Pop means Put it On Paper. When are you finally going to sit down, write all your monthly expenses/income on paper and face the truth? The truth is what’s already been happening for quite some time now. You’re spinning your wheels with your finances.
I’ve been there, believe me. My wife and I were grossing $80k/year and we were dead broke. Couldn’t seem to put $500 dollars in the bank and we both worked in banking. Hello? Aren’t bankers supposed to be really good at managing their finances? Not necessarily. Just because you work in the money business doesn’t mean you know how to work your money business.
We had a nice house, two nice cars, and three dogs. Life was good. Yeah but it was financed, except for the dogs. Oh, wait a minute, we used that credit card for a lot of vet bills. So I guess the dogs were sort of financed too. Ouch. But Greg, I love my four legged babies. Nothing I wouldn’t do for em’. I’ve been there too. I’ve paid $5k for a cataract surgery for a dog, for just ONE eye. Did I forget to mention I put it on plastic?
The list goes on doesn’t it? And the list you need to be working on is your monthly net income minus your monthly expenses. If that’s a negative number you’ve got work to do, lots of work. I’ve been there. I’ve made the list. It wasn’t pretty. Then again it wasn’t as ugly as it seemed before hand. The math doesn’t lie my friend.
The checkbook register is the window to your soul. Show me how you spend your money and you show me what’s important to you. No arguments.
Spending $100 a month on cigarettes and wondering why buying school clothes for the kids is so damn hard to manage? Reality check amigo. Doing a 12 pack of cold beer every Friday night yet your bank account stays at or near zero? Oh, I’ve been there. More than you want to know. Got a closet full of mall bought clothes you never wear and wonder why you get a hole in your gut every time you struggle to make your rent or mortgage payment?
Unless you’ve got zero debt and at least 12 months living expenses saved up, you’ve got no room to complain about Congress’ pathetic ability to manage the nations finances. I’m not defending Congress, they suck at finances. It’s obvious. I just don’t complain nearly as much about them as I used to. I had to clean my own house first. Humble pie is best served cold?
If this makes you mad, I’m doing my job! I’ve hit a nerve and that’s my intention. If this makes you uncomfortable that’s a good thing. Because until you get very, very uncomfortable with your current financial situation you aren’t going to do anything to change it.
If you wanna’ POP (Put it On Paper) drop me a line and I’ll email you a simple worksheet that will help you do exactly that. Facing the truth is the only way we ever change.
To Your Financial Freedom,
Greg Whitaker / greg@debtshepherd.com
Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved
