Author: dollarsanddecisions

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Dollars and Decisions Book List

Readers are indeed leaders.

In a study done by Inc. Magazine, it was discovered that the majority of CEO’s read a book a week as a way to stay abreast of the changes in their industry, shorten their own learning curve and help them become better people.

At Dollars and Decisions, we want to emulate the greats who run large companies as we want to learn how to run our own lives better.

Here are the books we are currently reading or have read.

Enjoy,

Matthew

 

 

Dollars and Decisions’ Book List

Rich20Something: Ditch Your Average Job, Start an Epic Business, and Score the Life You Want by Daniel DiPiazza

How to Run a Successful Meeting in Half the Time by Milo Frank

Extreme Productivity by Robert Pozen

Relentless by Tim Grover

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

The Personal MBA by Joshua Kaufman

The Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing by Robert Kiyosaki 

The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris

6 Months to 6 Figures by Peter Voogd

No Limits by John C.Maxwell

You Can Read Anyone by David J. Lieberman

The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant

Money by Rob Moore

The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance by Steven Kolter

Small Talk by Debra Fine

Way of the Wolf by Jordan Belfort

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

Principles by Ray Dalio

Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink

Money: Master the Game by Tony Robbins

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain by Ryan Blair

The Sell by Fredrick Ecklund

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias

A Random Walk Down Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkeil

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

Born Rich by Bob Proctor

The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles

Your Invisible Power by Genevieve Behrend

Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith

Mastery by Robert Greene

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Invest-The Manifestation Principle

Pt.1-Personal Development Investing

Invest (verb) – To devote (one’s time, effort, or energy) to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.

To invest in this is to bring reason, manifestation, and purpose to the first pillar of Learning. Development investing is the art of spending time with a newfound knowledge or skill in order to expand your cognitive activity and abilities.

The factual reality of this concept is that we all invest in our development daily in one direction or another. Throughout your day you invest to your betterment or your detriment depending upon the decisions you make. The choice is 100% in your hands. You as an individual may not truly grasp the power of influence that you contain and its origin from your initial investment as you move through the day.

Your life, outcomes, and results are a congruent reflection of how you invest in yourself and the types of environments you allow yourself to be part of. The statement that we hear of “Becoming what we are around” is very true for the majority of us because the human mind is naturally patterned to seek routine and stability as well as conforming to the subconscious influence of societal norms. That means the things our parents tell us “go to school (do good), graduate, get a good job” is the regularly followed path and so we tend to flock around people that are doing the same thing and that is what you invest in.

If parents and influential people had continued to nurture and encourage the same message from childhood into adulthood; that “you can be ANYTHING you want” I believe that the entrepreneurial percentage in many places would be much higher. That is the beauty of coming into a place of understand on your own as young adult.  You are now aware of your comprehension and are able to make your own choices in order to develop yourself into who you want to be.  Re-apply the “you can be ANYTHING you want” concept. If you want to, you can be an investor, powerful trader, lawyer, business owner, engineer, philanthropist etc. You as a young adult are able to make that choice for yourself particularly with the plethora of technology-based resources we have today. There should be no reason for you to accept less than what you know you are capable of.

Put the effort, time and dedication forth into development investing and see  just how truly spectacular your intellect can become. That self-empowerment will translate over into how you take care of things outside of yourself as in your financial investing.

Insider clue: The way you take care of yourself is a precise sign of how you will handle other things.

Go grab a snack, drink or a breather and come back…

Pt. 2 of Invest-Financial Development Investing.

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“Learn”-The Preparation Principle

What does it mean to Learn?

 

Learn

/lern/

Verb

To gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught.

This is the simple definition applied by Webster’s Dictionary. We as humans from a fundamental standpoint truly have few to zero instincts, everything we know we learn. We learn from listening, reading, practicing, or experience the method by which we learn differentiates from person to person. But the basis is that we all acquire knowledge or skills by learning. This concept could be further explained as your brain absorbing specific knowledge or applications and transmuting that into committed memory in order to share, recreate, or evolve that knowledge/application to everyday life endeavors.

To Learn and to be interested in learning is the foundation that will help us be successful in understanding the foreign exchange market and ensuring that no matter the circumstance you will know how to move forward. Purposefully placed Learn is the lead of our 3 Cardinal Principles because it stands as the single independent concept that sets the stage for life’s continuity.

Learning is a true gift, think about walking as an infant, solving that complex equation or making that correct move in the market, by setting a perfect buy order and watching your trade skyrocket in profit, all of those things aforementioned were at some point actions and skills that you had to learn to do. Learning is the essential factor that keeps us continuously busy as a species because we are innately always trying to find ways to do things differently or better than before. To learn truly is to grow and fortunately, to our knowledge, we have not discovered a human or organism that can learn “too much”. The very fact that you are able to read a typed piece of information on an illuminated screen powered by a device that allows us to communicate electronically is a profound joy, someone had to learn how to bring these machines to life.

