We Americans are falling into a horrible trap.The trap is thinking of our finances in the short term.We think we can afford something as long as we can pay the monthly payment; house payment, car payment, furniture payment, boat payment, credit card payment, motorcycle payment, etc.We no not consider that the financing companies are stretching…
Badge of Honor
Every day when I go to work I run into someone that feels the need to point out the many hours they have been working.As a note these are salaried employees, they do not get overtime.They tell me they were here over the weekend and over 10 hours every day last week.They try to make…
Wanna Be Rich?
In the book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, there is a diagram that depicts the urgency and importance of all of the things we do. The categories are urgent and important, urgent and unimportant, non-urgent and important, and non-urgent and unimportant. By understanding this categorization we can appropriately prioritize our tasks. The main categories…
Evil Money
All too often I encounter people that think I am a bad person because I make more money than someone else.On a grander scale many people believe that large companies are evil.Finally, some people are seen as bad because they produce products based on Christian ideals and do not give them away for free.All of…
Don’t Get Too Comfortable
This is a continuation of the previous post; but here I am going to explain why it is important not to irrationally fear discomfort.Let’s say you are an employee at Chevrolet and you have been offered a buyout to leave your job.You see the huge amount of money that you will receive if you take…
Leaving Your Comfort Zone
When was the last time you made an improvement in your life? What happened that made you change? I bet you grew uncomfortable in your situation and you wanted to change it. If you want to lose weight there are a few things that may have provoked you. You could be worried about your health,…
Debt Philosophy
The other day, a friend and I stumbled upon the subject of our conflicting debt philosophies.As you have previously read, my wife and I want to eliminate all of our debts with our extra money, and then begin investing (debt snowball).My friend (we will call him Jose in this story) subscribes to the philosophy of…
Leveraging Your Abilities
Have you ever heard the statement “don’t trade hours for dollars”? Until recently I did not fully understand the implications of this statement. I was listing to The American Entrepreneur podcast and Ron (the host) fully explained it. When you trade hours for dollars the only way to make more money is to work more…
Career Choices
The other day I was having a discussion with a friend. This friend was upset that she had not taken another educational path in life. She said that she did the “smart” thing and got the “hard” degree. This got me to thinking about the definition of smart. In her description smart means getting an…
This is about you
I have been sharing many things I have learned throughout this blog.I write here to help you.So I can serve you better I need some of your input.Now it is time for you to speak your mind.I want to know about you.I would like to hear your thoughts, questions, and comments on the subject of…
Life or Death Situation
I recently had a discussion with a friend about her frustration with her budget. She said that there was nothing else that could be cut from the budget. I looked at the budget and found that there were things that could be removed. I said she could shut off the cable and internet; she said…
Simplify Your Life (Continued)
From the posts I have made so far, you can tell that I have a lot of information to share. Even though I share this knowledge, it does by no means signify that I am an expert. The advice I am giving is what I apply in my life, but I struggle with everyday because…
How to Avoid a Recession at Home
How many of you fight about money with your spouse? Do you get frustrated when your wife goes out and buys new shoes even when you are on a tight budget? Do you get mad at your husband when he goes out and spends a ton of money on fishing gear when you have been…
Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.-unknown
How many of you are not happy with your life? Are you unhappy with your job, your house, your financial situation? Do you wish you had a better marriage? Do you wish that you were like the “lucky” people with money and happy lives? Sit down for this, this may be hard to take. It…
School Sucks
In previous posts I mentioned that you need to educate yourself in order to reach your goals and grow as a person. We are all used to the standard classroom method of education from the many years we have spent in school. This method works, but there are better ways. First, people fit into different…
Limiting Yourself
Starting about 4 years ago I took up the fitness lifestyle. Since then I have been trying to gain muscle and lose fat. This is a constant effort to eat right and exercise regularly. One thing I have noticed over these last few years is that many people compliment me on my diligence and work…
Learning Addiction
As you will soon learn I like to learn practical knowledge. To help to quench my addiction I take in a lot of media. Recently I completed the audio of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (I like audio so I can learn while I drive). The info contained in this book was amazing and…
Podcasts
I am a big proponent of life long learning and personal growth. I believe that if you are not learning, you are falling behind. This is because the world is changing so rapidly you cannot expect your current set of skills and knowledge to keep up. Plus, learning is a very fulfilling process. Many free…
Working Freedom
I have had numerous discussions about paying off debt; these discussions generally show that people fall into one of two camps. The first camp believes that you should not pay off your house because you could use that money to invest. The other camp (which Dave Ramsey belongs to) argues that if you invest your…
"To me, there is only one form of human depravity – the man without a purpose." –Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged
Why do we complicate our lives? This is a question I have been asking myself recently. Maybe it is a question you should be asking yourself. How many things in your life are needlessly stressing you out? I have been thinking back to when I was younger and how I did not have nearly as…