5 Essentials To Paying Off Debt

1. Understand the WHY before the HOW

I believe this is the most important step in becoming debt free! In the hundreds of financial coaching sessions that our team has led, it’s amazing how many people do not have a plan for their lives. We ask them the “why” and they stare at us like we’re speaking a different language.

Unfortunately, this is the first time that many of these people have ever seriously thought about what they want to accomplish with their lives. As a result, they are bumbling through life just trying to make it through the day. What a miserable way to live!

I cannot overstate this fact – YOUR LEVEL OF EXPECTATION DETERMINES YOUR LEVEL OF PREPARATION!

2. Calculate your Debt Freedom Date

• Who do you owe?

• How much do you owe?

• What are the payments that you are ACTUALLY making?

You can list these on the Debt Freedom Date Calculator. Now we can calculate your debt freedom date! This date is simply the date that you will be debt free (including and excluding the house).

3. Accelerate your debt elimination

1. Reduce Interest – Many people with substantial consumer debt do not realize that 50% – 75% of their payments are merely going to the lender as interest. This greatly reduces your ability to lower your debt. So, here are a few ways to lower your interest:

• Transfer to a 0% Interest Credit Card (Learn more HERE)

• Call & ask for a lower rate

• Pay on-time

• Establish automatic payments

2. Increase Income – Since we’re all friends here if we’re being completely honest, we all vote for this option, right? But a lot of people don’t realize that there are numerous ways to increase income that are within your hands. Here are a few:

• Pay Raise (see salary.com)

• Tax Refund

• Bonus

• Work Overtime

• Extra Job

• Sell Some Possessions

3. Decrease Outgo – This is an option that is always available to us, but it’s probably not fun. If you can decrease the outgo to other things, you can increase the outgo to liberate your life from debt!

• Create and follow a budget!

• Sell some possessions

4. Use the Debt Snowball Technique 

1. List ALL debts from the smallest balanced owed to the largest.

2. Pay the minimum payment on all debts except the smallest one.

3. Pay as much as you can on the smallest debt.

4. When the smallest debt is eliminated, take the monthly payment you were paying for that debt and add it to the monthly payment you’re making on the second smallest debt.

5. Continue this process with a vengeance until you are debt free!!

5. Establish Accountability

• If married, work together with your spouse. If unmarried, have someone you trust (someone who has won with their money) hold you accountable!

• Plan your spending every single month!

5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money

Do you ever get caught in the cycle of  “see it, want it, and buy it?” Before you spend you haven’t stopped to think through what you’re buying.  Now you not only have a new purchase that’s all yours, but you also have a high monthly payment to go with it.

Let’s overcome that spending habit with these 5 practical questions to ask yourself before spending a substantial amount of money.   Practical questions that will help you truly understand the enormity of the decision, and help you make the decision that is best for you and your family.

Question 1: “Do I Need This?”

Pausing to ask, “Do I need this?”, can prevent a lot of poor spending decisions.   I’m not saying that I never purchase things that are pure “wants” – I am saying that when I ask the key question, I make much smarter overall decisions.

This question becomes a “gatekeeper” of sorts.  Something to help prevent impulsive spending.

BONUS: Wait overnight before answering the question!   It is amazing the clarity that a good night of sleep will bring to a spending decision!

Question 2: “Will This Item INCREASE Or DECREASE In Value?”

Chewing gum goes down in value.   So do cars, 4-wheelers, refrigerators, swimming pools, and clothes.

Businesses can go up in value.   So can houses, land, antiques, mutual funds, company stocks, bonds, and intellectual property (patents, licenses, etc).

Here is what I KNOW: Not all of your purchases can be for items that increase in value, but if ALL of your purchases go down in value – something ain’t right!

BONUS: Find someone you know who is prospering with their investments.   Invite them to lunch (pay for his/her lunch) and ask them to mentor you!   They will probably LOVE IT!

Question 3: “Do I Have The Money To Pay CASH For This Item?”

I know that the day I started asking this question was THE DAY that my family started winning with money.

