Two Money Facts You Should Not Ignore

By Rodger A. Friedman

The Professor of Harsh Retirement Reality

Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM

Odds are that the last time you cleaned your home, you didn’t gather up a bunch of extra money lying around and toss it in the trash. While many folks pride themselves on being neat and tidy, I don’t know anyone who would give a bunch of $50s and $100s the ol’ heave-ho.

While excess cash isn’t really a mess that needs cleaning up, it is rather rare nowadays. You see, money likes to congregate with money. By multiplying, it knows it has the ability to spread cheer, which brings me to two important money facts you should not ignore.

Fact # 1 – Money Loves Company

Money likes to be with others of its kind. Money favors action over inaction, strategies over purposelessness. It likes to hang around folks who have the ability to create more of it. So when I hear the phrase the mind of money, should I take it literally? Does money have a mind of its own? I don’t believe money is liberal, conservative, Democrat, Independent, or Republican. It likes fat and skinny folks equally and doesn’t favor those tall folk and the vertically challenged among us. Money loves people from every land, not just the good old US of A.

If money had morals, then the smart, the selfless, the compassionate, and the most honest among us would have all the money—and the drug dealers, swindlers, and thieves would be penniless. But emergency services personnel, teachers, and guidance counselors are not the wealthiest. If money loved knowledge, teachers and librarians would be millionaires, and not one high school dropout would ever make it rich.

If money liked cute babies, well, there would be little wealthy toddlers running around with big green dollar signs imprinted on their diapers. $$$. While it would make for a really funny diaper commercial, I don’t see the wizards of Madison Avenue running with it.

Columbus did not discover America so you could sit on the stoop and have a beer at 8:00 on a Thursday morning and watch everyone else go to work.

—Rodger A. Friedman

Father, husband, and author

Oddly enough, money loves the public library. Perhaps money knows that the key to creating wealth and making more money lies in the vast amount of knowledge stored there, free for the taking to anyone who wishes to improve their lot in life. But it is not just knowledge that improves one’s life; it is knowledge applied—knowledge acted upon. Knowledge put to use and acted upon—in other words, implementation—is not just learning how to do something. You must implement what you learn. That brings us to the second important fact about money.

Fact # 2 – Money Takes Advantage of Human Behavior

You may have heard it said that money tends to amplify the kind of person you already are. For example:

·????????If you are charitably inclined, you may give more to charity.

·????????If you’re a skinflint, money might make you greedier than you were before.

·????????If you’re an ass, money might make you a bigger ass.

·????????If you enjoy gifting money to others, you will likely do more of that.

Money expands your ability to do good or bad in the world. With enough excess cash, you can start your own scholarship fund and send kids to trade school to learn valuable skills or perhaps go to college. Depending on the size of your money stockpile, you might be able to send a whole bunch of kids to be educated.

But in taking advantage of human behavior, money chaffs at the notion of thinking your way to wealth. You can’t sit under a tree and dream up a new Porsche and have it fall gently from a low-hanging branch with keys on the front seat and a full tank of gas. Unfortunately, the world does not work that way. In order to build wealth, be successful, and help others, you have to get off your butt and do something.

And that is one of the key drivers that many entrepreneurs have shared with me. If they do better, if they earn more, they can give more, and they can help more people.

I have never met a successful businessperson who sits home and counts their cash. Rather, the ones I have met increase their giving to charitable causes, sometimes by extraordinary amounts.

Have I given you something to think about? I hope so. If you would like to continue your money education, perhaps you might like the offer below.

If you would like a free copy of my 34-page special report, 8 Control Factors That Determine Retirement Success, let us know. The report takes a deep dive into the most important factors that?determine if you will succeed in crafting an independent future retirement, and YES, I spend a lot of time discussing debt.

The report is our gift to you, free for the asking with no obligation. Please reach out to Crystal Williams, Vice President of Steward Partners, at (240) 800-3449 to request your copy today. Supplies are limited, so act quickly. You can also e-mail us at [email protected].

Rodger Friedman is a Managing Director and Wealth Manager at Steward Partners Global Advisory in Bethesda, Maryland, because he got off his butt and did something. He has more than 30 years experience designing and managing retirement portfolios and advising clients on retirement matters. If you would like a copy of any of his four books or numerous special reports that focus on retirement issues and planning, please contact him at (240) 800-3449.

? Copyright 2020 by Rodger Alan Friedman

3681052 / 7.22.2021