Fred Rewey’s Blog

I have been amazed how many people are finding newfound success just by “switching”. No, I am not talking about people that move from PC’s to Macintosh (they are called “Switchers” just so you know). I am talking about people who are leaving their current niches and expanding or moving into other cash flows. Typically people are considering completely new cash flows for one of two reasons.

One, they never got to the level of success they hopped for with their current niche. Often this is due to picking a cash flow that is too small or one that does not fit their personality.

Two, it is just time for a change. I will be the first one to admit that some things we like to stay the same and some things we need change. I find work to be one of the latter. We need to be challenged, excel, and feel accomplishment. Certainly this is not done at the risk of missing a needed paycheck, but sometimes we need change.

I noticed not long after the Cash Flow Convention in San Francisco this year people walked away with new ideas and the courage to embrace some newer cash flows. One such area is the relatively new pre-settlement lawsuit financing industry, which seems to be paying off big for many consultants. You may want to consider learning something new this summer. You may find something else to add to your income capabilities – or even a whole new focus. In either case, it will be fun.

You know you are in a low interest rate environment when credit cards are just bending over backwards to get your business. I suspect this “cheap money” environment will hold true for several more months but now is the time to take advantage of what they have to offer.

Now before I get too far, I am not suggesting that you run out and charge your credit cards up with things you never wanted to buy in the first place. But this is a good time to acquire a larger item at a low finance rate – or better yet, “restructure” your current debt to a lower interest rate.

Credit cards often offer low rates if you “move your other balance” to their cards. Beware of the fine print, but if everything checks out, you can often receive rates much lower than what you are currently paying. Recently I went to purchase a new motorcycle for what seems to be a growing collection and the credit card company offered me 1.9%. I knew rates were low but wow – even I have to consider having debt at that low rate (especially when the same money can be used elsewhere to earn better than 1.9%).

Again, this is a great time to restructure and move some debt around to a lower rate card. Just keep in mind, this is only good if you don’t run out and build more debt on the (now) free card.

Take advantage of this low interest environment while you can. Remember, half of building wealth is cutting what you have to pay other people – high interest rates certainly come under that category.

Interesting questions have come up lately. Will the real estate market continue to climb? Will it soften? Will it crash? Has the real estate profit train left the station?

Although no one can provide an answer with guaranteed results, it is safe to say that the market is slowing down in a lot of areas, but by no means has the opportunity passed as long as you stick to a couple easy rules.

1. Know your market. Know what real estate is selling for in your area. Know what the expectation is going forward (as far as growth rate, if any). Have you noticed the market slowing down? Are more houses available or on the market longer? Are builders starting to advertise “incentives” when they had been particularly silent in that area until now? When these items occur it becomes fundamentally important that you are buying property under value (so as to realize an immediate profit or equity). If you are buying on “spec” – hoping it will go up in value – you could be the one holding the bag in a declining market.

2. Always, always, always buy real estate that will cash flow. In other words, when you go out and buy a home, always make sure that you can rent that home for at least the amount of your mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance).* Many people make the mistake of thinking they can make the mortgage payments only to realize that they can not rent the property for the money they need to cover the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs. Certainly if you plan on “flipping” the property immediately you can consider ignoring this rule, but a word of caution. If real estate continues to slow down it will be much like a game of high stakes musical chairs – don’t be the one without a seat!

Lastly, I am repeatedly asked if interest rates will continue to go up. Well, let me say that no one knows for sure but I highly suspect you will continue to see a rise in interest rates at every Fed meeting for at least the next year or more…(if I am wrong, I will just delete the Blog post - just kidding)

We have all heard the encouragement to “save for a rainy day” and to tuck away at least three times our monthly expenses “just in case”. Unfortunately, the reality is Americans are saving less than ever. In fact according to the US Commerce Department, the personal savings rate in 2005 dipped into negative territory at minus .5 percent, something that hasn’t happened since the Great Depression. This means that in addition to spending all their after-tax income, people are also tapping into previous savings or increasing their borrowing.

