2013- The New Year

 2013 – The New Year

    I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year.  It is hard to believe that we are at the end of 2012.  There is a lot of wonder and anxiety going into 2013.  We have the fiscal cliff we are facing, struggling economy, the tragedy in Connecticut and basically a divided country.  I wished I could say that I could solve those problems overnight, but no one can and a quick fix usually sets us up for a future failure.  I believe the best way for us to see changes in life that we want is to work on our own life.   I cannot fix the national economy today, but I can make a lot of progress on my personal economy.    I read a blog by Kevin Miller yesterday that was good about pleasure necessity and significance.   I thought this would be a great time to invest more time in the significant things in my life.   We start out this year on fire to change our lives and then we fail to plan , and we wind up in the 92% that do not accomplish their resolutions.  Are resolutions simple? No. Are they easy? No. Is it hard work? Yes.  Is it worth it?  It is to me when I meet a goal.  Well you may ask how can I do it? Attempt to change, and stick to it is the best start.   Feel free to download a goal worksheet from my website (toward bottom of page) and go through it and make plans in the seven different areas that make up your life. Make the goals attainable, but challenging.  You may be like me; you can make the goals and forget to check the sheet monthly to see if you are hitting the marks to attain your goal.  It’s hardly a waste of time when you check your goals because you are changing your life.  Remember to set goals that are possible, such as, if you make 50k a year but you want to make more don’t make the goal 250000!  Remember by the inch it’s a cinch by the yard it’s hard.  Take baby steps to get there.  Speaking of baby steps I am hosting a Dave Ramsey’s financial peace university starting Jan 13^th.  Click here for more information.  If you just hope that your life changes and take no action you will be facing 2014 saying nothing is different from last year. If you quit trying to reach your goals you will fail also and be discourged.    Be Blessed this 2013 and when you change yourself remember you are changing the world!!

Let me know if I can help!

Tim West

Go West Coaching

The problem with Freedom

The problem with freedom I know it sounds strange, that a problem would exist if you are free. I believe that we, as Americans, have a problem with freedom. The problem is that we do now know how to live free! We say we want freedom of speech, freedom from an oppressive government, freedom in our finances, freedom to do work we love, freedom of religion and so on. When we think we have these freedoms we subconsciously begin to go back into bondage in these areas. I believe with true freedom there is a responsibility to make the best choices we can, not the easiest choice. The best choice is the one that leaves us free to prosper. I have come to learn that freedom is not free or an easy choice to make. It cost you something, but the cost is well worth the payment. We think freedom is easy because we define it as doing what we want, not what is best. When things get hard, because we made a difficult choice, we begin to go back to the easy bondage that we were used to before. Take your finances for example; suppose you want to become debt free and you decide to stop using credit, save money to pay for purchases and pay off your debt. We start off like our hair is on fire to reach that goal, but when it doesn’t happen quickly (six months, one year or even two years) we start feeling trapped, we feel like we will never have anything or do anything fun again. Before you know it all you are looking at is what you cannot do without realizing that by paying off your debt. You are becoming less of a slave to the bank you borrowed your money from. You free your money up when it no longer belongs to the credit card company. Proverbs 22:7 says “The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender.” That does not sound free at all. We also do this in our careers, I want a job where I can do work I love and be free to do work that matters. Maybe we decide to open a new business in an area that we love to work and serve others. We jump off into it on pure emotion knowing this is what God called us to do! Well maybe He has called us to do it but we believe just because God called us to do it we cannot fail. We make our calling our god and plan poorly without counsel. Before you know it bills are coming in the way you thought money would be coming in and you panic and decide to quit. You run back to the job that you were in bondage to before. You think it just wasn’t meant to be. Everyone else can do it but me. Remember freedom is neither free nor easy, it is hard and costly, but the return can be out of this world. Don’t give up on what you have been called to do, create a plan, make mistakes, change the plan, and make a bunch more mistakes, keep changing and tweaking the plan till you reach your goal. It will probably take longer that a couple of years, this life of freedom is a process, and it is exciting, crazy, tragic and beautiful. Look at all of the ups and downs the Israelites had going from slaves in Egypt to the “Promised Land”. It was tough but they were learning how to be free. Finally, how about being a Christian. Jesus came to the earth to set us free from the wrath of God. He came and paid the price so we could live free indeed in the Kingdom of God, and enjoy Him forever. Now look He done it for us and we still mess it up. Christ came and lived the perfect sinless life, paid the debt we could never pay, gave us credit just as if we had done it , even though we could not have. What is the first thing we do when Jesus saves us and frees us from the penalty of sin? We start doing good works to try and earn what is already counted as ours. Instead of doing good works because we get to do them, we think we have to do them, earn it, and we enslave ourselves in a works mentality that He died to free us from. We live like if we do enough good things God will like us more. If we work up our faith muscle enough God will smile more at us. If I pray more and read my bible more God will like me better. If you are a Christian He looks at you and sees Christ weather you are doing the disciplines or not. Don’t get me wrong the disciplines are good for you, but we need do them because we are free to do them and not because we are earning righteousness that only Christ can earn for us. There is a joy when you do something because you want to instead of because you have to do it. Go do the hard things that others who don’t want freedom choose not to do!! Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. Ronald Reagan For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. Nelson Mandela Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom. Alexis de Tocqueville Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. John Quincy Adams “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ― Benjamin Franklin, “Freedom lies in being bold.” ― Robert Frost Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Will the election change your life?

