Archive for October 18th, 2007

Become Debt-Free - Where to Start

When I meet with people, the biggest question I get asked is “Where do I start if I want to become debt-free?” The answer isn’t surprising, and there is no magical solution. In fact, there is only one possible place to start… wherever you are now is where you begin.

Since everyone is at a different place in their lives, you can only begin where you are, and not where your friend is. You have no other choice but to begin to tackle your specific situation. Only when you face it head-on and develop a game plan, will you start to win in life.

“A good plan implemented today, is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow.” - Gen. George Patton

The very first step we have each of our clients do is to develop a budget, or written plan of where their money will be spent in the coming month. After that, we coach you to set aside between $500 - $1500 as a beginner emergency fund. You must become current with each of your lenders before you start aggressively paying off your debt.

While having only $1,000 set aside for emergencies is not a lot, it is a beginning while you get out of debt. Use the anger of not having more saved to aggressively become debt-free, then save between 3 and 6 months of expenses for a fully-funded emergency fund.

You are already on step 3 of 7. To view the rest of the steps, click the link below and download the Financial Freedom Steps from the worksheets page. You can also download many other helpful tools that I have made available to you for free!

Justin Lukasavige is a Personal & Business Coach. Visit http://www.lukascoaching.com/resources.htm for a ton of free tools to help you improve your life.

www.lukascoaching.com

Add comment October 18th, 2007

Debt Problems - How to Escape Our Newest Epidemic That Doesn’t Seem to Go Away

We go through most of our younger life watching our parents and the adults around us while learning through osmosis basically how to deal with money. It’s not something that most school systems have really taught, and so we we’re left to our own learning devices, which was basically good old mom and dad. Depending on how they handled their finances ends up steering us in the direction of where we go with ours… and sort of dictates whether or not we will end up with a debt problem of our own.

Even so things can sometimes go astray, no matter if we had the most conscientious parents in the world or not. Our problems with debt - though not always - are usually a direct indicator of our own personal money habits and discipline, much like most other things that we endure in life. It is tougher now to stay away from debt trouble however simply because of the ease of spending.

Plastic is the way to go now. Back when our parents were young adults they went to work, got their checks on Friday, went to the bank to deposit it, and kept what they needed in cash for the week and that was what they had to spend. There was no direct deposit nor were there debit cards.

Where we now get into a trouble with our problems with debt, is often due to the fact that plastic is now the common currency. Even commercials now cleverly show the guy in the donut shop who pays for his order in cash, interrupting a quickly paced musical ensemble of debit card and credit card users swiping away and jetting off. This is the view that we get from all sides now, where even McDonalds makes it easier than ever to buy a Big Mac and swipe right on through.

Even gas stations give you a prepaid card to just hold in front of the machine and gets scanned your amount, and sometimes it’s even linked to your bank account. It’s too easy to spend, and not no what the heck you’ve just spent on. That’s why our debt problem has increased in this country and there seems to be no clear end in site.

Now that’s not to say that a person’s bad debt can’t also be a direct effect of some other outside circumstance; many things can have a direct negative impact on our finances, and quickly too. For instance, if you lose your job and you don’t have an emergency fund in place, then it doesn’t take long for you to inherit a debt difficulty. If you get sick or injured and can’t work, can’t get Workman’s Compensation, and/or don’t have insurance that will pay your bills for you in these situations, then again, your problem has just increased ten fold. Things do happen but as I stated before, more often than not your negative financial status is usually a direct correlation of your spending, saving, and bill paying habits and discipline.

If you learn to keep track of you’re spending by keeping a detailed list of everything that you spend on (down to the penny), set up an emergency fund to keep good ole Murphy from Murphy’s law away, create a budget and stick to it; and set up some sort of payment plan - such as the snowball plan where you pay off the lesser debts first and apply those payments to the larger debts as they’re paid - you will be able to rid your own problems without any outside assistance. This requires of course that you have an income coming in.

However, if none of the above works, and you are just sinking, and sinking fast, then you do have other options that you should know about.

One such option is to go through a credit counseling service. This is a service that will provide help in renegotiating your terms with your creditors - often yielding you a interest rate decrease, and keeping the vicious collection agencies out of your hair.

