Whats next in 2011

What’s next in 2011?

2010 is winding down, and a lot of people are glad to see it going. It has been a challenging year to me as well as others. I remember at the end of 2009 thinking I know 2010 will be better. I now look back on 2010 and think it may have been tough, but I sure learned a lot about life, that’s better. Just because it was a challenging year doesn’t mean it was bad. Heck there are millions of people around the world that would love to have a bad year and live in the U.S. We have learned that just because we cannot have a booming economy all the time, we can still prosper in many ways. Our economy is more emotional, I think, than anything, turn off the news and it will get better. Drive around in Augusta Georgia on a Friday or Saturday night and the restaurant parking lots are full not to mention Wal-Mart is always full. They could make a profit if no one was on the earth! We have also learned to keep our focus and work through the times of uncertainty. Even though we may not be out of the woods we know we have to keep on keeping on. It will be interesting to hear all of the stories about how people started their businesses during this time and how they learned new ways of managing their money. So what if life doesn’t change in 2011? I guess it will be more time to learn and to grow in our lives. Good times go by easy, when you are learning and improving, to me, that should be good times. I hope you all have a great 2011!!!

Entrepreneurs have ruined me

Entrepreneurs have ruined me

The title says it all, I have been ruined by entrepreneurs, and I like it. When you think about it the traditional way of employment ruins you more. By traditional I mean work for a company for years and retire, get laid off or they shut down. One way or the other you will leave there. Since I have jumped into the world of working for myself, I have found freedom and creativity, uncertainty, fear, joy, and ambition, drive, anxiety, depression, and fulfillment and encouragement. Oh yes, and the ways to overcome the negative things. Negative things help re-direct you to positive things, so don’t look at the fear, depression, anxiety and uncertainty as the end of the world, learn from it and move foreword. These things exist in traditional employment to except we do not realize it until they start talking about downsizing and the pink slips are handed out. You may ask how entrepreneurs have ruined me. They have ruined me because this is the way I want to live now, work for myself, and do what I feel God called me to do on this earth, help people reach their purpose in different areas of their life. This is really a blessing! Yes this life style does lead you to have all of the before mentioned emotions and more, but there is LIFE there. I do miss the regular paycheck from time to time because, like a circus lion, I waited for the three meals a day and forgot how to go hunt my own food. Nice kitty!

So do you have that feeling that makes you want to escape the circus, if you do start to take action on it immediately! If you don’t act you will continue to wait and keep putting it off. I am not saying jump off of the boat and swim until you see some land, but create a plan to get there and instead of jumping and hoping to find land. You can take the right steps to get there. Will I mess up? Yes. Will it be easy? No. Will it be fun? Yes and challenging. Why not start to formulate your plan in 2011? If you do attempt to be ruined by entrepreneurs, remember most of them didn’t do it overnight. Read success stories of others, and get help from others who may have been down that road. You may ask what if I fail. Use it to move forward or in a different direction. Hey life is an adventure, set sail! Don’t be the king of the jungle that everyone looks at behind bars. Remember his biggest highlight is the meal that the trainer is going to bring to him. To all of you entrepreneurs out there thanks!

Jack Wagon

Jack Wagon (Don’t be one) 11-24-10

I just love that commercial and I some how needed to write a blog with the word Jack Wagon in it somewhere. After watching the commercial I decided that I would probably be the same type of psychiatrist as Sergeant R. Lee Ermey but not as intimidating. Heck I look like Opie Taylor. It is kind of hard to intimidate people when you remind them of an Andy Griffith character. I started thinking about how we can be a Jack Wagon this time of year and it starts for us in two days. Black Friday! Some places have already started the frenzy by being open this week and starting on Thanksgiving Day. Come on over half of America will be in a turkey coma Thursday and not able to function in a crowded store. So the first one’s to be a Jack Wagon on this season is the stores. They have commercialized my beloved turkey day with being open. Okay ladies don’t be mad at me; some of you train for this black Friday event for weeks like it’s a marathon. I am ok with that. It is to you like opening day of deer season is to us deer hunters, except you get up earlier for it and it is dangerous for the other hunters (shoppers) in the stores. Woman world is tuff, especially that day! My wife has a group from our church leaving at 3 A.M. Friday. I may go hunting and I don’t have to get up till 4:30. More power to yall.

