Posted by Ryan on June 16th, 2008 in Entrepreneurial Mindset

I have great admiration for Henry Ford and his accomplishments. There’s no arguing that he was a visionary leader, but what I admire most about Ford was his mindset.

I can’t find the exact quote (please let me know what it is if you know it), but essentially Ford said that if he lost everything, all of his wealth and his businesses, it would be okay because he knew exactly how to build it back again. To me, that statement exemplifies the achievement of financial freedom. When you know that everything can be taken away from you and there is no panic at the idea, you have it all figured out.

Ford knew that between the personal connections he had, his financial intellect and the ability to create value, it would be nearly impossible for him to not be wealthy. But it wasn’t just that. As I was trying to dig up the quote about Ford losing everything and building it back up, I realized he really had a unique outlook and philosophy on life. Here are just a few quotes from Ford that caught my attention:

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.

It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste.

Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.

There is no man living that can not do more than he thinks he can.

Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service.

As you can see, at his very core, Ford was programmed with a wealthy mindset and it is no wonder he was able to change the face of American business and industry.

By the time Ford passed away in 1947, his fortune amounted to slightly more than $1 billion. In today’s dollars, that would be the equivalent of having $4,500,000,000.

Millionaire Money Habit: Building wealth starts with the mindset and the desire. Discover what you are passionate about and find away to channel that passion in a way that provides great value, and the money will naturally follow.

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Posted by Ryan on June 15th, 2008 in Recommended Readings

Read through this collection of some of the top blog posts from around the personal finance blogosphere from this past week. Don’t forget to take some time to read through the Millionaire Money Habits archives while you read the articles below.

Spotlight: Frugal Dad talks about his only regret was not learning about an easy personal finance tip earlier in his life. Find out more by reading If I Only Had A Financial Mulligan: The 50 Percent Savings Plan.

Other Great Posts:

• My Top 5 Personal Finance Blunders at The Wisdom Journal
• Freeze Your Air Conditioning Costs at Cash Money Life
• 7 Surprising Ways to Save Money at beingfrugal.net
• Multiple Income Streams: 10 Ways to Earn Extra Income at The Dough Roller
• Are Your Goals Holding You Back? at Paid Twice
• Secret Money Saving Trick at plonkee money
• Letting Your Emotions Control Your Cinances at brip blap
• Help Your Kids Get Rich: Invest Early at The Digerati Life

Personal Finance Carnivals:

• Carnival of Personal Finance
• Carnival of Money Hacks

Millionaire Money Habit: To learn how to become a millionaire, you need to perpetually improve your financial literacy. Digest as much information as possible and stick to a plan that works for you. Be sure to subscribe to this site’s RSS feed or by email to be notified of new articles posted here.

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Posted by Ryan on June 13th, 2008 in Credit and Debt

How many times have you dealt with bill collector harassment? Even when you are completely innocent and they clearly have the wrong person, they can be completely relentless. They’re rude, insulting and many times cross the line by breaking the law.

I found a way to beat bill collector harassment and get these people off your case. The details are found in the Credit Secrets Bible.

Bill collectors at times have made my life and just about everyone I know miserable at one point or another. They call you up at work and demand that you pay them for a debt that you’re really not even sure you owe. When you start to ask questions to understand the situation, they often become violently rude and are outright vulgar. They curse, threaten, lie or do whatever scare tactics they can come up with to make you pay. And there’s never any compassion or willingness to negotiate.

If you actually do owe the debt, the amount they come up with is usually inflated and can be two or three times the amount that you actually owe. How can they get away with this?

They usually do get away with it, but you don’t have to let them. First of all, as the consumer, you are protected by law. Even if you owe the money, the collector must treat you fairly and respect your privacy. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) sets the national standard for collection agencies, which explains that collectors cannot be deceptive, threaten to sue in order to get your money, suggest that you will be arrested, lie about the amount of money you owe, or say they will garnish wages if they can’t.

Why are Bill Collectors Harassing Me?

When a creditor does not receive their payment for several months, they sell the bad debt to a third party company, usually at a discount. The creditor gets some money, rather than a total loss, and the third party agency has an opportunity to collect the full debt and make a profit. Many times, though, they tack on loads of fees in order to make a substantial gain on the collection.
The collector now has a high interest in receiving the payment, which they are willing to get at all costs. However, often times they simply have the wrong person. The data they received from the original lender may be wrong, or they may have found you by doing a background search. It’s also common for these bad loans to be sold and resold to collection agencies several times over, and eventually mistakes are made or accurate information gets mixed with misinformation. Regardless, they usually go after you with no mercy.

What Should I Do?

First, do not ignore them. Even if the debt is not yours, you want to understand the situation and clear up the misunderstanding. It could be a case of identity theft, which means you may have more problems on your hands that you’ll need to tackle right away.

Always be the one in control of the conversation by asking the questions. Get names of the collector contacting you, the agency, the amount you owe, who you owe it to, and ask these questions several times to make sure their story does not change. Be sure to clearly ask what the amount you owe is, and the breakdown of the fees, interest or any other payments. Legally, the collector can not charge you more than the actual amount you owe.

Keep a file of every conversation you have regarding the claim, and keep track of names, dates and times of the call. Request every conversation to be followed up in writing, and you do have the right to ask them to stop calling and to handle business only in writing. You may even demand they stop contacting you entirely, in which case they can legally contact you one more time in writing to outline their plan of action.

What if the Bill is Not Mine?

Do not be fooled or threatened into paying a bill that is not yours just to get the creditor off your back. Any payment you make is acknowledgment that you owe the debt, which could lead to more trouble for you down the road.

The first step is to file a dispute by using one of the debt collection letters in the Credit Secrets Bible. After you file a dispute, the collection agency must stop collection efforts and conduct an investigation on their claim. They are required by law to validate the debt by obtaining verification from the original creditor.

If they are unable to validate the claim, ask for written confirmation that the collector is not holding you accountable for the debt. Even after properly disputing the claim with the collector, the debt could be sold to another collector down the road, and you want to have this formal documentation on hand in case the bill collector harassment comes back.

Millionaire Money Habit: If you owe the debt, get it settled so you can work on repairing your credit, but that does not mean you have to take the abuse of bill collector harassment. Make sure you understand the law and let them know you expect them to abide by it.

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