Mar 18, 2021
Hey, passive traders. Howdy Ho, how's it going? Today I'm coming to you with a challenge. Yes, I'm actually going to challenge you, I had something I want you to do, or at least try because even if you try, it's gonna be better than not trying at all.
And I believe that the word challenge has been watered down, you know, challenge used to be something tough, something hard to do something not everybody could accomplish. But now it's like, challenges in China that this ice bucket challenge, you know, thrives on your head, okay? No big deal. Right. So this particular challenge is actually going to be difficult. And it's not something that you're going to be able to do overnight, most likely, it's going to take some time, but I believe that this is a goal.
That is very worthwhile. Now, let me give you a little background before I tell you the challenge, okay? They say, scientists, that is tell us that money can make us happy to a certain degree, right. So if you're making less than 75,000, they say, if you make more money, then you will be happier. Obviously, you'll have a better standard of living, less stress, all that good stuff, right. But after 75,000, the more you make, it doesn't really help that much, your level of happiness doesn't really change, you just stay at the same level.
I believe the number is probably 100,000. Now, just because 100,000 - 6 figures is a good goal, everybody's like, Oh, yeah, make six figures. It's like a cool thing. So I would say, hey, that number is 100,000. So if you were making up to 100,000, you know, if you make more, you'll get happier. And then maybe after that, then you don't get happy anymore. But the thing is, that's really I think the point of life is to be happy. And then how do you after you're making that much money, then it becomes not about you, but it comes about how can you help other people, right, and then that's where it comes to the challenge. So I want you to be happier, I want you to be more successful.
And I think that this challenge will be able to do both. First off, they have something called tithing, in Christianity. In Islam, they have something called Zakat. In Judaism and Hinduism and Buddhism, it's voluntary, I believe, to give money, not mandatory, but to encourage. So all the major religions have some sense of giving back to help, the less fortunate. The need. That's what I'm talking about. How much money of your income Do you give away? Whether it be a religious thing, or to a charity, or local cause? or whatever you want to do? How much of your money do you give away? Now some of you are thinking, Oh, Allen, hold on, they're barely making ends meet as it is. Don't be telling me about me giving away money. That's fine.
You don't have to do it right away if you really can't, but I do believe that there is something that you can do. And if you do get it, it'll make everything better. It'll make you happier. And it'll make you more effective and more productive and wealthier. I've seen it with my own eyes. So here's the thing, if you're not giving anything, right now, zero.
Now give me anything if you want, you know, tallied up to how much money do you give every month, on a monthly basis? Or on a yearly basis, however you want to figure out figure you know, find out what you make? How much did you give away to journeys to your religious institution? Maybe you know, give a loan to somebody that never got paid back.
Because you knew Yeah, it's not very bad, that's also, you know, giving money to a friend or relative or whatever like that. Find out how much you make, find out how much you gave, what percentage is that? If you're not doing anything, if you're zero, I want you to get up to 5% I want you to give away 5% of your income. Okay, now this is for people who are like, really strict wrangling really, it's tight, everything is tight. And I think you should make it a family affair for all of us.
The family should be on board with it. Wife, spouse, kids, husband, everybody. And maybe they all pitch in to help decide where the money goes. That'd be really cool thing. It's a good lesson to teach the kids as well. If you are giving something, but you're giving less than 10. Let's bump it up to 10. Okay, because if you already know how to give, then you got to make it a habit. You got to make it consistent. Okay, I'm going to get this much. Now I got to figure out where is it going to go? And that's the fun part. That's the fun part.
We figured Oh my god, there are so many great places and great things that I want to help the world in. Which one do I get to help out? Eventually, the goal is to go higher. So for those of you who are giving 10% or more, you're not off the hook. Because the challenge the real challenge is to get you up to 20%. That's right, 20% of what you make your income now I'm not talking about taxes. I'm not gonna make it complicated. This could be before or after-tax, whatever.
However you want to do it, that's up to you. But the challenge is to get up to 20% of your income given in a way to whatever you want whatever organization you want to, okay.
How do you get there is an issue. So there are two things, two things you can do. Number one, you can lower your expenses, obviously, right? Now, I don't want you to lower your standard of living, I don't want you to live like a popper. So you know, cut the things that maybe you don't really use or need anymore. You know, maybe if you have a Netflix, and if you have an Amazon Prime, if you have a Hulu, and if you have a Disney plus, maybe you don't need all four of them. How much TV Do you watch anyway? Maybe you just need to or want to cut something, save some money.
Maybe if you eat lunch out, five days a week, maybe you Brownbag at one day, not only will you be healthier, but you'll save money, you feel better about yourself. So, these little cutbacks, not only will they make you more financially stable, but they will also make you healthier, you know, you'll get out and do active stuff instead of watching TV. So we can only hope, right? The other way is to increase your income.
Now 20% is a stretch by anybody's imagination, right? You're gonna have to really put your pen to paper and figure this out, like how much how can I do this, right? Go from 5 to 20 or 10 to 20, it's a big deal. So you're gonna have to make more money. And whether that's income from job income from business, investment, or trading, it's going to give you a logical, tangible, physical goal that look, I need to make "s" because that's the challenges.
