Humbling Time Period Constructing Site

There is nothing more humbling than updating a web site and realizing that the road you were previously on was much better than the path you are currently taking. There was a time in which we had such vigor when it came to our bills, finances and savings. Sadly though it is a wakeup call as I look at the rising amount of debt that my family and I have accumulated and man do we have a task at hand. Now granted where we are sitting is not nearly as bad as what others may be dealing with so this is definitely something that I am thankful for.

I have updated the Debt Snowball with the most accurate information I have and believe it is pretty reliable. Now with all that said our debt comes in just a little over $88,000 with no money in savings, living paycheck-to-paycheck and that buck stops here. No more am I going to be stuck where we’ve been and the time is now.

Can you feel the motivation? Can you since the excitement in my voice? I look forward to being able to successfully sign off on the $1,000 Emergency Fund. I am ready to be done with the first baby step as we’ve been here before. Now though I must concentrate upon getting from zero to one thousand and as stated before….energy flows where attention goes. $1,000….here we come baby!

Focus Upon The End Result

So the more and more that I start to focus in on this financial fitness mumbo jumbo the more that I realize there are a ton of people (just like me) who are financially out-of-shape yet try to appear as if they are financially fit. Whether it be the neighbor down the street or the stranger in the grocery store the fact is there are more and more people trying to live up to the Jones’ expectations.

Sadly though I understand that the Jones’ and my expectations are going to be two totally different concepts. To be honest with you it sucks trying to save money. It is so much easier to keep blowing money but I’d rather not have fun and reap the benefits of saving money than have to deal with the stresses of having more month than money left.

In just a few days I will be celebrating Thirty-One years of being on this earth and sadly for almost all of those years I have been held captive to the slavery of debt. Now I am hoping to break through these chains with a fierceness that will leave the debt trembling into oblivion. The focus needs to be positive and needs to hone in on the baby steps of Dave Ramsey’s program. The very first thing we are going to have to concentrate upon is going to be obtaining $1,000 in our emergency fund to get past baby step one.

Now with that said in the next couple of days it is imperative that my family and I sit down and map out the dreaded budget. It is all about trying to find the right budget though because it cannot be too tough (get discouraged and quit) and not be too loose (not make any traction). If you are where I am, or have been where I am, or you are going to be getting at my starting point….feel free to voice your opinion here.

Listening to the inner-child within us

What do I want to do when I grow up?  This is a common question that we pose to children on a frequent basis.  The answers vary and if you were to ask my children what they wanted to be when they grow up the answers too would vary from being Dora the Explorer, a Princess, a Mermaid, to even being a mommy.  When the answers are given though the common phrase is based around the ideology that a kid can be whatever it is they want to be when they grow up.

How far is this from the truth?  The older I get the farther away from what I wanted to be when I was kid I become.  With age comes a sense of reality and that reality is that bills need to be paid, food needs to be on the table, and the American dream will always be just that…a dream.  What causes us to go from believing in our children to suddenly stifling out and killing their childhood dreams?

Now granted there are certain responsibilities that we take on as adults in trying to make it through the day-to-day grind.  Simply put more Americans are merely trying to survive than live out their dream of what they want to be when they grow up.  Instead of being a doctor kids take the easier road and become a business major.  Instead of being a nurse kids decide to be secretaries.  At some point in time we go from believing in the impossible to living for the path of least resistance.

My goal is stop that cycle within my own life.  I’m here to dig deep and find out what that dream was of what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Now granted I know what my responses were in the past but I now understand throwing a baseball 110 mph on a major league field is not feasible.  What I need to do is find out who I am, what my dreams are, and how I can amply apply my abilities to living out my dream.  It sounds simple.  I understand where I’m at right now and I know the end destination that I want but the hard part is going to be finding my way from point A to point B.  In discovering my inner ambitions I expect to find out more about who I truly am.  I expect to learn more about what motivates me, what excites me, what I am truly passionate about.  In doing all of this I expect to find the answer to the common question of what I want to do when I grow up.  When I get where I’m going I am positive there will be a “new” me living the life I have always wanted.  I’ll finally being living the life I dreamed about, finally living the life I was destined for.

Money Coach or Predatory Coaching?

The sad truth about the times we live in is that there are people out to make an easy dollar and do not care who stands in the way to stop them.  As I am writing this I have in mind a particular site that comes to mind that involves Lynnette Khalfani-Cox who is a proclaimed Money Coach.  I looked at her credentials and she has authored a few books and apparently has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Redbook, Essence, and on CNN, FOX Business, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil, The Tyra Banks Show, The Rachael Ray Show and on The 700 Club.