If I do not have the cash to pay for it, I’m not buying it UNLESS it is a house or an asset that will increase in value (like a business, rental house, etc).   Even then, the answer is still usually “NO!” unless I have all of the money available to pay cash.

Question 4: “Will This Purchase Generate Income For Me Or Take Income Away?”

What an incredible question to ask – and what a difference it will make in the way you think about money!   I used to earn money and then immediately begin pondering which fun item I was going to buy.  I rarely (if ever) thought about the fact that I could use the money to buy in to a small business, purchase stocks and mutual funds, start a small business, or purchase a rental home.

Even more, I did not truly realize the ACTUAL cost of many of the items I had purchased.   I had purchased a new car (my smokin’ hot Chevy Cavalier) and I only thought of the bank loan as my “cost” to purchase.   In actuality, I also added the costs of insurance, property taxes, license tags, maintenance, repairs, and additional gasoline consumption. Not to mention the lost potential to make money with what I was currently sinking into all the bills associated with that car.

Before you spend, just stop and ponder the options available to you to use those resources to generate more income for you in the future.

BONUS: Review your budget to see how much your current possessions are costing you on an ongoing basis.  There are many purchases that are “gifts that keep on giving.”  By looking at things you’ve already purchased, or subscriptions you already have, you can find ways to lower your expenses.

Question 5: “Will This Help Me Achieve My Future Plans, Hopes, And Dreams?”

Without a longer-term perspective, it becomes extremely easy to fall into the trap of living for the minute, and immediately spending every single dime we earn.   As one develops a longer-term perspective, it really helps us recognize that spending all of our money right away will rip our future dreams away from us!

When my family first got started on improving our financial future (Dec 2002), I noticed that we started looking a few months ahead.   Now, eighteen years later, my entire perspective has shifted.   You see, I want to leave a legacy for my children and community.   I want to leave a huge inheritance to my family, church, and others.   My wife and I want to give our children a paid-for college education.   We want to give them a paid-for house when they graduate.   We desire to teach them to manage their finances recognizing that it is not just FOR THEM, it is FOR THEM TO HELP OTHERS!

So Before You Spend…

THINK!  Think about what this big purchase means.  Not just the temporary gratification, but how it will impact you in the long run.

My hope is that by slowing down and asking yourself these questions you will be able to gauge how important a large purchase is to you, and how it will benefit you.

5 Basic Steps To Investing

Investing! This is consistently given as one of the most confusing topics individuals face. Before we begin, you need to assess what investments you currently have. You might be saying, “Joe, I don’t have any investments.” My question to you would be: do you contribute to some type of retirement plan at work, own a home, or own a business? Investing is much more than owning stocks. To start, let’s make a list of all your investments. 

Step 1: Evaluate & Diversify 

Now that you have all your investments listed, let's evaluate to make sure they are diversified. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. This directly relates to investing! A key step when investing is to diversify your investments. For example, you should not put all your money into one company’s stock, instead spread your investments out. By spreading out your investments you greatly lower the risk of your investment.

An easy way for you to diversify is to invest in mutual funds. A mutual fund allows you to purchase a portion of many stocks and bonds with a single share purchase. This purchase automatically diversifies your investments, even though you’ve only bought one share! Also, don’t just think stocks. Invest in a new business or a home that can be rented out. Investing is much more then the stock market. You have a world of things to invest in – real estate, land, new businesses, or even your own business!

Step 2: Automate Your Investments

Make your investments automatic! Your bank account can be set up to auto-draft money into different investment plans (401k or a child’s 529 college savings plan).

When your investments are automated, it prevents you from forgetting to transfer money each month. It also eliminates the possibility of using that money for splurge purchases. This is awesome for those of us who are highly susceptible to spend any and all extra money! You’ll also see your net worth increase every single month!

Step 3: Get the Free Money 

Yes, I said FREE money. Many employers will match a portion of your contributions into a self-directed retirement plan! I encourage you to go to your human resource department and sign up for the retirement plan. Start investing money into it immediately! Contribute enough money to obtain the entire employer match. Remember, this is really just FREE money!

