Saturday, December 7, 2013

Avoiding the Christmas spending High

Avoiding the Christmas spending High
12-7-13

Well its Christmas time again. Wow it got here fast as usual and if you did not save throughout the year you will be hopefully working it into your budget. Here are just a few tips to help you keep within your budget and not get carried away. It is easy to get into the mindset of its Christmas everyone is spending a lot, it won’t hurt if I do also. I have done it and come January I regretted it. You do not want to be paying for Christmas when it is time to go on vacation in the summer.
Remember these things when buying a gift: 1. If the only reason you buy someone a gift is because they bought you one that is not a good reason. I know you may think it will make them mad if you don’t, but if all they wanted was to manipulate you into giving them a gift they are not much of a friend anyway. 2. Make a gift list, of who you want to buy for and how much you can spend. 3. Don’t overspend that amount! If you have a hard time determining how much to spend look back at what you spent last year. 4. Get creative, make gifts, set a smaller amount that normal and challenge others to stick to it. Remember time spent with others is the most valuable of all. Give out daddy daughter date night cards etc. 5. If you do use a credit card pay it off ASAP! Don’t let it hang around like a stray cat.

Just remember we are able to celebrate Christmas because of Christ. God gave us the gift of reconciliation with Him through Christ. Give Him thanks and love on others, that is better than any stuff we can buy!

Have a Mary Christmas!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Money and Lies

Money and Lies
There are a lot of lies we are told to get our money.  They try to make them sound like they are giving us a service we desperately need and they will be saving us money.  I have fallen for them and so have a lot of other people.  My job is to help us to not fall for the lie again.  Here go a few of the lies we tend to believe;

1. If I co-sign a loan for a friend or relative I will help them out. This lie has hurt a lot of relationships.  It may have helped a few by getting someone out of your life that made it better! For most it has required the cosigner to pay the loan and there was a lot of damage done to the relationship.  Remember the bank requires a cosigner because they do not think that person will pay it back.  Don't cosign! Prov. 17:18

2. If I cannot afford something I will rent to own/ do a payday advance/ or title pawn my car, to get the money for what I "NEED".  Most of the time what we think we "need" could be a want. These methods of borrowing are a terrible way to get money. They charge huge interest rates and you stay in bondage to them and pay back sometimes triple as much as you borrowed. These are greedy rip-offs. Avoid them at all costs.

3. Playing the lottery can make you rich, and I am helping students. Besides someone will win why not me.   I once helped a friend clean out a foreclosure house that had 5 years left on the mortgage, with three working adults living there.  Your guessed it, they got hooked on the lottery and lost their home!  I will agree with Dave Ramsey about the lottery.  It is a tax on the poor and people who are not good at math.  Even when people do win it most of them go broke a few years later because they have not developed the character to handle it. Poor people are sending rich and middle class kids to college with their lottery money. I will agree with the commercial that you are more likely to get attacked by a grizzly bear and a polar bear in the same day than winning the lottery.

4.You are always going to have a car payment!  If you buy a used car you are just taking over someones old problems.  This is usually just a reason to justify buying a new car.  We get all hyped up on the car lot. Just remember the new car is not nearly as impressive after about six payments!  Guess what there are good used cars out there. A new car looses 50-70% of its value in the first 4 years and most people owe another year on it.  Take your time and buy a good used car, that's what most millionaires do. The average car payment is around 400.00 a month. Pay it to yourself. In stead of the bank!

 I will cover more of the money lies we have bought into in next week.  Its always better for us as consumers to save up and pay cash for things we want.  I know we have to wait longer sometimes but it builds the muscle of discipline and keeps us from wasting as much money than when we borrow. I am not saying dont by things and just come out of the house on triple coupon Thursday. Be wise and a good steward.   Think about this- we deposit 1000.00 in the bank in a savings account and earn less that 1% interest.  We get a credit card from the same bank with our $1000.00 in it and they loan it back to us in the form of a credit card at 14-20%.  Not bad, for them!  Thank you for reading and let me know if you have any questions I can help you with.

