So, How Much Money Do You Make?

Recently I came across of a great article by Azhar Laher, founder of Thornhill Wealth Formand, one of the most successful clubs, dedicated to education in building wealth. I thought it will be a good idea to share it with all of you, who is on the way to be rich :)

One of my pet peeves is people telling me how much money they earn and flaunting their wealth to strangers. I am not talking about the cars they drive or the size of their homes, but rather about revealing their income without any reason. Usually it is because they want to let me know how  successful and important they are. This does not impress me. In fact it is a  turn off. I am only interested in their character and what they are doing to help others succeed. 

A recurring theme in The Millionaire Next Door, is discretion about one's wealth. Don't be too flashy, live conservatively and have a modest home. However, it is also important to enjoy your money by indulging in things that make you happy.

Here are some reasons why people reveal their income:

Is it Generational? : Maybe it’s a generational thing, but those who enjoy talking about how much money they make are generally younger e.g. under 30.  Perhaps thanks to the internet, it’s more acceptable nowadays to blast over Twitter and Facebook that it’s your birthday or a picture of your latest car.  There have been several studies showing that Facebook is making people miserable because suddenly they have to compete with hundreds of “virtual Joneses” instead of a couple.

Lower self-esteem. The people who are most confident have no need to tell anybody how much they make. They don’t need to buy a fancy car to make themselves feel better. They don’t need to incessantly highlight they went to X school and have Y things because their work and success speaks for themselves. Perhaps they fell behind in life early on and need to pound their income drum to prove to the world they are somebody. How many of us have imagined returning to our high school reunion as great successes to prove our detractors wrong? By telling others how much more we make than the average or median, we feel better about ourselves.

The desire for adoration. Adoration and self-esteem are tightly related. Have you ever met someone who was in good shape and keeps telling others she needs to lose weight? The reason why she brings up her weight is so that her friends can tell her she doesn’t need to lose weight! Everybody wants to feel pretty, respected, admired, and adored. It’s just one of our many traits as humans.

Lack of perspective. There’s a lot of suffering out there, but it’s hard to know if you’ve never traveled around the country or around the world. It’s like Prince Siddhartha Gautama believing that the whole world lived in privilege like he did within the walls of his palace. At the age of 29, Siddhartha left his palace for the first time to meet his subjects despite his father’s efforts to hide him from the sick, aged and suffering. The outside world moved Siddhartha so much that he strove to overcome ageing, sickness, and death by shunning luxuries and living the life of an ascetic. Eventually, he discovered the “Middle Way” and after 49 days of meditation under a Bodhi Tree, tradition says Siddhartha finally achieved enlightenment.

New wealth. If you go from not having much money to suddenly making a lot of money, it’s hard not to get excited. An easy example is going from a poor student to making $100,000 a year as a first year analyst at an investment bank. Now imagine if you won the lottery. Although you probably should not tell everybody, you would be hard pressed not tell all your friends and relatives about your good fortune. You buy a new house you don’t need when you can’t even fill the one you have. Instead of figuring out a way to make your new found wealth work for you, you blow it on material things that provide only momentary reward. It’s immaturity with money that gets people in trouble.

In conclusion, unless your occupation is to teach people how to make money by showing them how much money you make, I advise caution when revealing income. It’s much better to keep things low key, downplay what you've got, and be the underdog to get ahead.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Valentine's Day isn't just about 
couples and romance. 
It's also about friends and sharing 
and letting people know you care about them and 
how important they are in your life.

Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars


Make no mistake, men and women tend to view mortgages very differently.
Men are looking to buy a house, but for women getting a mortgage represents empowerment and safety. For this reason, men are more prone to close a deal much faster than women are. Women want to take more time to weigh all the pros and cons, typically the process takes a year. Men are typically very rate focused, don’t pay much attention to other details such know what their options are especially in case they miss payments. 

