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Bryan C. Fleming

Guest Article: Hand on Chin Meets Cash in Wallet

Filed under: Uncategorized, Guest Bloggers — bryan_fleming @ 7:00 pm

Goals.gifDereck and I had been emailing back and forth.  I asked him if he’d like to be guest blogger on my blog.  He accepted.  Now I think anyone who reads this would agree that Dereck put a lot of work into writing this article.  Please take a moment and stop by his blog http://thebeststocktradingintheworld.blogspot.com/.  I’m subscribed to his RSS Feed and I can tell you he consistently puts out great stuff.  Here’s Dereck:

 Any readers of this who have happened to have visited my own blog would know that it is a ruse, of sorts. While at the same time being about the stock market it is also about thinking. It is the thinking man’s portal to the world of investment. By coming from that perspective, it was an immense pleasure to have come across The Home of the Million Dollar Savings Club. “Thinking”, as it has seemed to me, instead of being some mysterious art practiced by ancient men in robes and sandals busy staring out into the abyss we call the Mediterranean, is a tool practiced by men and women willing to resist their natural impulses. “To stop and think” suddenly becomes literal.

What more perfect a place is there then to make an observation such as this than on Bryan C. Fleming’s website?–a  place where we can all stop and think, and when we do, resist one of our greatest natural impulses: the impulse to spend.

When I was a boy, and I had done something stupid, my father used to make me do pushups. Not as a course of punishment, but as a means to teach me the thing he said to me whenever I found my nose facing the floor, arms outstretched: “If you’re going to be stupid, you’re going to be strong.” Now at some point in our lives, we lose watchful parents but instead of gaining some kind of benevolent substitute, what we find is more pushups. Like when we’re broke, or scraping by, or looking at a great distance toward our hopes and dreams while pretending that they are much closer than they are. We may even feel the same sweat on our brows, or the same pain in our arms.

But now this time we are the ones who have to do the teaching. We are the ones who have to stop and think. We have to decide to do differently what it was that got us here again, all fingers in sand. Like starting to save a dollar a day.

Worry not my friends, life need not be so austere either! We can still, as some parents do, look down at ourselves and laugh, with the full knowledge that the end is not so distant after all—it is only as far as a single decision to straighten up, learn from our mistakes, and save a buck or two. Or even a million.

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Million Dollar Savings Club Turns 1 Year Old: One Man’s Journey

Filed under: Uncategorized, Million Dollar Savings Club — bryan_fleming @ 4:01 pm

birthday.jpgWell it’s hard to think that one year ago today I started the Million Dollar Savings Club.  That’s right I started with just $1.  You can read my journey here.

So how much have I saved? Not $300.00, $600.00, or even $900.00.  I’ve officially saved $2,125.86.  Some is in a pile of money in my bedroom, some is in my ING Direct Online Savings Account, and even more is my free online stock trading account.

Here’s a recap of my One Year Journey:

The first 139 days:

I saved $1 per day in 3 piles of money. 
$1 for saving
$1 for investing
$1 to give-away

Some things I learned:

It’s hard to remember to put a dollar away every night.  It’s amazing to see how fast the money builds up.  Everyone should start here and see if you can beat my record.  If you beat it, email me.  I’d love to share your story with everyone.  So I did this for 139 days.

Side NoteAs people you live with discover your piles of money they’ll start asking to “borrow it” or they may even take it.  Be careful in lending your money or you’ll find your pile dries up quickly.

Beyond 139 days:

Next, I opened an ING Direct Online Savings account.  I committed to saving $50 per week.  At the beginning of the year I formalized this with being a bronze, silver, or Gold saver.

Later I realized that even though ING direct is great, I needed a better return on some of my money.  I found a free online stock trading website and opened an account.  The amazing thing is you can open an account with under a hundred bucks.  I started with $500.00 and quickly grew it to $512.12 by trading shares of an index fund called IVV.  It’s been fun.  Much like Gambling.

So how much have you saved in the last year?  If you don’t like the answer, start with just $1 like I did one year ago.  Then you’ll see the money build up and make some bigger commitments.  Hopefully this time next year you’ll do better than me and have over $2,100 in the bank!

Until Next Time… Keep on saving.

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Personal Growth Carnival #49

Filed under: Personal Growth Carnival — bryan_fleming @ 4:46 pm

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Can you believe the Personal Growth Carnival is about ready to turn the big 50?  In the 50th edition I’m going to put a lot of the long time writers at the top.  But let’s talk about this edition. 

This week we had a lot of carnival spam.  That’s people who post a bunch of off topic artiles to the carnival hoping you will read them.  But I go through and erase them, only leaving the ones that I think you will get something out of…

And here they are….. Enjoy!

Christine Kane presents What?s Easy. What?s Not. posted at Christine Kane’s Blog, saying, “hiya!”

Peter S C presents How A Personal Mission Statement Can Help You Change posted at I will change your life . com.

Jamie Carr presents New Base Lines posted at New Baselines, saying, “This article will help anyone who is interested in creating a new level of living that is better than where they are right now.” (more…)

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