Money: a Self-Serving Programme: Liquidity, Savings, and Investment

By Roger Wilson

If you are one of those people who really wants to save money and make more of your future then this will be the book to start you off. It leads you through the understanding of money to the resolve and disciplines needed to save it. It then takes you on to an understanding of risk and then to investments. The text assumes a light-hearted approach overcoming some of the hard facts that must be faced if you are going to be a successful wealth builder.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Feb 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479787234

Roger Wilson

The author spent 25 years, between 1967 and 1992, as a political activist in the Liberal Party holding many positions including ward, constituency and county chairmanships. In addition, he served on the Home Counties forum and was a member of the National Council for a number of years. From this, he was invited onto the National Agenda committee; a post he never took up. The introduction of four socialist MPs into the party without membership approval, tilted the political direction of the Liberal Party. This started the author to consider the role of our democracy and the limitations it imposes on our representation, governance and society in general. Married to the light of his life with two children and two grandchildren.

Book preview

Money:

A Self-servin.g Programme

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Liquidity, Savings, and Investment

Roger Wilson

Copyright © 2013 by Roger Wilson.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013901749

ISBN:

   Hardcover   978-1-4797-8722-7

   Softcover     978-1-4797-8721-0

   Ebook          978-1-4797-8723-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

0-800-644-6988

www.Xlibrispublishing.co.uk

[e-mail]

305213

CONTENTS

Introduction

1   Understanding What Money Is

2   The Labours of Hercules

3   The Hind of Ceryneia

4   The Boar of Erymanthus

5   The Hera Effect

6   Buying

7   Selling

8   Portfolio

Introduction

The alternative to living with money is to live without it and that makes for a poor life. So this book is an aid to help you make more of your money and hence life.

Today, there is not a single activity that is not controlled by money or measured against monetary value; in short, we all have to live with money whether we like it or not. The writing of this book was undertaken in my belief that the vast majority of people do not understand what money is, how to use it, or how to accumulate it. We have to live with it to exist, so to live better, we need to collect some around us and this means saving and investing. If you agree yet feel your life is powerless and inflexible due to the lack of money, then this is the book for you.

The object of this book is not to tell you how to spend your cash but to impart an understanding of money and to offer a programme on how to accumulate it. I call the programme ‘the Eurystheus programme’.

The understanding of money and how it can be used forms the initial text, but the rest is put over to how to accumulate it. The accumulation of money arises out of savings and investments, and while there are many ways of doing both, savings is all about self-discipline whilst investing is about method and knowledge. I focus on just one form of investing which I have tried and tested with the result I sleep at night. Saving and investment is ongoing and requires habit and an open mind, and if you cannot commit yourself to that, then this book is not for you, at least not for the time being.

With all financial products comes the health warning ‘the value of your investment and any income from it can go down as well as up’. This is true but they never say saving and investing is hard work requiring a dedication and considerable effort. This is particularly so if you are a person who spends all your income or have wasted away any financial assets you once held; such mortal sins should develop remorse within and only effort equal to the labours of Hercules will redeem you.

Ideally, the Eurystheus programme requires you have a computer and an Internet connection. Your computer will need to have a Microsoft Excel facility or something similar. It is possible to operate the Eurystheus programme without a computer, but I am all for keeping things simple and the Excel programme does that.

The object of the Eurystheus programme is to give you an habitual work sequence that puts order into your savings and investments but your gains and losses will be modest; this is not a programme for big gains and big losses. If you want big bucks, then this is another reason to put this book down now. This book also attempts to give you a basic understanding of the risks associated with saving and investing.

Risk is central to all savings and investments and so this book and its programme take a positive and real attitude to it acknowledging that risk is an investment tool and not something to be avoided.

Enjoy your saving and investing by not being greedy.

Roger Wilson

1

Understanding What Money Is

To make the most of your savings and investments, a broad understanding of what the money in your pocket really is must be the starting point.

Why Save Money: An accumulation of money gives you power, flexibility, and security. Saving money is simple; what is not so simple is the mindset, resolve