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4 The Wealth Account I have developed the concept of a wealth account - linked to the strategic spending system - which has worked successfully for my clients for over 20 years now. The idea of strategic spending is to divide your hard earned income up into small, easily controlled bundles. The first bundle taken out should be savings—a minimum ten per cent of your gross earnings. This amount is transferred monthly into your Wealth Account , which should be a Cash Management Trust or similar. If you leave savings till last, you will always find there is nothing left over. The second bundle is your Cash Account . This covers your daily living expenses for which you normally pay cash; a bit like your pocket money. These are all non-deductible items. This account is simply accessed by a 24-hour access keycard. The third bundle is your Operations Account . This is for those larger expenses which are usually paid monthly, quarterly or yearly by cheque. This account should not be linked to the Cash Account (i.e. you cannot access it with your Cash Account keycard). We keep the bundles sepa- rate. It is wise to use this account in conjunction with a credit card for those occasions when your monthly expenses are higher than the budgeted amount. The card acts as a smoother, as next month will be a surplus that can be paid back into the credit card. In addition to your savings, which go into your Wealth Account, you should also put in enough funds to cover all your tax deductible expenses. This will save time and effort for your accountant when preparing tax returns. The system is linked by the use of the Transfer Account , into which your pay is deposited. From there, periodic payments are set up to transfer funds to all the accounts on the 15 th of each month. You should maintain a small float in the Cash Account and Operations Account. The main aim is to accu- mulate as much as possible in the Wealth Account and use these funds wisely to create wealth. You can use the example Wealth Account in Figure 2 to link up with your strategic spending plan. Once you have committed to strategic spending and keeping track of your spending using this system, you are well on the way to achieving your goal. ‘Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.’ Mark Twain To summarise: Set up your three separate accounts (your wealth system) Wealth Account Cash Account Operations Account Use your strategic spending sheets to track your monthly and yearly spending. Excellence is a commitment to completion There is no right or wrong; there is only outcome. Some people would rather be right than happy Figure 2 Your name: Date: Name of Beneficiary of Trust: Wealth Account Investment Portfolio P.I.E Property Equities (Fixed) Interest eg: Cash Management Trust Minimum 10% Saving to Wealth Account Income Expenses Transfer Account (Net Income per month) Cash Accounts Keycards with Credit Card option Primary Account Spouse Account Monthly Living Expenses Client 1 Client 2 Food ................. .................. Beverages ................. .................. Dining Out ................. .................. Clothes ................. .................. Hair/Personal Care ................. .................. Pharmacy ................. .................. Gifts ................. .................. Fares ................. .................. Other ................. .................. d e k n i L t o N Operations Account Interest Bearing Cheque With Credit Card (For Overdraft Facility) Housing Transport Miscellaneous Rent/Mortgage ............ Car Payments............ Installments ............ Maintenance ............ Insurance ............ Credit Cards ............ Rates ............ Petrol ............ Education ............ Insurance ............ Maintenance ............ Medical ............ Electricity ............ Registration ............ Dental ............ Telephone ............ Insurance ............ Contributions .......... Gas ............ Life ............ Holidays ............ Health ............ Loans ............ Other ............ Other ............ Living All Unearned Income All Tax Deductible Items Accounting Fees One Life International Fees Financial Management Works Fees Financial Success Fees Negative Gearing Disability Insurance Full download @ http://www.slideshare.net/roymcdonald Download the full copy of Roy’s book Click here Plus all the above downloads This e-book was created by the team at http://OneLife.com.au to support you on your journey to success. Also we like to thank and say we are grateful for the feedback from clients that write in with their success stories to inspire others. http://RoyMcDonald.net
