OMG! I have enough money to start investing?

Not everyone is Bill Gates, Jerry Jones, or Warren Buffet. We aren't born with the proverbial silver spoon in our mouths. In fact the playing field for earnings potential isn't even level. But has it ever been level? 

I recently took a tour of Cowboys Stadium (AT&T Stadium) in Arlington, Tx. It's a huge piece of property worth over 1 Billion dollars. It had artwork galore, several hundred thousand square feet of space, a ton of retail shops, and potentially 100,000 seats plus. But the one thing that stuck out in my mind was the playing field. Compared to the old, now demolished Texas Stadium; The field had been leveled out. I remember the old stadium being on on one side and not being able to see anyone standing on the other side. In the new stadium, the fields is for all intents been flattened. Well, it's not so flat that a ball doesn't roll. So what does this have to do with having money? 

Simple, Jerry Jones is standing on the middle of the field in the center of his $1,000,000,000 facility, at the top of the hill! While, myself and about 20 other people pay him to see his crowning achievement in investing. I realize, I may never have a structure worth a billion dollars. But, I want to think that with some shrewd investing; that one day I could!

So how much is enough to start?

That is a good question, to be honest. Rationally, it is ultimately your decision to start, and to determine an amount you need to start with. Anyone, and I do mean everyone, who gives you a number; is clueless. They seem to think that they know what works for you, based on playing 20 questions. If you don't understand what I am saying, go spend a day at a vacation club sales pitch.

They present this rosier than roses picture of you and your family vacationing anywhere, at any time. All they do is ask you basic questions like; Do you vacation every year? What is important to you when you go on vacation? Would you vacation more or less dependent on your finances? Would you like to have the ability to lock in your vacation pricing years ahead of time? And the questions go on until, wham-o; "besides price, is there anything stopping you from joining our vacation club?"

Basically, the salesman plays the 20 question game trying to figure out if you have enough money to buy his pitch. This is no surprise, you went because you wanted something for free. But the money....

So what about the money?

The sales rep, is trying to ascertain your starting point. They know most likely your not wealthy like Warren Buffett. If you were; you would just buy the company if you had that kind of money. What they want to know is, what is that financial threshold that you maintain. How much money can they get you to part with. A similar question is asked by REAs "What have you budgeted to spend on your new home?"  They are just more matter of fact about the topic, because you called them. They didn't have the need to bribe you to attend one of their sales presentations. 

Unfortunately, these tactics work! Try them on yourself. Find a property that you really want to buy, write down all the pros; ignore any and all cons. Then ask yourself, if the property where within your budget, what would you spend? Got a number? Good, now in reality, how much can you spend? Figure in the cons now! Is it the same number? 

Unless you are Bill Gates, numbers do mater.

I, myself, tried this trick and was way off base with my two numbers. Ideally, I would stand on the Blue Star at the 50 yard line of the new stadium. Reality kicked in and my budget, is more like the sideline of the old stadium. Can you even see the star? There is that mound of a hill that must be climbed by most new investors to reach the top to stand in the center of that beautiful blue star. (this my analogy; if you must comment on the Cowboys, do so @ ESPN.com)

From a physcological standpoint, the amount you need to start with could be sitting atop a mountain for all that you know. But the reality is, quite a few people started in their bedroom, or garage before they went on to become super mega rich.  They worked long hard hours, slowly building their wealth along the way. In case you missed some of my earlier blogs. I started with $489.00. It doesn't always take a billion dollars or even $100,000 to start. The key is, to determine the amount that is best suited for your budget and take action.