TOP 10 negotiations techniques

There are probably as many books about negotiations techniques, as there are stars in the sky. Thought many of them have common core, every now and then I find something new or maybe not so new, but not used and forgotten. This week I came across an article like that and decided to create my List of TOP 10 negotiations techniques:

1. First and foremost, whoever starts is always in the less favorable position. In the Real Estate business seller has to make first move - name listing price. Set it too high and no one will be even looking at your property, set it too low and you risk not to sell for as much as you could, set it even lower and you’ll have bidding war without any clue how it will end up. This is exactly why one of the first most important qualities of listing agent is ability to recommend price that is just right.
2. Talk less. The one, who listens more, gathers more information and information is everything. By listening more you also give out less yourself. 
3. Start with asking questions other side wants to talk about, not necessary related to the deal. In big conversations people often mention bits and pieces that later can be linked to important facts. But more often they (myself including unfortunately) talk without realizing what they talk about.
4. Also on the conversation piece, flatter other side. This one is obvious. Any one is more likely to talk openly (i.e. share more information) with some one who is nice. 
5. Take an effective even theatrical pause. Many feel very uncomfortable when conversation suddenly stops and feel obligated to continue talking about anything at all, often they talk about things they shouldn’t. This is also very effective when your opponent announces their offer and you just say nothing in response. For some reason human beings first think that they’ve done something wrong and try to correct it. For example, if your opponent named a price, after a pause they will try to make it more attractive. Do this even when you are happy with what you hear and you will get even better results. And if you don’t – you never said “no”
6. Play dumb. This is such a powerful tool in so many ways! First of all no one likes to be outsmarted. We like to deal with less experience opponents. Sometime we will even feel so bad about taking advantage of this silly guy that we will give them more than normally would. 
7. By showing limited knowledge you get permission to ask questions others don’t, sparking conversation that sometimes leads to very interesting facts.
8.  Also pretended lack of experience gives you excuse to use my next favorite one - limited authority.  “I hope my wife likes this kitchen” or “I’ll have to check with my partner/investor” and other excuses that give you additional time to consider everything, as well as excuse to pull out if needed.
9. Ask for everything, especially for things you don’t want. When there will b`e time to trade or give-up something you have plenty to choose from. “I guess I don’t need snow blower if I can get my price”
10. Let them say no. If you don't like what you are offered, still name what you can go for, even if it's far off. Once in a blue moon other side will surprise you. And if they don't, you were ready to walk away any way.

My Aunt Suzy Has Money!!

This morning I read a very inspiring story by Gary Hibbert, fellow investor and founder of SCH (Smart Home Choice). Hope it will encourage you to take one more step towards your financial freedom. 

There was a couple (Steve and Mary) that had good jobs made enough money for their family to put a roof over their heads, have some home cook meals and take their kids to see a movie from time to time. They both hated their jobs but that did not matter because Steve had an aunt that was very rich. She had told him that he was her favorite nephew out of them all and that they were going to get all of her riches. Once they heard this, they of course flowered her with presents and invited her over for dinner many times throughout the year to make sure she (aunt Suzy) kept them close to heart.

Time went on and Aunt Suzy looked better than ever. You see, Steve and his family line had some great genes. Aunt Suzy was in her sixties while Steve and his wife were in their mid 30′s. It dawned on Steve and Mary one day…. ‘what if Aunt Suzy lives for another 25 years, if she does we’ll be in our 60′s before we even see any of that money?!’

At that moment both Steve and Mary knew they had to make some drastic changes in their lives and they did. As the years went on Steve founded his own company that became very successful and Mary went back to school and landed a job in a career she always wanted. Within the next 5 to 6 years they became financially independent and no longer required the money from aunt Suzy to enjoy the riches of life. Sure enough, aunt Suzy lived until the ripe old age of 95.