Your next more aggressive option is to obtain a debt consolidation loan, either secured (such as a home equity loan), or unsecured, where you take out a loan that covers them leaving you with only one more easy to handle monthly payment. These are options that are less drastic. Subsequently your next options are settlement where you negotiate a settlement price on your debts. This often time will decrease about 50% of the principal amount. Your last option is to get a lawyer and file for bankruptcy.

You should never make any decision without first evaluating what your actual amount of it is and tackle that. You can then begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and eventually kiss your debt problem goodbye.

CORE Magazine is a leading online resource for a debt solution. Visit our unsecured debt consolidation section now to get free access to information on debt problems.

Add comment October 18th, 2007

carnival of wealth building ideas - October 10, 2007

Welcome to the October 10, 2007 edition of carnival of wealth building ideas.Bentley Humphreys presents How to make money buying foreclosures posted at boozwatt.com, saying, “With the real estate market the way it is today, the time is absolutely NOW to invest in real estate. A perfect vehicle for this is through foreclosures, however not in the traditional sense…”

Beno Varghese presents Make money blogging! posted at Beno Varghese dot-com.

Wealth Building Lessons presents Wealth Building Lessons » Blog Archive » Are Vacation Rentals A Good Investment? posted at Wealth Building Lessons, saying, “Wealth Building Lessons spends a few days at a Vacation Rental in Vegas and decides to find out whether they make a good investment or not”

Empty Spaces presents Adventures in Money Making posted at Adventures in Money Making, saying, “Adventures in Money Making looks at why the dollar is devaluing and how to hedge against it.”

Matthew Paulson presents Be on the Lookout: A New and Improved Pump and Dump Trading Scam posted at Getting Green.

ChristianPF presents The best money advice of all time posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “According to MONEY magazine, this is the best money advice from some of the wisest people who have lived.”

Jon Swift presents MoveOn.org and Other Traitors Are Welcome To Advertise Here posted at Jon Swift, saying, “I have no problems with New York Times or anyone else taking large amounts of money from people advertising messages I disagree with no matter how repugnant I think those messages are. That is why I have decided to break with some of my fellow conservatives and demonstrate my solidarity with the New York Times’ capitalist agenda by offering my own discount to anyone who wants to run an ad on my blog. For a limited time only, I am offering premium ad space on my blog for a special discount of just $65,000 to anyone regardless of their political affiliation. And I mean anyone.”

Craig Andrews presents Push Yourself Out Of Your Comfort Zone posted at Craig S. Andrews.com, saying, “For excellent results, one the best ways to drive a lot of traffic to your blog or Website is through effective and unique article version submissions. Using a highly effective article submission software is key to your Internet success, visit: http://www.articleprosoftware.com. Please visit my blog for “Real Internet Business Solutions” and more! Thank you, Craig Andrews.”

Robinson Go presents Optimize Your AdSense Income by Spreading Content to Multiple Pages posted at Robinson Go dot Com, saying, “Wealth Building from Google AdSense. Optimize and Earn!”

John Crenshaw presents Is That The President?s Hand In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Happy To See Me? posted at John Crenshaw dot Net.

Yazan Manasrah presents 4 ways to make more money posted at The Blasted Crossing, saying, “Some tips to help you get started on your quest for financial independence.”

Dax Desai presents A Gift from the Fed (I was wrong) posted at Dax Desai, saying, “How could you have made money with the recent Fed cuts? Gold, Cd’s, and Foreign exchange are explained here as shown by this person’s real-life investment examples.”

Jigsaw hc presents You Can Make Money Reading Emails posted at Jigsaw hc’s Rants & Reviews.

The Dividend Guy presents Buying Stock in a Company Just Because You Love The Products? posted at The Dividend Guy Blog.

John M presents The News Room proving it’s worth for generating income. posted at Web-Dosh, saying, “A great way to generate income”

Terry Dean presents Finding Your Unique Ability posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

KCLau presents Get Rich with Excessive Debt posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “This article shows you how the rich get richer with excessive debt. Bad-debt-free makes you a freeman. But if you know how to leverage with good debt, that’s the exact secret of wealthy people.”

Steve_Leung presents Not Overpaying When Buying a Home posted at 1SiliconValley.com, saying, “Building wealth often involves making the most of the money you worked so hard to earn. And when buying a home, there are a number of hidden and external factors which people don’t account for when putting in an offer. Here’s what to look for and how to make sure you’re not overpaying.”

