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TRUMP UNIVERSITY WEALTH BUILDING 101

Downloadable Exhibit 5.1 (Continued)
Calculate how much money you will need annually to live the life you want.
Multiply your monthly income required by 12:

Annual income required ______________________

Now multiply this annual fi gure by 10 (for the annual rate of return required), to
produce the capital required. The objective here is to live off your investment
income and not touch the principal.

Total investment capital ______________________

*Note: A blank version of this exhibit can be downloaded from www.trumpuniversity.com/

wealthbuilding101 for your personal use.
Controlling Debt

Now that you have some firm numbers in place, let’s talk about the fi rst

financial habit that will help you to grow your numbers: controlling debt. I
address specific strategies in the next chapter, but I want to talk about the

many ways we fall into debt, often without realizing it. Realizing where you
are, and how you got there, is the first step to heading in a new direction.

Once, several years ago, I was heavily in debt, with no light at the end of
the tunnel. In fact, I believed I would be in debt for the rest of my life. I owed
more than $20,000 on credit cards, my monthly car payments were over
$1,000, and I owed more than $215,000 on my home. I made good money,
but I didn’t think I would ever dig out. As soon as I paid off one credit card
balance, another expense would materialize. It was very frustrating and
certainly depressing. The only way I would ever be able to pay off all my debt
was to win the lottery or inherit money—but I didn’t have any rich relatives.
I share this with you not because I’m a rags-to-riches success story. I came
from a middle-class family, and even though I always earned an above- average
income, I often found myself buried in debt. I want those of you with debt
issues to know that I understand, and care, because debt hits close to home
with me. In the next section, “Act Now,” I’m going to show you how to get
out of debt—forever.
Many people find themselves in similar circumstances before they begin to

take stock of their current fi nancial situation. They struggle with the fact that
the monthly payments just keep rising, bringing mounting pressure and stress.
It doesn’t have to be that way for you. You can stop this bad habit right
now. I did.

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