Quotes to think about:

A man in debt is so far a slave.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The rich rules over the poor, and borrower is slave to the lender.  Proverbs 22:7

A church debt is the devil's salary.
Henry Ward Beecher

"It's only too late if you don't start now" -- Barbara Sher
 

 
 
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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Beware of your habits

Beware of your Habits

If you live in the C.S.R.A, and watch the news, you may have heard that Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's will be opening stores up in Augusta, GA.  Now I enjoy the outdoors some and learned a lot about how to spend more than I made at theses places with their catalogs in the past! When I heard the news about the physical locations coming to Augusta, I thought wow that will be better if I ever need to buy anything from them I can just go by and pick it up.  It made me ask the question do I spend more when I buy online or when I am at a store.  Also, do I spend more when I use a debit card or cash?  How about you, which one of these situations cause you to spend more?  I tend to spend more when I shop online and use a debit card.  Think about it, there is no feeling of "loss of money" when you use a debit card, or a credit card if you use one,  and buy online.  The merchandise comes days later when you shop online and no cash is missing from you instantly.  Oh and I remember the thrill I would get when there was a package at the front door when I got home from work!! We can also get addicted to that feeling and this will cause us to spend more too. When we spend cash they say your brain registers it as pain when we hand our cash over.  I believe this is true because it hurts when you break a 100 dollar bill!  Also, statistics show that we spend 18% more when we use a debit card or credit card.  I have told this lie to myself before, I will pay off the credit card when the bill comes in.  Most people never pay them off when the bill comes in, and credit card companies knows this.   Marketers and creditors are sharp!  Retail stores make it as easy as possible for us to pay them.  In some places all you have to do is wave your card  or your cell phone to pay.  These things make us think we dont spend as much as when using a card.     If I go to a store with a certain amount to spend I will look and shop till I get my price, then I spend that amount, and I am done.  If I am shopping online I tell myself, I cannot just order one thing and pay all that shipping for one item, why not buy this other thing to make it worth the time.  We need to ask ourselves these questions; what causes me to spend more?  What do I need to do to stick to my budgeted amounts? If people can make monthly payments they can make payments to their savings accounts and pay cash for things.  Remember children do what feels good and adults devise a plan(budget) and follow it.   Another thing that will help you is to not use a credit card and use a debit card instead.  You are forced to keep up with your balance verses a credit card.  So get your plan ready for back to school shopping and the other things for the last half of the year. Remember to check your habits. 

Quotes for thought:
Give yourself to prayer, to reading and meditation on divine truths: strive to penetrate to the bottom of them and never be content with a superficial knowledge. David Brainerd

America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation.
~ Dr. Laurence J. Peter


The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money." Alexis de Tocqueville, (1805-1859)

There is not a lot you can do about the national economy but there's a lot you can do about your personal economy. - Zig Ziglar



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Sunday, July 21, 2013

Challenge to change

Challenge to Change
    We have all heard the saying, if you want a different result you need to do something different to get it.  That is very true, but it is not comfortable.  If you want to lose weight, you have to change your eating and exercise habits.  I can give you a few pointers on those things but I will just stick with your personal finance. If you are tired of the same pattern your life is in, try a couple of quick changes and stick to them.  If they are not working change them.  I will issue you a budget challenge, a debt challenge and a saving challenge.  Pick an area that you want to work on and dive in.  Here they go-
1. Budget Challenge- If you dont live on a written budget every month this may be for you.  First list all of your expenses, debts, bills, hobbies etc.  List them in order of importance. (Hint-Food, clothing, shelter, Transportation and utilities most important.)  Set the amounts you need to spend and make sure you stick to them.  Remember this concept that the government cannot, you cannot spend more money than you make.  When you have spent every dollar you made, on paper, you  are finished.  If you come up short you have to either make more money or cut some categories. Download a budget here if you like.