When it came time for the reading of the will, Steve and his 6 other siblings sat in on the reading. At this time Steve and Mary were not concerned with any of the money that would be inherited by them since they were financial secure however, his brothers and sisters were not so well off and needed the money. Believe it or not, aunt Suzy had told each and every one of the siblings that they were her favorite niece or nephew. When the will was finally read guess what……. aunt Suzy was penny less!! She was living off the kindness of good fortune of each of the nieces and nephews up until her final day.

So what’s holding you back in life….. who is your aunt Suzy?

Don’t wait for someone to come along to help you. If you don’t design your own life and have your own plans guess what… you will fall into someone else’s plan. You have one life to live so live it to the fullest and don’t be scared to make mistakes. The more problems you have in life is a good thing. It means that you are taking more action in life. They say that God wraps your problems in the form of a gift. It’s up to you to figure out what you are suppose to learn from each of the problems God gives you. 

Are Credit Card Balance Transfer Cheques Good or Evil?

On March 4th Department of Finance announced a ban on unsolicited credit card cheques. You know, the checks you get with your credit card statement? The ones that promise you very low or no interest if you consolidate you debt on the giving credit card? These are the ones! The proposed regulations would require federal financial institutions to obtain consent of borrowers before distributing credit card cheques to a card holder.

Our government believes (and I am with them on this one) that receiving these cheques encourages people to borrow money without realizing that there are additional fees (like upfront points to be paid) as well as interest to be paid not only on this payment but other transactions on the same credit card and other ways for us to get into financial trouble.

Special offers from credit card companies can be very useful if you know what you are doing. For example, you might be paying much less interest than any other way, including mortgage (which traditionally is considered lowest in interest). If you decide to use one of these offers, make sure to follow these rules:

1. Know well how you are going to pay back this loan. This is the first and most important rule! As tempting as  low rate looks, you have to remember that is not permanent and if you don't pay it back on time, interest will increase to 18-21% (or in some cases even more). It's OK to use balance transfers to delay payment until project (like property renovation before a sale) is finished, but if you expect no income from this loan in the next 6 months, you probably shouldn't use it.

2. Do not use this credit card for anything else. Thought you will be getting a low rate on balance transfers, anything else will be charged at regular interest (18% and up) from day one. You are not paying any interest on a credit card transactions only if all outstanding balances are paid in full by due date. But as soon as you used a check (or transferred funds any other way) you acquired outstanding balance on which interest is charged. This means that any additional transactions only add to the card's balance with interest.

Also when you pay off part of the balance, payment will not be applied to the most expensive transactions. Different credit cards my have different rules, but at the end of the day they want you to keep paying interest and the higher the better.

3. Make sure that balance on your credit card is zero. For the same reason as above, you don't want to pay high interest on anything else other than balance transfer you are doing.

The smart way to fund your project is to pay for services using credit card, take advantage of interest-free period then transfer balance to another credit card that is used only to consolidate credit under low interest.

4. Check if there is upfront charge. This might not be a deal breaker, but you have to account for it. For example if there is 1% upfront charge and you need to borrow money for only 1 month, it's like paying 12% annual interest on top of interest they will charge later. However for longer terms, it might make sense

5. Check for how long the term will apply (usually 6 months max) and mark your calendar or set a reminder to pay balance off by this date. If you have multiple credit cards you might transfer balance again to another card and this will be considered paying off balance on original card.

6. Last but not least. Do not max out your credit card. Try to keep balance within 80% of maximum. This will help your credit score a lot!

Speaking of the new ban, doing transfers over the internet or phone is always a better idea than check because you control timing (when transfer will be applied) much better than through the mail. Bottom line with or without checks balance transfers can be powerful source of finance, but you always have to know what you are doing!

Now how long do you think we have to wait for these checks to stop coming? Just in a week after this ban was introduced I got two sets of them :(

How You Beat Your Opponent During A Negotiation

All of us negotiate every day in business, personal life and even with ourselves. No wonder negotiation skills are so important.

