How to Be Rich: The Couple's Guide to a Rich Life Without Worrying about Money

Are you sick and tired of worrying about money? Fights about money are the number one cause of divorce. It makes no difference how much money you make--the impact is the same--money ruins more lives than anything. What if it didn't have to be that way?Today's fast paced world is darn right scary, but tomorrow is even more uncertain. You don't know what the next financial crisis will be... but it's coming. No matter if it's something minor like your car breaking down or something major like a serious family illness that you give up everything to save them. With bills piling up, credit cards and taxes, there's never enough left over to feel secure. It's no surprise you feel trapped.Doing nothing is ruining your life, but doing the wrong thing can be catastrophic. Money and investing is treacherous, with sharks lurking, waiting in the shadows to take advantage of you while you're stressed, overwhelmed and confused.But what if it didn't have to be that way? What if everything they're telling you is wrong and you never have to worry about money again? What if you could easily take control of your money and truly can become rich? I'm not talking about buying yachts or islands. I'm talking about living the full and rewarding life you dream about. For me it is traveling to surf, scuba dive and showing my kids adventures all around the world.But it's also the little things, like having a house keeper to relieve stress for my wife.For you it may be something different. Your definition of rich is all that matters and you can get there more easily than you think.In fact... it can be downright fun. That's what "How to be Rich: The Couple's Guide to a Rich Life Without Worrying About Money" is all aboutIt's NOT just another book about personal finance. It's not a how to get rich quick scheme either. In an entertaining fable, you will discover:* How to stop fighting about money* Secrets many financial advisors don't want you to know* Why budgeting doesn't work and what you can easily do instead* How to set your finances on autopilot so you can stop worrying them* 5 Steps to easily and quickly kill credit card debt* Immediately increase your paycheck with a simple tax planning strategy * How much money you should be saving--it's not what you've been told* Why investing too much in the stock market can be devastating* How much to put in stocks, bonds, and other investments* How to stop worrying about money

From the Introduction:

Nothing creates stress or anxiety within a family like money. Not having enough money can create real stress, but fear of not having enough can elicit the same or even greater fear than not actually having it at all.

The reality is that money is a tool to get the stuff we want and need. However, in our society money has also become a measure of self-worth and perceived happiness. We are surrounded by messages from our parents, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and the media that encourage these misguided feelings.

These complex emotions are what create most of the problems--fear, anger, resentment, and frustration--that revolve around money. However, most of the personal finance industry ignores these core feelings, and instead focuses on interest rates, stocks, bonds, and taxes.
 
Like money, these things are simply tools to get you where you want to be and are not the end goal. Happiness and fulfillment are the end goal for most of us, yet we often lose sight of that when dealing with our money.

I wrote this book on two different tracks. The first is the deep and complex emotional issues families struggle with because of money. The second is the nuts and bolts of financial planning that allow you to organize your money.

To get the most from this book, while you're enjoying the entertaining story line, keep in mind that the emotional issues are the most important part of the story. The financial planning tools are secondary to the emotional aspects. If you can learn from both messages, you will walk away from this book with a completely different perspective about money.

I didn't figure this out overnight. It took me a long time to discover what matters, and sadly, I think many people never learn it themselves. I first started learning about the world of money and investing at the ripe old age of eighteen when I studied investment magazines like they were textbooks. It wasn't until almost ten years later that I realized they were actually advertisements for underperforming and overpriced mutual funds.

It was also at eighteen that I invested my first $1,000 in mutual funds--a front-end-loaded technology fund that was a completely inappropriate investment for a kid, but an easy sale for a commissioned stockbroker, or otherwise said, a salesperson.

Years later, through lots of self-guided education in books and mistakes in the market, I figured out what was most important in personal finance. (This wasn't before a ridiculous stint when I thought I could be a day trader, picking individual stocks and even dabbling in IPOs.) Eventually, I received the formal education and financial planning credentials, an MBA degree, and tax training to be "qualified" to give personal financial planning advice. It wasn't until I had a wife, divorce, remarriage, stepchild, jobs, businesses, my own child, a deceased parent, and worked as a financial advisor with other real-world complicated families that I learned what really mattered.

That was when I learned about personal financial planning. I learned that people, including me, don't care about the highest performing mutual fund of the year, or the highest yielding CD, or the latest tax deduction. What you and I care about is enjoying life with our families without the money worries that plague most Americans. What we want is to live extraordinary lives. That's what this book is about--getting back to the basics about what you want and providing some basic money tools to help you get there.