ChristianPF presents How to budget with ING direct posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “ING Direct is my secret budgeting tool. Here are a few steps to start budgeting using ING Direct.”

Dianne M. Buxton presents Wahm Homeschooling Internet Marketing Course posted at manifestingsuccess, saying, “This article focuses on a homeschooling economic course, but is for all. Free, I’m not selling it. Additional income whether you work at home or not. You earn more by sharing - give it away, no selling.”

Sara Goldstein presents When is a bargain not a bargain? posted at The Bargain Queen on Fashion and Beauty, saying, “Building wealth is as much about spending very carefully as it is about saving — buying lots of ‘bargains’ you never use will reduce your savings considerably! Here’s some tips for working out whether you’re really getting a bargain BEFORE you spend your hard-earned cash.”

Moneywalks presents Overcome your worst fear: Learn How to Save posted at moneywalks.

Ryan Russell presents Is Debt Consolidation A Good Idea? posted at Care on Credit, saying, “Debt consolidation is a term often thrown around as a generic label for products to get out of debt — but the services offered by companies vary greatly. Learn about the different options available to consumers and when you should consider each alternative.”

karyn presents 6 Bad Habits That Can Lead You Into Debt posted at Finance 123, saying, “Develop these bad financial habits and you’ll be on the road to falling into debt. Learn to avoid them and you’ll be on your way to a secure financial future.”

Ryan Russell presents DIY: 5 Steps to Becoming Your Own Financial Planner posted at My Money Thinks, saying, “It seems that more and more people are talking about their financial planners these days. At times, it feels like not having a financial planner means that you are not serious about money or that you are just not serious about doing smart things with your money.”

WBL presents How Will The Rate Cut Affect You posted at Wealth Building Lessons, saying, “Wealth Building Lessons looks at the ramifications of the Fed’s rate cut and how to profit from the resulting scenario.”

WBL presents Rich Guys Bailing On The Dollar? posted at Wealth Building Lessons, saying, “Wealth Building Lessons discusses why the richest city in the world is buying foreign gas that it doesn’t need and what you can learn from it.”

WBL presents Investing In Oil posted at Adventures in Money Making, saying, “Adventures in Money Making looks at direct investments in oil and gas ventures.”

raymond nwambuonwo presents HOW TO BECOME VERY RICH: Avoid These Seven Financial Mistakes in your Business posted at HOW TO BECOME VERY RICH.

Everything Finance presents Saving for Kids College Education posted at Everything Finance.

Vanalli presents Everything you need to know about buying dropped domains posted at Make money blogging with Angel, saying, “Buying dropped domains and flipping them into news websites or blogs is one way to make money online. Here’s the basics you need to know before you get started.”

Warren Wong presents What Do You Actually Buy With Money? posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “What do you actually purchase when you exchange money for some item? The answer isn’t as obvious as you may think!”

Sagar Satapathy presents The Amero: An Introduction, A Short History, and What it Would Mean for Our Economy | Currency Trading.net posted at Currency Trading.net.

Caroline Middlebrook presents 512 Ways to Make Money Online - Mix & Match Content, Monetization & Traffic Models | Caroline Middlebrook :: Livin’ Online posted at Caroline Middlebrook :: Livin’ Online, saying, “Just about any profitable venture is going to need a combination of content, monetization and traffic. You cannot succeed without all three. Below I have listed 8 models for each, put them together and that gives you 512 combinations of ways to make money online!”

Gley Yahya presents How to Make Money Selling on Ebay posted at Work At Home Start Up Guide, saying, “wondering how to make money selling on eBay? This Ebay start up guide provides free advice on how to make money on ebay, tips to sell on eBay, tricks and resources to help those starting out. Here you can learn how to make money selling on Ebay! Discover how you can open your FREE eBay account, and be earning profits by tomorrow! How to Find Cheap Merchandise to Sell.How to buy wholesale merchandise and sell it for a profit. How To Create a Great eBay Listings and much more.”

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Develop Mental Toughness posted at Potential 2 Success, saying, “MVPs, CEOs, extraordinary leaders, and successful people of all kinds have it and so should you. Develop, strengthen and master your ability to perform under pressure, bounce back from failure, and excel in life.”

Terry Dean presents 4 Income Streams in Every Business posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Larry Russell presents Understand the confusing securities market motion picture posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog, saying, “Securities markets are usually very quick to adjust prices to reflect new information. However, this price adjustment process may take longer and be more volatile, if the new information is ambiguous.”