Will the election change your life? November 6th is approaching quickly and, as the news always says, this is the most critical election in history. I do believe it is critical anytime we elect someone to lead the country. I always wonder who would really want to lead a country where nearly half of the people you are leading are already against you before you even take office. How much will this election change your life? Or I guess the better question would be; how much will President Obama change your life if he is re-elected, or how much will Governor Romney change your life is he is elected? I believe that no matter who is elected the responsibility for changing your life is yours. Policies and procedures and laws, they implement may help in your path, but it is ultimately all up to you. No elected official sends anyone a check, finds them a job, or starts a business for them. No official will improve your finances, health, or attitude for you. They will take the money you earn and spend if for you, through taxes, but you have to go out and get the money for them and your family. I would hope that most Americans would see that their life is not someone else’s responsibility. Politicians will tell you what you want to hear for a vote but it is impossible for them to do for all of their constituents what they must do for themselves. Why not try and change your own life, become extraordinary. What has ordinary got us? I have tried and failed and keep trying. I have learned a lot and am really challenged and changed. Remember no candidate will do things just like you all the time. I do urge you to go and vote because many Americans sacrificed a lot to give us the right to vote. So go ahead and make up your mind before the election to change your life. May be you want to lose weight, get your finances under control, or find a job that you really like and are passionate about or start a new business that you have always dreamed about. Don’t let who is in office determine what you do or don’t do. It’s up to you to manage your life. To expect someone in Washington to manage your life the way you think they should is to expect too much from them. God has this whole thing under control whether we believe it or not. Go vote and live your life!! Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Marketing Season

Marketing Season Here in America we are the best in the world in this category, marketing! An American will see, hear, or be exposed somehow to 3000-4000 advertisements per day. An American child will see as many as 40,000 television ads per year. Marketers have trained us in this country to chase happiness with stuff, and it robs us of our money and peace because we are trained to get the latest and greatest product. China knows how to make money in the U.S., make a bunch of cheap junk and sell it to Americans. Now they have our money and we are borrowing it back from them to buy more of their goods. There is not a product we do not want if we hear about it enough. We need to wise up when it comes to marketing. Marketers want to do everything to get your money and your vote in the political arena. Since Christmas is just a little over 2 months away the marketers will be getting geared up for the season. They start with Halloween in August, and I have already seen Christmas stuff on the shelves. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with marketing, but we need to not spend all we have because we think we need something. We need marketers to find out what is out there, but we also need control over our money. Here are a few tips for you to get control of your finances. 1. Just learn to say no. Sometimes you may get a pushy sales person and you say yes to shut them up. Then you realize after you have bought something that you didn’t really need it after all. Say no and walk away. Develop a power over purchase. 2. Wait overnight before you purchase something, especially if it is a want. You will cool off and think more rational about the purchase when it is not staring you in the face. 3. Never buy anything you don’t really understand. Don’t just get the highlights but study the fine print, especially on insurance and financial products and services. 4. Consider the opportunity cost of your purchase. What will spending the money now cost you in the future. Could you wait a few months to get the latest greatest Apple product when the frenzy and cost may come down? And yes they make more products after they are sold out the first day. 5. Always ask someone’s advice who has purchased the product you want to buy before you purchase it. Buy wisdom as cheap as possible! 6. Men, listen to your wife! They have that woman thing going on that tells them no, don’t ignore it! We don’t have that ability. 7. Women never tell your husband you want it in front of the sales person, they know your husband has to buy it then and you lose your negotiating power. 8. Know what you want to buy when you go into the store and use cash so you don’t get something extra! Have a great week!! I will be doing a free budgeting class, Checkbook checkup on October 6th. Let me know if you are interested. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Committed

