Hello all,

We have a new website, www.jeffgossmann.org is no more. Now its :www.letthefireburnhot.com

This is the website for our ministry, theRemnant, at our Church, Impact Christian Fellowship. www.impactkerr.com

Now all my devotional ideas will be blogged on the let the fire burn hot website, and we'll be podcasting all of the messages from the Bible study there too.

so please use our website, we've put a lot into it, and it would be a shame if all my friends in Xanga land didn't check it out.
www.letthefireburnhot.com

I have begun to study how to work with money. It started by reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki.
In this book the author explains the different mind sets about money shared by the lower class, middle class and then the rich. He sums up many financial crises being due not to a lack of money, but a poor management of the funds available.
He simply says that the reason rich people get richer is because they buy more "assets" instead of "liabilities". By his definition an asset is something that actually puts money in your pocket. ie: a rental house, a stocks, bonds,  a mutual fund. A liability is something that takes money out of your pocket. ie: an expensive home, new cars, boats, plasma tv's etc.
He says that what gets the middle class is that they spend their hard earned money on things that they think are assets but actually are liabilities. The light went on in my head when I read that.
How many times do we purchase something expensive and make an excuse for it by saying "just think of it as an investment." But the reality is that its only an investment if it appreciates in value or puts money in your pocket.
The problem of buying a really nice big house: Its only an investment if you plan on selling it quickly. Advice: if you are buying a home, buy within your means, so that you can use your extra money to buy actual assets, instead of all your money being tied up in your home.

We have lost money due to inflation by keeping it in a savings account, we are about to start shopping in the areas of money market mutual funds and the Stock Market.
Any experienced (successful) advice?