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

How far would you be now?

How far would you be now?

Do you remember when you were a kid and someone told you to go do something and you got half way to your destination and they called you back and asked you; I wonder how far you would be now if you didn’t turn around? Do you notice how we often do the same thing to ourselves by not doing what we set out to do originally?  We usually have an idea of where we want to go, or where we would like to be at certain stages of our life.  Things in life happen that “call us back” and ask us where we would be now if we continued on.  I remembered when I turned 41 and woke up that morning and realized my house would have been paid for if I had got a 15 year mortgage!  But we cannot stay in those places mentally because we will never get to a destination worth going to if we live in regret. I heard one time that if we are depressed we are living in the past, and if we are anxious we are living in the future.  When we do either one of these we sacrifice the life we have now and it drains our energy for the future.  How about I issue us a challenge this Memorial day?  A lot of our fellow Americans gave it all so we could go where we planned without regret and help our country and glorify God with the blessings He gave us to subdue the earth.  Determine what you want to do, weather it is lose weight, get out of debt, get in shape, run a marathon or start a new career or business.  If you stay in the thinking about it or the planning mode without executing you will ask years from now where would I be if I followed through with that idea?  If you are afraid of failure embrace it, the bigger you fail it usually means the bigger the payoff will be.  I would rather fail at an endeavor than to never try and wonder where I would be if I had tried. I am glad our veterans didn’t quit because there is no telling where or who we would be now. Let’s not listen to that voice that calls us back because it is just going to ask; how far would you be now?

     Let me know if I can help!

Tim West

Go West Coaching 5-27-13

Lottery odds

This is something I read and thought was interesting.

Lottery Odds

Lottery Odds

The concept of the lottery is so simple. Pay a dollar or so and pick some random numbers. If you pick right, you win big. If you don't, hey, you're only out a dollar.

Welllll ... there's more to it than that.

First, you're counting on false hope to lead you to prosperity when you play the lottery. Your shot at winning is ridiculously long. And lots of people don't just bet a dollar. They'll do 5 or 10. Each week.

On top of that, since the majority of people who play are struggling with money, that $20 or $40 a month really adds up. If a person of any income isn't doing a budget, they'll spend too much on the lottery and on bounced checks and overdraft fees.

The worst part is that, by investing that $40 a month over 50 years (you can play the lottery for that long) into a growth-stock mutual fund averaging 12%, you'll end up with more than $1.5 million. That sounds like a jackpot number to us, and it will happen every time instead of 1 in 800 billion gazillion.

Let's say you play a lottery where you draw six numbered balls randomly from a machine. The balls are numbered 1 to 56. The odds are 1 in 32,468,436 (we calculated it) that you will wind up with the grand prize. For some perspective:

You have about a 1 in 2,000,000 chance of being struck by lightning.

A pregnant woman has a 1 in 705,000 chance of giving birth to quadruplets.

Someone eating an oyster has a 1 in 12,000 chance of finding a pearl in it.



If that's not enough, here's a visual example. This one might seem a little out there, but bear with us.

Get a rope that is 59 feet long and lay it in a circle so the ends touch. Get a pair of tweezers and (we're not kidding) pick up a grain of sand. Toss it anywhere inside the circle that you want. Then pick up a second grain of sand and step into the center of the circle. Close your eyes and do something to disorient yourself, such as spinning around.

Once you are confused enough, drop the second grain of sand from a foot above the ground. Your odds of hitting the first grain with the second are roughly equal to 1 in 32,468,436.

Read how lottery winners don't really win anything when the smoke clears.

The reason people play the lotto is because they are greedy for something they can't or shouldn't have. They want a shortcut to an easy life so they can goof off. Pursuing that will lead you to ruin. Build your wealth the smart and slow way. Once you're rich, you'll be glad you did.

Source: Webmath, Saving Advice

Tim West

Go West Coaching  4-21-12

Is it time for a change?

<b> Is it time for a change? We often do the same things day in and day out, year in and year out, and become comfortably numb to the way we live. A lot of the things we do we may not enjoy such as our job and the way we handle our money. We keep on going to our place of work and instead of enjoying it we just learn to endure the day. This also affects the way we handle our finances. When we are not happy in our daily work routine we will try to find something to buy or go on as many vacations we can to find joy. Money can buy fun but it cannot buy happiness. So how do you know when you need to make some changes? Here are a few things that may indicate to you to change your life. 1. If you get this sinking feeling Sunday evening around 6pm when you realize that you have to work in the morning. Don’t let going to work ruin your time off create a plan to find new work or start a business. 2. If you have a short fuse with your friends and family when the week starts. When we dislike our work we tend to be snappy with others, although you don’t want to be this way the wrath falls on the family and friends. Don’t get frustrated because of the pressure you feel from not enjoying what you are doing. Set up a time line to explore other opportunities. One thing that helps is be thankful you are able to work and have a place to work, but if you know your job is not your calling use the experience as a stepping stone to move on. 3. If your resume is a list of things you do not like to do, it’s time for a change. Just because someone is hiring and paying good does not mean it is a good fit for you. If you hate math but become a CPA because they pay well you are setting yourself up for a tough ride. 4. If you go out and buy stuff to give you a happy feeling and you are going farther into debt. We cannot buy joy and happiness, but we can buy fun. Money may be the husk of many things, but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not an appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintances, but not friends; servants but not faithfulness; days of fun, but not peace happiness and joy. Henrik Ibsen I am not saying quit where you are at, but begin to plan where you want to be whether it is in your career life or your financial life. We get so busy doing the things in life we declare as “urgent” that we always live in crisis mode. When you are constantly in crisis mode without a plan it is hard to take time to make a plan for what is really important in life. Remember you don’t have to, you get to. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

You might need a financial coach if

You might need a financial coach if…. Most of us have heard the “you might be a redneck if…” jokes from Jeff Foxworthy. I have always enjoyed them and have been accused of being a redneck myself, many times. So, what gave me this idea? I was listening to the radio the other day and heard a lottery commercial. After that I heard the commercial for getting help if you are addicted to gambling. Hey I guess it was a public service announcement to “help” us with a problem. Just a thought don’t pass the lottery to get people addicted to gambling and you may prevent a gambling problem that way, just a thought. Anyway here is my you might need a financial coach if- Your retirement plan is your local state lottery. Hey jack it’s not what you make its how much you keep. The average American family makes 40,000 a year. Over a 30 year working life that is 1.2 million dollars going through your hands. Save some of it and get a plan before you make the money and tell it where to go. Just like the commercial says you have a better chance of getting attacked by a grizzly bear and a polar bear in the same day than winning the lottery. You might need a financial coach if- you are paying for Christmas in July. If I have learned one thing Christmas rolls around the same time every year and if I don’t save money for Christmas I don’t have any to spend. Start saving now if you have not and stick to the budget. You are not a bad person if you don’t buy everything that your kids want. If you haven’t noticed kids have a endless desire for stuff. You might need a financial coach if- you think the words “budget” and “no” are cuss words. Telling you money what to do before you get it is what a budget does. When you live on a budget you actually get a raise most of the time because your managed money does more than money that is not managed. Saying no will save you time, energy, effort and money. You might need a financial coach if- you say I will save money when I make more. If you do not start saving when you make a small amount you will not save money when you make a lot. Look at NFL players; 80% of them are broke after being out of the NFL for 10 years. Finally, you might need a financial coach if- you talk to your creditor on the phone more than your family and friends. The answer to getting out of debt is not borrowing more money. Hey if you are in a hole stop digging. Creditors can be a pain to deal with. Get a plan and get them out of your life. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching 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.

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

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

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!!!

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

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