Author Says He Can Fix Your Finances in Less Than Week

Jan. 6, 2009 — -- In "The Six-Day Financial Makeover," Robert Pagliarini says he will transform your financial life by cutting through the "jargon" and giving specific advice you can use.

Pagliarini has a quick quiz to determine if you're in the financial danger zone (red zone) or in the safe (green) zone.

Pagliarini says if you've got more reds than greens, you need to take action. Use fear to motivate you, not to paralyze you. Boost your savings by cutting expenses. Shift from variable interest rate debt to fixed rate and pay it down quickly by getting a part-time job.

Read an excerpt from "The Six-Day Financial Makeover":

What Is a Financial Makeover?

Maybe you're not sure what to expect from a financial makeover. That's fair.It's good to be a little skeptical. If you're familiar with fashion makeover, youknow the successful ones don't stop with a facial or a new wardrobe. Successfulmakeovers require a total transformation—from head to toe and insideand out. Likewise, your financial makeover won't stop with just a budget or aninvestment plan. Your financial transformation will include all of the criticalareas of your financial life—creating a spending and savings plan, protectingassets, investing wisely, risk management, insurance, estate planning, andmuch, much more.

Over the next six days, your financial makeover will strip away every thing that is not working—maybe you're spending too much, sabotagingyour own success, taking too much risk, not investing wisely, or leavingyourself and your loved ones financially exposed—and replace it with asolid foundation from which you can immediately start to see success andfeel a sense of confidence. Your financial makeover will also maximize whatyou're already doing well. If you have powerful and inspiring goals, are savingdiligently, and investing well, your Six-Day Financial Makeover will helpyou maximize and optimize your strengths.

I will walk with you, step by step, throughout the six-day transformation.Together we will turn the complexities of budgeting, investing,insurance, and estate planning into something understandable and practical.We're going to take the "pie-in-the-sky" theories and turn them intobite-sized pieces that you can implement in your life immediately.

The Importance of Financial Independence

Financial independence is a phrase that gets tossed around too oftenand usually without any understanding of what it really means—often bysalespeople on late-night infomercials hocking "get rich quick" real estateschemes, home-based businesses, or investment trading programs. Mygoal is to take the mystery out of financial independence and to show youexactly what it is and what it provides and to explain what financial independenceis not. Financial independence should be your primary financialgoal, and here's why.

At the root of financial independence is the freedom to choose. The abilityto choose between several options puts you in control of your financesand your life. It allows you to shape your life rather than being at the mercyof someone else's vision of your future. It takes you out of life's passengerseat and puts you behind the wheel. Suddenly you can choose the kind ofwork that stimulates and inspires you without worrying about how muchmoney you will earn. It also allows you to pursue your hobbies without regardto their cost or time commitment. For many, financial independenceallows them to volunteer their time and money to worthy causes.

Financial independence also provides security. How would you feel ifyou could live the lifestyle of your dreams without worrying about beingdownsized, having to work two jobs, or sacrificing time with your family?When you become financially independent, your sense of security comesfrom having control over your life and your future. Without financial independence,your life is dictated by someone else—usually your employer.

Investment income (e.g., dividends, interest, capital gains)

Rental real estate income

Royalties

Licenses

Partnership and business income (if you don't have to work or manage anything to receive it)

Social security and pension income

Passive income is the Holy Grail of personal finance. Why? You don't haveto trade your time for it. Passive income gives you the freedom to do whatyou want. Earned income is a chain that restricts what you can do andwhen you can do it. Passive income liberates us from nine-to-five jobs andtwo-week vacation limitations.

Contrary to its name, accumulating passive income is not a passive endeavor!Accumulating the assets to generate passive income requires skill,education, and diligence. You can't expect to sit back and have massiveamounts of passive income deposited into your bank account every month.Generating passive income from dividends and interest requires you to selectand to monitor the appropriate investments. Rental income requirespurchasing and maintaining commercial or residential real estate. Royaltiesand licenses require the development and sale of a product. Partnership andbusiness passive income, like investments, requires the careful selection ofinvestments and monitoring them diligently.