Benjamin Franklin, Pennies, and Millions of Dollars$$$ by: Tom Levine

1. On Benjamin Franklin:

In 1757, Benjamin Franklin published "The Way To Wealth", a basic summary of his 25 year “Poor Richards' Almanac. ” In "The Way To Wealth", Honorable Mr. Franklin states the following:

"Then since, as he says, the borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the creditor, disdain the chain, preserve your freedom; and maintain your independency: be industrious and free; be frugal and free. At present, perhaps, you may think yourself in thriving circumstances, and that you can bear a little extravagance without injury; but, For age and want, save while you may; No morning sun lasts a whole day. . . "

There's a chock full of great wisdom to be gleaned from this paragraph of text. I encourage you to read it carefully, and absorb as much as you can from this man. He was, after all, just a man. But a great man. In fact, Benjamin Franklin believed that you are no different than he. He also believed in hard work, and perseverance, and the value of time management. These basic precepts, if mastered, could lead you down the same path of immense wealth as Benjamin Franklin.

But for today, I'd like you to focus on the last sentence. Mr. Franklin advises that no matter how things may now seem, your own morning sun does not last forever. This means that you simply must learn to recognize the value of money, the power of money, and the wealth that comes, simply by using that power to push the future, as opposed to spending it all on the wants and desires generated by today. It is now, not then, that you must save. It is through resisting temptations and want, and through saving while you are able and younger, that you can rise beyond your morning sun, and move ever so steadily into a life of wealth and financial prosperity.

Mr. Franklin is also well known for another famous quote:

"A Penny Saved, is a Penny Earned. "

I know, I know. This is boring, right? This knowledge is nearly 225 years old, so why pay attention to it now, right? You've heard it a million times, and saving money has never solved your problems before, right?

I hear you cry. But let’s put a 21st century spin on the whole thing. Taking a few, very simple, very painless steps. . . Will move you passively, gently, and effortless towards becoming prosperous. All, through the accumulation of compounding pennies.

2. On Pennies:

{I'm going to speak of the 401K, but whatever your company or employer offers, whether it's a 403B or otherwise, the same principles apply. }

You just simply MUST participate.

I used to be a manager in a very large corporation, and I believed firmly that I was just as responsible for my employee's personal finances, as I was for their work product. I would not settle for a simple year-end discussion about the available 401K program. I would mentor each employee, weekly, until they either quit from sheer exhaustion, or participated in the 401k. Why? Because, I knew that this one thing would change their lives, forever. And it's true. It does. Even to this day. One gentleman, for example, I still stay in contact with. He's accumulated thousands of dollars of basically FREE MONEY, and he hasn't stopped thanking me ever since. It makes me feel great. It was such a simple thing, something that any of us can and should do, and yet, if I never did push him towards making this commitment, who would have? Where would he be now?

The 401k, in a very brief nutshell, is your very own tax-free brokerage account. You generally can save up to 16% of your annual income, tax free. . . Yes, TAX FREE!!!!!! This money can be used to fund a variety of investments, but generally, Mutual Funds are readily available, ranging from Aggressive, to Moderate, to Conservative. The 401K is offered by MOST reputable and caring corporations.

But wait, it gets better. Not only can you save up to 16% of your annual gross income, but, and here's the cool part, many companies will match a percentage of your funds, ranging anywhere from 4% to 50% and BEYOND, depending on the back-end benefits your company offers. So, let's say that your company offers you a 4% matched-funds package with your 401k. . . Do you realize the power of this important wealth building, tax-free device? You can give yourself a raise. . . A Tax Free Raise. . . . A 4% raise. . . Right now. Simply, by participating in your 401k.

Now, for the most excellent part of the deal. The 401k can be set up for automatic contributions, pre-tax. So, your employers’ accountants will automatically take your money out, and match the funds, and this will all be done effortlessly, with out any work on your part whatsoever. This is an amazing passive, easy to do, wealth building mechanism.

So, as far as saving your pennies go. . . If you have a little piggy bank next to your bed, and no 401k going. . . Throw the piggy bank away. . . It's worthless. You need to START by setting up your 401k, and extracting all those amazing benefits from this wealth building vehicle.

One other thing: Usually, a company is only required to match funds up to 6% of your salary. This is a great benchmark, a great goal to work towards. Try to set up your 401k at 6% of your salary, and then increase it as you can. You will be goose-bump amazed at how LITTLE this impacts your take home pay, because again, the 6% is being taken out of your gross salary, before taxes are taken out.

3. On Millions and Millions and Millions of Dollars!:

Wait! Let's do some math!!! What would happen if. . . ?

If you earned $50,000 a year, and let's say you worked up to 10% participation on your part, with 6% matched funds from your employer. . . How long would it take to get to a million dollars?

Well, let’s assume you start with a zero balance at the age of 30, with an 8% rate of return on average for your investments, an expected 5% annual raise, and an expected 4% rate of inflation. Now don't let these facts get you overwhelmed. . . . You'll work your own details out later. Here's the point:

Long story short, you get to $1,000,000 at approximately age 59. Then, this account will pay you 75% of your pre-retirement salary until the age of 85!!!

Does that sound pretty Good?

For me, that sounds AMAZING!!! The reason why, is because you can think of the 401k as your built in Benjamin Franklin penny-saving plan, without hardly lifting a finger. It is your back-up, it guarantees you a happy and secure retirement, possibly allowing you to retire while still in your 50's, and like I told you before, you will HARDLY NOTICE the participation because the money you are putting into the 401k is completely tax sheltered, so you don't feel the sting come payday.

4. Conclusion:

Wealth happens in a series of moments, from day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year, decade to decade, generation to generation. . . . If you can build wealth and prosperity as a lifetime endeavor, you can truly begin to understand what financial wealth is, and how Benjamin Franklin acquired it.

The better you get, the more of the basic steps that you take, the sooner you can graduate to the more advanced steps, resulting in faster wealth building, and resulting in greater acquisition of millions and millions and millions of dollars, under the rising of your very own, prosperous morning sun.

But, of course, it starts with pennies.

We’ve enjoyed providing this information to you, and we wish you the best of luck in your pursuits. Remember to always seek out good advice from those you trust, and never turn your back on your own common sense.

Sincerely, Tom Levine

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Author:
Tom Levine

About the Author:
Copyright 2004, by www.Loan-Resource.Net Tom Levine provides a solid, common sense approach to solving problems and answering questions relating to consumer loan products. His website seeks to provide free online resources for the consumer, including rate-watch, tips and articles, financial communication, news, and links to products and services. You can check out Tom's website here: www.Loan-Resource.net/, or you can email Tom at info(at)loan-resource.net. This article is available in full format at: www.loan-resource.net/article-pennies.htm