If it aint broke dont fix it! DAY 12 – Unsecured debt: 98.78% Hi-lo fund: 0.35 months
If it ain't broke don't fix it! ...but what if you aren't aware that it's broke.
They say knowledge is power, and I would agree 100% in my bible God warns in Hosea 4: 6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."
I think this is one of the biggest problems we face in our financial lives. Too many people are intimidated by finances so they just try and ignore them. The overwhelming amount of get rich quick strategy's and underwhelming amount of solid stewardship training that exist creates a intellectual vacuum and so people simply run a budget of, if there is money in the account spend it and if not use the credit card. I realize that's an over simplification but it unfortunately not far off.
And that right there is my biggest motivation in life right now, empower people with financial knowledge so that they dont get their financial education from the school of hard-knocks. I personally have made enough mistakes and learned enough lessons the hard way that I almost feel it my duty to help people avoid the pitfalls and dead end paths that keep them and kept me financially insecure.
Lately, my reading has been almost completely focused on financial planning and leadership books. My top inspiration for getting out of debt can be credited to Dave Ramsey. I listen to his podcasts and have been reading his books and although I have just started my process, I can honestly say I can see how his 7 baby steps are going to aid in helping me achieve my own financial freedom. Check out his website http://www.daveramsey.com when you have a moment it is absolutely filled with great resources.
That said, I also believe a lot in what guys like David Chilton who wrote The Wealthy Barber say about saving 10% of your earnings and what Robert Kiyosaki who wrote Rich Dad Poor Dad says about making the money you have work for you and not the other way around. So there is definitely good money management books out there its just a matter of sifting through and separating the wheat from the chaff.
It's also very important to gain an understanding of your own financial situation. I used to think I was great at this... used to. Realizing you are nearly broke does wonders in giving you humility. You see I always maintained a list of my debt and a list of my assets so I would know exactly where I stood. I also maintained a budget... well ok a budgetish, it was very rough. I had listed all my bills and knew how much I needed to pay each month then I would do my best to make sure I had that much plus a little extra for spending money at the start of the month and I thought I was good. I wasn't. Gradually and almost unnoticeably, my debt began to rise, and rise until one day I had a large bill due and I looked at my accounts and I realized holy crap all the work I had done to get debt out of my life had been completely undone. Not gonna lie it was a very frustrating day.
I began to seek outside help and got in contact with an organization called Credit Councelling Society and in setting up a meeting with them they asked me to fill out a budget and it was a real budget. (Message me if you would like a copy) It was in filling out that budget for them that it was revealed to me that what I thought I was spending and what I was actually spending were two very VERY different amounts. I was dumfounded to be totally honest and all of a sudden things started to make a lot more sense.
Now that I knew the problem I could now work at a solution. To start with, I cut up my credit cards, I really wish I would have videoed it it would be powerful to put in here. Honestly it might sound silly but there is something powerful about drawing a line in the sand and saying NO MORE! As each piece of plastic hit the bottom of my garbage it was like one more piece of freedom. And that is my goal GET OUT OF DEBT, ACHIEVE TOTAL FREEDOM!!!!
Till next time... Plan to prosper! ;-)
David Whitrow, CMA
www.davidwhitrow.com
UPDATE: If you enjoyed this post, please check out my new blog at www.ChampagneAvenue.ca
They say knowledge is power, and I would agree 100% in my bible God warns in Hosea 4: 6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."
I think this is one of the biggest problems we face in our financial lives. Too many people are intimidated by finances so they just try and ignore them. The overwhelming amount of get rich quick strategy's and underwhelming amount of solid stewardship training that exist creates a intellectual vacuum and so people simply run a budget of, if there is money in the account spend it and if not use the credit card. I realize that's an over simplification but it unfortunately not far off.
And that right there is my biggest motivation in life right now, empower people with financial knowledge so that they dont get their financial education from the school of hard-knocks. I personally have made enough mistakes and learned enough lessons the hard way that I almost feel it my duty to help people avoid the pitfalls and dead end paths that keep them and kept me financially insecure.
Lately, my reading has been almost completely focused on financial planning and leadership books. My top inspiration for getting out of debt can be credited to Dave Ramsey. I listen to his podcasts and have been reading his books and although I have just started my process, I can honestly say I can see how his 7 baby steps are going to aid in helping me achieve my own financial freedom. Check out his website http://www.daveramsey.com when you have a moment it is absolutely filled with great resources.
That said, I also believe a lot in what guys like David Chilton who wrote The Wealthy Barber say about saving 10% of your earnings and what Robert Kiyosaki who wrote Rich Dad Poor Dad says about making the money you have work for you and not the other way around. So there is definitely good money management books out there its just a matter of sifting through and separating the wheat from the chaff.
It's also very important to gain an understanding of your own financial situation. I used to think I was great at this... used to. Realizing you are nearly broke does wonders in giving you humility. You see I always maintained a list of my debt and a list of my assets so I would know exactly where I stood. I also maintained a budget... well ok a budgetish, it was very rough. I had listed all my bills and knew how much I needed to pay each month then I would do my best to make sure I had that much plus a little extra for spending money at the start of the month and I thought I was good. I wasn't. Gradually and almost unnoticeably, my debt began to rise, and rise until one day I had a large bill due and I looked at my accounts and I realized holy crap all the work I had done to get debt out of my life had been completely undone. Not gonna lie it was a very frustrating day.
I began to seek outside help and got in contact with an organization called Credit Councelling Society and in setting up a meeting with them they asked me to fill out a budget and it was a real budget. (Message me if you would like a copy) It was in filling out that budget for them that it was revealed to me that what I thought I was spending and what I was actually spending were two very VERY different amounts. I was dumfounded to be totally honest and all of a sudden things started to make a lot more sense.
Now that I knew the problem I could now work at a solution. To start with, I cut up my credit cards, I really wish I would have videoed it it would be powerful to put in here. Honestly it might sound silly but there is something powerful about drawing a line in the sand and saying NO MORE! As each piece of plastic hit the bottom of my garbage it was like one more piece of freedom. And that is my goal GET OUT OF DEBT, ACHIEVE TOTAL FREEDOM!!!!
Till next time... Plan to prosper! ;-)
David Whitrow, CMA
www.davidwhitrow.com
UPDATE: If you enjoyed this post, please check out my new blog at www.ChampagneAvenue.ca
Solid blog David! Good read man. Thanks!
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