It is time to revisit the 10% savings rule. This requires you start paying yourself first by saving at least 10% of what you make every month. Think of it this way, for every 10 months you save your 10 percent, you will have an entire extra month of income in the bank!

If you already follow the 10% Savings Rule, we congratulate you! You have experienced the benefits of paying yourself first. If you are just starting to implement this rule, you will need to review your income versus expenses and carefully budget your funds so you can pay all bills AFTER you have already reserved 10% for savings. Many people use automatic deposits with a set amount (equal to 10%) going to their savings account and the balance to their checking account. Another approach is to transfer 10% to your savings account every time you make a deposit to your checking account.

Our daughter has been following the pay yourself rule with her allowance since she was seven years old. She takes half of her allowance for spending money and the other half goes into a cigar box for a monthly deposit to her bank savings account. (Half is even better than 10% but she still has parents to pay the bills). As a teenager, she still follows this plan with babysitting income and other money she earns. Her goal is to save up half the cost of a car and then take us up on our offer to match the other half!

Whatever methods you use, just be sure to pay yourself first. Building wealth is really no different than climbing a mountain. Each step, no matter how small, takes you closer to your goal.

Editorial Review - Wiley

Every day, millions of Americans struggle to gain control of their finances and realize true financial freedom. Faced with everything from mounting credit card bills to mortgages and college tuitions, some have given up and filed for bankruptcy, while others have tried to stay afloat by meeting minimum payments. Fighting this type of battle can be daunting, but if you know the rules of the game, you can change your financial life forever.

In Winning the Cash Flow War, nationally renowned cash flow expert Fred Rewey addresses the financial problems that many of us face and offers practical guidance to finding financial freedom in today’s challenging world.

This book is divided into four easy-to-follow parts:

Part One-Evaluating Your Troops: Shows you how to take a hard look at your finances and make realistic goals that you can achieve.

Part Two-Understanding the Battlefield: Reveals the rules, tricks, and traps that we should all know about, but certainly have not been taught by the people making money off of us. This section will get you up to speed on the enemy.

Part Three-Mastering the Rules of War: Details the most powerful and important tools in the game, such as the Time Value of Money. This section will help you determine who your allies are, what tools to use, and how to really win the war on cash flow.

Part Four-Building on Your Victory: Explores the numerous ways to self-employment by creating a second source of income, or for some, a whole new way to bring home primary income.

Winning the Cash Flow War provides you with the tools and knowledge needed to take back your financial life. The unique step-by-step strategies outlined within these pages will transform your attitude about finances and help you to shore up your financial position. Discussing everything from effective budgeting to breaking into the lucrative and fulfilling world of self-employment, Winning the Cash Flow War will help you-once and for all-take control of your financial future.

To order, use the link to the right, check out your local bookstore, or visit www.winningthecashflowwar.com

As President of the American Cash Flow Institute (“ACFI”) for the past 6 years and as one of many successful members of the cash flow industry for over 12 years, I thought I would take this opportunity to answer some of the questions and clear up some of the confusing statements posted on other websites.

The cash flow industry in the United States is a multi-billion dollar business and growing every year. There are well over 60 different types of income streams that make up this industry. Each one of these different types of income streams provides a separate niche and an opportunity in which a cash flow consultant can create a prosperous business.

The cash flow business provides individuals from all walks of life [whether or not they have any advanced education] the opportunity to participate in a full or part-time business where they can actually help individuals and businesses solve finance related problems. By matching up individuals and businesses who have income streams but need or want immediate cash, with funding sources willing to purchase those income streams for immediate cash, cash flow consultants not only make money for themselves, but also resolve the cash flow problems of their clients. It really is a true win-win-win situation for all involved.

The American Cash Flow Institute (“ACFI”) is proud to be the leader in providing personal training to those people interested in joining this exciting and expanding industry. We have trained thousands of Certified Cash Flow Consultants over the past 15 years. We count amongst our graduates some of the most successful cash flow consultants in the business. Some of whom have become our competitors.