Thankfully there are all different types of learning styles and ways to gain knowledge. Some people learn by opening a book and reading, others by hands-on, and others by just listening, there are also those that can have a mix-match combination of different ways. One of the most important factors for you as an individual is to discover the way you Learn most effectively. Among all of the different ways to learn in life experience is arguably one of the greatest tools because experience brings lessons from people and situations that have already happened so the results give us insight into future happenings.

Learning is an absolutely essential part of daily our lives whether it is sometimes difficult or easy we all share the general principle itself, we should encourage each other to continue learning and grow progressively as a society so that as we gain skills, and intellect we can apply those things to our next principle which is to “Invest”-The Manifestation Principle.

As always thank you for your time and consideration let us all continue to Learn together.

 

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Ready, Set, GO!!!

Good morning everyone,

This morning, we would like to recap everything that we have covered before we get more in-depth with where we want to take you as an investor/trader and more importantly as an individual. Let’s review the past three weeks and solidify our understanding of the foundation we are building to transform our intellect, emotions, physicality and, finances.

Week 1. Spend Thrifty

We recognized that as individuals have an obligation to figure out our personal emotional road when it comes to our spending habits.  We must become confident in the ability to not get stuck between the fork in the road of frivolousness and purposeful expenditures. We have to remember and realize that money is not a living-breathing organism and we can truly control it with first learning to control ourselves and making wise decisions with our investment choices. When the time to invest in the market comes, emotional stability is of the utmost importance and can be one of the most prominent deciding factors in how your portfolio can develop or crash.

Week 2. Let’s Get Physical!!!

Next, we explored the importance of exercising and making sure to give your body the proper activity daily to increase your overall fitness and intellectual strength. We were able to see how a simple 30-minute stroll around the block or a simple bike ride could boost your brain power and reduce stress, which is only two of the ten benefits that we were able to discover. The amazing thing is the ten we covered are only a fraction of the endless benefits that exercising induces. Remember, that when you look good, you feel good and when you feel good, you continue to make yourself look good. This translates to other areas of our lives as well. When you exercise your physical body properly and stress less, you are able to lift those financial weights, bench pressing trades against big boys with ease and running money marathons with your portfolio. Just like with physical exercise, the more you do it, the better you become.

Week 3. Intellectual Feng Shui

In conclusion, we urged you to thoroughly “know thyself”; know your strengths, flaws, interests, and non-interests and telling ourselves, at the end of the day, to accept all of the above or change them from within. We encouraged you to make a plan for yourself in areas you want to improve and to not sway from that plan no matter the cost. We learned to evaluate ourselves in our entirety, to look at our own lives objectively and not to cast our own opinions and thoughts of othesr onto them or to turn comparisons into intrinsic blame. We must remember at the end of the day WE DO NOT CONTROL ALL but we can influence outcomes by perspective and finding our best internal harmony. Remember, that the market trades TRILLIONS daily so while no one will ever nail 100% of the rises and falls, you can earn your cut of the share by first knowing yourself and applying the Dollars and Decisions Golden Rule “Treat the market as you would have the market treat you”.

Now that we have our emotions in-check, have exercised, and found our balance, let’s have some coffee or tea and open our textbooks over the next three weeks as we dive deeper into the 3 Cardinal Principles of Dollars and Decisions which will be the building blocks for new horizons. 

Learn

Invest

Trade

 

 

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Know Yourself, Know Your Worth

 

  • Critical because self-awareness plays into objective view of self
  • Plays into objective view of your personal narrative
  • Know what you want and write it down
  • STICK TO PLAN-
  • Be able to reevaluate your performance

“Know Thyself”. This concise yet impactful quote was written on the walls of the temple of Apollo at Delphi over 2000 years ago. Despite being written before the market as we know it today existed, this simple statement absolutely impacts the investments and applications we commit ourselves to today. What does it truly mean to know yourself? Does it mean to know what your name is or what you look like in the mirror? If we relegate this saying to such shallow terms, we strip it of its intended meaning. Knowing yourself is having the self-awareness to understand your actions and the ability to look at yourself objectively.

(What does looking at yourself “objectively”  mean?) -To truly look at your inner-self and reflect upon your individual strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities within yourself that will extract/demand personal growth over time This is a very simplified definition but it encompasses the overall theme.