Committed I recently watched the documentary, Monumental, and Kirk Cameron stated that the pilgrims had a 500 year plan. I think I am looking ahead when I do my yearly goals! They were not just thinking about themselves and what they could get, they thought generational. They had a dream about starting something so great that would be a blessing for generations to come, and not just to get them some quick relief and prosperity. They wanted freedom to pursue a life they felt God called them to live. A huge number of them died and they all suffered unimaginable difficulties, but they were committed to what they felt was a just cause. I am glad that they did, because we have all reaped the benefits of their unselfish life. I look back at what they did and realize if I had to do it now with others, it looks impossible and the country would not be here now. Their failures put them in jail; cost them their lives and possessions. We are ready to quit after a little hiccup, but they tried again and again until they succeeded. Their failure eliminated the wrong way to do things. They did not give up when things were bad, really bad. They obviously didn’t adhere to the idea that the government will handle it! As a nation that has had, is having and will have tough times, we need to plan and work for a future that will be a blessing to us and others, instead a quick fix. We were started by people who took responsibility for their own lives and obeyed God and stuck to what they believed. We wait for a candidate to improve the economy instead of getting control of our finances and living on a budget. We don’t step out in faith and start a business or pursue work that stirs our hearts and fulfills our calling because we think it’s safer if you stick to a “secure job.” During this economy we have found out that your only safety is in your ability to produce. You have to leave the shore to find a new land when the old place is unbearable! If we want things to change we are going to have to do hard things, sacrifice and invest for the future, and not just our future. What do you want America to look like in 200 years? We have the ability to shape what our country looks like. A boat load of determined people shaped what our beginning looked like. The best time to plant an oak tree for shade was 50 years ago. The next best time to plant one is today! We may not get any shade from that tree but our children’s children might. I hope your great grandchildren have a wonderful country to live in. I also hope you wish the same for mine. How about let’s leave them with the same blessing we have had, a wonderful country where they are free to pursue what God has called them to do on earth. We will have to sacrifice but they will reap a great blessing. Just a few proverbs for wisdom; “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.” Proverbs 21:20 “The plan of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 “Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3 “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” Proverbs 13:22 “May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Psalms 20:4 I will be doing a free budgeting class, Checkbook checkup on October 6th. Let me know if you are interested. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Get started

Get Started To get anything accomplished in our lives we must have a starting point. Once we get started we must continue the journey. I have noticed getting started can be extremely hard at times. When working with people and their finances everyone wants to have a monthly plan to get control of their money, but we can always find an excuse or something else to do instead of a budget. It can be the same in losing weight or even cleaning the yard. All of these tasks can look overwhelming before we start but we will never finish them if we don’t start. We know if we don’t start we will not finish, that’s obvious. But that still does not motivate us to start, so we have to be reminded. If you are doing a budget it can take about three months to get all of the kinks worked out. When we hear that we tend to want to not get started. Or we think we can’t do a budget until we get more money to work with. We must start where we are at with what we have. Doing a budget for the first time can be a little time consuming. Most of the time we don’t know how much we spend in certain areas, this is why it takes about three months to get a budget to flow. If you are married sit down with your spouse and go line by line and put in an amount for the areas that you will need to spend money on for the month. Don’t panic if you don’t have enough money to go in all of the item categories. Feel free to download a budget here for free. If you run out of steam the first time you sit down, don’t panic, just pick back up later and continue. After about three months you can do your budget in about 15 minutes. Now remember the next most important thing in this process is tracking what you actually spend. This can be a part that is hard to follow up on but it is vital to get your finances under control. If you don’t know how much you are spending you will all ways chase your expenses and guess how much you spend. I suggest you pick one day a week and enter all that you spend in your budget and that will let you know how much you have left in each category to spend each week. If you like you can save all of your receipts and go through them weekly. Remember to just get started! You will never finish if you never start. I will be doing a free budgeting 101 workshop this fall. Let me know if you are interested. 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

