• Home
  • Services
    • Accounting Services
    • Bookkeeping
    • Payroll
    • Cash Flow Forecast
    • Consulting for QuickBooks®
    • Training for QuickBooks®
    • Xero Cloud Accounting
    • Cloud Accounting
    • Sales Document Automation
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Mobile Accounting
  • Blog
  • About
    • About
    • Send Us Your Referrals
  • Contact
1 (760) 573-1038
info@strategic-ba.com
October 30, 2014

How Understanding Assets vs. Expenses Can Make You Rich

Ken Aurigemma Business Development, Business Tips, Management Tips, Profitability Tips

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Assets and expenses both have a “debit” balance on the financial statements, but that’s where their similarities end. Spending on one can make you rich and spending too much on the other can leave you broke.

An expense is money you may need to spend, but after a year, there is nothing lasting to show for it. An asset is a tangible resource that is still worth something after a year or more and that belongs to you or your business. The best assets grow in value over time, but some lose their value too. Real estate typically goes up in value, while a car loses value, or depreciates heavily, in its first few years.

The best example of an asset versus an expense is spending on a mortgage versus rent. When you pay a mortgage, you own more of the property than you did last month. One day, you can sell your ownership in the property and get cash or another asset in trade. When you pay rent, there’s nothing left at the end of the month. There’s no accumulated value.

Generally speaking, spending on an asset builds or at least better preserves your wealth. Spending on an expense drains your worth because you don’t own anything at the end.

The path to building your wealth is to spend on assets when you have a choice and minimize expenses when you can.

In the book “The Millionaire Next Door,” one of the top examples to build wealth is to avoid replacing your car as long as you dare. It used to be a habit for some families to replace their car every two years. With today’s reliable models, you can go between five to ten years without having to replace your car. Although a car lasts more than a year and is considered an asset, it still loses value every year.

Investing in assets and reducing expenses will build your business’s net worth and increase profits. Look for ways you can apply this to your business and watch your money grow. As always, reach out if you’d like to know more.

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
What’s Your Hourly Worth? What Is Real-Time Accounting (and Why Should You Care)?

Related Posts

Business Tips, cybersecurity

Fighting Cybersecurity Threats in Your Business

Blog, Business Growth, Business Tips, Profitability Tips

Ten Places to Look to Find More Profits

Blog, Business Growth, Business Tips

Should Your Business Become Cash-Free?

Recent Posts

  • Fighting Cybersecurity Threats in Your Business
    February 25, 2021
  • The Concept of Independence in Accounting
    February 11, 2021
  • Ten Places to Look to Find More Profits
    January 27, 2021

Latest Tweets

→ Follow me
  • Home
  • Services
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

Contact Us

Payroll Services, Accounting Services and Services for QuickBooks®

Strategic Business Alliance, LLC

6132 Innovation Way
Suite 102
Carlsbad, CA 92009

1 (760) 573-1038

info@strategic-ba.com

Client Login


Intuit, QuickBooks, and QuickBooks ProAdvisor are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. Used with permission under the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Agreement.
Copyright Strategic Business Alliance 2020 | Site Design by Accelerator Websites