When is best time to prepare for your success in life?

What's that you say? " I have to actually have to prepare for it? Doesn't success just happen?"

No. It doesn't. If you want to improve your life you have to take action.

An article by Jim Rohn who is a well-known motivational speaker said:

"Here's great challenge of life. You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are.

I have found that income seldom will exceed your own personal development. Once in a while income takes a lucky jump, but unless you grow out to where it is, it will go back to where you are.

Somebody once said if you take all money in world and divided it among everyone equally, it would soon be back in same pockets.

However, you can have more because you can become more. Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got.

In order to have more, you have to become more."

Are You Prepared To Take A Risk? Doing things you haven't done before can be risky, however if you don't take any risks you will live a very unfulfilling life.

My Friend Mike Mike has worked 12 years for a large corporation. Very secure, lots of perks and he received a reasonable income. He had a job for life.

The only drawback, after a few years - it was boring. He was miserable. He was wasting his life away. The organisation was big enough that he could transfer to different positions within company - which he did do so. However, culture of company was same wherever he transferred to. The environment wasn't stimulating and Mike found he was not stretching himself. He was existing and not living. He was too comfortable.

Consider these 5 Tax Shelters to SLASH your income taxes over long term.

1. Your Castle=Sweet Tax Goodies

Homeowner taxpayers who are married can exclude up to a $500,000 gain on sale of a principal residence, and $250,000 for single taxpayers. For married taxpayers, there is an ownership test and a use test. The individual taxpayer must have owned and occupied property as his or her principal residence for at least two years out of five years before sale. For married taxpayers, both spouses must meet use test, but only one spouse needs to meet ownership test. If only one spouse meets use test, he or she may still use $250,000 exclusion.

This is a FANTASTIC tax-free benefit. For example, an individual who is a do-it-yourself type taxpayer and is willing to get their hands dirty, could make a sizable amount of tax-free income by fixing up and reselling run-down homes, which are structurally sound. Also, certain people, such as carpenters, small contractors, and others could build new homes providing a lot of labor for property, and then sell property for sizable tax-free gains, and could do this repeatedly over and over again.

2. Rental Real Estate Tax Shelters

When a taxpayer is willing to suffer demands of being a landlord, he or she can enjoy tax deductions now with tax-favored capital gains when property is sold.

An individual can deduct interest, taxes, out-of-pocket expenses and most fixing up costs. Depreciation on properties can be deducted up to amount of rental net income, plus $25,000 a year. So a taxpayer can have a rental loss of $25,000 (which is mostly depreciation, a non-cash outlay) to offset against other taxable income of $25,000 each year.

If taxpayer is in 28% marginal tax bracket, a $25,000 loss against other income would mean $7,000 of tax-savings every year, which isn't too bad, and capital gain tax rates when property is sold. Losses are not desirable (except when they consist of depreciation)unless they can be converted into capital gains in future.

3. The Ultimate Tax Shelter: Your Own Business

Having your own business is number # 1 way to reduce your tax bill, and can be used to convert your personal expenses into allowable deductions.

Some of personal expenditures that can be converted would be an automobile, health insurance costs, medical expenses, and vacation travel. You can hire your children (see # 4 below), and take home-office expenses and make pension contributions as well.