Three months after their first meeting, Paul arrives at Mary’s house to play another game of chess and find out the fourth law. Mary realizes now that Paul has begun to master the first law of tracking, the second law of targeting, and the third law of trimming, that it was time to show Paul how to move to the next level.

Before I get into the story, there is a quote from Blaine Harris, the author of the book, I would like to highlight here.

The people who understand money spend it on assets that generate wealth. Those who don’t understand money, spend it on things that consume wealth, and thus the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Mary explains to Paul that soon he will have paid off his debts and will have extra cash on hand. There is no reason for Paul to squander the money away on things that do not appreciate in value when he can invest the money in assets that can grow in value.

This was the fourth law, training. In order for Paul to learn how to invest in assets that will appreciate in value, Mary informs Paul that he is to attend seminars on real estate and investments, read at least two books on both subjects before coming back.

Paul voices his concerns that he does not have any money to invest in real estate and investments because he is currently paying off his debts. “Nobody said anything about buying, at least not yet,” Mary reminds Paul. All Mary wants Paul to do is learn because,

Success happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Mary wants Paul to train himself to learn about investment opportunities that will help him grow his assets. Your personal finances is your own business. Think about it for a moment here, if you want to become a successful business owner, would you hire someone who has no training in accounting or financial management? Because no one will do your work for you, you need to take on the responsibility to learn how to manage your own personal finances.

All that it requires is knowledge and understanding. That is what the fourth law is about, taking the information available to you in books, classes, online, etc… and learning how to apply them to your own business. By having a greater understanding of how to create assets for yourself, you will begin to build your net worth. As long as you stay on track with the first 3 laws, you will be ready for an opportunity when it presents itself.

You do not have to spend to learn, you can go to your local library and read the daily financial newspapers, borrow books on specific topics, visit personal finance blogs to learn how others are managing their personal finances, attend seminars (do your research on these seminars before you go, some charge more than others for the same amount of information).

By taking control of your spending, and taking control of your personal finances, you are reducing the risk involved in letting others manage your finances for you. Behind every financial opportunity presented to you is someone who is working to earn money from you with no guarantees that their product will give you the return you expect. There are plenty of good investment vehicles you can spend on without paying extra but you have to take control of your learning so you can maximize your return on investments (ROI).

What are you doing to improve your knowledge about managing your personal finances?

(Other than reading this blog. )

Read how you can get a free copy of this book.