit rating. In some cases, people with absolutely no debt have a credit score in the mid 600’s, while those with two or three cards that they constantly pay on will have a score in the high 700’s. What’s the difference? In order to keep your credit rating high, you are going to need to have a little debt.

We’re not saying go run up ten cards and hope for the best. What we are saying is that having one or two cards with low balances is a great way to keep your credit score high. You’ll be getting the benefit of monthly reports on your credit history and you’ll be building that score up to the point where no one will be able to turn you down for anything.

2. Emergencies happen.

No matter how proud you are of being able to pay cash for everything – what would happen if you woke up tomorrow and discovered that you have a serious brain tumor that needs to be removed right away. The cost of the surgery is more than $300k and you don’t have any insurance. You’ve been paying with cash for years and your credit rating has suffered as a result.

In this situation, you may not be able to get a loan to cover your health costs and while some hospitals will work out a payment plan, they’re going to use your credit score to determine their risks. The problem with emergencies is that you never know when they will happen and they usually cost an arm and a leg. If you don’t have a savings account that is sizeable, you are literally one step away from financial disaster.

3. You won’t be making any extra money.

You know the old saying, it takes money to make money? If you’d like to get some extra income every month, you need to find a way to take advantage of opportunities for multiple streams of income, such as investments. Debt leveraging is one of the best ways to accomplish this since you won’t be using your primary funds for the new opportunity.

While debt has a bad reputation, there are good forms that are necessary if you want to make more money and have good credit. There is such a thing as good debt and if you manage your finances properly, there is no danger in having a little debt.

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