Ben Sinclair

Hey! I'm Ben. I’m a Christian, husband, father, son, friend, writing a book and also the CTO at Tithe.ly. I'm passionate about finance and technology. These writings are for me, however, maybe they’ll be interesting to others. Thanks for stopping by!
March 17, 2023

Assets put money in your pocket

I really like how Robert Kiyosaki defined an asset and a liability in his "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series of books. He says that assets are something that put money in your pocket, whereas liabilities take money out of your pocket. Robert was scrutinized when he said that a person's own house is not an asset because it costs money to keep ...
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February 22, 2023

Generous giving

I'll be upfront and say that I have a very biased view toward giving and generosity for two reasons. One is because I am a Christian, and I am taught to give generously of my time, talent, and treasure (money). The second is because I have followed that teaching and have seen how giving has come back to benefit me in multiple ways. I d...
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February 20, 2023

Planning for retirement

Thinking about retirement when you’re young oftentimes feels pointless as it’s so far away. I felt this way for many years. But as soon as I had kids and saw how quickly they were growing up and how fast the years were starting to go, I realised that retirement will hit sooner than I thought. I think it's pretty safe to say that your c...
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February 19, 2023

Wealth structures

There are different structures available to not only protect the assets within them but can also lead to tax savings. My experience being an Australian is around the structures that exist in Australia. However, there should be similar equivalents in most western countries. The goal here is to give you an overview of the different struc...
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February 18, 2023

Increasing cashflow series: stocks

Investing in stocks is a great way to get started with very little money down. It depends on the broker you use and their minimums. When considering stocks, you'll come across a bunch of different terms such as index funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, individual stocks, actively managed, growth stocks, and value stocks....
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February 17, 2023

Doing business online should be easier than in person

Today I needed to buy some organic ghee. For those intrigued by what the heck ghee is, it’s clarified butter for cooking and has a high smoke point making it more healthy. Google it. Anyway…. I was at the mall and the health food store didn’t stock the type I wanted. So I decided I’d just order online. I Googled the brand I wanted, wen...
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February 17, 2023

Increasing cashflow series: rental property

Renting out a property and receiving income from it can be a very rewarding thing. A lot of people shy away from the idea of a rental property because they have to deal with humans, also known as tenants. But in my experience, get a good property manager in place and you're more likely to get good tenants and you'll also be shielded fr...
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February 16, 2023

Increasing cashflow series: business

Last time I posted about side hustles. A side hustle can turn into a business and that's where a lot of businesses start. Creating a business can be one of the best ways to increase your cashflow. It can be as simple as finding a need that people have and creating a solution. Sell that solution to people and you’re on your way to start...
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February 15, 2023

Increasing cashflow series: side hustles

This is the first post of a series I'm writing on increasing cashflow. The first topic I wish to cover are side hustles. A side hustle can be anything (legal of course) that gets you paid on top of whatever other job or income you have paying you. Side hustles can often turn into a business one day so it can be a great place to start i...
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February 3, 2023

On creating a business

Creating a business can sound scary and hard to an individual who has never done it before. As someone who has done it a few times now, I’d love to help expand your thinking. I like to think of a business as creating a solution to a problem. A business can be as simple as one person solving a group of people's problems. Think about wha...
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February 2, 2023

Pay yourself first

A habit that is important to get into is paying yourself first before you pay any of your other bills. Paying yourself first should be under the goal of putting aside money for yourself to increase your wealth, not to be spent on things you want. An emergency fund is a good place to start if you don't have one. From there, you want to ...
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February 1, 2023

Start with an idea and opportunities will likely come

When I was in my early teens, I decided I wanted to learn how to write software code. I didn't have this grand plan of making money or making a career out of this skill. It just interested me, so I pursued it. Looking back 20 years, that decision to start pursuing the idea ended up defining my life up until this point. It resulted in s...
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January 31, 2023

VuePress 2 vs VitePress

I needed to build a simple website for a book I am writing. The book is going to be published on the web (similar to Basecamp's Shape Up) and since it's mainly text content, I decided to go with VuePress 2. After building the site quite easily in VuePress 2, I found out that VitePress existed. After some research, I thought it would be...
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January 31, 2023

Create money out of thin air

What if I told you that you can create money out of thin air? People do it all the time. They create businesses or use their talents and tools around them to make money. When I created the software business that I sold for millions of dollars, I created that money out of thin air. It was my time and intelligence over 7 years that built...
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January 30, 2023

Go over and above

I once had a 12-month contract at the college just before I got married to my wife Jennifer. It's a funny story that I accepted the contract because since my dad and mum never had jobs, I was against getting one myself. When an opportunity opened up for me to work at the college for 12 months for a maternity leave contract, I was again...
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January 29, 2023

