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Sound too good to be true? Is this personal finance guy really trying to tell me ANYONE can afford everything they ever wanted? Wait for it, I bet this is going to be another “positive thinking” and “personal power” Anthony Robbins style post.

No it is not.

This is a personal finance blog. We talk money here. And we do it with a lot of down to earth pragmatism.

There are 5 factors that will determine if you are going to live a life filled with the “stuff” you want, and the lifestyle you seek. But, I will say right up front here, none of this stuff is “hard”, absolutely anyone can do it, BUT the is an ART to it, a way of going about it that will mean some are better at it than others..

1. Always Negotiate

If you want the life you always dreamed of, filled with the things you always wanted.. then you are going to have to ask for it. No one is going to come along and hand you a winning lottery ticket.

And, if you pay retail for every possession you own, you are only stretching your dollar about 10% as far as it can go.

First, and biggest behavior you need to master, if you are wanting to achieve your financial and success potential is the art of negotiation. Never, ever, settle for an average deal. Be like Warren Buffet. Always buy bargains. And be the person who has the most self discipline and patience. If you have those two things down, negotiating is easy.

Negotiate on everything.

Your purchases, your pay, your work conditions. And be patient enough to wait for the best deal.

2. Never Pay Retail

If you want to get ahead, you need to give up on the idea of shopping retail.

Retail shopping is crazy. It is a plain fact. The markups are astronomical. And we will never get very far if we try to do our business that way.

You need to develop networks.

If you are renovating your house you need to know a guy who knows a guy. Talk to your neighbors, talk to your local shop owners. Get to know the people around you. Build on an entrepreneurial spirit. Look for opportunities. They are there to be found.

If you see everything as a potential win-win relationship you will be amazed how much benefit and cooperation you can mine from the local communities.

Everyone has a deep down wish to get a better deal. And approached in the right way, most people will be only too willing to “gang up” and revolt against the “man” (i.e retail multi-nationals who fleece you for an extra 100%-200% markup).

3. Shop Online

In this information age, where you can buy everything at wholesale prices, you should make sure you position yourself to capitalize on those deals. Use retailers only to get your preferences worked out, and your size right.

Do your research online too. If you are putting in a new bathroom you can get quotes from all over the country online. The more competition the more leverage you have to negotiate. AND the more information and background work you have done, say when you are buying a new house, researching the local market, other comparable markets, current trends, all that jazz, you will be at a huge advantage over everyone else bidding.

4. Buy Second Hand

Most people swear by new cars. They love the new car warranty. They love the fact no one has driven it. They love the new car SMELL.

Fools. I say. (with cheekiness)

From a pragmatic, financial perspective, the best kind of car you can buy is a late model second hand car, that obviously has been well serviced and not driven really hard (pulling a carvan or horse float for example). And then, drive it into the ground.

A well known, but little heeded, fact is that cars depreciate tremendously in the first 12-18 months. If you buy a new car you are literally throwing money out the car window as you drive it off the show room floor.

Let someone else throw their hard earned money away.

And, the same principle applies to other big ticket items. Boats, planes, jet skis.. all the good toys.

5. Sustainability

Number 5 is the medicine tip.

If you want to get serious about creating a life where you can get everything you every wanted no matter you budget. Then you really need to start thinking about sustainability.

You need to research Solar. For power and for hot water.

You need to consider converting your car to gas.

You need to consider installing rainwater tanks and hooking them up to your house, at the very least for drinking and cooking.

And, you need to consider the sustainability and efficient use of energy when you purchase your houses.

Because, in the not too distant future, around about the year 2007, you are not going to be able to see past your energy, water and gas bill to have money left over for investments, savings, and “doing deals” with the locals.

Oh wait.

2007. That’s now.

Yep. It is already a reality we are all experiencing. HUGE power bills. MASSIVE petrol bills. And, there is some very real chance it will never improve and only get progressively worse. We need to be organized, and strategic, and plan ahead.

The choices you begin making, will impact more heavily as the years mount up. A small divergence today can open into a huge chasm in 20 years. It is up to you whether that is on the good side or the other, when it comes to your utilities chart of accounts.

Every master list of personal finance sage wisdom has to have talk about utilities in our new world. Do not make the mistake of thinking it does not matter, you just need to focus on making money and getting good deals.

BONUS tip

Leaving go all the doom and gloom of number 5, the absolute best thing you can do to be able to afford everything you every wanted on any budget is to always invest a little of you take home pay, every week.

And the best place to invest your money —> Index Funds.

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