The Couch-Potato Millionaire – DR. TOM GROOMS (Henley Ph.D.) … Invest in Expertise

The Couch-Potato Millionaire
Thoughts of author Dr Tom Grooms

Anyone who has read three headlines is knowledgeable and those who have read five headlines are experts. These experts can advise others how to succeed, become rich, and tell others what’s best for them. To qualify them, it’s best to ask how much money do they have in the bank compared to their debt.

To succeed as a couch-potato millionaire, you stop living by headlines or the advice of nonmillionaires. There is no country in the world where it’s easier to become a millionaire than America, except in the part of the world where you pay no taxes on income and profit.

I’ll take you, to the wealth hierarchy social standing of a couch-potato millionaire. It’s easy-peasy. Just follow my instruction like hundreds that I have helped to achieve millionaire status. Follow my lead.

Caveat emptor: The path to becoming a couch-potato millionaire will require a closed mind to other considerations, not a lot of effort to do much different than you are now and follow these simple steps. Just do it.

To begin with we need to make sure you qualify. Let’s assess where you are at this time and any unhappy lifestyle or money problem.

Let’s start with your most expensive overhead. You got here trying to have things you can’t afford or pay for like a mortgage. It’s not the American dream if the bank owns it and you don’t. It’s a nightmare.

Law Principle: If you owe one dollar more than you have cash in the bank, you are under federal law legally bankrupt. This means some institution owns you and your family. You are for all intense and purpose an indentured servant.

Poor me you say. I don’t know what to do. Okay, I’ll show you. If you have a sincere interest in buying your life and independence back.

Just as a note, this is something I have had my former students do and experienced myself. My legacy is many have achieved great success and are now extremely rich. Most own their own business or have become a multimillionaire with no money problem. It works but you aren’t going to like it right off the bat because it’s not what you have been taught in school, college or by your parents.

You don’t need to get off the couch. Pick up your cell phone and call a realtor to put your house for sale on the market. It doesn’t matter what the condition of the real estate market at the time.

With a mortgage you can’t breathe freely. With a mortgage you can’t be stress free. With a mortgage you can’t be independent. With a mortgage you can’t afford to retire. With a mortgage you have to get off the couch, participate and compete as an employee in the rat-race meat grinder.

We are going back to ground zero. This won’t work unless your spouse is fully onboard and in total agreement. If not, read no further.

If your home value is upside down in worth below what you owe, you can give the keys back to your mortgage lender. Then if you can, try to get back at least what you owe in the sale of your house. The mortgage company is equally responsible for the mess you are in, so you should not feel bad about making the lending company accept half of the responsibility for the plight you’re in.

Ethic Principle: you will repay the mortgage company all your debt in the future, even after filing a bankruptcy. No exception.

You take all the equity received from the sale of the house and pay off all other financial debt. It could be a car, credit card, personal loan or any type of financial obligation owed. Whatever amount of cash left, put it in the bank in a simple savings account with little or no interest so you can get to it whenever you need it.

If you can’t pay-off the car, sell it. If you can’t pay off any possession, sell it or return it.

Now you’re thinking how will I get to work. Poor me, I need a car to get to work. Not, if you can’t afford it.

If you have any money left, you pay cash for a used car, motorbike, bicycle, make other arrangements, or walk. You rent an apartment in walking distance of work for temporary living while you and your family recover financially and start over on a completely cash basis with no outstanding financial or personal obligation.

You borrowed the money. You owe the money. You can never become ethical without eventually paying off all your past financial obligations. This includes any nonfinancial obligation you made to another person, spouse or your children incurred are to be repaid by doing including what you promised someone else you would do.

It doesn’t matter if you made a bad deal and will lose money, you still owe the debt. Bad financial or personal decisions are no excuse. It doesn’t matter you broke a promise in the past, make amends.

The hardest part about this is the spouse giving up the feeling of security and the home to go live in an apartment or with family. You may think you are going backward and think about what your friends, neighbors or others might think. They are not part of the equation.

You just went back to ground zero and ready for a clean slate and start.

Scenario One: You live in an apartment with no debt and save 50% or more of your income put in a simple savings account. Interest doesn’t matter and the amount of interest paid is to be ignored. The only thing important is it’s your cash; you can get to it at any time and do anything you want with it. All financial debts are paid and all obligations are off the table.

Scenario Two: You have saved enough cash to go buy a small lot outside the city tax zone and avoid the high property tax. You invest your future income into physically building a small home yourself for you and your family, a little at a time, over time, as you have the cash. All debts are paid. This is called the Time Value of Money.

Scenario Three: You save all of one income with both spouses working till you have enough cash to buy outright a small house with no HOA, no high homeowner insurance premium and no high property tax. If your home is paid for, you may not want to pay for homeowner insurance, but it is always required by contract with any mortgage.
This is called the Time Value of Money.

At first location, the neighborhood is not so important as being able to afford the first-step house since you will probably sell the house and eventually buy a better home in a better neighborhood. All debts are paid.

Scenario Four: You live with a family member paying them rent until you have enough cash to buy a small house or scenario two is achieved. All debts are paid. This is called the Time Value of Money.

Scenario Five: You buy a house with other family members. This is the lowest overhead living possible when all overhead expenses are shared.

There is nothing stronger or more important in this world than family. Working families living together debt-free create the lowest overhead, easiest debt-free environment, and healthiest stress-free lifestyle while having the greatest financial freedom, personal independence from the world, yet close family to call on in an emergency.

You have now separated yourself from the financial jaws of greed, the government traps, politicians usurping power over you, and escaping the employee meat grinder. In this case, divorce and separation traded for the simple life become your friend.

You may have been conditioned to thinking it’s all about the money. It’s about the money and paying bills. It’s not, never was. Never has been. It’s about life, lifestyle and independence allowing yourself to be as onery as you want.

This same principle applies equally to a business as well as to a home. The business overhead causes bankruptcy when the landlord makes more than the business proprietor.

Ignoring this factor, either way, your overhead if too high starting a business or buying a home too expensive above your income after marriage will put either in bankruptcy or divorce, or both.

There is no reason to do what everyone else does and end up like them. The smarter you start, the more successful you are in the end.

There is no life possible with less stress when living day-to-day without lingering financial or personal contract obligation … you have achieved potato couch millionaire status. Enjoy the easy life … without working till you die poor of spirit.

The couch is reserved for those who aren’t at the beck-and-call of someone else. The couch is reserved for quiet time, time with family which can never be recovered when wasted or lost.

Living without prestige, a large tax-bill home or a lot of money identifies the qualities of the intelligent person who has ignored the noise of the world and lives in the greatest peace, quiet reflection or silence. This defines in essence the Couch-Potato Millionaire.

Caveat
This article is based upon extensive reading, research and experience.

The thoughts are the sole opinion of the author and nonadvisory and nonpolitical. The written content is based on experience, opinions, and ideas and research of the author. The author is not engaged in rendering advice. Quotation of passages for purposes of academic research, academic papers, criticism, education, review, and teaching are permitted with proper acknowledgment of the author. All rights reserved.