According to Kevin Dutton in his book Split-Second Persuasion: The Ancient Art and New Science of Changing Minds, there are five simple tactics that can help you conquer your opponent, which he calls S.P.I.C.E:

Simplicity: In order to convince someone what you're saying is a fact, communicate it in a very simple manner.  Keep your message short, sharp, and simple.  For example, "The way you set up that meeting yesterday was ineffective." Whatever you do, don't draw out your argument or your opponent will start losing track of what you're saying.

Perceived self-interest: Dutton says the trick to convincing others that your argument is better is to "focus on the benefits of the person whose mind you want to change, rather than emphasizing your own wants and wishes." For example, don't say "I would like you to do this..." but rather say, "You'll be glad if you do this..."

Incongruity: Throw your opponent off track by using information in a way that isn't consistent with how they are used to hearing it. FSurprise people -- tell them your cupcake is 400 cents rather than four dollars and they're far more likely to buy it.

Confidence: The most obvious strategy, but a very crucial one if you want to win. If you don't believe in it, why would anyone else? Confidence goes hand-in-hand with being aggressive, try not to get too far with it, otherwise you just create an image of annoying sales person.

Empathy: The trick is to look people right in the eye, nod when they nod and conduct other characteristics that make them trust you. People feel connected to people who are similar to them, so use those similarities to your advantage. Use FOR model to find similarities. Ask them about Family, Occupation, Recreation (hobbies), chances are you will find something in-common

Beyond these simple strategic rules to abide by, there are still a couple of things you should consider when trying to convince someone that what you're saying actually makes more sense than their argument.

When you're negotiating your position, make sure you listen carefully to what your opponent is saying and keep a mental list of everything they say in its exact order. You will need to confront what they're saying one-by-one and in the order that they bring it up during the conversation. This tactic will make the negotiation more effective for you.

Also, keep in mind that you shouldn't try to attack everything they're saying all at once. In other words, "don’t try and bring the castle down all in one; chip away, soldier by soldier, until you start to make a big dent."

You will know that you're winning if your opponent starts making new arguments instead of sticking to their original ones. At this point, continue to repeat your reasoning and arguments and as soon as they say, "I don't know," end the conversation: You've successfully won your negotiation.

Success - its not always what you see

Mortgage And Your Legal Name

Getting married soon? Congratulations!  If you are thinking of changing your legal name for this or any other reason keeps in mind what just happened to my friends.

Happy couple got married, bought a house, baby on its way… Dream comes true!  Well one of them changed their name. Now insurance company doesn’t want to register house insurance because one of the names on the title doesn’t match ID. In order to fix that they need to change name on the mortgage at the bank (numbers may vary but probably under a hundred backs) and to change title of the property.

If you ever refinance your property or moved your mortgage to another bank, you probably know that any changes to the title (unless you use bank’s lawyer who, for some reason, has special “inexpensive” powers) could be painfully expensive. Few hundreds, sometimes over a thousand backs expensive!

And what if you are doing well in real estate and own a few properties? Don’t take my word as legal advice, but may be it makes sense to talk to your lawyer about registering these properties under a company name (which you will own of cause)!

Do you have a lot of nice staff in your house?

If we didn’t have to work so hard to make the money, we wouldn’t have to spent the money to make us feel good about working so hard

This is your life: The Holstee Manifesto

Have you ever looked for a daily inspiration? Something that will keep you going day, after day, after day? The Holstee Manifesto is one of the best moving philosophies I came across!

Your network is your net worth

Everyone knows that to be successful in today's world you need to network. It doesn’t really matter if you are using your network to find next job or to fund a billion dollar deal. Your network is your net worth. So naturally we try to grow our network and utilize existing connections, but some people seem to be better at this than others.

This week I came across a very inspiring video by Lisa Mattam, who was nominated by Profit Magazine in 2009 as one of the top 10 emerging women entrepreneurs in Canada. In her talk, Lisa offers very clear Strategies for Successful Networking.

     1. Know your brand

Remember in Bridget Jones's Diary Introduce people with thoughtful details. Such as: "This is Mark Darcy. Mark's a top barrister. He comes from Grafton Underwood. ..."

