Frustrated and unorganized when you pay your bills? Here’s how to make it easier….
Archives For Greg Whitaker
If you could develop your personal finances in any area whatsoever, what area would you pick?
The most common answer I get is “Greg, if I could just make more money.” I’ve been there, no doubt about it. I was working 40 + hrs. a week, grossing $80k a year (two income household), and couldn’t seem to save a measly $500! I knew there had to be a better way.
My wife and I had $17k in credit card debt, two car payments, and a mortgage. The one area of my personal finances I was convinced needed developing was the size of my paycheck. In retrospect, I realize how backwards my thinking really was.
I met a wise teacher who said “Making money isn’t the problem. It’s what you do with the money you’re already making (that’s the problem).” It’s like the front yard was on fire and I thought I needed more gasoline. Doesn’t make sense does it?
You think you have a math problem. If you could just ADD more money to the equation. I’m proposing, from personal experience, it’s likely you have a thinking problem. To begin changing a thinking problem (around money) we have to learn to SUBTRACT a few things from the equation.
This brings up immediate thoughts of lack, deprivation, and eating bologna and crackers for the rest of our lives. When I started getting out of debt quickly some of my friends were curious how I was doing it. I literally had an old friend say “Greg, what are you living on soup & crackers?”
The answer was, of course, no. I just listened to what my teacher told me and started paying attention to what I was doing with the money I was already making. I started making better use of my dollars. Not so complicated is it? The first year my wife and I paid off $17k in credit cards and my $6k truck note. So we went from can’t seem to put $500 in the bank to paying off $23k in debt in just 12 months! What changed?
We subtracted a few things from our thinking instead of adding more money to our wallets. The problem wasn’t on the outside, it was on the inside. Within a few months I knew I had to teach other people how to do the same thing I learned to do.
There is no magic pill with money. It takes time, discipline, and a commitment to change. And it’s not as hard as you think to get started.
Debt Shepherd teaches you how to begin your journey to financial wellness. No judgment, no criticism here. Just good folks helping good folks. Are you ready?
To Your Financial Freedom,
Greg Whitaker
www.debtshepherd.com
Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved
“I was so poor growing up…if I wasn’t a boy…I’d have nothing to play with.” – Rodney Dangerfield
64 Funny, Inspiring and Stupid Money Quotes From Famous People | Wise Bread
To Your Financial Education,
Greg Whitaker
Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved
Ever wondered why the cash in your hand is called a bill? Here’s my spin on it….
What if we’ve been led to believe money we THINK is an asset is really just a liability (debt)?
Imagine giving your teenager a credit card. After the bills come in you realize your teenager was undisciplined and didn’t want to stop charging when the card maxed out.
The bills come in but are more than you can pay. You get past due and go into collection. You have to file bankruptcy and get sued. That’s the end of it, right? Just take the card away from your kid. It’s over. You’re safe.
But that darn teenager starts printing his own credit cards and putting your name on them. He’s going into debt and using your name to do it. He’s promising you’ll make the monthly payments in the future. But you’re tapped out. You’ve run out of income to pay.
So how does your kid keep spending and convince the bank to keep lending? He finds someone else’s parents to make the payments. And he continues the process over and over.
He gets to spend and never be responsible for the debt. He’s getting money for nothing. The bank is making profit on the interest and your teen is happy because the spending is endless. Eventually your teen will run out of parents willing to make his payments, right? Yes he will. But not until enough parents get sick and tired of not being able to pay their bills.
Congress is your teenager. The Federal Reserve Bank is the credit card company. You and your fellow taxpayers are the parents willing to make the credit card payments for spoiled, undisciplined child. The Federal Reserve bank and Congress don’t care who makes the payments as long as the payments are made.
Did I forget to mention the credit card “bills” your teenager keeps running up are the same as the dollar “bills” you hold in your purse or wallet?
To Your Financial Education,
Greg Whitaker
Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved
Here’s an interesting article on what happens to money when it gets too old to stay in circulation.
To Your Financial Education,
Greg Whitaker