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The Second Step:  Increase your income

Now that you’ve cut costs as much as possible, you will undoubtedly have some money leftover, unless you were one of the very few who was already living like this (almost everyone can cut costs if they really try).  We will call this leftover money our workable cash; we will use this term many times.  The money we use for living we will call living expenses.  These are mandatory.  What will we do with this workable cash?  We will do lots of things with it.  The first thing we will use it for is saving.  If this sounds boring, well, it is.  But, this is critical.

You may hear that more money won’t solve the problem, and that your money management is the problem.  For most people, this is true.  However, there are some who cut costs as described in the first step, and they still either do not have enough to live, or have almost no workable cash left to save.  If you find yourself in these categories, then you <em>must</em> increase your income.  Who else should increase their income?  Anyone who wants to hurry this part of the process up should increase their income.  Now, your focus is on how large this workable cash is.  There is no “enough” – you want as much workable cash as possible.  I would say the minimum is at least as much as your living expenses.  If your living expenses are $2,000 per month, then you want your workable cash to be $2,000 per month, minimum.  This means you must have $4,000 income a month after-tax, as a minimum.  If you do not have this must, then you must increase your income.

How do you increase your income?

This usually involves getting a better or second job; or, if you are a business owner, this means working harder and longer.  How do you get a better job?  You can get a professional license, go to technical school or college.  You can always get a second job.  You have to evaluate this yourself – is it worth ____ years of studying to make however much more you are going to make?  This decision is up to you.  I suggest you find the best value – the amount of studying that will create the most gain in income, anything past that will be an inefficient use of your time.  The first two steps can take anywhere from a couple weeks (if your situation is simple) to several years (if you must sell your home or car, and you go to two or more years of school).  Once you have completed this second step and have, at a minimum, as much workable cash as your living expenses, you are ready to move onto the next step.

This may seem like a lot of work – it is, and it’s not very rewarding.  You will find yourself living worse off than before, it takes a long time, and you find that there are no rewards.   When you get discouraged, remember that very few people get past these first steps – if you do, you have what it takes to be rich.

During the next several posts we will lay out the basic outline of our strategy and explain it. We will also explain, throughout this article, the thought processes needed to become successful at each.

To begin, you will start with your current income. For most people, this is a job with a paycheck (working for an employer); for others, this is from their own business (private practice accountants, doctors, etc). Regardless of where your current income comes from, there are two things that matter – how much you spend and how much you get.

How much you get – you need to make sure that you can cover life (most of you probably can, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this).

How much you spend – this is where most people will have a hard time.

The first step:

One must reduce expenditures to the lowest realistic amount. This means, if you are married or single with no kids, you should live in a studio or one bedroom apartment (unless you have exceptional circumstances, such as military housing or a paid-off house you currently own). You should be driving a cheap, used car from a reliable maker (Honda Civics, Toyota Corollas, etc). You should be eating out only as very special occasions or when faced with no other options. You should be cooking cheap, but still nutritious, food. You should not be going on expensive vacations. You should be wearing nice looking, but cheap, clothes. Make sure these clothes are not so cheap that they will fall apart quickly. TV is optional; for some, it is necessary to their sanity and enjoyment of life – others should go without. Recreation should be included. You must enjoy yourself. This is the hardest part – keeping yourself in check. Do not confuse recreation with impulsively spending. Many can enjoy group hikes, board games, reading, internet surfing, TV watching, and other things that cost little to no money. In a nutshell, spend as little as you can. If it means spending more on an appliance initially to get the best value, then do it; it is better to spend $1000 for a washing machine that will last you 10 years than a cheaper, $800 washing machine that will last you only five years. The $1000 washing machine is really the cheaper one. Consumer Reports is an excellent source for product reviews – great ways to find the best value of what you’re looking for. So, cut your costs to as low as possible while staying realistic. Do not starve; do not confine yourself inside without anything to do; do not give up your social life. But, DO cut costs as much as possible.

This site is dedicated to providing information on how anyone can become rich. Your first thought may be “Oh, I’ve seen sites like this before. It’s a scam.” Or, maybe you’ll think that this website is just like all the others – another website trying to get your money. You might have even tried to follow some of the reputable gurus before! But, one thing’s for sure. You haven’t gotten rich yet. If you haven’t gotten rich yet, then this website is for you.

What is this website NOT?

- This website is not for people who expect to get rich quickly or easily. Of course, you probably want to get rich quickly and easily, doesn’t everyone? But, if you have a good head on your shoulders, you’ll realize that there are no free lunches for most people, and most people must work if they want to get rich.

- You will not find daily stock updates here, or daily market updates. We, here at Rapidly Make Money, are not interested in following the market. To many of you, this may come as a surprise; it might even seem stupid to be unconcerned with the market. In fact, this is not the case. Warren Buffett himself said that the only reason he goes to the market is to see somebody do something silly.

- A step-by-step guide on how to do the work you will need to do, the investments you will need to make, or the businesses you will need to start.

- We are not trying to sell you anything. Our goal is to provide you with the highest quality information on how to become wealthy. We have struggled and poured through countless books, webpages, and videos; we have been to countless seminars, classes, and we have seen many videos – all on how to become rich. Most of what we found was garbage. The strategies were either scams, bad ideas, good ideas that didn’t work, or not applicable to most people. Of course, some of what we found was true, quality information. Our goal is to provide you with it.

- We do not promise that our strategies will be exciting. In fact, the process of getting rich is actually a simple, boring one. You may find excitement in what you are doing, but the process itself is dull, simple, and unexciting.

If you are willing to dedicate lots of your free time, willing to forgo many luxuries for extra money, willing to work hard and struggle for a long time without ever seeing any results, study hundreds of hours without being able to figure out how to apply it – because you know you are going to be rich – then this website is for you. Welcome.