“How does my own behavior come into play when I’m investing and the things I invest in?”, you may ask. The answer may be more profound than you originally thought. When we look at spending/investing situations, we apply our own “filter” or personal interpretation to what we see and this can be a poor habit. We have to understand that when it comes to making sound financial decisions, we have to treat it as if it were a living breathing entity.  When dealing with it, we have to listen and watch it, instead of layering our own values and systems to it. For example, think of the trading market as an actual person. Would it not be rude of me to apply my own sense of what’s right and wrong to him without once listening and understanding what he is saying? This is what happens when we try to add our self-indications and assumed values and bend the market to make it conform to our individual assessment/opinion. The forex market (Foreign Exchange currency marking) alone is a $5.3 trillion dollar a day industry. It will not be dictated or control by any one person, regardless of what their name, title, or status is. Trying to control that market or anything else and shape it to your will is a quick way to be washed away and disappointed.

I have just painted a fairly grim picture but all hope is not lost!

In a nutshell, Knowing Yourself goes like this according to our last two posts….

Step 1. Admitting your weakness

Know that you spend money in terrible ways, or that I always say “the love of money is the root of all evil”  realizing that you are not taking care of yourself physically like you should be and that you have made excuses about it.

Step 2. Reminding yourself of your strengths

Truly acknowledge and empower yourself with a precise and calculated change of mindset and put together a plan to correct your downfalls while solidifying your strengths.

Step 3. STICK TO THE PLAN

Do Not Get allow yourself to deviate from self-improvement. Go against your normal and easy path.  Write things down, make a collage, pictures, notes or whatever may be good enough for you to constantly remind yourself of the growth you are committed to making.

We must analyze ourselves in order to decipher out the bad from the good. We must train our subconscious to move our conscious being and be ready to move. The only way to control and tame this beast is to train it to take you where you want to go. This article is definitely deeper in the “finding yourself” element but that is exactly what we want for you because when we speak next week were are really going to begin diving into the financial realm of taking your money to a different place…

As always thank you humbly for reading and take your time, when you could have been doing so many different things and remember…

Learn. Invest. Trade.

 

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Financial Fitness

Exercising is an essential part of the daily routine most resources say that we as humans need at least thirty minutes of physical activity (exercise) per day. When you really put things into perspective taking half an hour to maybe get on a machine, lift a few weights, take a walk or whatever may be your workout of choice really will not take that much time out of your day and the greatest part about it is that it improves your mental state and keeps your mind sharp. In addition, when you go look in the mirror and see those baby abs start forming, or muscle gains increasing that truly triggers the activity becoming habitual and will boost the frequency of optimistic outlooks throughout the endeavors in your day. 

There are plenty of good reasons to be physically active. Below is a list of a few specific ways that exercising improves mental health and can truly translate to improving your financial decisions.

1. Reduce stress.  Take a walk or head to the gym for a quick workout. One of the most common mental benefits of exercise is stress relief. Working up a sweat can help manage physical and mental stress. Exercise also increases concentrations of a chemical that can moderate the brains response to stress so that you will not make spontaneous purchases or waste money on unnecessary things. So go ahead and get sweaty—working out can reduce stress and boost the body’s ability to deal with existing mental tension. Win-win!

2. Boost happy chemicals. Slowly making it through a few miles on the treadmill, but it’s worth the effort! Exercise releases endorphins, which create feelings of happiness and euphoria. Studies have shown that exercise can even alleviate symptoms among the clinically depressed. For this reason, doctors recommend that people suffering from depression or anxiety (or those who are just feeling down) pencil in plenty of gym time. In some cases, exercise can be just as effective as antidepressant pills in treating depression. Don’t worry if you’re not exactly in the shape you want to be yet, it is all a process. Getting a happy buzz from working out for just 30 minutes a few times a week can instantly boost overall mood.  

3. Improve self-confidence. Hop on the treadmill to look (and more importantly, feel) like a million bucks as well as earning a million bucks. On a very basic level, physical fitness can boost self-esteem and improve positive self-image. Regardless of weight, size, gender, or age, exercise can quickly elevate a person’s perception of his or her attractiveness, that is, self-worth. So you will begin to truly love yourself and value yourself monetarily much more. 

4. Enjoy the great outdoors. For an extra boost of self-love, take that workout outside. Exercising in the great outdoors can increase self-esteem even more. Find an outdoor workout that fits your style, whether it’s rock-climbing, hiking, renting a canoe, or just taking a jog in the park. Plus, all that Vitamin D acquired from soaking up the sun (while wearing sunscreen, of course!) can lessen the likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms. Why book a spa day when a little fresh air and sunshine (and exercise) can work wonders for self-confidence and happiness?

5. Prevent cognitive decline. It’s unpleasant, but it’s true—as we get older, our brains get a little…hazy. As aging and degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s kill off brain cells, the noggin actually shrinks, losing many important brain functions in the process. While exercise and a healthy diet can’t “cure” Alzheimer’s, they can help shore up the brain against cognitive decline that begins after age 45. Working out, especially between age 25 and 45, boosts the chemicals in the brain that support and prevent degeneration of the hippocampus, an important part of the brain for memory and learning.

