Its Time To Act

Its time to act I recently read a blog from Kevin Miller titled You'll get what you expect.  Everything I read I try to understand what they are saying and see how can I apply it to my life.  I often hope for these things but dont necessarily expect them. When we do this we usually take no action and get what we expect, nothing.  Lets apply this to our finances.  We live in the most prosperous country in history.  God has richly blessed us with His material possessions and we do not manage them the best that we could.  As in the blog from Kevin Miller   we get pretty much what we expect. We expect to have a lot of things because we see others around us have a lot of things.  Therefore we manage our finances in a way that gets us a lot of things but leaves us running on the edge with our money.  My pastor, Brian Fields told us in a sermon that 1/3 of the people that made at least six figures, said they could agree with the statement, I make enough to meet my needs.  If you dont make six figures you may be thinking that's impossible you can have anything you want with that kind of money!  We do it everyday with what ever amount of money we make.  If you dont have a plan for your money the credit card companies do and that is why we run short meeting our needs.  The average income for a family in America is 40,000.00 per year.  Over a 30 year working span that is 1.2 million going through your hands. Tell it where to go before you get it each pay check.  By the way if you make 100,000.00 that would be 3 million you would get.  Notice neither one of these figures got a raise over the 30 years!  So how do we act to get what we expect?  Determine why you want to get your finances in order and then learn what to do. You must expect to reach your goals because that will determine what you do.  If you expect you cannot get out of debt and save money, guess what you will stay in debt buying stuff to make you "happy" and not  be able to save.  You have to make it a point to spend less than you make and pay yourself, or save.  So in short act like you should to get the expectations you want. Create a budget, start saving, pay off your debt, and live on less than what you make.  We must do these things over our life time. You cannot do them for a few months and go back to your old way. You must make a decision to do it and stay with the plan.  Let me know if I can help you. Go to my resources page and down load a free budget to get you started. Something to think on this week: Money is the lowest form of prosperity.  We must learn to turn money into wealth. Wade Trimmer Good Quotes:   "Life is like a ten-speed bicycle....Most of us have gears that we never use."  Charlie Brown in Peanuts   "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford   "Growth demands a temporary surrender of security."  -- Gail Sheehy - Passages Religion gives you advice on how to make amends with God.  The gospel is news that God has done something to make us right with Him.  Kenny Thacker

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Building a life or building a prison.

Building a life or building a prison

    I have always heard if you want total security, food, clothing, and shelter that prison is the best place to find these things. You will never have to worry missing out on these things in prison.  You will get them daily.   Our default mode in life is usually “play it safe” for ourselves and our families. In football they call it the prevent defense. It usually keeps teams from winning.   We always have that dream of what we want and we compare it with the reality of where we are at in our lives.  When reality does not measure up with our dreams we get discouraged at where we are at in life.  We may be comfortable but it is not quiet our dream so we get settled where we are at and determine to keep that status. The longer we stay the same in life and put off our dreams and desires, the more valuable settling where we are at gets.    We listen to ourselves and others and in the name of responsible and reasonable and we determine that chasing a dream is foolish.   Once this thought settles in, we protect what we do have and say this is great and we build the walls around that to keep us in and set up a prison we were not intended for.  We will choose to do things that keep the status quo whether we realize it or not. We do this all to keep everything the same and strengthen the walls of our custom built prison.   If this is not your dream then begin to act on where God is moving you. He is usually moving you to help people in His name and He gives us dreams and desires for direction.  Remember we are here to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.  It hard to have true joy in prison, I would think.  Watch out who you associate with also because a lot of people don’t want you to succeed and be happy.   If you hang out with people who limp you will eventually develop a limp yourself.  You may ask “what if I fail?” You will, but don’t make failure permanent.  Failure is life’s way of adjusting your path and getting you back on track.  And remember it will not happen as quickly as you like.  It’s all part of the adventure.  So begin to act and open the cell door also feel free to mess up, because you will. If you don’t mess up you are not doing something right!  So dream, enjoy, and remember to build a life not a prison.

     Let me know if I can help!

Tim West

Go West Coaching 6-20-13

Should I rent or buy a home?

