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