6. Boost Brainpower.  Various studies have shown that cardiovascular exercise can create new brain cells (aka neurogenesis) and improve overall brain performance. Studies suggest that a tough workout increases levels of a brain-derived protein in the body believed to help with decision making, higher thinking, and learning. (CH-CHING-$$$!)

7. Sharpen memory. Regular physical activity boosts memory and ability to learn new things. Getting sweaty increases production of cells responsible for memory and learning.  Working out can truly boost memory among grown-ups. A study showed that running sprints improved vocabulary retention among healthy adults.

8. Get more done. Feeling uninspired some days? The solution might be just a short walk or jog away. Research shows that workers who take time for exercise on a regular basis are more productive and have more energy than their more sluggish peers. While busy schedules can make it tough to squeeze in a gym session in the middle of the day, some experts believe that midday is the ideal time for a workout due to the body’s natural rhythms.

9. Tap into creativity. Most people end a tough workout with a hot shower, but maybe we should be breaking out the colored pencils instead. A good blood-pumping gym session can boost creativity for up to two hours afterward. Supercharge post-workout inspiration by exercising outdoors and interacting with nature. Next time you need a burst of creative thinking, hit the trails for a long walk or run to refresh the body and the brain at the same time.

10. Inspire others. Whether it’s a pick-up game of football, a group class at the gym, or just a run with a friend, exercise rarely happens in a bubble. And that’s good news for all of us. Studies show that most people perform better on aerobic tests when paired up with a workout buddy. Pin it to inspiration or good old-fashioned competition, nobody wants to let the other person down. In fact, being part of a team is so powerful that it can actually raise tolerances for things. Even fitness beginners can inspire each other to push harder during a sweat session, so find a workout buddy and get moving! Because we want to inspire you to be the best you in your daily decision making translating that into the best monetary gains you can accumulate as well.

Regular exercise changes the brain to make an overall better you, so you will begin to make better decisions regarding the way your finances are handled as well due to the overall theme of “taking better care of things”  stamped in your mind. So when it comes to spending as we covered last week you will hopefully choose to spend more wisely (reference first article Money Mindset). Now that you have made up in your mind not to buy those $300 sneakers or $1000 pair of heels you can take yourself to exercise(remembering all the aforementioned benefits above) and then take that same amount of money and make a wise investment such as finding a new skill to learn like beginning an exploratory fundamental education about how to start making your money work for you. 

Learn.Invest.Trade

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Money Mindset

To those of us that have for years watched news channels, seen little letters beside bright red and green numbers and heard crazy jargon about “The DOW/S&P500/NASDAQ lost XYZ points today” and wondered “What the heck does all that mean?!?!?”, welcome to Dollars and Decisions.

Dollars and Decisions is a product of the minds of traders spanning across different ages and ranges of experience. We aim to create a more user-friendly environment for learning, teaching, and experience about charts and other investment jargon while using day-to-day conversation and understandable language. As you continue to follow us, we also will want to follow you as we trade together.

Money is a sensitive subject for most people because of the infinite range of possible financial situations.  Rather than attempt to address each situation individually, we want to help you obtain a correct view of your finances and keep your emotional intelligence (EQ) in check.

Consumers are powerfully influenced by their emotions and environmental cues, as well as how options are presented to them. By becoming aware of these biases, we could develop a better pattern of thinking and decision making. On a daily basis, consumers spend billions of dollars for different reasons and make trades on the individual stocks/forex markets/mutual funds etc. based on what they think they know, information they’ve read, past market rises and falls as well as their emotional state, which unfortunately often accounts for the biggest portion of decision making. It is important to determine if you’re spending with your heart or your head at the supermarket and especially when investing and trading.

We at Dollars and Decisions understand the significant role that emotions play in any money venture. Our goal is to empower and enlighten you on the trading and investing processes while strengthening the mental aspect that comes with it, resulting in sculpted minds and habits leading to becoming better and more profitable investors/traders.

Before entering the market I took some time to research topics involving ways we spend our money and controlling that, I was able to discover ways to improve my emotional state by first, figuring out what type of spender I was then secondly, getting a grip on that so that I would begin to practice better financial habits.

Once those two key factors were understood and more in my grasp I was then confident enough to begin my trading and investing education. Like you, I had to start somewhere as they always say, because like many of us earning a salary these days is just simply not enough. So, with all of that said let’s get your mind right first and the next time we talk we may begin to talk about your dollars and decisions.

Grab a pen/pencil and some paper/notebook, write these things down so that you have the information in front of you.

  1. Find out what type of spender/consumer you are. (Spender)
  2. Figure out which method would be best for you to begin forming new habits. (Grip)
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