Should I rent or buy? At some point in our lives we all have this question. Half of the people you talk to say rent and the other half say buy. Every situation is different and there is no one size fits all when it comes to this question. Let’s talk about a few of the issues that can arise from this question and help answer some of the problems you may run across. I will agree with most folks out there that, now is a good time to buy a house. This is true only if you can afford to pay for a house. Just because you can pay the monthly mortgage payment does not mean you can afford the house. There is more than just a mortgage payment to deal with. When you are the owner you must pay for the maintenance of your home, and any other fees that are applicable. Maintenance includes things such as heating and air conditioning systems, roofs, appliances, plumbing and everything else in your home. Just because your mortgage payment is a little cheaper than paying rent it should not be the sole reason to buy a home. If you have a major repair it can cost thousands of dollars that will cause not only a house problem but also a financial problem. Then there is the “you can use interest on your mortgage as a tax write off.” Don’t get me wrong tax write offs are great but if you are paying more in interest to the bank than you are to the IRS you are not saving money, you are actually spending more in your interest. Example, suppose you make 100,000.00 a year income, and let’s say you pay 10,000.00 in interest a year to the bank. If you are in the 30% tax bracket, with this income that means you would pay 3000.00 in income taxes on 10,000.00. Now answer the question would you rather send the mortgage company 10000.00 a year to avoid sending the IRS 3000.00? If you save your money long enough and have patients you could start off buying your first house and have it paid for. But most of us cannot wait and get a mortgage. Here are a few things that will let you know that you are ready to buy a house. If you have at least a 20% down payment when the time to buy rolls around. Since the mortgage bust a few years ago this is becoming more common when you get ready to purchase. You should also should have 3-6 months of emergency savings left after the down payment. Everyone has been told these things are impossible to do now days, but that is not true if you have the patients and a good financial plan to get you there. You should not get a mortgage payment that is more that 25-30% of your net pay, anything much higher will have the majority of your money going into your home and you will not have much fun outside of that. Also you should get a 15 year fixed rate mortgage. We tell ourselves a lot of times that we will pay extra on our 30 year but we rarely do that. A 15 year mortgage pays off in 15 years every time. If you can do these things your home will be an enjoyment to you and your family and not a source of worry and financial problems. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Health Insurance

Health Insurance: You will get it and like it! Health insurance is a great thing to have and is much needed because of the cost of health care. The only thing that grows faster than health care costs is the national debt. With recent legislation it looks like we will get taxed if we do not have a government approved plan. If your employer offers health insurance you are limited to what they offer unless you go at it on your own. I have had to provide my own health insurance for the last 8 years. When you pay for your own insurance you learn more about health insurance than you can imagine. I generally have to shop for it every year to keep my rates as low as possible. You have several options such as a HMO, Health maintenance organization; it is a prepaid health plan. As an HMO member, you pay a monthly premium. In exchange, the HMO provides comprehensive health care for you and your family, including doctors' visits, hospital stays, emergency care, surgery, laboratory (lab) tests, x-rays, and therapy. You also have a POS, POS: Point-of-Service Plans Many HMOs offer an indemnity-type option known as a Point-of-Service or "POS" health care plan. The primary care doctors in a POS plan usually make referrals to other providers in the health plan. But in a POS plan, members can refer themselves outside the plan and still get some coverage. If the doctor makes a referral out of the network, the health care plan pays all or most of the bill. If you refer yourself to a provider outside the network and the service is covered by the health plan, you will have to pay coinsurance. PPO: Preferred Provider Organizations The preferred provider organization, or "PPO", is a combination of traditional fee-for-service and an HMO. Like an HMO, there are a limited number of doctors and hospitals to choose from. When you use those providers (sometimes called "preferred providers", other times called "network providers"), most of your medical bills are covered. And I will cover one more an HSA; this is a health savings account. This is a tax sheltered high deductible plan. I would recommend this one if you do not go to the doctor a lot and you cover your routine trips to the doctor out of pocket. One advantage to this is that you can save your deductible in a tax sheltered savings account and use it on approved health care expenses. I will not recommend which one you need but I will give you a few tips for helping you decide. Determine how often you and your family go to the doctor for routine care, if you have young kids or go to the doctor a lot an HSA may not be best for you. HSA’s, on most of them, cover 100% after you meet the deductible. Now to save on your premium and co-insurance amount, increase the deductible. The whole idea in insurance is if you take on more risk, or pay more, you will not have to pay the insurance company as much money. In health insurance you have to deal with your maximum out of pocket expenses or in their lingo the stop loss. This is the maximum out of pocket you will pay. Like the 80/20 plan. They pay 80% you pay 20% maximum of your medical expenses. If you increase the 20% to 30% you premiums will be lower. So decide what you and your family needs. Pick an independent agent that has the heart of a teacher. Make sure you understand what you are buying. When it comes to insurance you have to shop it often, I suggest yearly on health. They are like cable companies; new customers get the best deals. The new health care law has yet to be figured out completely other than it’s a tax. People often ask; when should I implement insurance in my financial plan? I suggest ASAP. Having insurance shifts the financial risk from you to the insurance company. If you do not have proper insurance it can cause a huge financial burden or even bankruptcy. Email me any questions or comments you may have. Thanks for reading. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Life Insurance: What do I need and how much?