So you may ask how we can avoid being the Jack Wagon. 1. Stick to a budget! Get a number that you and you spouse can work with and stick to that number. 2. Don’t use credit cards because next year at this time you will be paying for this Christmas. If you use a credit card you tend to spend 12-18% more than if you use cash. Now lets be honest, I have done it is the past, you shop for someone else and you wind up not getting them anything, but you successfully get yourself a couple of gifts. What ever the amount you decide to spend get cash and when the cash is gone you are done. It’s a behavior issue not a number issue. 3. You don’t have to finish Friday! This is where you ladies need to take a lesson from us men. You can shop up to December 24th and not spend everything at once. Space out your shopping because if you do it all at once you will be ready to get it done and spend that extra instead of looking for a bargain. 4. Make a gift for others, I will tend to keep something longer if someone makes me something, and I will not forget it, especially if its food! 5. Bargain with people; ask for a discount, you never can tell when they will say yes. The answer is always no if you don’t ask. So I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great shopping experience. Don’t be an overspending Jack Wagon. Ladies be careful, have mercy on us men if you see us in the store with our wives or by ourselves; we are out of our element and we look like Jack Wagons in your environment! Have a blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Less is more



You may be thinking that I am just trying to make you feel better because your 401k is now a 201k or that your pay has been cut lower than it was two years ago. But think about it, sometimes we are going at a pace to have “more” that we are missing out on winning at other things that may bring more joy in our lives. Hey my income is less because I do not work where I use to but I don’t have all of the stress of being gone as much and feeling like I don’t have time to do anything. Like the late Dale Earnhardt said, slower is faster. When you go slower and don’t wear your machine out, you don’t have to make as many pit stops to work on it and by the end of the race you are up front in a position to win; while the ones running wide open are in the back, pedal to the floor ,trying to get up to the front but they are out of time. Wow I did get something out of Nascar when I watched it! So I suggest that we look at what where we really want to be, take a breath and start pursuing the dream. Weather it is being debt free, doing a job that you always wanted to do, at your pace, or building relationships, which is the most important. Let’s use this time to re-evaluate, re focus and reload to build the life that God put us down here to have. When we do these things we glorify Him and we enjoy ourselves. And yes God wants you to have His money, but He doesn’t want it to have you. And besides don’t you think it is easier to make money doing something you love versus something that pays well and makes you unhappy and takes all of your time?



11-18-10

Are you looking or seeing?

I went to a funeral yesterday for a member of our church who was blind for most of her life. She was a wonderful woman who lived till 91 years of age. Members of our church would go and pick her up on Sunday and Wednesdays and do all kinds of different errands for her. Miss Allen knew what my name was, Tim, but she always called me Kim, and I didn’t argue with her because I would still be called Kim no matter what and I did not want to get in trouble with her for arguing. Our former pastor preached at the funereal and he made a great statement. “We look with our eyes and we see with our mind.” That is a very true statement! I have been blessed with excellent vision all of my life and the wonderful ability to “look.” But I have to confess I don’t see all that well at times. My ability to see often gets blurred by what I am looking at in my life. I have also noticed that a lot of other people suffer from this problem.

We often get so focused on what we are looking at and everything else gets blurred that is beyond the object or situation. It’s the old “I can’t see the forest because the trees are in the way!” There is nothing more frustrating than looking right at something and not seeing it in front of us. We look at our current situations in life and all we see is this is just the way it is, or I will work harder at this and it will maybe get better. Miss Allen never could look at her house to see if it needed cleaning, but anytime I dropped her off it was clean, really clean. She could always see her clean house. Maybe we need to start seeing where we want to go in our lives instead of looking at all the problems in our life. What ever we are looking at is the direction we will be traveling. I believe I will work on my seeing. I know Miss Allen is seeing everything she knew was out there now, and as a bonus, she can now look at what she has been seeing!

Kim West (Tim West) 11-9-10

I cant see my feet!

I can’t see my feet!
11-2-2010

It’s true that when you walk you can’t focus on your feet or you will run into things that will hurt you. Living a life of faith in Jesus Christ keeps you from seeing the path that your feet are on sometimes. I like to hunt and spend time in the woods and I have gotten lost on an occasion or three. One memorable time was when a friend of mine was looking at some land and he wanted to show me this great place in the swamp. We crossed the creek and I asked him do you know where you are going? Yes of course I do! 15 minutes later I heard him say that “I don’t know where I am at!” I didn’t pay attention to where we were going because I figured I didn’t need to because he “knew where we were at.” So a couple of hours later we make our way to a paved road and walk up to a mans house and he told us what road were on and we started heading back to the truck. He drove past us a few minutes later and waved. I guess he wanted us to enjoy our country walk and didn’t offer us a ride. We walked 8 miles back to the truck. Nothing like feeling lost in the middle of no where Georgia.