Tough Times or Learning Opportunity

Tough Times or learning opportunity If you are human you go through tough times and problems. Dozens of books have been sold with techniques and principles to help you avoid them. But, somehow we still have tough times no matter what advice we follow. If you are a Christian, like me, we sometimes have been led to believe that if we try hard enough or believe more we will be rescued from trouble and tough times. In the book, When Hard times come, Dudley Hall says God doesn’t offer escape as His solution to difficulty, but rather grace. The grace provided through the gospel of Jesus Christ embraces trouble and transforms it into a display case for Gods glory. That is one thing I need to do is embrace trouble and learn to grow from its training. We should look at our tough times as training; instead we view them as an obstacle we cannot get over and begin to count it as an injury and walk with a limp. We make excuses such as; I will save money when I make more. I will look for work I like better, when the job market improves. If you listen to the news as your indicator of when things get better they never will. Bad news makes the headlines juicier. We think everyone who has reached the levels we want to reach did it without many problems. Something encouraging, for me, was Dan Millers Living Loving Working, Dan and Joanne share a lot of problems they faced that prepared them for what they do today. I want to encourage you to look at the problems you have today and recognize that no matter how long you have been going through them that you are getting the strength to handle the success you have been dreaming of your whole life. Another thing I have to recognize is that you are either going into a trial, in the middle of one or coming out of one. Professional athletes don’t have to get in shape one time for their whole career; they have to do it every year and battle through the injuries. Don’t just focus on the problem but on where you are going. If we focus on the problem, that is all we see and it becomes an idol. Keep on keeping on and learn from your tough times. Also share them, it helps us who are going through similar issues and gives us hope!! As Dennis Peacocke says “Power is guarded by Problems.” "The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears." Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Inflation and National Debt (The quick and easy version)

Inflation and National Debt

We hear about inflation and the national debt so much in the news and on news talk shows that we get to where we tune it out and assume we understand what they are talking about. We also may not care what they are talking about and just worry about what is going on in our own little world. I will try not to bore you with too much nerdy information but hopefully explain it better than the news. I will start with inflation first.  Inflation is an increase in the amount of money.  At first glance that doesn’t sound too bad.  Inflating the supply of money seems like it would be a good thing because a lot of us could use more cash.  When we inflate, or print more money we are actually making each dollar go down in value. It would be like adding air to a tire. It looks bigger but it will burst easier because it has less integrity.  When money goes down in value you will need more of it to buy the things you want. Prices rise as a result. When more money is printed you need more of it to buy things because money has less value.  The way we do things now is print more money whether we have gold in the bank to back the money.  When the government wants more, like they always do, they inflate money to get what they want and we re-elect them to reward them for devaluing the money.   Therefore if worse comes to worse you could use your paper money to start a fire to stay warm because it has no precious metal backing it. But if things were that bad I would not trade a loaf of bread for a bar of gold.  So save your money and don’t spend all you have. Hopefully our country will wake up and act responsible.  If money becomes worthless you can use it as kindling.  If you would like to learn more about inflation go to this website. http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/

Now all of our wants and bail outs by the government have led to a huge national debt with the help of inflating the dollar. The national debt is almost 16 trillion. That is 16,000,000,000,000.  We have heard this number so much it sails right by our dock and never unloads.  When we use the number trillion, it sounds like we are studying space, not money. In his book, What ever happened to penny candy Richard J. Maybury explains it. He says, imagine Columbus when he discovered America. As soon as he stepped ashore he would have had to begin borrowing money at a rate of 20,000.00 per minute and by the year 2010 he would still not have borrowed enough to reach the national debt. (It was 12 trillion at the time he wrote this.)    I still stay it is very important to live on less than what you make or you will have what we have to day, 16 trillion in debt and no plan to get out. Let me know if I can help! We can help our national debt by electing people who want to pay it off.

