It is imperative that I commend all of you that have degrees. It took a lot of hard work for me just to get my bachelor's degree. While having a bachelors, doctorate, or PhD are achievements, they are not requirements for being wealthy. So not only am I speaking to those that were not able to attend college, but I am speaking to those that did as well. I commend those that don't have degrees also. Our family business envelopes two bachelors degree, one law degree, and one degree of life(some refer to this as the negative term dropout). Ironically the CEO of our company is the one with the degree of life. To me this makes perfect sense, when I was in high school I remember thinking that school was a waste of time little did I know that YHWH thought differently. I was a (B/C) student. I had no intentions on attending college and was very ready to make money, but like most parents, my parents wanted me to attend college. In my household the rule was to leave home at age 18. So I made agreement with my father that in exchange for staying home rent free I would go to college. While at home I was able to save enough money for a down payments on 3 pieces of property. In summary college did play a part in my road to wealth. On the other hand our CEO bought his first piece of property at the age of 20 years old and has acquired hundreds of thousands of dollars in antique furniture, paintings, rugs, porcelain and precious metals. He was the direct result of a below poverty level environment. I think the need for this topic is very important. A couple of months ago a 20 year old told us that he did not want to be rich. He graduated at the top of his high school class, and currently is not doing much of anything and is living at home with his parents. He mentioned that he did not need money to make him happy. He is absolutely right but you do need it to live. The purpose of this blog is to teach people about self sufficiency. Just because you make a lot of money, it doesn't mean that you have to keep it all. You can always take what you need and give away the rest. While we have been blessed, the CEO especially, has given away a lot of money. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, there are people that live outside mainstream society and are extremely successful. By this I mean that they use water/gas wells and windmills for water,gas and electricity. They also plant their own food. These people can actually make money by selling the leftover water, electricity, gas, and, food that they do not use. If there was ever a crisis, they would have everything they need, while others would have to come to them for resources.So while having more education and resources gives you more options, it is not a requirement for living a prosperous and happy life. This leads me to an example. There are two couples. The first couple, both husband and wife, have degrees. They make about $280,000 a year. They bought a nice house for about $200,000. They take grand trips($10,000 or $15,000) once a year. Years have passed and the house is not close to being paid off. When all of the numbers a crunched the 1st couple will have a networth of $400,000. The second couple who happens to be related to the first, decided to go a different route. The husband worked very hard as a janitor until he retired at age 50. His years of continuous overtime awarded him more money by the time he retired. Because he was a Janitor he lived rent free for years even after he purchased his first home. He did not live in the house, but rented it out. This couple's networth is over a million dollars, and all four homes they own are paid off. Now they can take vacations to anywher they want, enjoy early retirement, and live the life of "the rich and famous"!They did not take vacations while they were still working, and now they get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, while their relatives are still plugging away in the rat race!Which couple are you? I challenge you to look where you are now and where you want to be. This is a simple exercise. Look at the assets and liabilities that you have. If your liabilities outweigh your assets then you are like the 1st couple. If you assets outweigh your liabilities then you are like the 2nd couple Anything that you own out right is an asset. If you have to make payments on an item or property then it is a liability. Have a blessed rest of the week.Shalom,Tamar
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