Our walk in life gets that way sometimes, I get a plan and map it out and I know where I am going. But with Jesus in charge of my life, He wants me to trust Him to lead the way and follow His plan that He gave me. He is the greatest leader in history, and a lot of times, like with my friend, I don’t pay any attention to where He is leading and I look up and I am lost. I get lost because I notice I am looking at my feet and then realize I am confused because I hit something. After I recover from the hit I realize I can’t see my leader and I panic. I have to fight off all of those thoughts, I am by my self, what’s going to happen to me, will I ever find my leader, I can’t see Him or hear him. Although I don’t believe it at the time, He knows exactly where I am at and I could probably hear Him if I shut up worrying and listen. When I am in this place I start looking for people who are lost to and enjoy talking about our being lost and how bad it is and complain and have a old fashioned pity party. If I just listen and keep walking in the direction that He told me before I was lost I will begin to see an opening in the swamp to a field, just like with me and my buddy. Although the field was grown up to my head, I kept walking until I got to an old dirt road. I kept walking up that old road until we got to them mans house, and Jesus used him to tell us which direction to go to the truck. I just wished He told him to give us a ride, but Jesus knows there is strength to build in the struggle. No matter what you and I may be going through in our life, when we feel completely lost and helpless and want to give up, remember our leader knows where we are at, stop looking at your feet and look to where you are going. In the words of Joe Dirt, you gotta keep on keeping on!

Tim West
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I am a quote junkie; I love them because they let you tap into wisdom in a short sentence. I read this quote and it got me thinking ("A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying Him…. The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him…." – Thomas Merton). We are created in Gods image and one person cannot adequately reflect all that God is to people. I am glad that He put so many people on earth because, we need you! When I think of all that I am not good at I panic, but I have noticed God has put others down here to help with my problems in life. Just yesterday I was in a mood and had to go to a networking event. I do okay in those type settings most of the time but yesterday I could not get into the “hello what do you do” game. So my natural talent of sarcasm was fighting to escape when a man asked me what I done and he said he does marketing counseling as a volunteer for small businesses. He went on to comment that he coached people like me and he said “I bet my prices are better than yours” with a little chuckle. Then I said true, but the advice you give is worth what you charge, nothing! Okay I didn’t get that line out; I shoved a Twinkie in my mouth before it escaped. (Yes I was having one of those days.) But none the less he is doing what God made him to do, help others in small business marketing.



Look around at others and look at what they do in their life. Ask yourself would you like to do what they do? If the answer is no, then ask your self what is it that I like to do? What is my passion? What was I put on the earth to accomplish? Does my work just give me money and a place to go everyday? Or is what I do blessing me with fulfilling my passion and rewarding me with money to support my family? “Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.” – Rumi; so what is that desire that has been put in your heart? You may ask so, Tim, should I just quit what I am doing and start doing my passion? No, not until you have determined what your passion is and have created a plan to get there and you see it can support you and your family. Hey as you can tell I could probably use some one to coach me in being nice when I am having a bad day. Never let you or anyone else squash those reoccurring dreams. Those dreams could be an indication of what you were put on the earth to fulfill. Remember we need you and what you do!

Keep your eye on the ball!

When I last played softball at church I was the third baseman. You have to pay attention a lot at third base; you don’t have time to day dream because things happen fast. I was reminded of that when a guy hit the ball right down the line and I caught it with my chin. Like Toby Keith said I ain’t as good as I once was. But hey at least I got in front of the ball, and did not get knocked out. I was once again reminded of this when I played brick breaker (a time wasting game on my Blackberry). All of the little things rolling down like guns, lasers and the life one, get you focused on catching them and you focus on the wrong thing, and miss the ball.

Life is like that, we see all of the cool things that look fun and we go after them. We work extra we spend a lot of time on things that are time burners and we miss the main point of living, which is life more abudantly. We get busy making a living and not a life, and then God sends a hard hit ball down the third base line and smack, you remember what you are doing when your head clears. But if you are not careful you will get scared when another ball is hit your way and you will avoid it altogether and miss the fun in life. Its fun when you make a good play and its fun when you live your life the way God intended, man fully alive. So maybe you are like me, starting a new business, focusing on getting the income to start coming in and you miss the adventure of working and being creative, meeting new people and HELPING them. I love to help people but, when I daydream about making the money that is all I see and I miss out why I love doing what I do, helping people. As Zig Ziglar says “You help enough people get what they want you will get what you want.” So let’s keep our eye on the ball and enjoy making that play and stay in front of the ball (life). Now go have a great game and tell me how you played!

Tim
http://gowestcoaching.com

Stress will get me there?


