I recently spoke with a man who after working over 30 years with a company was told his job was being eliminated. Approaching 60 years old and with plans to retire in a few years, he was not looking forward to beginning a new career. After meeting with his financial advisor, he found out that the investments he previously made had already prepared him for this moment.
This Summer after attending college orientation for our son, Donovan, it hit my wife and I that we will have three children in college this fall! Thankfully with even 3 kids in college, we have managed to navigate college waters without getting buried in debt. Sitting in this orientation, I however realized many other parents and students would not be as fortunate.
I want to share with you the formula for how much you should spend on a home and car. Why JUST home and car? Because 90% of the financial problems we incur are caused by those two decisions and if we can get these two decisions right, we are headed in the right direction!
Merry Christmas!!!! I know I may be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas this year, but I really want you to have just that . . . a Merry Christmas! The alternative is Post-Christmas full of regret ... wishing the debt would just go away for gifts forgotten only two weeks after the holidays! Many of us are still paying off last year’s Christmas debt, but this year can be different. Here are 7 tips for helping you avoid the holiday debt crunch!
I read an article recently which stated investors are coming to my hometown by the droves to purchase houses for investments. The article went on to explain that after purchasing, investors then rent the homes for 30-40% more than it would cost for the individual to own. This is systematically transferring wealth from the city to investors outside of the city.
Knowing your net worth is the starting point to making financial improvements. Not knowing your net worth is like wanting to lose weight without first getting on a scale to see how much you weigh. There is no way of determining that you met your goal without first measuring where you are today.
A recent study stated, 46% of Americans surveyed could not cover a $400 emergency without putting it on a credit card or getting the money from someone else.
Halleluiah! The No Spend Challenge is over! In all seriousness, so many of you have reached out on how The No Spend Challenge has tested you and yet ultimately positively impacted your life. I thought a great way to wrap up this challenge would be to use this post to share our family's results and a few of the lessons we learned in this challenge!
It was after 10 years of marriage, I made my wife cry for the first time. You see, we had over $100,000 in debt ON TOP of a mortgage for a home we could not afford. My wife, Carol, looked at me and said, "Travis, people look at where we live and think we have it made, but I can't even go to Walmart to get basic needs for our family. We are living a lie.”
With just two weeks of the "No Spend Challenge" left, we have found it has been just that, a challenge! We have faced several spending decisions and had to make critical calls on whether things were essential or non-essential.
Every January, my church starts the year with a church-wide fast. Usually, my family joins in with some form of fasting from food. This year we decided we would do a financial fast challenge for the entire month of January.
You may be thinking what extra money? I’m just making it. However a lot of us receive money we didn’t count on sometime throughout the year. Think about the tax refunds, overtime pay, cash gifts, payments from insurance or legal settlements and annual bonuses from work. Many of us receive these unexpected windfalls, only to go out and spend it all. A few months later, we wonder where the money went! Instead of allowing these funds to be absorbed into everyday living and bills, I suggest a proactive approach to dealing with windfalls. I have a Windfall Breakdown we utilize each time we receive "unexpected blessings."
A good friend needed extensive engine work done on his car. He called to ask, “When is it better to buy a new car verses paying for repairs?” If he indeed needed a new car, he also wanted to know if I had any tips for how to begin the car buying process. Specifically, he wanted to know how much should he spend on the new car. Here are the 7 steps I provided & I think they will assist you as well if you are thinking about your next car purchase!
Recently, I had a couple come to me for financial advice. Like many of us, they were spending more money each month than they were bringing home. One question helped me to come to the conclusion that they could significantly increase their monthly take home pay without making any major financial sacrifices.
I was watching this ESPN documentary called "Broke." It was a story that featured professional athletes and their finances. The report stated, “By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players file bankruptcy or are under financial stress.” Their stories were incredible! How could so many highly paid athletes go broke within two years of retiring? It was not just a few but the overwhelming majority.