The reason for this is that ACFI has combined excellent educational materials, rigorous classroom instruction, and top quality instruction with graduate support and assistance unparalleled in the industry. We offer advanced training, website development, inbound assistance, individualized outbound mentoring, a 76-page, 4-color monthly newspaper, and an annual convention. These are programs and services unique to ACFI and of which we are extremely proud.

While it is true that there are a number of people already participating in the cash flow industry, there is ample room for more. This is especially true, since most participants have found one specialized area of the cash flow industry in which to flourish, leaving the other areas for others to cultivate. Even within these specialized areas there is always room for additional cash flow consultants. That is what our free enterprise system is all about – just because Coca Cola sells millions of cans of Coke doesn’t prevent Pepsi and the myriad of other companies in that industry from successfully selling their drink products, profiting in the process. The same holds true for cash flow consultants.

As far as risk is concerned – there is risk in everything. No business, investment, hobby, vocation, or activity is without it. Of course there is risk in the cash flow industry. We at ACFI don’t claim anything to the contrary. But frankly, with a reasonable tuition fee, our massive funding source network, and our top-notch graduate support and assistance, the main risk in the cash flow system taught by ACFI is that the graduate won’t put his or her training to use. We state right in our Enrollment Form that the success of the graduate is dependent on the time, effort, and skill that the graduate invests in transforming the training into action. We can do a great deal for our graduates, but effort, dedication, and professionalism is the one thing they must do for themselves.

Our instructors teach our students how to engage in cash flow transactions without putting any of their own money at risk. This is absolutely true. But the training program, of course, has a tuition cost. Anyone who invests in any business training program, but then fails to put the training to use, will of course lose the major benefit of their investment in the training and the business. That goes without saying. On the other hand, we have graduates nationwide who prove on a regular basis that our training works for the graduate who puts it to use.

One aspect of risk we at ACFI do in fact eliminate is through a very generous withdrawal privilege we are proud to offer. The Federal Trade Commission and most states only require an organization to offer a three (3) day right to cancel from the date of any purchase. We at ACFI go well beyond that legal requirement. Our cancellation policy, which is clearly set forth on our Enrollment Form, provides any student with the right to obtain a full refund for a full 14 days or by 7:00 p.m. of the first day of the training, whichever occurs first. Since our training is three intense days long, a student has the right to attend a full third of the training, review the entire curriculum, examine all of our instructional materials, meet the instructors, and still cancel and receive a full refund. That right to cancel is absolute, may be exercised by the student for any reason whatsoever, and results in a very prompt remittance of the refund amount to the enrollee. That is one of the reasons we have been in business, as the largest training organization in the country for the cash flow industry, for over 15 years.

Those are the facts and that is our history.

Regrettably, however, and from time-to-time, there are individuals who would use the Internet or chat rooms as an opportunity to shoot at the American Cash Flow Corporation and advance their own agendas and/or products. I’m sure it will come as no surprise to anyone reading this letter that, often times, the sponsors of those sites, or the individuals making the postings, have a clear and competitive vested interest in trying to make themselves look good by providing misinformation or only partial information about the American Cash Flow Corporation.

Inevitably, they are competitors in the industry, or are selling books and tapes which they would have you believe are comparable to what the American Cash Flow Institute has provided for over a decade and a half, or are simply individuals who mistrust any organization marketing training programs. Without commenting on the quality of their training, services, or opinions, suffice it to say that we would not be in business today were we not providing quality training and a value proposition to the industry and our students.

While I have not attempted to respond, item by item, to the substantial misinformation and exaggerations you no doubt come across, I do hope I have answered most of your more fundamental questions and cleared up some of the misconceptions about our thriving industry and the training we offer.

If you would like additional information, do not hesitate to review our websites in depth and, of course, contact us personally for any additional information at: 1 800 253 1294.

All the best…

“Ok, fine. I will get a BLOG”

That was pretty much my comment after numerous people either accused me of “missing the boat” or simply “not doing a great job of letting people know my thoughts.” So, here it is - the official Fred Rewey Blog. I can’t tell you when I am going to write something here, how often, or even what - but if I do write something, this will be the place to find it!

All the best,

Fred Rewey