Stress, why do we do it, what good comes out of stressing out over things? You know there are times and situations in our life that come around that we choose to stress over. Yes, I said choose because we usually do worry about things that never come to pass. If you are thinking that I don’t stress, I do sometimes, and I have come to find out it produces no fruit, grey hair yes, fruit no. Many areas we choose to stress in are work, money, relationships, health and every other area of life you can think about. When we stress we sometimes get busy doing activities to reduce the stress. We get busy because we hope with all of our activities and busyness that we are doing the right thing instead of doing the one thing that we should be doing, having and enjoying life. These activities actually create more stress for us because they take time away from what we should be doing. I saw the title of an article that said “Life is required, stress is optional.” Why does money stress us out? When we don’t have the amount we think we need we worry and stress. What’s going to happen if I can’t pay this or be able to buy this, I know, I will get a loan to buy it and start to stress when the first loan payment is due. So I want to make a suggestion let’s start working on eliminating our stress and living life and enjoying it the way God intended. Start your day out reading or listening to something that builds you up and feeds your spirit. You may want to meditate on scripture or a thought or idea. Remember if you able to worry you are able to meditate. Know what you want to accomplish and how you want to accomplish it through out the day. Use the stress time to plan your day instead of stressing. Executing a clear plan of action will take a lot of stress out of your life. Think about Jesus, anytime you read about Him in the bible do you imagine Him rushing around, or do you see Him speed walking from town to town? No; you remember He was sleeping during the storm. He was calm when Pilate was questioning Him. Jesus had a plan from the Father and He lived out the plan out. I am glad He did, it makes it possible for us to have a plan and a future. So, what is it you want to accomplish, what do you want to see different in your life? Quit stressing over not having it and hoping it happens. Figure out what it is that you were put on the earth to do, create a plan and follow it out. I don’t know about you but I get tired of worrying and stressing out about what MIGHT happen. I want to focus on what can happen and enjoy life and see other people enjoying their lives. It may cost you a something up front like, time you would normally spend stressing out. But, it will be worth it in the long run. Winning in life is fun, living stressed out is not. Remember “Life is required, stress is optional.”

Season of the Harvest

Season of the Harvest 9-29-10

This is my favorite time of the year, the fall, when things cool down and the sky is clear and one of my favorite past times begins, hunting season. We have had a long HOT summer this year, over 118 days at 90 or above. It was way above 90; heck 90 was a cool snap!
Farmers are always busy, but this time of year they kick into over drive, corn, peanuts, soybeans and cotton are ready to be harvested. As I mentioned earlier its also hunting season, the smell of the woods the cooler temps makes me feel alive after all of the energy draining heat of summer. Its time to fill your barns, with the bounty from all of the work you have done through the spring and summer. This whole time of year also makes me ask what will I harvest from the work I have done, and the time and energy I have put in my work. It has been a hard summer heat wise, economy wise and employment wise. I had to change jobs in the middle of summer, and start my own business. I chose to start Go West Coaching and begin to harvest what God put in me and put me on earth to do, which is help people. Your first thought may be ,Tim you haven’t planted much in that area, I have thought the same but as I look back all of the situations and circumstances I have gone through, am going through and will go through has prepared me for a time such as this. Just like the farmer that works the ground, he does different things during the year to prepare it to plant and harvest. This whole hot, dry, long economy has made people look at what they can harvest from their fields. There are a lot of new businesses starting; people want to harvest what has been planted in them. These people, just like the farmer, want to share it with others also, and make a living with the fruit that God has placed in them. They want to manage their resources, their money, in a way that helps them live the life they want to live and not the lack of money telling them how to live.
A farmer also gets picked on for complaining about the weather, there’s not enough rain, or there’s too much rain, it’s too hot, the bugs are eating everything. Well I cannot pick on them because I can have a pity party myself every now and then. But just like the farmer I have to keep on planting and working the soil until it produces. If I want corn I have to plant corn and expect corn to come up. If you want to start a business you have to start planting and keep planting those seeds of success. You cannot harvest where you have not planted. And just like the farmer you have to give it time. Have you ever seen a farmer go out a week later and dig up the soil to see if the seeds have sprouted? You have to plant with faith and expect the harvest. God has planted a great crop in us, we have to work it and nurture it, because He created us to yield abundant fruit! Hey farmer lets work the soil hard even when it’s hot, dry, or to wet. It has fruit in it we just have to get it out.

What are you desperate for?



What are you desperate for?