And then you got to figure out how you're going to do it. Now, it's not gonna happen overnight, like I said, can take some time. But I do believe if you set your mind to this challenge, and if you take it seriously, and if you do it, and you strive, and if you're on a 5%, right now, even if you get to 10, you know, and you'll get all the way to 20.
Eventually, you will, if you want to, but even if you get to 10, that's going to make huge differences in your life. And then eventually, you know, maybe you feel like, okay, I don't need to give the whole point. But if you stop, you have 20% of your income just sitting there that you can use to build wealth, to build anything. Right. So it's basically building a financial discipline, to spend less, but also, it's pushing you to grow and to make more.
And I think that's the real benefit. So yes, you'll feel better about yourself, you know, you're helping other people, you make a difference in the world. And who knows, by giving more money, it'll probably come back. That's the way it works, right? The more you give, the more you get back. But it will also force you to be thinking about more income.
Now, obviously, we all think about Oh, man, I gotta make more money. I gotta make more money. Yeah, but this is a real number. You need to make a real plan. And then enact put that plan in motion. You know, step one, step two, step three, step four, and then you can drag and so how do you how good did I do? And you can make it a game? Because that's what is a challenge. It's a game, I'm throwing down the gauntlet and challenging you, and you get to make the world a better place. Now, for me, I'm right now I am about 20%. I'm not saying that to brag. I'm just saying that it is possible.
Okay, I didn't get there years ago. Right, it took some time. But we built in a habit in my family, me and my wife, we both had a habit. Okay, we're going to start with, we started with 12 and a half percent. That's what we started with. And then we did a little bit extra, oh, hey, you know, this guy needs some help, we need to, you know, he needs a couple grand to fix his car, or this kid needs, you know, to pay his tuition payment for the month for the semester, give him some money here, or send it to charity or, or whatnot. But we came up with creative ways to do it.
One of the things that I do with the kids is I've given money to this organization called Kiva, K-I-V-A-dot-org. Basically, what you do is you loan micro loans to people in other countries. So if you give maybe $1,000, each loan that you give is only 25 bucks, right? So you take the 1000 put it in the website and send it to them. And then you choose who to give the loan to. And you can give each person $25. Now, obviously, the people might need more. So there are several people giving loans. But the people then pay the loans back.
So you get more money to lend to more people. Now the point here is not to make interest on it. You've given it the money away, but it gets repaid and then you get to learn it again to somebody else and get repaid and learn again, learn again. So I do this, my kids. And so now my boys, they're 8 and 10 right now, they get to choose who we give the loans And I haven't added any more money into it because the money comes back and we get more loans.
And every couple of months, we look at it and say, How much money do we have? Okay, let's make some loans. And they decide who they want. They go through all of the available loans and look at the pictures and look at the description of what they need the money for, what country do they live in? Are they a man or a female? Are they a group? Are they individual? Are they going to be able to give the money back? Does it make does it make sense what they're trying to what they need the money for? They make all these decisions on their own, and then they pick.
And then they track, like, How much money did they get back, you know how their loans doing. So they feel good about themselves. But they're also learning how to be a good lender, which eventually is something that I want them to know, because I want them to be making investments, that's part of the job, right, you have to know how to get your capital back. So we're using doing good to teach.
So if you have kids, I think that's definitely one of the plays, one of the ways you can do it. But again, the challenge is to get yourself up to 20%, giving the money back or giving the money away. I'd be interested to know how many of you guys would actually check me up on this challenge, and how many are actually going to be able to accomplish it, it's going to be amazing. But if you get up to 20%, the feeling that you're going to feel it's unbelievable, where you actually, you know, you you feel on top of the world really does not only do you want less, like you desire less, it just makes you desire less things be less materialistic, because you're, you're not only looking at what you need, but then you're thinking, Okay, I need to raise, like I say, you're going to give away $20,000 a year, okay?
You have to look for places to give the $20,000. And so you have to research. And when you're doing the research, you're going to find out all the things and all the people and all the places that are suffering, and need help. And you're going to feel so grateful for the life that you have. And whatever situation you're in right now, you're going to feel amazing. For a while, you know, I'm really in a blessed situation to be able to give away $20,000.
And then you're going to help those people and you've got a few really good budgets. Not only that, but you've also increased your income hopefully. Right? And then the big thing about it is that the way the US taxes are, you don't even have to, it doesn't have to be a full 20,000. If you're making 100,000 You don't have to give away the full 20 like to make 20% because then there's taxes and stuff. So the more money you give, the more tax break you get. So you're not really having to in order to get 20% of your income, you're not really having to give away 20% 100,000 it's because of the tax breaks. So it's really cool. I thought I'd share this with you. It's an interesting idea. I think it'll definitely help you. So yeah, it's not easy. It's a challenge, right?
Are you gonna, do it? I hope you do hope you give it a shot. Because not only will it change your life, it'll change your family's life and change the world. So with that, remember to trade with the odds in your favor, and good luck. Take care
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