2. Debt Challenge- Maybe you are on a budget and you have been on cruse control for the summer and have not attacked your debts the way you like.  List all of your debts smallest to largest, squeeze all of the money you can out of the budget and attack the smallest debt like ants at a picnic!!  To give yourself a little motivation add up all of your non- mortgage monthly debt payments and see how much you could be keeping yourself instead of sending it to others.  Once you are good and mad throw everything you can at the smallest debt and start knocking it out.  Remember debt robs you of the ability to build wealth.  Visa has a plan for your money make your plan better than theirs. 

3. Saving- With school coming up in less than a month, and the holidays around the corner, you will need to buy things.  The best purchase plan is to pay for it and be done.  You cannot wait until you make more money to save because you will always spend it before it gets in the savings account.  Put your savings in your budget first and pay yourself first.  Determine what you will need to have for what ever you are saving for and sacrifice to get there.  The holidays are much more fun when they are paid for!!

Let me know if you have any questions.  Also let me know how you do, it helps to here the successes of others who have the same struggles.  It is encouraging!!

Tim West
706-840-0992

Quotes to think about:
"You can't build a reputation on what you're GOING to do."  Henry Ford
  
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor people perfected without trials.
  
We cannot start over, but we can begin now, and make a new beginning"  Zig Ziglar 
  
When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. Stephen Wright

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Its Time To Act

Its time to act
I recently read a blog from Kevin Miller titled You'll get what you expect.  Everything I read I try to understand what they are saying and see how can I apply it to my life.  I often hope for these things but dont necessarily expect them. When we do this we usually take no action and get what we expect, nothing.  Lets apply this to our finances.  We live in the most prosperous country in history.  God has richly blessed us with His material possessions and we do not manage them the best that we could.  As in the blog from Kevin Miller   we get pretty much what we expect. We expect to have a lot of things because we see others around us have a lot of things.  Therefore we manage our finances in a way that gets us a lot of things but leaves us running on the edge with our money.  My pastor, Brian Fields told us in a sermon that 1/3 of the people that made at least six figures, said they could agree with the statement, I make enough to meet my needs.  If you dont make six figures you may be thinking that's impossible you can have anything you want with that kind of money!  We do it everyday with what ever amount of money we make.  If you dont have a plan for your money the credit card companies do and that is why we run short meeting our needs.  The average income for a family in America is 40,000.00 per year.  Over a 30 year working span that is 1.2 million going through your hands. Tell it where to go before you get it each pay check.  By the way if you make 100,000.00 that would be 3 million you would get.  Notice neither one of these figures got a raise over the 30 years! 

So how do we act to get what we expect?  Determine why you want to get your finances in order and then learn what to do. You must expect to reach your goals because that will determine what you do.  If you expect you cannot get out of debt and save money, guess what you will stay in debt buying stuff to make you "happy" and not  be able to save.  You have to make it a point to spend less than you make and pay yourself, or save.  So in short act like you should to get the expectations you want. Create a budget, start saving, pay off your debt, and live on less than what you make.  We must do these things over our life time. You cannot do them for a few months and go back to your old way. You must make a decision to do it and stay with the plan.  Let me know if I can help you.

Go to my resources page and down load a free budget to get you started.

Something to think on this week: Money is the lowest form of prosperity.  We must learn to turn money into wealth. Wade Trimmer

Good Quotes:  
"Life is like a ten-speed bicycle....Most of us have gears that we never use."  Charlie Brown in Peanuts
 
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford
 
"Growth demands a temporary surrender of security."  -- Gail Sheehy - Passages
Religion gives you advice on how to make amends with God.  The gospel is news that God has done something to make us right with Him.  Kenny Thacker
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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Why and What