I once heard my former pastor say “when your desperation factor exceeds your embarrassment factor, you will do something about your situation.” You can also put it another way, when you want out of a situation bad enough you will pay the price. No matter what the situation is, when it is painful enough you will try something else. We let things go on in our life that make us uncomfortable that we just tolerate. If it’s our finances, we say, “maybe I can win the lottery” or “maybe the right person will get elected and will make me prosper”, while we go deeper into debt trying to make ourselves happy. If we are in a career that we dislike we say, “maybe I will get a promotion or a new boss”, heck we will pull the lottery in on this one to. If I win the lottery I will quit my job! Then we decide heck things will get better with my money and my job when I retire. We keep putting our life off until this or that happens, by the time we see the light, life is just about over. How bad does it have to get before you try and do something about your situation? Do you have to almost go bankrupt before you realize to pay off some debt and stop spending more than you make, or do you have to start getting physical or mental problems to change your work and money habits? I say the answer to this is no. I believe that we have been created to have an extraordinary life where we can do the work we love and be prosperous; but, we listen to the world tell us “you need to get a good job that pays a lot of money, that will make you happy.” That is true it will make you happy for a little while, until Sunday night, at six p.m., when you realize you have to get up and go to that “good job that pays lots of money ” so you can pay on your car, boat, house, jet ski and your zero turn radius mower.. I am all for the good job that pays a lot, but I am more about having the life you, with the job you want, that also pays great. I don’t think you have to give up one to get the other. If we put that desperate feeling that we get when we dislike something, into energy and effort to find the work we love and manage our finances. Then, we can have both. Life is not about how much stuff you have and how much you make; it’s about life, and a good life. So, I think we should get desperate about our passions and our goals and have fun achieving them and enjoying the fruit that is produced. The world is desperate for what is inside of you! So let’s get about the business of life and start planning the life you want. I know it’s a little scary, but that is the excitement life holds. Don’t wait start your journey now to a life full of passion.

Tim West

Go West Coaching
http://gowestcoaching.com

Security

During this whole recession that we are going through we have lost a lot of financial security. Being a Christian, I know that I do not base my security on money but in Jesus Christ. But being a human, weak in the flesh, I can tend to panic when the whole money scene gets blurred because I look through my worldly eyes and not the ones Christ gave me.;but if we look closely at the recession and what it has produced, I cant say that it is all bad. One way that it has helped people is, we, as Americans have started saving money again. About two years ago statistics said we had a "negative savings rate" but now we are around 3-6% of our pay. We have eliminated the wasteful things in our budgets. That's a good thing. We realize that banks will not lend money because you can fog up a mirror so we use our own money now. Some people have lost jobs or businesses, I have and it has spurred me on to do, what I feel God has called me to do, be a financial and career coach. I have also talked to others who have started their own business or went to work for someone else in a job they enjoy better. This whole recession has also helped us evaluate how we live our lives and re-prioritize them. We have seen what is more important and, because of less money we have more time at home with our families. We have become more creative for vacations and gifts. Hey give me a gift someone made themselves and I will keep it forever over a gadget. One thing we have all noticed is that you cant count on money to help you be secure, it has to come somewhere else, but you can count on God! Hey think about it money is just what we use to get things of value and service. Value and service come from other people, such as family and friends etc. So the bottom line is that people are more important, that is where the real value is and that's what the recession has shown me. What about you?

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is a daring adventure or none at all." Helen Keller

The Status Quo

We hear the words "status quo" all the time in different situations. But do we really think about what the status quo is or ignore it and fall into that "status quo" rythm. What is the status quo in life? In our work life it may be working our 40 hours a week, 9-5 at a job we dont really like, that doesnt fulfill the purpose we were given by God to fulfill, and we work for Friday every week and to get a vacation once a year to get away from our job. Oh yeah every Sunday night we dread Monday morning to boot. How about our financial life, the status qou is 7 out of ten of us live paycheck to pay check, the average household has 84000 in debt, 46% of U.S. families have a credit card balance, among people 55-64 years old, 50% still owed money on their homes in 2004, over 62% of Americans retire on annual incomes of below $10,000. I dont know about you but being like everyone else and fitting in doesnt look like alot of joy. So why do we do these things to ourselves? Its easy and doesnt take alot of hard work to get to the status quo and heck everyone else is doing it so will I. But we dont really plan for things to work out like this, all of the sudden we look up an we are in the middle of the mess. Then we wonder how we got there and can we get out, or we just give up and accept the status quo. So can we get out? Is it worth getting out, or just pass on the status quo to the next generation and hope they can do better. I think we can get out, no I know you can get out, and I think it is worth it and instead of passing on the status quo mentality, lets pass on to the next gereration hope and a better way. Hey here is an idea lets start establishing biblical principles in our lives and pass them to the future generation. Oh people say, those things are outdated and times have changed, your right they have changed to the status quo, no thank, you this old out dated stuff works. Everytime! So what are you going to do different, today, to get a different result down the road? Its hard but it is worth it! Heck I cant even remember all of the stuff I bought, that put me in debt, to make me "happy." Being in debt robs you of your future and the ability to build wealth. Go out there and happen to your life instead of it happening to you. Get a plan and follow it, or follow the status quo.