Inflation is a hidden tax

If you stop and think about it, with the rise of technology, shouldn’t things be getting cheaper, not more expensive? Take computers for example, although they aren’t getting a lot cheaper, the components inside are far superior each year. If you compare the price to the power inside modern computers, the overall cost is getting cheape...
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January 28, 2023

Focus until you win

I've seen entrepreneurs who have a good go at a business. They are talented, skilled, and on fire and they go at it, hard-core! But after a few bumps in the road, when things aren't going to plan, they give up and move on to the next great idea that'll make them rich. I however think there is power in focusing on something until you wi...
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January 27, 2023

Use what’s in your hand

In my experience, what has been in my hand (an opportunity or a skill) has oftentimes been a useful tool to propel myself forward. An example of this was when I learned how to edit websites. I used what was in my hand to build my own website and create a $10,000 USD a year income. Not bad for a 12-year-old. Fast forward 20 years, and w...
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January 26, 2023

Follow the rules

Integrity is one of the most important things a human should possess. I'm a firm believer in the saying from the Bible "you reap what you sow". This is not only true in giving, but also in your actions. I was talking to a guy the other day and he was tell me about how he has a rental property. When he needs work done on his own house, ...
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January 25, 2023

Spend less than you earn

Budgets, income statements, and profit & loss might sound like scary words but the facts are, if you’re not managing your finances, you have no idea where your money is going. You may think you do, but you don't. Unfortunately, a lot of people spend everything they earn and sometimes more than they earn thanks to credit cards and the l...
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January 24, 2023

Take action and ignore excuses

There are millions of great ideas in the world today. There are many problems that these same ideas could solve. But most of these ideas aren’t acted upon. It’s easy to find an excuse as to why you don't have enough time, talent or money to pursue an idea. If you want to become wealthy and you have an idea that solves a problem that co...
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January 23, 2023

You’re not going to be rich if you only work a job

If you look at all the wealthy people out there today, I'm talking about those with real wealth, most do not work for someone. They have a business or other assets creating an income. A lot of people with jobs look wealthy. They drive nice cars, live in big houses and wear nice clothes. But as the authors of The Millionaire Next Door d...
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January 22, 2023

Educate yourself, especially in finance

I never finished school, in fact I left in grade 7. I completed grade 10 maths and english at an adult community education center. I never went to college. So one might think education isn't important to me? The opposite is true. Education is everything. When I was in my early teens, I educated myself in how to write code and that paid...
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January 21, 2023

You don’t need money to become wealthy

I came from a family with a dad who was an entrepreneur and a mum who was a stay-at-home mum. We didn't have much money and when it did come in, it didn't last long. My family didn't have a strong financial education. I was a poor kid with nothing who then became a self-made millionaire before the age of 30 with the help of my wife Jen...
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January 20, 2023

Tax law can be fun!

When my wife and I sold our business back in 2018, we engaged an expert to ensure we reduced as much tax as we could legally. We didn't go with an accountant but a hard-core tax law firm that charged the big bucks. And you know what, it was worth every cent. They literally saved us close to 7 figures in tax. That to me is an important ...
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January 20, 2023

Do what you love and the money will follow

It has been my experience that money follows someone doing something they love. Another way to put is it doing something they are passionate about. I'm sure the same can be true doing something one doesn't love, but I'm sure the enjoyment factor is much less. The focus is more on the money (end result) than the building (the journey). ...
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January 19, 2023

My experience with financial planners

Financial planners are a great way to organize your life to meet your financial goals. Having a financial planner who has done it all before and has the wisdom and knowledge to help you navigate your unique journey can make a huge difference in your life. Tip #1: Ensure your financial planner has in fact done it all When you interview ...
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January 19, 2023

Managing your finances intelligently

I'm going to be upfront and say that managing your finances takes work and discipline. If you're not willing to put in the time to manage your finances, you might wake up one day and realise that you don't have enough to retire on. Inflation is a good reason to take control of your finances but honestly, finances should be managed no m...
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January 2, 2023

2023, a year to be intentional

Below are some areas I want to be very intentional in throughout 2023. With my faith... I want to grow in my relationship with God and spend time with him daily. I want to be closer to him in a year than I am now. With my wife... I want to prioritise date nights, have getaways without the kids and support her better in parenting and he...
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December 22, 2022

10 years of no social media, kind of

Coming into 2023 marks 10 years of me not being a social media junkie like practically everyone in the world. I don’t have a personal Facebook account, Instagram account and never have I ever downloaded anything else that came after. I’m telling a slight white lie though... although not a regular user, I’ve had some interactions with s...
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