Tim West

Go West Coaching

Ordinary Living 6-20-12 How do you live? Do you live an ordinary life? By ordinary I mean similar to what everyone else does in their daily routine. You try to manage life to go as smoothly as you can and avoid all of the hassles and rough spots that may happen. I believe it is easy for us to fall into what everyone else is doing and shoot for a calm as possible lifestyle. Hey, who wants to take a risk in times like these, you could lose everything. At some point in your life you realize that, it’s hard to live an ordinary life when you are not ordinary. The world says get a steady job with good benefits, that’s the responsible way to live. Well as we have found out those are hard to come by nowadays; companies found out that being like the other ordinary companies is hard. I believe that each person is created uniquely different and are talented in different areas than others. Ok, so that is not rocket science to figure out that we are different. So why do we try to be like everyone else. We waste the person that we were designed to be when we try to be ordinary. Ordinary is living pay check to pay check, that’s what 7 out of 10 homes in America do. You could be different and actually use the budget you have written down somewhere, but never implemented. Start searching for that job or career you always wanted but didn’t think was for you. Hey, which life are you going to do these things in? Just start where you are at and draw a map to where you want to go. It is really more responsible to pursue what you were created to be. Make it impossible to for the life you want to refuse you. Create an environment to succeed. It’s not fast or easy, but it is where you find the extraordinary life you were meant to have. You are guaranteed to have an ordinary life if you do not try the out of the ordinary routine. 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

Have you quit playing?

Have you quit playing? If you have been getting beat up by life, you may have thought of giving up on your dreams. It is tempting to get mad and just say why keep trying when things have not been changing the way you wanted them to change. I recently went to a Columbia County Chamber of commerce breakfast meeting and got a fresh perspective from the speakers. I didn’t think that I would have enjoyed the presentation as much as I did because our speakers were our state representatives and Lt. Governor Casey Cagle. I, like a lot of other people would think, will endure the political speeches and over abundant applause and enjoy the free breakfast. But to my surprise they were informative and had a good outlook. These people summarized what they have been doing for the state, over the year and cast a vision to where they wanted the state of Georgia to go in the future. Lt. Governor Cagle said “you cannot prosper in business by cutting all of the time.” He went on to tell us how the government was investing in different areas of the state and planning for growth during this time of economic turmoil. Then he made an interesting statement that he believed that more billionaires would be made in the next decade than ever before because of the potential for growth in our state and country. His statements energized me again! Hey, I haven't been motivated by a politician like that in my entire life! Maybe except when one was voted out of office. This breakfast pointed out to me that maybe I have quit playing in a lot of areas that I didn't realize. A lot of people have quit and gave up. So many people have pulled out of the stock market because their retirement has crashed. They also missed the great increases that it has had recently. I believe that there is more than enough opportunity in our country for everyone. We must not quit playing! People I coach come in thinking the light at the end of the tunnel is just another oncoming train. They have surrendered their hope. I want to encourage you to stop cutting and start investing in your dreams and ideas. Keep trying to get out of debt and get your finances in order. Don’t give up on an idea because you think it cannot work . Consider failure as a readjustment to your idea or plan. If you were a farmer would you quit planting seeds? If you did you would starve and not make any money. Things are not easy but if you quit because you are afraid to lose, you will never win. Don't get complacent on the sidelines. Let me know if I can help. Tim West 5-13-12 Oh yeah, Happy Mothers day! Thank you moms for not quitting on us kids, cause I know raising me it got rough!!!

Is your mind a coffin?

Is your mind a coffin? What are some of your dreams and ideas that you do not act on? Everything that we do starts in our brain as a thought. We can choose to act on it our not. Some things are just crazy and wild that we come up with. We can either act on ideas or keep suppressing them. If we act on it we either fail or succeed. If you fail keep trying and perfecting/shaping the idea or dream until you succeed. or determine to move on to something else. If we keep suppressing the idea or dream, it can turn into loss of hope or depression. Why do we work so hard to fight living our dream and acting on ideas? Are we afraid of the unknown, or of failure? Do we not want to risk the “safe comfort” that we think we have? We all will die someday, live until you die, don’t just sit around waiting to die and miss life. Your idea may be a business idea or a change of life style. So it leads to the question; “:Is your mind a coffin or an incubator for your dreams and ideas?” A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation. A incubator, for our purpose is-. A place or situation that permits or encourages the formation and development, as of new ideas. So are you burying your ideas and dreams by thinking that it will never work, or I cant do that only other people can. Why don’t we start using our minds as incubator's by putting them in a mental environment that is conducive to growth and development. God has given us these dreams and ideas to develop and not bury. Don’t bury your dreams or passions, feed them by reading, getting a coach, or getting around people who are having success in the areas you are interested in developing. 48 days.net is a great place to incubate! Don’t expect God to “miracle” you to your dream without any effort on your part. Don't let that dream or idea die, incubate it and let it hatch and grow. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching 3-17-12