Enslaved in Hope

Something I wrote a couple of years ago I thought I would share.
Enslaved in Hope

As a child of God, I am enslaved to hope, I am imprisoned to the truth and know that no matter what I do I am accepted as righteous in Him, that I cannot fail when I am an obedient slave to the Master of hope, that whatever is formed against me will not prosper and it will render itself merciless to the power of hope that He has given us. Not only am I a slave of this hope, I am imprisoned in its life conquering victory that will never pass away, no matter how resistant and defeated I am, the Administer of hope has timing that is perfect . Even when hope is not seen, sensed or recognized and you think it is completely gone, it attacks you like a lion and renders you a helpless victim of hope with out any defense. The Master subjects you to hopeless situations so that He can feed the ever ravenous, unquenchable hunger and thirst of hope. We can do things people fear doing, we can say things people fear or get angry at, we can be the most risk taking people in the earth; but still in the end no matter how much we resist we will end up as a victim, a victim of our Masters hope!!!

4-22-08

Confused and Stunned By Dan Miller

I ran across this blog and copied it to mine. Thought you might enjoy it.

Post : Confused and Stunned –Posted : July 2, 2010 at 3:02 pmAuthor : Dan MillerTags : business, cole, confused, cuban, dell, money, stunnedCategories : Business Start-Up, Finding Passion, No More Mondays, Personal DevelopmentIs now a time to try something new – perhaps something you’ve never done before? Or should you sit out the “recession” and wait until “things get better.”“The times when everyone is confused and stunned can present an enormous opportunity because no one’s really doing anything,” says Dell Computer founder Michael Dell. “I think this is the time when the seeds of really successful new businesses will be created.”Designer Kenneth Cole says, “When things are going well, people want to do what’s working and more of it. It’s only in difficult times that people are open to creative alternatives.”Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, points out that some of the greatest businesses were built in recessionary times. “Money is easy to find in boom times, which leads to far too many businesses getting out of the gate that don’t deserve to be started. When money is scarce, better ideas face less competition and better execution can lead to greater success.”Whether it’s changing career paths or starting your own business, there’s never been a more opportune time than today. July 1st marks the beginning of the second half of 2010. And what better time to claim your “independence” than on July 4th. Recognize you are in the driver’s seat, break ties with the mother country if necessary and begin your personal revolution. And remember, “things” get better when you get better.

Relating to Money

We all relate to money in different ways and this is definitely true with men and women. According to psychology today the leading cause of divorce in the US is because of a conflict with money. Why does money have such a strong influence in our lives? I think it is because there is not an issue in our life that money does not touch. No amount of money in the world is worth losing a marriage or any type of relationship. We spend our time and money on what we value, but sometimes we don’t and that’s when problems come in. The flow of money in a family represents the value system under which that family operates. What you do with money screams loudly who you are. Look at your check book and you will see what is important in your life.
(Majority of Men) see money like a scorecard “I am winning I have more than he does” men look at it in more of a pride issue we think if we are not doing good we are weak and not in control, we don’t need any help! Who needs a stinking map and I don’t care if we are lost we are making good time. We look at an emergency fund as boring, we can do something better with that money.

(Majority of Women) on the other hand see money as security. When they have money they feel like they can supply what the family needs and feel safe. When the money gets low they feel fear or it feels more like terror. It touches women in an emotional place men don’t have. That’s why we don’t get it ladies, take note we don’t know what you are thinking. An emergency fund is the most important key to a marriages financial plan. When men are trying to increase the scorecard and women are in a fearful mood it affects the whole relationship! (Men get an emergency fund and leave it alone, except for emergencies.)

Let’s take for instance shopping men get good deals by negotiating, we want to win the negotiation, Women get good deals by hunting they enjoy the process. They look at every stitch of clothes in the mall buy some and then take them back the next day and start over. We buy it ,hate it, and go buy something else.

Since we don’t know these things about each other when we get married or even after we have been married for years it can cause financial problems and it can get ugly, fast. Since we don’t know how the opposite sex views money we think when we get married the will be just like me!

