The Simple Path to Wealth Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life By J L Collins

The Simple Path to Wealth Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life By J L Collins

Part I:
Orientation
“The tide is high but I’m holding on.”
—Blondie

Chapter 1
Debt: The Unacceptable Burden
A couple of years after I was out of college, I got my first credit card.
They were tougher to come by in those days. Not like now when my
unemployed pet poodle has his own line of credit.
The first month I racked up about $300 or so. When the bill came,
there was each charge listed by vendor, with the total at the bottom. In
the upper right-hand corner there was a box with a $ sign in it and a
blank space beside it. Under this in bold letters it read: Minimum
payment due: $10.
I could hardly believe my eyes. I get to buy $300 worth of stuff and
they only require me to pay them back $10 a month? And I can still buy
more? Wow! This is awesome!
But still, in the back of my mind I could hear my father’s voice: “If it
sounds too good to be true, it is.” Not “it could be” or “it might be.” It is.
Fortunately, my older sister was sitting nearby. She pointed out the
fine print. The part about them planning to charge me 18% interest on
the $290 they were hoping I’d let ride. What? Did these people think I
was stupid!?
As a matter of fact they did. It was nothing personal. They think the
same of all of us. And unfortunately, all too frequently they’re not
wrong.
Pause for a moment and take a look at the people around you, literally
and figuratively.
What you’ll often see, if you scratch the surface just a bit, is an
unquestioning acceptance of the single most dangerous obstacle to
building wealth: Debt.
For marketers, it is a powerful tool. It allows them to sell their
products and services far more easily, and for far more money, than if it
didn’t exist.

The Simple Path to Wealth Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life By J L Collins