You can't do business going out of business

You cant do business going out of business With all of the talk of the economy up and down, and gas prices going up again, we tend to think that things are just going to stay the same or get worse. When we think and act that way those results show up in our lives; our actions make them come true. Sometimes we try to change our thoughts and we give it a good try, thinking our situation will change. When the results don’t show up like we think they should we fall back into the same mode, “this is just the way things are” and we give up. The world of instant information, microwaves, calling people on the go and technology in general have made us forget that these things are tools to help us. These great tools don’t replace the seed time and harvest principle that God uses. I see so many people get caught up with the mind set that everything is doomed to fail. The church thinks that way sometimes. Just hang on til Jesus comes and everything will be OK. There is one thing we need to remember, you cannot do business going out of business! I have been taught this from my father in the faith, Wade Trimmer. Now whether you are a Christian or not the principle applies. How do you plan for the future when you think things are over now? You can't, you go out of business if you think things are over now because you just don’t care. What if you opened a business just knowing that it will go out of business eventually? How do you think that would turn out? Every thought and action done without zeal care and hope will push your mindset closer to the “its over” mentality. “Oh just give up, the little man cant get ahead.” I say keep working toward the dreams and things in life you want. Keep trying to get out of debt, even though you income has went down. Make plans for that new career or business you have dreamed about. So keep doing business we need you. Remember Colonel Sanders, he didn’t cook any chicken till he was 67! He didn’t go out of business in his older age! Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching 3-10-12

Cost Versus Value

Cost versus Value Most of us have heard the saying we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. We can apply that to many areas of our lives. Sometimes we have paid more money than we have intended when purchasing something but received a lot of value out of the purchase. To value something, is to esteem and put worth on the item. What are you doing that will or will not bring value to your life now and in the future? Small deposits whether, financially or relationally cost us something. We may deposit a small amount of money to save for something in the future. It will cost us a trip out to eat or a little “thingy” we feel we must have, but it is worth it if you are saving for your golden years or you children s college fund. We fail to plan our lives because it cost to much time and is costly to stick to the plans we make. Sometimes it just doesn't feel good. As Dave Ramsey says “children do what feels good, adults devise a plan and follow it.” It may not be just a financial cost, but a time and energy cost as well. We all have 168 hours a week to invest in our lives. Please if someone can find more than that I need to know where! Subtract 40 hours a week for work, say 56 hours a week for sleep. According to Nielsen Co. we watch 28 hours of T.V. A week! That would leave you 44 hours a week left to live. Our time is very valuable! How you spend it will determine what you value and determine what you get in return. When coaching people we set goals and priorities. Just like when making a budget, telling your money what to do, you can do that with your time and invest in things that will bring you value in your life. So what are you doing now that will bring you value down the road? What do you need to eliminate that is costing a lot and not bringing any value? (28 hours a week of television would be something good to eliminate) Is what you are spending your time on going to bring value to your life? Is your work worth spending your life on? Is your money being spent the best way it can be to bring you things of value in your life? Are things in life costing you everything and bringing little value? Remember you are in charge of you, make the necessary changes. Let me know if I can help. Tim West Go West Coaching 2-20-12

Budgeting 2012

Budgeting 2012 The first month of the new year is almost over. If you are having trouble with your new budget plans don't quit! You only fail if you quit, so hang in there. There are a lot of budget busters that may come up that you didn't plan for this month. Its okay, a budget usually takes about three months before it starts operating smoothly. Just adjust until it smooths out. No one budgets perfectly. So here are a few things you can do to help get you back on track. Remember spend every dollar you make on paper before you get it. If you tell your money what to do and where to go before you get it, your money will not disappear before you pay the necessities. Its easy to go get something to eat at a fast food place when you don’t feel like cooking, but that can bust your budget. Also, subtract your expenses from your income so that you get a zero balance. If you have some left that means you didn't do it right. If you come up short you need to go back and change the amounts in some of your categories or get some extra income. Once you set the amounts in each category, stick to them. If you do not, you will come up short and panic. Try not to borrow from other categories, it can create a bad habit that will cause you to spend more than you need. Use cash as much as you can, it hurts to spend cash more than it does to swipe a card. When we make our budget we tend to put it up till the next month. You must track what you have spent on your budget. If you don’t know the exact amount going out you cannot prepare for it the next month properly. I sit down at least once a week and enter how much I have spent and find out how much I have left. If you don’t track it you will over spend and sabotage your budget. You can either do it with a pencil and paper or down load a budget. If you are really nerdy like me, email me and I will send you one that has all of the bells and whistles. Remember a budget is telling your money where to go before you get it. After you have done it a while it will take you about 15 minutes every month to prepare it. If you don' t take the time it can cause you years of trouble down the road. You would not set out to build something with out a plan. You cannot build a good financial future with out a budget (plan). I struggle like everyone else too, so just don’t quit! Let me know if you have any questions or need any help. Tim West http://gowestcoaching.com/

