Six Rules To Success

Recently, I have watched this video from YouTube. It is really impressed!

5 signs there might be something wrong with your car

You don't always need to visit the workshop to find out if there is something wrong with your car. Just pay attention to the signs.

The cars of today aren't the unreliable, poorly built, rust buckets their ancestors were. In terms of reliability, service life and safety standards, the cars of today are light years ahead of the humdrum econoboxes they were derived from. But because of these reasons, many believe that spotting problems with modern cars is something best left to the professionals.

Though this is true when it comes to engine and gearbox performance, other issues don’t require a degree in Mechanical Engineering to figure out something is wrong. Here are five signs that there is something's gone wrong:

Sign 1: Difficulty in turning the steering wheel

Has it become increasing difficult to turn the steering wheel? There could be a number of reasons why this happens. The first could be due to having under inflated tyres. Pump them to recommended levels and you should notice a difference.

If your tyres aren't the problem than it might be more serious than initially expected. It could be that there isn't enough power steering fluid (this only applies for hydraulic power steering systems) in the system or that there might be a leak somewhere. If it just requires topping up, take a crack at it but if you aren't confident, take your vehicle to the mechanic.

Sign 2: Difficulty in starting the engine

If it feels as though your engine is struggling to turn over, you might have a weak battery. Neglecting to get it checked can result in a fully flat battery, meaning your stranded. Tips to jump start a car can be found here. How long it takes the engine to turn over depends on how much of charge is left in the battery. If you hear the usual cranking noise but the engine doesn't want to fire up, the problem could be due to a failed fuel pump.

Sign 3: Blue smoke from the exhaust

Occasionally, once you've started up the engine, get someone to sit in the driver’s seat and rev it a few times while you watch the exhaust tip for smoke. If you see faint blue smoke coming out, that’s bad news. This is a clear indication that your engine is burning engine oil.

Engine oil is used to lubricate moving parts within the engine such as the pistons. It is never used in the combustion process. Its only when it manages to seep through the sidewalls of the pistons does it come into contact with the air fuel mixture and burns along with it. That’s why you see blue smoke. Mending it is going to be expensive but needs to be done.

Sign 4: braking power has decreased

There could be a number of reasons but there are two that you most know about. The first, it could be due to worn brake pads. Over time, through continuous use, brake pads loose their thickness. The more worn they become, the further the brake pedal needs to travel towards the floor. The second reason could be due to a leak in the hydraulic brake system. In either case, it’s a serious matter that needs to be tended to immediately.

Sign 5: headlights aren't as bright as they used to be

The simplest explanation for this is that your headlights need polishing. If that’s not it, then it’s a more serious problem. It could be that your alternator has failed and your vehicle’s electrical systems are relying on the battery to keep them alive. Because the alternator isn't working, the battery isn't being recharged. The more you drive the car, the weaker the battery becomes till eventually everything dies on you.

More from Motor Trader on Yahoo! Autos can be found here.

Six Simple Steps to Reduce Personal Debt

This is the real deal, because it is from Robert Kiyosaki.

Paying off your bad debt so you can build great wealth

When my first business failed, I ("Robert Kiyosaki") personally had over $1 million in debt that needed to be paid off. Those were hard times for Kim and me. For a short time we even lived in our car.

Having as much debt as we did, coupled with the emotions of losing my business, it would have been easy to roll over, get a good job, and give up on my dream of building a successful business. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it wasn't tempting.

Thankfully, we didn't give into that temptation. Instead we made a plan.

Using all we had learned about money and how it worked, we looked for great opportunities to build our asset column—and eliminate our personal consumer debt—bad debt. By implementing this plan, we were completely debt free within a few years and on our way to financial freedom.

The following are the six simple steps you can use to eliminate your personal debt. If you implement them, they will work.

Step #1 – Lock it down

If you have credit cards with outstanding balances, discipline yourself to use only one or two credit cards. Any new charges must be paid off in full every month. Do not incur any more long-term debt.

Step #2 – Up the ante

Come up with $150 to $200 extra per month. If you have a good financial education and understand how to have money work for you, this should be relatively easy to do. If you can’t generate an additional $150 to $200 per month, then your chances for financial freedom may only be a pipe dream.

Step #3 – Focus on one

Apply the additional $150 to $200 to your monthly payment on only one of your credit cards. You will now pay the minimum payment plus the extra money on that one credit card.

Pay only the minimum amount due on all other credit cards. Often people try to pay a little extra each month on all their cards, but those cards surprisingly never get paid off.

Step #4 – Keep it rolling

Once the first card is paid off, apply the total amount you were paying each month on that card to your next credit card. You are now paying the minimum amount due on the second card plus the total monthly payment you were paying on your first credit card.

Continue this process with all your credit cards and other consumer-credit debt. With each debt you pay off, apply the full amount you were paying on that debt to the minimum payment of your next debt. As you pay off each debt, the monthly amount you are paying on the next debt will escalate.

Step #5 – Go big

Once all your credit cards and other consumer debt are paid off, continue the procedure with your car and house payments. If you follow this procedure, you will be amazed at the shortened amount of time it takes for you to be completely debt-free. Most people can be debt-free within five-to- seven years.

Step #6 – Build your wealth

Now that you are completely debt-free, take the monthly amount you were paying on your last debt, and put that money toward investments. Build your asset column.

That’s how simple it is.