How do you want to be introduced? What do you want people to recognize in you? When networking, make first 30 seconds most impactful. Introduce yourself by answering these two questions

What do you do that is truly unique and what have you done that has impact

2. Build your message

Have you ever come back from an event and found your mailbox full of “Nice to meet you” messages? And then what? You didn’t connect to these people just to keep you company that night. Make sure you clearly state what is your message to people you’ve met. Are you offering help? Or may be looking for support? Or whatever it happens to be, make sure to give people on the other end a reason to connect back with you.

3. Develop a map (how will you know where you are going?)

After you first signed up for Facebook, all over sudden your kindergarten friends who you haven’t seen for ages want to keep up with your news. But is it any good in growing your useful network? Social networks are a very powerful tools if used wisely.

Create an actual map of your network, but include only people you had meaningful connection, not just met once. Analyze your network map:

•       How big is it? Do you need to grow it?
•       How interconnected is it? Do people you know also connect with each other? If they do you actually need access to only one of them to have access to full network.
•       How diverse is your network? And not only culturally diverse. What sectors are represented? What roles? Levels?
•       Where do you have gaps?

4. Be consistent

Do you get back to people when you promise? Do you reply to e-mails promptly, even when reply is just “I’ll get back to you in 3 days”? People will keep you in their network if they can rely on you. They will refer you to other people if they can trust you.

5. Embrace the unexpected

Your network can expand in many ways, shapes and forms. You can find new missing pieces of your map on the street, in the gym or at the grocery store. Be ready to embrace what chance has to offer you.

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

Why are some businesses more successful than others? Funding? Just right market conditions? The right people on your team? Although all these points are very important they are not the only requirements for success. Sometimes are not even requirements at all… more like “nice to have to make your life easier”.

Look at the Write brothers. All funding they had came from the bike shop they were running. They had no college education and no one to help them, only a wild thought they believed in. And yet they were successful in delivering an idea that changed the world and taught the mankind flying.

Why is Apple with their iPods, iPhones, iPads, iWhatever considered a flagship of today’s progress and technology? Apple was not the first one to invent MP3 Player, and their initial iPads at the time of release were missing many cool existing features. Then why are they always leading the race?

Behind every successful business there is an idea why this business exists. Why it was introduced to the world in the first place. Only if you believe in this idea and put it before yearn for material gain and fear of obstacles, only if you speak from the bottom of your heart, not mind or wallet, you will be successful. Successful in anything: science project, finding a job, building new business or just living your life.
Recently a friend of ours posted below video. Above is our thoughts on it. How about you?

Last week CMHC issued its latest Housing Market Outlook and the next 2 years look very promising. We thought you might be interested to learn some details.

Don't Eat The Marshmallow Yet! The Secret to Sweet Success in Work and Life

All of us have thousands of wishes. To be thinner, to be bigger, have more money, have a cool car, a day off, a new phone, to date the person of your dreams. Sometimes we even know a way to reach these wishes. Often it requires self-discipline and persistence. We recently learned about following and though you might find it not only interesting, but also applicable to you.

Many years ago there was a study at Stanford University. Four years olds were left in a room, each with a marshmallow, and given a choice of eating it then or fifteen minutes later, when they were promised a marshmallow as an extra reward for waiting. When you are 4 years old, 15 mins is like entirety! Some ate theirs right away. Others waited. But the study's real significance came a decade later when the researchers discovered that the children who held out for the reward had become more successful adults than the children who had gobbled their marshmallows immediately.

The "marshmallow theory" answered a thirty-year quest to find a compelling explanation for why some people succeed and others fail. The key difference between success and failure is not merely hard work or superior intelligence, but the ability to delay gratification. "Marshmallow resisters" achieve high levels of success while the rest of us eat all our marshmallows at once, so to speak--accumulating debt and dissatisfaction no matter what our occupations or incomes. But it doesn't have to be that way.