Focus

Focus You have probably heard the saying to focus on where you are going to get to where you want to be. That is true. You have to know were you are going to arrive at that destination. Or as Yogi Berra would say, if you don’t know where you are going you may wind up some place else. When helping people get out of debt or working with them on career direction, I help clients (friends) keep their eye on the goal. But sometimes, and I have been guilty of looking too far ahead myself. We get so focused on where we want to be that we take our eyes off what we should be doing now and get discouraged. We also miss the lesson we should be learning from the process. We can be so focused on being debt free that we don’t do the small things like put the extra money aside that we squeeze out of our budget for the debt. When we do this it slows our progress down and we get frustrated and have a pity party and buy something instead! (yes I have done that!) Always keep in mind where you want to go, but keep looking at each step you take. If you write a book you want to focus on finishing it, but you have to go one page at a time, and one word at a time to get to the end. So I want to encourage you to look to where you want to be, but focus on the step that you are on. God has you in the place where you are now for a reason, so keep on focusing and don’t sweat the small stuff. You will get there, not in the amount of time you would like, but in the right time. Don't miss the woods for the trees! Tim West Go West Coaching 2-11-12

Money Savings Ideas

Money Saving Ideas Last week I talked about creating a plan to save money. We need to learn to make it a habit that we continually do the rest of our lives. Today I want to give you some tips on how to save money when you spend it. It sounds weird, but I want you to, as Clark Howard says, spend less avoid getting ripped off! So here are a few suggestions for you. I may have to do this a couple of times, there is a lot we can do to keep more of our money. Here we go: 1. It is not a bargain if you don't need it! If you don't need something don't buy it. This could be anything from a soda to a house. Don't get me wrong, it is okay to buy something if it is in your budget ,but check your motives. Sometimes we buy things just to get that quick high, of getting something. Getting a bargain is good if you need something, not if you want it. Just thing if you buy lunch everyday at work at a great price of $5.00, that is 1300.00 a year. In a some households that is three months worth of groceries. 2. Ask for a deal. This is a lost art in America. We never ask for a deal, we see the price and think we don't have an option. What if it embarrasses your spouse or kids, as Dave Ramsey says that is just a bonus! There is a lot of competition out there for your money, make them earn it the way you do. Don't just show up and give it to them. Also ask them what they can throw in the deal if they don't want to come off of the price. We need to train the retailers. Besides what is the worst thing they can say, no. 3. When you go out to eat, do you really have to pay over a dollar for soda or tea? Ask for water! Not only is it better for you it will keep the calories and sugar from piling that bulge up on you waste line. I know if refills are free, I will drink more soda. 4. Go generic when you can. I know some things don't taste the same, but the generic is not bad either. You can save a lot when you buy the store brand, try different ones until you find the best fit for you. Also, if you get prescriptions, go generic all you can. Name brand is outrageously priced. 5. Tag team on the big items. Women like the thrill of the hunt, or shopping. Men usually like to just buy it and leaving the store. Ladies if you have to buy a big ticket item find it and let him do the negotiating, unless you are the negotiator. Ladies if he is the one doing the negotiating, and you want it bad, let him negotiate by himself. If the sales person knows you want it all he has to do is say no on the offered price and wait. When momma wants it, they have you hooked! 6. Here is an honorable mention: if you shop at Kroger for groceries and use the points for discounted fuel. Start buying the fuel cards for Shell from Kroger and get more taken off for your gas. Shell now takes Kroger cards for discounts also. You can also find gift cards from places you may normally shop at also and get more points earned. Feel free to share any tips with me. I will probably blog on them from time to time. It helps me to save and I hope it helps you! Tim West Go West Coaching