Self-made millionaires didn’t start at the top. The worked hard, developed ideas and strategies, and maybe got a bit of luck.
Not everyone can be a millionaire, but by understanding the strategies that made these millionaires successful you can ensure some financial success yourself.
Most of the secrets of millionaires involves planning and careful money management. It doesn’t matter how much money you make. If you don’t handle your finances wisely, you will still be broke.
Here are some of their most useful secrets.
Start Planning Early
Make a goal of where you want to be by the time you are 25 (or whatever age). Then make a plan for how you will get there. Believe that you can do it. Start saving back money for investments as soon as possible.
Make it part of your monthly budget. And, above all, plan for every possible situation.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they are unprepared for financial woes. The biggest way to avoid financial pitfalls is to protect yourself through thorough contracts, prenuptial agreements, and insurance.
A good insurance broker and attorney can help you determine how to best protect yourself against divorce, deaths in the family, and other financial disasters, without paying too much for coverage and services you don’t need.
Track Your Spending and Budget 
From the beginning you should track your spending carefully. Make a budget and learn how to stick to it. Learn to deal with delayed gratification. Track every bit of income, expenses and investments.
You should continue doing this even after you attain financial freedom, otherwise your millions will dwindle quickly.
When tracking your spending and planning your budget, make sure you plan to pay every bill you have as it comes. Don’t let bills rack up. This can be tempting, especially with credit card or medical bills.
If your credit score drops you could spend thousands of dollars more in interest and collection fees. In addition you will pay much more for any loans you make to use for investments. A good credit score is vital.
It is also important to live below your means. Many people talk about living within their means, but this doesn’t allow any additional funds for savings or investments.
You will need to be able to invest your money, either in financial products or yourself. This means you have to make enough money to cover all of your necessary expenses plus some.
Believe in Yourself and Love Life
Anyone can get a college education and land a job that makes a hefty salary. But if that job makes you vastly unhappy, what is the point? You will not succeed in a career that you hate.
You also have to believe in yourself, that you can make yourself successful in whatever career most appeals to you.

One of the things many expectant mothers may fear is gaining too much weight. It’s important to avoid gaining excessive amounts of weight at this time, but you can expect to add some pounds to the scale.
The most important thing during pregnancy is for a female to stay healthy and to have a healthy baby. However, it’s ideal for women to be well aware and prepared for losing pregnancy weight after birth.
Exercise
Once you have the baby, you will be in better shape to exercise more. This is an effective way to help yo lose weight faster than if you simply avoid doing so.
Getting and staying moving is crucial to your health and to your weight loss efforts at this time.
Be sure to try to walk, jog or do some type of cardio exercise for at least 30 minutes per day when possible.
This can help you shed the pregnancy pounds fast and is sure to help you get back on the track the size you were before conception.
Eat Superfoods
Rather than starving yourself and trying to consume fewer calories, it’s best to eat a lot of superfoods.
These are ones that are low in calories, yet high in nutritional value. It’s important to know which ones are best for you and these are listed below:
1.Salmon – This type of fish product is loaded in Omega 3 and is by far one of the best superfoods you will find.
Additionally, salmon is low in calories and high in flavor. Simply put some on the grill and enjoy the added taste it provides.
2.Blueberries – If you’re looking for a sweet treat, grab a handful of blueberries. You’re sure to get the taste you want without getting more calories than you need.
3.Peaches – This tasty fruit is loaded with nutrients and limited in calories. If you live in the South, these are sure to be plentiful during the summer months!

Drink Water
Getting the right amount of water each day is important to keep you well-hydrated and assist in decreasing your appetite at the same time.
It’s ideal to drink six to eight glasses per day to get the most benefits and to help your health.
The benefits of drinking water include flushing the toxins from your body and this is critical for you to achieve you weight loss goals.
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Additionally, be sure to add a glass of water before each meal to assist in decreasing your appetite and this is what you will need to lose your pregnancy weight.
The key to shedding pounds once you’ve had your baby is to make a commitment to do so. You will need to have a plan in motion and the desire to get rid of this weight.
When you follow the tips listed above, this will be what you need to achieve the most success and get back to your pre-pregnancy weight.

​Vatiswa can be contacted at info.lumengo@gmail.com

Credit cards are a perfect example of unsecured debts. Unsecured debts have higher interest rates, because they considered high risk.
When consumer doesn’t keep up with payments for an unsecured debt, the lender doesn’t have any collateral to take away from the consumer.
Meanwhile the consumer’s debt begins to increase due to late payment fees and/or over the limit fees. And consumer’s credit line is usually decreased, but those actions don’t help creditor get paid.
The creditor will report consumer’s failure to pay debt to the credit agencies. This will make it more difficult for the consumer to borrow money in the future.
Let’s clarify the collateral idea. If for example, you purchased a stove with your Visa credit card and you failed to make payments on your Visa, Visa isn’t going to show up at your house and pick up the stove.
What is Visa going to do with your used stove? The stove doesn’t act act as collateral for your credit card.
Another example of unsecured debt is your store credit cards.  This is different than the previous example.
Technically, most stores retain the ability to repossess items that are purchased at their store with their card, but this is rarely enforced. It is not cost effective. It’s hard to resell a used sweater for what it cost.
Personal loans are unsecured. They are very difficult consumers to obtain for this reason. Most informal agreements you make amongst family and friends (which is rarely a good idea) are unsecured debts.
When you get behind on unsecured debts, these debts will be reported on your credit report as unpaid. Then, the debts are sent to collections agencies. And the nightmare begins.
You will receive calls, and calls, and calls, and more calls from the collection agency. You might receive letters and other correspondence. But the high volume of calls can not be overstated.
Medical bills are usually unsecured debts, as well. Medical bills are the number 1 reason consumers file for bankruptcy.
When you co-sign for a loan and/or credit card with someone, you are 100% responsible for the debt. Not 50%. 100%. If someone asks you to co-sign for them. Think about it carefully.
There is a reason this person needs you to co-sign. Most likely, that reason is because he/she does not qualify on their own due to bad credit, not enough income or both.
If the lender doesn’t trust this individual, why should you? The person most likely has the best intentions to pay 100% of the loan, you shouldn’t assume he/she is trying to scam you.
The individual might have unrealistic expectations. You worked hard to maintain good credit rating, is it worth putting that at risk for someone else?