What and why
     In dealing with people and their finances I not only teach them what to do with their money, but we have to understand why they got to this place financially. Everyone usually starts out thinking that they are broke because they don’t make enough or that one certain circumstance caused them to get behind and stay there.  Some times this is true, but not always.  If a person can add and subtract they have the head knowledge to know when to stop spending.  If financial problems were just a math issue we would never spend more than we have.  Personal finance is more behavior than head knowledge.  There is usually a behavioral reason as to why we spend more than we make other than just not paying attention or bad luck. Although paying attention is part of it, we also may be trying to cover up an inward problem or a possible addiction.  We try to treat the problem with spending money to make us feel good.   Financial problems show up, a lot of the times, just a symptom of the real problem. Our financial problems can point to the real issue when we unpack everything.  Bankruptcy attorneys tell us that filing bankruptcy will solve our problems.  Bankruptcy just treats the symptoms and never changes the spending habits we have developed that cause the problems.     Once you determine why you are having financial problems, and why you want to get out, you can determine what to do to fix the problem.  Money, or the lack of it, can get your emotions in high gear.  We are created to use our mind as well as our emotions to get our finances under control.  It takes head knowledge and emotional passion to change your life to go in the direction you want it to go.  Can you imagine your life being debt free and having 3-6 months of living expenses in an emergency savings account?  If this sounds good to you, start to change your life by finding out- why you are where you are at financially,- and why you need to change.  These answers will tell you what you need to do. Let me know if I can help you with your plan! 


Tim West

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Building a life or building a prison.



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


Tim West

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Saving just start somewhere



Saving – just start somewhere
 We don’t save like we use to for many different reasons. Here are a few statistics to help show where we are as a nation: 38% of American adults have an emergency fund. 41% save something regularly, $ 35,000 is the average amount saved for retirement in America. Out of people who do save for retirement only 18% feel they have enough saved when they do retire.  Now I can try to make you feel bad and list all of the other countries that do better at savings than us, or tell you how the generations past always saved better than we save.  Or I can fill you with fear, doom and gloom to scare you into saving more, but you can watch the news or go online and get that.  I don’t want to beat people up, it never works, I just want you to start somewhere so you don’t have to depend on someone else when you need money. We will all have financial emergencies in our life; saving helps us have a plan for them.  I have had one for the last three months and figured out I need to save more! (I am not perfect; I hope I don’t try to sound like I am.)  Let’s identify what keeps us in America from saving more besides being taxed more.  The more we make the more we spend. The first thing we think when we make more money in America is what can I buy next?  We are endlessly advertised to by T.V., radio, internet, magazines, billboards, mail, cars wrapped with ads, clothes, and everything else.  All of the advertisements tend to make us feel like we are lacking something and their product will fill that void and we spend our hard earned money on the product.  Once we have it we will find out that that thing is not the thing to fix our lives and make us happy forever and we look for something else to buy to fill that void. We can stay in this cycle for decades and spend what we could have saved and retire or enjoy life more. Basically we turn these things into idols, and an idol is something we look to, to bring us joy and satisfaction. We make it an ultimate thing. Be careful that we do not make an idol with money also. Money is a tool, not a god.  Enjoy your stuff don’t look for it you make you eternally happy.  Another problem is that we are in a microwave society, we want it and we want it now.  We are used to getting what we want instantly from, cooking to information.  If there is something we don’t know we Google it with our phones.  How many of you remember waiting for an hour or two while one of your brothers or sisters was on the phone!?  I was the younger one and had the joy of bothering my sister while she was on the phone.  A whole generation will miss out because everyone has a phone now! So, don’t panic they make more than one of the things you want and you will have time to buy it!  The next reason we spend and don’t save is because we want to keep up with everyone else buying stuff.  We are always trying to impress people we may never see again, or don’t even like.   Also, it is easier to spend more when we do not use cash.  I myself can keep hitting the “add” to cart button while online shopping and not realize how full the cart is when checking out on Amazon! Use cash when possible and set an amount in your budget when you are shopping.  Lastly don’t get to the point where you think you are too far gone that you say, what is the use of keeping up with what you spend, there is no hope, just enjoy life. Usually there is a lot more life left when we think this way and guess what, it requires money!  Don’t give up hope.  There is always hope because you can start doing things differently with a plan for your money.  Not everyone can save 10-20% with their each pay check.  Don’t panic, start somewhere whether it is $5 a week or a $100 a week.  Get in the habit of paying yourself first before paying others and budget some blow money so you can buy some stuff for fun! 

Tim West