© kasto | Dollar Photo Club

When it came to saving and investing, I used to be a door mat. I enrolled in a 401k because I was told to. I selected certain investments because I was told they were good. I saved money with a bank because that’s what others did.

I basically let banks, Wall Street and the money system walk all over me like a door mat. It left me defeated, poorer and feeling out of control.

Then I lost 38 percent of my 401k in 2008. After being brought low in the depths of humility, I decided to rise from the ashes as a Phoenix. I now consider myself a Matador and strive to help others empower themselves through education, knowledge and sound financial strategies.

If you have ever felt like a door mat, now is the time to get educated, take control of your money and become the Matador that takes on the big bulls and wins.

You may be a door mat if…

• You’ve outsourced your finances and future happiness to someone else.
• You have little understanding of how your investments actually earn.
• Even after being burned, you’ve made few or no changes to improve your financial situation.
• You’ve settled for Wall Street’s risk and the banks’ low rates.

I meet with people every week who have no clear plan for how to achieve their financial goals. They use hope as a strategy instead of knowledge and understanding.

I meet people every week who have settled for what the banks will pay them instead of demanding more. I meet people every week who have the majority of their money on Wall Street with 100 percent risk exposure and no clue how their money will grow, except by luck or past performance.

I also meet people who want more and these are the people who become my clients. They are people who are willing to dig in to learn and understand so they can dominate the money game.

You may be a Matador if…

• You refuse to settle and accept the banks’ low interest rates.
• You’re against the Wall Street plan — put up 100 percent of the money, take on 100 percent of the risk and give brokers 23 to 64 percent of the earnings.
• You have a clear understanding of how your money will grow and what you are paying in fees.
• You use contracts to grow your money instead of speculation and hope.
• You want to understand and control your taxes in addition to getting good returns.

Become the Matador! You want a detailed understanding of the rules, an easy-to-follow plan, a contract on how your money will grow and a clear vision of your future. You want control and predictability and don’t want to have to babysit your money or the money manager.

Knowledge is the greatest tool we have at our disposal. I work with nearly 500 families a year and I consistently hear stories of losing money, little to no understanding of how investments grow and no clue what they are paying in fees for inferior results.

If you can’t understand your investments and see exactly how your money will grow, walk away. Seek first to understand your investment and then seek the gains. Otherwise, you end up settling for the gains or losses and seeking to understand what went wrong with your plan.

I recently had a doctor tell me that the financial plan I laid out for him and his wife was the first plan he could fully understand. He could do the math himself and see how his money would grow.

He and his wife were informed in writing of the fees involved in his plan and best of all, he could see that he would not have to babysit their investment. This allowed him to focus on what he does best, care for patients.

Decide today to be wealthy. Don’t settle. Don’t outsource your future and your happiness. Be a Matador and take control of your life and money. There are many door mats out there, but you don’t have to be one of them.