My wife, being the very thoughtful person that she is, saw the wallets and immediately prodded me to buy one!  Not for bills, but for my coins! My coins seem to have a life of their own.  Most of the time, they are scattered everywhere in the house.  You can see them on top of our refrigerator, inside the drawer, scattered on the floor, etc until they are found out by my wife when she cleans the house.  And I get that glaring glance that I so love.

Why am I having a field day about a coin purse?  Because having a coin purse reveals an interesting money habit.  Why do you think men don’t like carrying a purse?  Because it is NOT cool and manly?  If you’re a guy, can you imagine yourself mustering the words, “oh wait, let me just bring out my purse”.  Only ladies carry a purse.  For the most part, that’s what I thought.  But when you’re like me who hates carrying heavy coins in his pocket all day, I’ll take that coin purse anytime.  And so, on that faithful day…I finally brought my coin purse.

Buying a coin purse is one of the greatest organizing tool I’ve bought for quite some time.  Whenever I buy at McDo, KFC, or even at the grocery store, the smiling lady at the cashier would always ask me if I have a spare change or coins?  Most of the time, I don’t because I hate bringing coins in the first place.  Whenever I have coins in my pocket, I try to empty it out immediately and put the coins inside my drawer.  They are too heavy on my pocket.  Unfortunately, when I try to have my lunch a few hours later, I (again) no longer have any coins with me.  When I am (again) asked if I have a spare coins I can only smile to my teeth and say I have NONE (again).

Since I don’t have the exact change,guess what the lady would give me as change?  I get another set of big bulky coins!  Yes, another set of coins!  When that happens I feel like being penalized for not carrying the exact amount. I guess my pocket is going to be heavy again…for a little while, until I get to dispose it into my drawer.

So how does having a coin purse make you rich?  The answer?  It’s in the habit.  The habit you cultivate in putting importance to the littlest of things like spare coins is priceless.  You learn that when you have more of those little things, they become big.  When they become big, their importance becomes more glaring.  They can give you something you cannot take for granted.  Like for example, having those extra coins allowed me to treat my wife for a simple lunch.  Nothing too fancy, just good food from good old coins. 

When you have coins, it forces you to use them.  Otherwise, it becomes heavy on your pocket.  When you use them, you become more precise.  How much is that meal again?  Oh, PhP85.  Let me give you one PhP50 bill, one PhP20 bill and three 5 peso coins.  Back when I didn’t have any coin purse, I would have just handed over the PhP100, get my change and forget about it.  Let that PhP15 change rot inside my pocket, or my drawer.  This time though, that PhP15 never left my wallet.  It’s still there, waiting for its chance to be a blessing to me and to other people.

How about you? How do you manage your spare coins?

P.S.  Are you a member of Bo Sanchez’ Truly Rich Club?  Checkout the huge discount to Jomar Hilario’s 1-Year Online Mentoring Program / (originally Internet Marketing Workshop Club) @ http://www.Bit.ly/truediscount!  This promo is being offered exclusive to Truly Rich Club members until June 29, 2010!  Only 4 days left to take advantage of this amazing offer.  If you’re not yet a member, sign-up to the Truly Rich Club now!

To read parts 1 to 4 of the book review, you can checkout the following links.

• Increase Your Financial IQ Book Review – Part 1: Making More Money
• Increase Your Financial IQ Book Review – Part 2: Protecting Your Money
• Increase Your Financial IQ Book Review – Part 3: Budgeting Your Money
• Increase Your Financial IQ Book Review – Part 4: Leveraging Your Money

Increase Your Financial IQ Book Review – Part 5: Improving Your Financial Information

Information is the most important asset you can have.  For soldiers in the midst of war, using the information they have against their enemies determines whether they will live or die. 

Information is the key to Manny Pacquiao’s victory against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.  Freddie Roach, his coach, is without a doubt a master strategist.  He is great at identifying the smallest weaknesses of Pacquaio’s opponents and skillfully using those to draw up a game plan for Pacquaio to win each of his fights. 

Today, leveraging the power of information can make you very rich.  Young twenty-year olds have proven that.  Armed with only their dreams and technology, they have built up Facebook, You Tube and My Space and became billionaires. 

The Four Ages of Humanity

1. Hunter-Gatherer Age
   • Nature provided the wealth. 
   • There’s only one group – everyone is poor.
2. Agrarian Age
   • Land became wealth. 
   • There are now 2 groups of people:
     • The rich kings and queens who own the lands, and
     • The poor peasants.
3. Industrial Age
   • People who own the biggest factories, skyscrapers and industries are the new rich. 
   • There are now 3 groups of people:
     • The rich owners of industrial companies
     • The middle class who work for those companies
     • The poor who are still caught up in the Agrarian & Hunter Gatherer age.
4. Information Age
   • The new super rich are 20 something kids who leverage information to become billionaires
   • There are now 4 groups of people:
     • The super rich – young billionaires leveraging information.
     • The rich who are still struggling to bring their industrial companies to the new information age.
     • The middle class who are now working as employees to more and more companies of the rich and the super rich.
     • The poor who are clueless how they can use technology to become rich.

According to Robert Kiyosaki, a lot of people are struggling today because they are clinging to the Hunter-Gatherer, Agrarian and Industrial Age ideas.  They are “perishing because of obsolete or inadequate information.” They still think having a safe secure job with great benefits is a good idea.  The good news for you is that you don’t have to be like them. You can become rich just by having the “right information.”

Tips on Classifying Information to Become Richer

1. Facts vs Opinions
• Know the difference between facts and opinions. 
• Many people think investing is risky because they don’t know if they are basing their investment decisions on opinions or facts
2. Insane Solutions
• Acting on insane solutions is risky.
• If your investment decision is based on an opinion, it can lead to your financial ruin.
3. Risky Actions
• A person who invests for capital gains is investing on an opinion.
• A person who invests for cash flow is investing on a fact.
• A smart investor uses both opinions and facts to invest for both capital gains and cash flow.
4. Control Over the Asset
• Most people investing in paper assets have very little control over their investments.
• These investors are hoping their opinions turn into facts – which is very risky.
5. What are the Rules?
• Know the rules of money.  Knowing the rules gives you valuable information on how to play the money game.
• Without rules, there is chaos, and your assets would decline in value.
6. Trends
• A small investor with superior information and intelligence about local and global markets can beat the giants who rely only on international information
• Know and invest with the trend.  The trend is your friend.
• Robert Kiyosaki says “Financial intelligence is the ability to take information and make it meaningful.”

Rich Money Habits Review Notes:

Today, more than ever, you need the right information.  Information can make you rich or poor.  With the right information, anyone can become rich. The only problem is that in a rapidly changing world, the old ideas of yesterday may no longer work today.  That’s why it is very important to continue to learn and be discerning of the information you receive, always making sure if your decision is based on facts or opinions.