Step 4: Unleash the Power of Compound Interest

Have you ever heard the saying, “My money is working for me”? This is exactly what compound interest does for you! When you utilize the power of compound interest, you’re allowing the interest you’re making to also earn interest.

For example, let’s say we have $100 in an investment account that grew to $105 in one year. This is the equivalent of 5% interest. Now suppose the $105 is left alone for another year and continues to grow at a rate of 5%. Will it be paid another $5 interest when the second year is up? No! It will be paid $5.25 because interest was received on $105 – not just $100. Interest earning interest!

Remember,  you are only investing $100 each month! After 40 years, you’ve only invested $48,000 BUT your account balance is $1,176,477! This means that $1,128,477 is the interest you have gained!

Now do you see the POWER of compound interest?

Step 5: Continue to Learn about Practical Investing Opportunities

There are so many different types of investment opportunities, so I’ve broken down a few of them.

Stocks – When you own stock in a company, you technically become a part owner of that company. You have some claim to the assets and earnings of the company. Stocks are foundational to most investment portfolios. They are known to be very volatile in the short term but have historically outperformed other investments in the long run. 

Bonds – A bond is a large debt owed by a company, government, or even a school, where the borrowing institution has agreed to repay an established amount of interest payments for a set period of time. When this time expires, the borrower then returns all of the principal back to the lender(s). Bonds can vary in maturity times anywhere from 1 year to 30 years. I like to think of my personal residence as a bond investment. A bond is generally less risky.

Mutual Funds & Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) – Mutual funds and ETFs let you accumulate a wide variety of investments that couldn’t normally obtain without consuming large amounts of time and money. Mutual funds and ETFs are funded “mutually” by you, me and millions of our closest friends. Our money is pooled together and then used by the “mutual fund managers” to invest in hundreds of other company stocks, bonds, and other sorts of investments. Usually, mutual funds and ETFs have specific charters that direct their investments. Our mutual fund might only focus on established companies in the USA while another could focus on investing in up-and-coming companies in third world countries.

Other Investing Opportunities – People so often hold themselves to these common types of investing and never branch out. Investing opportunities are all around you! You can invest in a small home and rent it out. You could invest in small businesses in your community. When you are investing, you can think outside the box. Some of the greatest returns can be found when investing in unorthodox ventures.

Next Steps

• Review your investments and know what you are invested in

• Start to think OUTSIDE of the stock market when you’re investing

• Start investing!

Sustain Good Financial Decisions: Automate Your Banking

We’ve all had moments where we have firmly stated our resolve to do something different with our money. Usually, the outburst follows a negative financial outcome. Perhaps we’ve overspent on our vacation. Maybe we have the starting realization that there is no money in the college fund for our high school senior. It could be that we’ve dipped into the overdraft account again. Whatever the case may be, it causes us to commit to better financial management.

Here are some common statements people make in these moments:

• “I’m going to start preparing a written budget each month.”

• “I’m increasing my contributions to the retirement plan.”

• “Let’s open a 529 college savings plan and begin making monthly contributions.”

• “I’m cutting up the credit cards.”

There is just one problem with each of these statements: saying it doesn’t make it true.

For every statement and moment where we commit to better financial decisions, one must actually do the work to follow through. And, my friends, we all know that it is truly hard work. Life is so busy. We’re exhausted. Plus, many of these decisions require information and knowledge we may not currently possess. This is a recipe for failure to follow through on really good financial decisions.

And we’ve all been there, haven’t we?

Let’s flip the script, and put in place some “best practices” that can really help us sustain these good financial decisions so that we can reap the benefits they can provide us: fully funded lives, dreams accomplished, and freedom to live generously.

Sustain Good Financial Decisions – AUTOMATE

Many good financial decisions can be followed through with automation! This is perhaps the easiest and best tip possible because it is literally a “set it and forget it” solution that ensures your financial decision is put into practice. If there is any possible way to automate your decision, do it.