Not too shabby I would say but then I came across her web site that clearly states she is not a registered investment advisor and the information provided should be considered educational in nature, but it is not a substitute for legal or professional financial advice.  After reading this disclaimer at the bottom of the web site which primarily no viewer makes it to this peaked my curiosity.

I found her blog and read how she is having a teleseminar today and the cost is just $19.95 for 90 minutes for Ms. Khalfani-Cox to inform individuals how to handle creditors, get out of debt, deal with collectors, etc.  She is charging $19.95 per person for answers that can easily be found through simple search engine queries.  I couldn’t help myself but respond to her post with the following:

 I love how you have a disclaimer on your site stating The Money Coach is not a registered investment advisor and the information provided on this web site should be considered educational in nature, but it is not a substitute for legal or professional financial advice.

Yet you want people to sign up for a teleseminar for just $19.95. Are you kidding me? You make that disclaimer on the front of your .net web site and then you’re seriously asking people to pay money to hear information that is readily available on the Internet for… FREE!!! Wow!

Now I’m still waiting for her response but people use some common sense.  A lot of the information that these so-called “Money Coaches” use can be found through searches on Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.  Getting out of debt takes discipline, common sense and commitment.  Discipline to control your spending and pay your bills, common sense not to get ripped off by bad purchases or buying items you cannot afford and the commitment to follow through with getting out of debt.  There was no charge for that advice it was just simple “use your noggin” values.

Spending Going Up Approval Going Down

President Obama called for his latest “major new burst of federal spending” trying to jolt the wobbly economy into a stronger recovery and decrease the double-digit unemployment.  Obama made a comment that was rather shocking as he suggested our country simply has had to spend our way out of this recession.  I have never in my life fallen out of the grasp of debt by spending more money.  In fact the more I spend the more I lose yet the Messiah feels we’re just gonna have to keep shelling out the money.  For what, a deficit greater than $12 trillion dollars, are you serious Mr. President?

Though I believe the quote of the day comes from Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire,

“At least the president’s proposal will result in one new job — he’ll need to hire a magician to make this new deficit spending appear fiscally responsible,…”

Obama uses feel good terms like giving back to Main Street but seriously who believes he is going to follow through with his “commitments”?  The unemployment rate has shot upwards like a space rocket and I am reminded of the stories I heard growing up of the Jimmy Carter era.  It seems that Carter and Obama are actually the same individuals just living in different eras. 

One of the headliners I viewed on the Drudge Report states that Obama has the lowest approval rating of any President within their first year of office.  It seems like Obama is creating some elite credentials for himself that no one would want to be a part of.  Even Jimmy Carter scored higher at this point in his Presidency than Obama, its Jimmy freaking Carter.

For those who voted the man into office I hope like hell you are getting the “hope” and “change” you wanted.  It seems the administrations campaign slogan has successfully carried over into Obama’s first year.  The American nation is hoping that change will come soon but I believe we are seeing the best of the best as it is only going to get worse under Messiah Obama.

Savior Obama Keeps Trying To Get It Right

Savior Barack Obama and his administration have planned new efforts on battling foreclosures and helping people remain in their homes. The objective is to increase the rate at which troubled home loans are converted into new loans with lower monthly payments. I can hear the people singing and dancing in the streets right now how they taught the government a lesson.

What that lesson is I am not for sure but I have continuously heard people say if I can’t pay my bills then President Obama will help me out. I was watching a local news station and a woman proudly announced, “President Obama will help me with my mortgage.” I couldn’t help but think to myself are you crazy? Are you that nut? 

My parents taught me that it takes responsibility to live an achieving life. Stay within your means, do not rely upon credit cards, pay cash were common methods my dad wanted to instill in me. So my entire thought philosophy goes against what Savior Obama is preaching.

Somebody help me understand as he is rewarding bad behavior. Oh YOU took out a loan that YOU couldn’t afford and YOU expect the government to help YOU out. There are tons of excuses from predatory lending to unemployment but what about the people who are paying their bills? What about the people who have done whatever it takes to make sure their necessities and creditors are paid? Obama forgets about them because it’s easier for many people to ask for a handout than to pull themselves up by the boot strap. What’s Obama get out of this? It’s not being a Savior but his reward comes at the ballot booths in votes. The more he gives away the more likely he is to lock up more votes even though he hasn’t accomplished truly anything in the near year he has been in office.