Let Your Assets Pay For Your Lambo

I know that 99% of people do NOT want a Lamborghini. But I know that almost everyone has a shiny object that catches their eye. I am not against buying these things as long as your assets pay for them…
In his book, One Up On Wall St, Peter Lynch talks about preparing yourself to invest in the stock market. On his list for preparation, he says to invest in a house before you invest in a stock. This is because, generally, real estate is a safe investment. 
People are usually confused when it comes to finances. It’s not your fault if you don’t understand finances or don’t know what to do. It was designed this way on purpose to keep us ignorant. Notice how there’s NO basic financial education in schools? That is NOT an accident.
Nonetheless, finances aren’t that complicated once you understand how the game works. There are 3 major pillars in finance: Credit, Cash Flow, and Assets.
We all get credit the day we turn 18. In fact, if your parents understand credit, they probably helped you build credit even before you turned 18. Regardless, we all have an opportunity to build this tool that allows us to access funding and can help us achieve wealth. That way if you’re not born into a rich family, you still have access to money in the form of credit from the bank. Unfortunately we are given this tool without any education, and like any dangerous tool operated by one who doesn’t know how to operate it, what tends to happen?
Cash flow is a funny thing. We all get cash flow one way or another. Even homeless folks in this country have cash flow from panhandling. The issue is that people don’t know what to do with it. Money is like credit. It’s another powerful tool that we all know we want but we don’t exactly know what to do with it once we get it. 
The Washington Post posted an article that said approximately 70% of lottery winners will go bankrupt within a few years of winning the lottery. So that presents two problems for most people. First, how do I increase my cash flow? Second, how do I make it multiply? I know people who have made lots of money who ended up broke. I know a guy who made $1 million within 3 years of starting his laboratory business and then lost it all! Once you understand the 3 pillars, it’s easy to see how it happened.
It’s important to know that there are two types of cash flow you can get. First, you have earned income from putting in your physical labor, usually from work or a business you own. Second there’s passive income that comes in whether you work or not. This comes from investments that produce income for you.
What wealthy people do is they take their credit and cash flow and immediately acquire assets with it, which is the third pillar of finance. This allows them to generate income while they vacation, while they sleep, while they enjoy their family, or while they continue to work to acquire even more assets.
Most people use their credit and cash flow to buy liabilities like shoes, purses, cars, or other frivolous things that will NOT make them any money, and only prevent them from achieving true financial peace of mind. I am not a minimalist who is against nice things. But do you want to know how people who earn $1 million in a year go broke? Or how lottery winners go broke? Here’s your answer, they spend their money and use their credit to buy things that won’t make them MORE money. Instead, let your assets pay for your Lamborghini. 
It’s a simple shift in philosophy that can radically change your outcome. As my late mentor said, “What’s easy to do, is also easy not to do.” 

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