Life Insurance: What do I need and how much? Insurance is that thing you spend money on every month and see no results, until there is an accident! The only time we appreciate insurance is when they do what they are designed to do, protect us from risk. Insurance transfers the financial risk from you to the insurance company. Proper insurance is very important. If you do not have proper insurance you might have a huge bill that will cause you financial difficulty or even bankruptcy. I will discuss different types of insurance in several blogs. Today we will talk about life insurance. Life insurance is one of those things we put off until we realize we will die one day. It is not as pressing as automobile and home insurance because you are not required by law to have life insurance. We need to view life insurance as taking care of our family or loved ones, financially, after we are gone. The goal of life insurance is to replace you financially when you die. There are two types of life insurance, term-life and whole life, also called cash value or universal life. Term life is for a specified amount of time, it is cheaper and it has no savings plan built into it like whole life. Now, whole life, cash value, or universal gives you a payout when you die but it also has a savings plan built in to it as well. It costs more monthly because you are saving in the process. I never recommend whole life, universal, or cash value unless you cannot get any term life. Insurance sales people will tell you that you can convert it so you can have permanent life insurance. You don’t need permanent life insurance if you have a solid financial plan and save and invest through good mutual funds and Roth IRA’s and not cash value insurance. You should be able to self-insure if you save and invest throughout your life. The reason why so many insurance sales people push whole life is because it pays them quite well or they don’t understand what they are selling. I prefer using term life. The goal with term life is to buy it for 10, 20, or even 30 year term. You should get 8-10 times your annual income. The reason for 8-10 times is because you can invest that whole amount and get a 10% annual return and replace your income. Example- if you make 50,000.00 a year you would get 500,000.00 in term life insurance. If you were to die your loved ones would get the 500,000 and invest it at 10% annual return, which would be 50,000 a year. You would have replaced your income if you were to die and your family would be able to financially continue on. A 35-40 year old can get 500,000 for 30-40 dollars a month. Most people will tell you that you cannot get 10% returns on an investment, but the average return for the stock market is almost 12% over the last 75 years. You have to take some time and make an effort to get the results you want. You may ask why not whole life if they can make 12%? The returns are historically low on cash value insurance. They have a lot of hidden fees and costs. That’s why it’s a good deal for them when you buy it. They may make the 12% but you get only get 3- 5%. If you have cash value insurance when you die, and let’s say it is a 50000.00 policy; when you die lets say you have built up 65,000 in the account, you get 50,000.00 they get the rest. Not a bad deal for them. They use your money to make money for them. Like I said the only time to get whole life is if you cannot get term. I recommend buying only term for you and your spouse. If you have children only get enough to cover funeral costs. Let me know if you have any questions. Also be sure you buy from an agent who can fully explain the product you are buying so you fully understand it. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Money Problem If we are having a money problem do we need more of what we are having a problem with? Would it be like being in a tornado and wishing a strong wind would come along and blow the tornado out? Sure if we were having money problems and someone gave us a lump sum amount of cash it would help out temporarily. But I have said this along with others, if I ever get out of this situation I will never let it happen again. Then some time later we find our self in a similar situation. So how do we change a money problem or any problem in our life and not return? With a plan! We most of the time get into these situations by not paying attention to what we are doing and follow the banks financial plan they have for us. So I suggest that we learn how to handle a little money and manage it so we can learn how to handle a lot. If we cannot handle a small amount and do irresponsible things with it, we will just do it on a larger scale with more money. If you are having problem weather its money or something else make a detailed plan and start from where you are at and determine where you want to go. It’s just like unpacking a suitcase, one item at a time. Sit down and spend every dollar you have on paper and follow your plan out. Get yourself in good shape so you can handle more if you get it. Remember it’s a life style not something you will just do for a few months. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Taking Responsibility