When a couple has financial problems men lose their self esteem because their scorecard is low and it makes them feel weak and like a loser. We don’t feel like that knight in shinning armor we think, that you think we are. Yes ladies deep down we still want to always impress you. That may cause us to go spend money we don’t have or do other things to make us feel good about ourselves again.

Women face that fear or terror that we spoke about earlier. Money represents security they get nervous and have to talk about it, a lot, so guys hang in there it’s a storm of words but they need to get it out and we need to listen and not try to come up with a quick fix, but do a real fix and show them that we are with them and going to get through it.
Ladies You man does not need to be chewed out about doing something dumb with money he knows he done it just make a plan to not do it again. His armor is stiff and dirty and he does not feel like he is a courageous knight. He needs to know that you still believe in him and respect him.

Guys: Like we said earlier let her get it out by talking and she also needs 6-10 extra non sexual hugs a day. That helps her feel secure and that she is not in it by herself.

The biggest thing we need to remember when we relate to money and our relationships is that we need to be on the same page and we need to have good communication. When you are married there is no his money and her money it’s our money. If you keep these things from each other you will keep other things secret to.

Make an agreement to not spend a certain amount of money unless both of you agree on it. I have found out that when my wife gets that womens intuition, another thing men dont understand, and I do it anyway, spend the money, it cost two to three times what it would if I would have listened.

Its worth your time to and your marriage to learn to relate in your financial lives . When you do you will eliminate the biggest reason to have a fight, and that will leave time to argue about the toilet seat.

What are you missing out on?

Debt, yeah I know you are sick of hearing the word but we could use other terms instead of debt, the first one that comes to mind is slave. Proverbs 22:7 says the rich rules over the poor and borrower is slave to the lender. Once that term settled in I got depressed. Then I went to work on eliminating it, but it takes time to get there. Lets look at debt and get some truth to what it really is. You hear some say debt is a tool you also see shop teachers with missing fingers, they lost control over that "tool" and it cost them. You cant dig your way out of a hole so borrowing just keeps you a slave. The banks dont lend money for a ministry, they get rich off of it. Look at the size of the bank buildings compared to your house. Dont get me wrong they should make money but so should you, and paying them all that interest makes them money from you, so lets reduce at minumun and eliminate it for the best result. I know we get affluenza "they have a new car and boat so should I!" I want you to have stuff but the stuff should not have you, and when you go in debt for it you are working to keep it, start saving for it, create a plan to get there and then you can enjoy it more. A car and a boat drives much better when its not dragging a payment book behind it. Think about this if you ask yourself look what I am missing if I dont get a loan and buy that "thingy" that I want. Heres what you get when you dont have debt, freedom from banks and credit cards, sleep, money and happiness. You cant finance these things and when your in debt you wind up missing alot! Just think what our country is missing with its 13 trillion dollar debt. So get a plan and let me know if I can help you with your plan.

Help I am getting laid off!

This is not the greatest news one can get in a day but some of us have to deal with it. So what do we do when we get the dreaded pink slip? First we can understand a little panic, but get it under control as quick as you can. Hey maybe God wants to do something different in your life and, if you are like me, it takes a big jolt to get me there. I like the saying about one set of footprints in the sand and thats where Jesus was carrying me. The same is true for me, but mine has claw marks sometimes where He has to drag me to get me there. One thing to do is get a plan of action, cut all of your unnecessary expenses, eating out, gym membership,entertainment, the nails, every weekend golf etc. Remember its not permenant you will survive until you get back on your feet. Don't cancel insurances, you will still need them, make them the last things to go only if you have to. Get a quick job of some sort, you may have to swallow your pride but it will help meet your basics, food clothing, shelter transportation and untilities. Don't vary your schedule, the 40 hours you were working take this time to find other employment. Update your resume be strategic for the different jobs you apply for be proactive in the job search. Exercise, walk, run do some pushups, it keeps you fresh and helps keep you from getting depressed. Give some time at a charity or help a neighbor, it gets your mind off of your self and what you are going through. Execute your plan and remember live in the day that you have, if you are anxious you are living in the future, if your depressed you are living in the past. Meet the days challenges and plan for tomorrow. Most important pray! God always takes care of His children! Dont just sit around waiting for something to happen be proactive and get some action going.

