Two Is Better Than One

Finances are so much easier when everyone is on the same boat. Too many times there are personality conflicts that prevent the cohesiveness needed to run a successful budget such as one person being the saver and the other person is the spender. Yet when these two personality conflicts are able to come together there can be some financial harmony. The more and more that my wife and I dive into getting our finances back under control the more we realize that too many times people worry way too much.

Think about all the things that we, humans, worry about and how many times over those things we worry about actually never come to fruit. With that said there are many reasons that people give as to why they cannot start their budget today yet truly nothing is a good excuse. It is because of that mentality that we are getting our budget strategically in place so we can change the way we are living. It’s easier said than done especially when you claim that you’re going to live like no one else so eventually you can live like no one else.

More to come on this thought process and an update on the budget and goals.

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.

Dusting Off The Debt-Free Running Shoes

Just getting back into the thicket of this thing called becoming financially free and I must say that I am a little bit tingly about it. There are a couple of things that I realize that need to happen as I write this. The very first thing that I need to do is to evaluate where I am right now and where it is that I want to go. Obviously the end result is becoming debt free but instead of just saying this is where I want to be…I need to give great thought and detail to exactly how I’m going to get there.

There is a saying in the movie The Secret in which it states that energy flows where attention goes. How true is that? If a person wants to lose weight and they start focusing in on losing weight and putting their efforts to weight loss….what happens? They lose weight, right? Typically the answer is yes. So with that said….it is definitely time that I put my focus on losing debt. How great does that sound?

Secretly I am smiling on the inside as I write this tonight with my wife sitting next to me as we are watching the tube. Other than deciding that I need to become more active with the blog, I have also decided to pick up the Total Money Makeover book by Dave Ramsey off the shelf. The first thing I had to do was blow the dust off the cover but the pages are crisp and ripe for the reading. Here’s to the start of what will be many, many blog posts (hopefully).

If you’re reading this I hope you are able to help keep me and my family accountable with our daily grind and battle with debt.

Weaving the Web

It is amazing to me how easy it is to fall off the wagon of life. When I mention this wagon of life you can almost insert any word pertaining to that wagon. Whether it be working out, living on a budget, eating right, doing better at work, whatever that list might pertain the fact is it is easier to go back to slacker ways than to keep moving forward. I cannot but chuckle to myself as I looked on this site to realize that my last post for this site was almost one year ago. In fact it was 10 months ago the last time that I thought to myself I want to get back on my budget.

Truth be told I am not alone in my battle against debt. Let me take that back, I am not alone in my personal war on debt. So I am hopping on the wagon again and this time I am hoping that I can maintain my focus on slimming down my debt as well as slimming down my waistline. I love the lay out of my site here and I have decided to use this as my thoughts on everyday life. I am sure that we will laugh together, we will cry together, maybe disagree with each other, but one things for sure I plan on expressing my ideas and my goal in 2012 is to be able to claim that I am, “Debt Free!” I have made the mistake in the past of falling off the wagon and to be honest I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I’m taking the financial challenge in Twenty Twelve to becoming more financially fit as well as physically fit and this is going to be my stomping ground in doing so. Also I plan on setting the stage here as I grow as a Christian. Like I said this is going to be a mixture of all things in my life because I cannot grow in one area without growing in others. Here’s my spiderweb, let’s weave this web together!

A New Adventure

After starting and stopping then starting and stopping again my wife and I have finally decided to make a solid push to the gazelle intensity of being debt-free.  In fact with the way we have our finances set up we should complete the first baby step (saving $1,000 as an emergency fund) by the 8^th of April.  At that point in time we will be looking at our snowball and what we can do to make the debt decrease to where it is nil.

We’ve also started considering and have decided to partake in a home-based business for my wife of selling jewelry.  There’s an initial upfront investment but we have several friends of the family who have been able to make a steady profit from the business.  One of these individuals grosses a monthly income of $15,000 per month from the line of work and I must admit I was skeptical at first until I saw the numbers myself.

With that said these people do not treat this business as a part-time job but attack it as a passion to do well.  Now does everyone make this kind of money per month?  The answer is simply no but I do believe a person will reap the benefits of what they sow.  Ideally I would like to build the business up to about $8,000 per month.  I figure this would be a solid way to change the rest of our lives.  With that kind of money coming in would mean that my focus on employment would turn to this line of work.  I expect to get to this level would take us some where between 6-8 years of steadily pushing the business.

I think to myself what we could do with this amount of money and if we take the Dave Ramsey method of living simple I can only imagine the amount of money we could put back.  I understand it doesn’t hurt dreaming but I am bound and determine to make this a success.  I would love to be able to stay-at-home with my wife and master this business working it daily together.  Only time will tell but I must admit I am excited to get started!

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.

My list of New Year’s Resolutions

I am finally designating my New Year’s resolutions for 2010 and prior to today I had not necessarily given the list as much thought as could be.  This is a combination of things that I want to see happen throughout the year Twenty Ten.