Taking Responsibility We have heard this statement since we were kids; you have to take responsibility for your life. There is a lot in life that we have to take responsibility for. It is easy to get on cruise control and let the status quo take over and run things. For example, we can depend on the government to take care of us with social security. We all know how good the government is at handling money! Do you really want them saving for your retirement? We also depend on our employer to take care of our pension and our health insurance. I have determined one thing; other people looking out for their best interest will not make decisions in you, or your families, best interest. During the current economic times we hear about a lot of companies who have realized the promises they made to their employees, to provide a pension and health insurance, after they retire are not in the company’s best interest. When they determine this, they begin to take away the benefits from the employees because they cannot afford to support them or the retirees. If you have found yourself in this situation, or you have a job that does not provide these benefits you have to get a plan to provide these things yourself. I know most of us don’t like to do the uncomfortable things like, calling and get insurance quotes, learning about saving for retirement, but it’s worth the trouble when you need these things. Only you have you and your family’s best interest in mind. Determine what you need and create a plan to get there. There is no use in staying mad at the company or the government, which may have taken those benefits away because that doesn’t make you better but, it makes you bitter. Bitterness is like you drinking poison and hoping it hurts someone else. Determine what you need, map out your plan to get there and most importantly execute your plan! If you need some help with it let me know. I want you to get control of your life and make the best decision for your family. Tim West Go West Coaching 6-9-12 Go West coaching offers hourly coaching or 90-120 day coaching packages. Email or call 706-840-0992 for more information or a 30min free consultation. You're getting emails from me either b/c you signed up for them or we interacted on-line and I thought you'd like to get some insight from me. You can unsubscribe and it won't hurt my feelings. Just reply stop to this email. Or you can stay subscribed and help my self-esteem. Totally up to you.

Single Parents and Money

Single Parents and Money Well this is putting two challenging things together, single parenting and money. Being a parent has its challenges, but it can be one of the most joyous experiences you can have. There are many challenges you can have as a parent so I will try to help you with the money challenge. Here is a big revelation, men and women view money differently! I know it’s a shock but we do. Single parents have a lot going on and have a tough assignment. My parents were divorced when I was eight years old; although I did not realize it at the time, I can now see some of the things my mom had to face. Mothers try to nurture and create that loving safe home environment and train up a child in the way they should go. If you throw in bread winner and provider to their duties that makes for one busy day and can lead to a lot of frustration, fear and confusion. Women, as a whole, tend to get fearful when they don’t have the money they feel they need to take care of their household. Whatever is affecting mom is picked up by the rest of the family. Also when you get busy and begin to think you are not doing as good in some areas you may want to compensate for it with money. You may buy them something they want or take them on a vacation you cannot afford. Once you spend that money on those things the bills come around and it puts you in a bind then you panic. It is also easy for dads to overspend because dads feel, as the provider and bread winner, we can convince ourselves that if we provide this or that we can use it to substitute for mom. Now, single dad has money problems because he has spent too much trying to replace mom with cash. I have noticed one thing about kids, they love mom or dad and they forget about the toys and big vacations before they forget the time spent with them daily. Quantity time is quality time! When the kids get older they remember the struggles moms or dads had and appreciate them for the sacrifice. I did!! Don’t buy into the worlds systems of you need to get you child this or that to be a good parent. Being a good parent is saying no when you cannot afford something. Don’t spend the grocery money on a social class or a video game. Sometimes the things you need to do don’t give you the warm fuzzy feelings inside like doing what you think your kids would enjoy and make you feel like a good parent. The best way to solve a problem is to have a plan. Create a budget monthly and use it. When I say use it I mean follow it and set your spending amounts and stick to them. Sometimes you have to adjust the amounts so do it and stick to them. There is nothing wrong with buying your kids something they want or taking them on vacation, just plan for it. Don’t spend the money until you have it saved. Don’t spend it out of guilt. When you save the money for vacation and spend it on vacation don’t feel guilty, enjoy it. Disney has a plan for your grocery money, and it is not food! Have your cash saved and follow your spending plan not theirs. Set down every month spend every dollar on paper, and hey it’s okay to spend some of your money on a vacation or a build a bear! Enjoy your children, and don’t feel guilty because you cannot do everything they want. Children are like us, their wants are unlimited, and a budget gets that in order for your family. You can create a plan to enjoy your children and your money. Knowing what to do with your money before you get it helps you enjoy the time you have with your children more. Let me know if I can help. Tim West Go West Coaching 6/2/2012