Buying a House

Its summertime and you may have that itch to move. You may be moving in to your first house, or you may be moving into a bigger house or changing school districts. Whatever the case may be you want your move to go as smoothly as possible and you want your new place to be a blessing and not a headache. You surely dont want to be in the foreclosure statistic pile that we are seeing. Right now is a great time to buy a house, if you can afford it. Here are a few tips if you think you may be wanting to move: Be out of debt!! Do you know how much easier it is when your house payment comes in and utilities and they are not followed by a personal loan, three credit card bills and a car payment. Get these things out of the way and enjoy your house! Before you buy have an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months living expenses. Emergencies do happen and its nice when you have the money to pay for them. Have a 20% down payment or if you are really hard core you can go for the 100% down payment! Do your best to stick at a 15 year fixed rate mortgage where the payments are around 25% of your take home pay. Stay away from "creative financing", we see what it done to home owners. Fixed rate mortgages are the way to go and at 15 years. Also dont get the "if you die your mortgage will be paid for" insurance. Instead get 8-10 times your yearly income in term life insurance, its cheaper and will take care of your family if something happens to you. Buy a house either with your husband or wife, or by yourself. You dont need a partner. If the relationship falls apart it will get ugly fast. If you are thinking ,I cant buy if I go by theses rules I dont have the 20% or I cant afford a 15 year mortgage, then maybe you need to wait on the largest purchase of you life. Dont worry they are not going to run out of houses anytime soon.

Vacation Plan

You may be ready for that summer vacation, oh lets face it you were probably ready when last summers vacation was over. Your vacation should be a time to relax and do what you want with your family. So dont let it follow you home on your credit card. The best vacations are the funtimes you remember and the stories you can tell to others about them, not a monthly bill with a minimum payment. So here are a few tips that might help you out. 1. After you plan on where you are going determine how much you will have to spend from the time you leave till the time you get back. 2. Plan your activities for the day and set aside the cash you will need for the day and when you have spent it your done for that day. Dont borrow from the next day because you will miss out on the things you have planned to do and be tempted to use credit. 3. What you need to plan for, Food(you can save $ here maybe if you dont eat out all three meals but dont work to hard fixing food, remember it is a vacation) Travel expenses such as gas, or plane tickets, and food while traveling. 4. Gifts, dont forget you may want a gift for someone, or even better a gift for yourself. 5.Always add some cushion into your vacation budget because something unexpected may come up, a good guess could be 20-30% of the total vacation cost. 6. If you are leaving the country a good idea is to check out travel insurance, your trip could be cancelled or interrupted and you will have no vacation and they will keep your money without insurance. Also most health insurances dont cover out of the country medical needs, check yours and look in to buying the extra medical insurance. Make sure you fully understand the insurance products you purchase, use a trusted travel agent for suggestions. You dont want your trip of a lifetime to go down the tubes because of a volcano or something. 7.Have a great time, spend time with family and friends. Most kids dont remember everything about the expensive vacations mom and dad took them on but they do remember the time and the little things that you dont have to pay for.

Alright you might ask where do I start with a personal financial plan, then you might panic and think oh no I will not be able to have fun anymore, I cant come out of the house except on triple cupon Thursday. You may have to cut back on some things for a while but the goal is as Dave Ramsey says live like no one else so later you can live like no one else. I kind of like that goal. So how do you get started, well I hate to use profanity but you need a budget, or if you like, you can church it up and call it a cashflow plan. A good way to find out what you spend is to keep track of every dollar you spend for a month, yes you will be suprised, but you will know where it is going. Start your budget by writing down what you know you are paying regularly and give your best guess at everything you dont know. Then keep track so you can adjust and find out the true amount you are spending. It usually takes aroud three to four months to get it going right but you will get there. You must be consistent in doing it for it to work and no one ever budgets perfectly so leave a little wiggle room for mistakes. Once you get everything down, you will be able to do your monthly budget in about 15 to 20 minutes a month. Dont forget those things you pay for non-monthly like quarterly car insurance, and oh yeah I checked the calender and Christmas is in December this year. Your kids will also grow over the summer so might want to get them some clothes that fit, if not they can see a counselor later in life. A budget works, but you just have to take the time and do it.

Whats a plan?

I thought I would get started in the blog world and here I am! What is a plan, do you have one, do you need one or do you even want one? It took me a while to realize you can definantely go by a plan you create or you will go by someone elses. I like to be a little more in control of where I am going so I know when I get there. I have heard it said that you create a plan and you create your destiny. I have also found out that God has a plan for you and He is waiting to get you in on it. I love to help people in creating a financial plan for their lives, I have found out if you dont create your own plan that the bank, credit card companies and markerters have a plan already for us! Guess who their plan benefits, not you ! So with that in mind where do you want to be in your financial life a year form now or five years from now or when you retire? The credit card companies know where they want you to be, do you? So start to create your financial destiny now!