With the new year ahead of us, it’s time to start making your financial resolutions and create a game plan for you how you plan to achieve them.
One of the smartest ways to do this is to learn from others who have (or have accomplished) similar goals. To help give you some ideas, we asked these self-made millionaires and Advisors in The Oracles to share their top money advice for 2020:
1. ‘Invest in yourself.’
“My financial resolution is the same every year: to invest in myself. I blew all of my first commission on a fancy fur coat from Bergdorf Goodman. The minute I put on that coat, I knew it was the best $340 I’d ever spent.
Sure, I could have put the money into my growing business, but I knew I needed to invest in myself to get ahead. The coat made me feel like the queen of New York real estate, and everyone around me started to believe it.
Whether it’s a new coat to look the part, a massage to unwind, or just an afternoon off with a friend, you’ll never regret an investment in yourself.”
—Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group, podcast host of “Business Unusual” and investor on “Shark Tank”
2. ‘Put your money to work.’
“Don’t leave your money sitting in the bank to depreciate. Put it to work with investments that have the potential to appreciate and will give you consistent cash flow.
And I’m not talking about buying a home. (Contrary to popular belief, a house is not an investment, because it doesn’t pay you every month. I’ve made my fortune investing in real estate, but that doesn’t mean all real estate investments are a good idea.)
Instead, make 2020 the year that you invest in yourself, like building skills that will make you better at your job.
—Grant Cardone, founder of Cardone Capital, a $750 million real estate empire. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
3. ‘Give more.’
“The secret to living your fullest life is giving. While there is peace in having financial security and comfort, neither means anything unless you help others and have gratitude.
That’s why my financial goal is to give two times more. I’ve opened a separate bank account for giving, where a percentage of my income is automatically deposited each month so I can easily donate to causes I care about.
I also give through my company, Nunbelievable. We donate two meals to help fight hunger for every dozen cookies we sell. A rising number of consumers prefer brands that support a social mission, so giving is also good business.
We all have the power to touch others’ lives, extend gratitude and live more abundantly. Here’s to a new decade of giving more than we spend!”
—Kuda Biza, co-founder and CMO of Nunbelievable, co-founder of #ThisIsMyEra, and founder and board member of the Amani Hope Foundation. Follow him on LinkedIn
4. ‘Invest in real estate.’
“Find ways to get higher returns for your investments by networking or looking for the right deals. Even a few percentage points add up.
The difference between 10% and 15% returns might not seem like much in the short term, but over 30 years, that’s the difference between doubling your money four or seven times. Investing in real estate is a great way to do this.
To get higher returns on our investments, we network with developers who can deliver. We also leverage the size of our real estate brokerage, which had 700 closings in 2019, to create opportunities that we can offer people who want to invest with us and earn higher returns.”
—Daniel Lesniak, founder of Orange Line Living, broker at the Keri Shull Team, and co-founder of real estate coaching business HyperFast Agent; author of ”The HyperLocal, HyperFast Real Estate Agent″