Learning to live with money Have you ever had a difficult time dealing with a situation or a relationship? The problem you are dealing with leaves you confused and not knowing what to do or where to turn. Then you get to the point of just tolerating the thing and doing the best you can, hoping something changes. I have learned that things will deteriorate worse if you do nothing. We must be proactive if we want things to change. We must have a plan. Don’t wait till the perfect plan comes along. As the great George S. Patton said “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” Money is one of those things people have a hard time learning to live with. I once heard that rich people and poor people can have the same god, money! Why is money so hard to live with? It is basically addition and subtraction, right? No, as Dave Ramsey says, it is 20% head knowledge and 80% behavior. We would never have a money problem if it was only a math issue. There is not an area of life that money does not touch. We give money more power than it deserves in our lives. You may be thinking, yes it is just like oxygen we need it to live. I guarantee you that most people would give every last penny they had to buy a little extra oxygen if it was needed to live. If we really had to we could learn to live with a lot less than what we have. The things we “think” we need are not really necessities. Determine what is important in your life and use money as a tool to get the important things. Learn to live with money, as a tool, and not as if it is life itself. Money is the medium that we use in exchange for things of value. Money is amoral; it takes on the personality of its owner. We have all probably heard this bible verse in 1 Tim: 6:10- For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. We are familiar with the first part but the second part really speaks to me. You can do some crazy things for money if you do not learn how to live with it. Get a plan, and prioritize it according to what is important to you and your family. Get on a budget and execute your plan, violently, and get your life back. Let me know if I can help. Tim West Go West Coaching 5-21-12

Money to the Max

Money to the Max

You may be thinking that I am talking about more money than I know what to do with, wrong. I am talking about how we live, or use to live, our financial lives to the max. Before the recession era most of us were making more money than we are now and we could afford more “stuff” to buy. You never really realize how much less you can live on until you have to. We cut the unnecessary things out of our budget, although they were fun we can live without them now. A lot of times we wait to long to remove those items from our lives and dig a deeper hole. Think of all the things you use to live with then and look how you live now and you will see just how much money you may have been able to save. Don’t get me wrong we should do fun things but we should control how much we do them. We tend to get into the habit of buying fun and that can make you broke fast! A recession will tend to help make us content the hard way. Why don't we take this new budget that we now have and apply it when our income does go back up? A lot of people have had over a 50% decrease in income over the last three years and now realize how much they spent. Here is a challenge for you when your income goes back up again. Live on less than what you make. Do some fun things but do them less than you use to. You may be able to live on 75% of your income and save the rest for a 3-6 month emergency fund, retirement and for purchases. Get a plan and start following it and create the financial life you want to have. Besides, all the fun you use to have before, is not any fun now because you probably cant remember what you spent your money on then. Nothing can run maxed out for a long period of time without breaking.

Tim West
Go West CoachingMoney to the Max

You may be thinking that I am talking about more money than I know what to do with, wrong. I am talking about how we live, or use to live, our financial lives to the max. Before the recession era most of us were making more money than we are now and we could afford more “stuff” to buy. You never really realize how much less you can live on until you have to. We cut the unnecessary things out of our budget, although they were fun we can live without them now. A lot of times we wait to long to remove those items from our lives and dig a deeper hole. Think of all the things you use to live with then and look how you live now and you will see just how much money you may have been able to save. Don’t get me wrong we should do fun things but we should control how much we do them. We tend to get into the habit of buying fun and that can make you broke fast! A recession will tend to help make us content the hard way. Why don't we take this new budget that we now have and apply it when our income does go back up? A lot of people have had over a 50% decrease in income over the last three years and now realize how much they spent. Here is a challenge for you when your income goes back up again. Live on less than what you make. Do some fun things but do them less than you use to. You may be able to live on 75% of your income and save the rest for a 3-6 month emergency fund, retirement and for purchases. Get a plan and start following it and create the financial life you want to have. Besides, all the fun you use to have before, is not any fun now because you probably cant remember what you spent your money on then. Nothing can run maxed out for a long period of time without breaking.

Tim West
Go West Coaching

The New Time Way

The new time way

I drove past a church the other day and the name of it was the old time way church. I thought why would you always want to stay in the old time way when things change all of the time, and the majority of the time for the better. Don’t get me wrong there are some things in church that don’t change and should not. Some things should but I will not discuss that. I was thinking more on the lines of our life. I know some people will not try computers, my mom for one will not get a computer. There are people who don’t want a cell phone. There is nothing wrong with that because I hate my phone sometimes. Some people think they have to stay where they are at in their work lives. They think, I have always done it and its not great but, its the way I know so why change. I want to challenge that mind set this year. You may be like a lot of people who wanted last year to be over with only to find out that 2011 wasn’t that much better. The old time way says keep waiting and something will change. I suggest we try the new time way and stop waiting and start working. Move out on faith. Its not faith until we put it in action! Thanks Tr Sweeney for that word. Make a plan and start executing it this year. What area do you want to change this year? Feel free to download a goal sheet and plan out your new time way. Feel free to contact me if I can help. "There are a lot of ways to become a failure, but never taking a chance is the most successful." - Anonymous


Tim West
Go West Coaching
12-5-11