ISPF presents Is “Slow and Steady” Approach to Wealth Out of Fashion? posted at Grad Money Matters.

Jonathon Weston presents Ruckus Nation Competition- We Help You Win $75 Grand! posted at placeintheground.com, saying, “Ruckus Nation’s $300,000 competition to help get obese children up and moving is a valuable social endeavor, I attempt to help anyone who has an idea hone it to make it successful and helpful.”

Ken Nubo presents Get paid to do survey? | Ken Nubo: Ranting of a J-rocker posted at Ken Nubo, PUA extraordinaire and ranting buddhist..

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Be Smarter in 30 Days posted at Potential 2 Success, saying, “Be more productive, focused, and successful by increasing your critical thinking skills.”

Joy Miller presents Cornell University offers 19 online programs posted at Online College Blog, saying, “If you are looking for a way to increase your knowledge and improve your resume, you may want to consider Cornell University. Promising “Ivy League Excellence, Online Convenience,” Cornell University has the “most comprehensive, online professional and executive development curriculum offered by any top-20 university in the United States” (eCornell, 2007).”

Phil B. presents Is it Time to Purchase Bank Foreclosed Properties? « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, “With the increased number of mortgage defaults and decreased real estate values, it may be time to purchase an investment property soon. Exactly how soon is a debatable question, but many experts are guesstimating between the end of 2008 and first quarter of 2009.”

Dax Desai presents 4 China Stock Picks posted at Dax Desai, saying, “4 Great Chinese Stock Picks & 1 Day Trading Pick”

Asset Manager presents Small Company Investing - Scrumping For profits posted at Asset Manager.

gamy presents Is Your Mind Helping or Hurting You ? posted at Mind Think Success.

Save Money presents Step Five to getting Rid of Debt posted at How I Save Money.net.

Robinson Go presents AdSense Psychology posted at The Robinson Go Blog, saying, “Incorporate Psychology into your money generating plans now!”

TheMonthlyPick presents Trading stocks vs buying and holding posted at The Monthly Pick, saying, “Opinion article about investing in the stock market and frequency of trades. References one study from Haas professors and quotes a report from Berkshire Hathaway.”

Logan Flatt, CFA presents How to Get Ahead In America (2nd of a 12-Part Series) posted at PowerWealth.com, saying, “If there is one refusal that has been central to my financial success in America, I would say this is it.”

ChristianPF presents Do I need an Emergency Fund? posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “How an emergency fund can make or break you financially.”

Paul Piotrowski presents So You Have a Desire to be Rich?What To Do Next posted at Inspired Money Maker.

edithyeung presents The Money Series – Steps to Create Passive Income posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

Sutocu presents The Basics to 2000% ROI posted at Your Website Profit.

Dianne M. Buxton presents Global Impact Charity Engages With a Broader Vision posted at manifestingsuccess, saying, “This business’ idea is all encompassing from the individual, to the family, to the business, and to the global impact. No cost to use, profit from your expenses in every way, refer to friends, NPO’s, entrepreneurial children, and those living on fixed incomes. Includes the “re-starting from broke” and other financially traumatized.”

Gley Yahya presents How To Build a Profitable Customer Base posted at Work At Home Start Up Guide, saying, “Do you want to succeed in your home based business? If your answer is yes then lessen to me carefully because what I’m going to reveal is the most kept secret that most of successful marketer won’t talk about. This secret is so simple that anyone can apply it yet it is so powerful that it can turn your business into a success magnet but it’s not easy! You need to work hard to get the results you are after!”

Shawn Edwards presents The Investments That You Know About, but Choose to Ignore | Desty Online posted at Desty Online.

David presents Analyzing the Deal, What are Investors looking for? posted at Gaizer.com, saying, “When investors evaluate the opportunity you present, they will look at the following factors”

Wanda Grindstaff presents Wealth and Freedom - Get Clear on What they Really Mean! posted at Creating Abundant Lifestyles.

Steven Lohrenz presents Characteristics Of Software Projects That Get Done posted at Steven Lohrenz, saying, “For those people who are looking to freelance software or technical development you need to consider these items before your next project.”

Chris Kakaras presents Never Have a Car Payment posted at ChrisKakaras.com.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of wealth building ideas using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Add comment October 18th, 2007


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