1. Be a better spouse in 2010 to my beautiful bride of 6 years.
2. Spend more quality time with my girls.
3. Pay off more debt in 2010.
4. Get in shape through exercise.
5. Lose weight- Goal weight is 163 pounds by the end of August (my 10 year High School Reunion will be Labor Day weekend)
6. Become more fluent in my Spanish speaking abilities solidifying my ability to read and write in Spanish.
7. Buy the bed mattresses my wife continuously talks about.
8. Be a better Boss for my employees.
9. Go fishing with my family.
10. Read my Bible and become a better student of the word.

Many of the things listed will require a change of lifestyle.  Substituting the drive-thru dollar menu for some good home cooked meals will be key to losing weight and getting back in shape.  I want to help out more with the daily housing duties with my wife.  She is an awesome woman and I want to show her through my actions.  Learning the Spanish can be beneficial and open up more opportunities in having the ability to speak both English and Spanish.  These are just a few of the ideas of the resolutions I would like to improve upon.  Hopefully I will be able to stay committed to this list and at year’s end know that I successfully accomplished these feats.

Taking Can’t Out of the Vocabulary

In surfing the Internet over the past couple of days I have been searching.  Searching for people who are in debt and instead of making excuses they are actually doing something about it.  I recently came across an individual who is unemployed, stated he owes more than $60,000 in student loans and cannot get on at McDonalds.  I find this hard to believe.  This person said he is waiting on a call back, waiting to hear from them, and I believe he is waiting and holding on to the same excuses.

Yes the job market is down.  Truthfully it sucks but there are jobs out there.  It is times like these that we are living in that people need to be thankful for having employment and making for damn sure they are doing whatever necessary to stand apart from the other employees.  I work in a production based non-factory atmosphere with a lucrative bonus structure for hitting numbers and exceeding budgets.  Before I was in management my motto as an employee was I was not there for the regular paycheck, I was there to make bonus checks.  This mentality helped me achieve more bonus money and paved the way for the company advancements I have earned.

With that said I have employees who openly admit to being satisfied with the regular paycheck and it’s not that great of money so it’s not like these people are receiving fat paychecks.  The drive and mentality of people are different with each individual spoken to and what motivates me is different than what will motivate you.  I grow increasingly tired of hearing people say they cannot do this or they cannot do that. 

Folks it is time to take the word “Can’t” out of the vocabulary banks.  If a person says they cannot doing something then they will never accomplish the feat unless by pure chance and coincidence.  Show me a person who uses phrases such as “I will”, “I can”, “I have” and I’ll show you someone who is more likely to be successful than the person who constantly gives up.

As for that $60,000 person in debt who cannot get a job even at McDonalds I have to call bull shit.  Jobs are out there it takes being proactive not reactive and sometimes we have to do jobs that are below us.  Until you have done everything in your power and exhausted all options do not say “I can’t get a job” be honest with yourself and everyone else and say the real reason, “I don’t want to work at XYZ place.”

Internet Scams

There are too many people in this world that are out for an easy buck.  Some are the predators and some are the prey.  I do not believe there is an easy sure fire way to get rich quick as a person hears about on the radio and television.  I was recently contacted about my supposed interest in selling a product known as Reliv.  I say supposed interest because I do not ever remember completing any kind of form whatsoever but yet here the person named Vera O. had my contact information.  I ran with it to see what I could find out.  My wife had told me the experiences her mom and her co-workers had with the product and it was a positive experience so I definitely wanted to hear this person out.

So Ms. Vera was adamant about calling and she was precise when she said she was going to call she called.  I wasn’t necessarily buying into the entire “pyramid- but it’s not a pyramid” scheme so she enlisted the help of a Senior Rep. by the name of Pete V.  After the conversation with Mr. V the positive impression that I had of the product was quickly dwindling down.

Good ole Pete was trying to “close” hard on me and I guess his previous 20 years in the Insurance business taught him to try and manipulate the “customer” into buying into the system.  While I was on that phone call the price started out at $25 to join and by the end of the conversation I would need to buy supplies running the total to $600 to start up this “opportunity”.  I didn’t bite and he became more aggressive.

I agreed to attend a local seminar they were having on the product and truly I had every intention of attending unfortunately something came up at the last minute and I was unable to attend.  My email inbox began getting overflowed with answers to objections I had previously had.  I thought wow communication is great with these people.

Well I thought it was great until I sent the following email:

Vera,

I wanted to write you and let you know that I appreciate all of the information.  At this time I have decided to halt my forward progression with Reliv.  I appreciate you taking the time to give me every opportunity to learn about your company but again at this time I do not feel it would be a good fit as I cannot personally dedicate the necessary time required for Reliv to be successful in my life.  Thank you for all of your hard work.  It has greatly been appreciated.

Sincerely,

Mr. Slinkard

I guess I was a little offended in that I took the time to send an email that said thanks but no thanks rather than let the individual blow up my phone or flood my inbox with useless information.  I thought I was doing the right thing and it’s been 3 days since that email and no response.  Makes me wonder what would have happened if I would have joined?  Would they have courted me pretty hard to get me to sign and then be absent in the new process?  Was it a put on?  I believe it was and now I’m glad I didn’t join.