Here are some great examples of using automation:

• Committed to save money every month for the annual family vacation? Set up automatic drafts from your bill paying account to your savings account.

• Want to help your child with college expenses? Open a 529 college savings account and establish automatic drafts.

• Ready to up your retirement investments? Log in to your 401k (or similar RSP) account and adjust the automatic contribution.

• Want to ensure your retirement money is put to work right away instead of sitting in a savings or money market account? Establish automatic investment selections.

• Want to ensure all of your bills are paid on time? Automate every single bill payment. As an added bonus, you will spend far less time paying bills!

• Want to ensure your retirement investments become more secure as you approach retirement? Choose a targeted retirement date investment fund that will automatically become less risky as you near retirement.

What good financial decisions have you been making that could leverage the power of automation to ensure they are sustained into the future?

5 Easy Steps to Budgeting

One of the most common questions I get asked is, “How do I budget?” Many people have tried budgets…and failed! That leaves people frustrated and in turn, they say they will NEVER use a budget again.

Here are some things people equate with budgets: Restricting. Controlling. No Fun. Not Worth It…

In reality, a budget is nothing more than telling your money where to go. 

Here are 5 easy steps to budgeting:

STEP ONE:  Decide to decide
Until you decide that budgeting is crucial to taking your finances to the next level, you will always find a way to avoid this “unsavory” task. The very day that Jenn and I started budgeting was the very day that we started WINNING WITH MONEY! From this moment on, decide to live differently. Decide to not live paycheck-to-paycheck and in debt.

Decide to decide!

STEP TWO: Determine the income (take-home pay) you will receive during the NEXT month
The key work in Step Two is “NEXT”. Preparing a budget for money you’ve already spent is not very fruitful. A budget must be completed BEFORE the month begins and BEFORE the money ever even ARRIVES!

The best way to stop saying, “I can’t believe I spent my money that way” and “I wish I could have that money back” is to develop a spending plan BEFORE the money is received that month!

STEP THREE:  Enter all of your expenses for the NEXT month
This is where we get to actually spend our money on paper! So we have already determined our income for next month, now it is time to actually spend the money BEFORE the month arrives! The absolute best way I have found to input my expenses is to use real, actual expenses that will happen. NOT averages for the year. If you don’t know the actual cost, enter an educated guess based on recent spending.

If the expenses are not relevant to the next month, it is highly possible that you will consider the budget irrelevant for the next month!!

STEP FOUR:  INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO

YOUR INCOME IS LIMITED! If you bring home $3,000 during the next month and spend $3,208, your spending plan will not work! Where will the extra $208 come from? It will have to come from savings OR from debt – usually in the form of a credit card. If you spend more than you make, no matter how much you make, you WILL have to make that up somehow!

STEP FIVE:  Follow the budget!

Now you know all the steps. You have a spending plan for next month. Now is the time to live it. YOU told your money where to go now YOU make sure it goes there!

I’ve been able to see people completely break free of debt. I have seen people pay off their mortgages! I have seen marriages restored! I have seen the hopeless become hopeful!

Following a budget is about more than money. It’s about becoming FREE! Not being held by the chains of debt and despair. You will become financially free if you stick to a budget. This is a decision you will not regret.

Why not pull up a free budgeting tool and get started winning with your money today?

If you get paid monthly or have at least one month of expenses in the bank, use our Monthly Budget Form. If you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, use the Weekly Budget Form.

If you would like to learn more about how to budget, check out my book, I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. Click HERE to order!   

0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards

Do you carry a balance on your credit card from month to month? If so, you are likely paying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in interest year after year. You should consider transferring your balance to a 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card.

A 0% balance transfer credit card provides a way to eliminate credit card debt very quickly and can provide HUGE savings over keeping a balance on a high-interest card.

Many people look at 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card offers and wonder, “What’s the catch?” Is the interest rate really 0%? 

The answer is, “YES!” Many of these offers do, however, have a small transfer fee – usually around 3%. 

Example:

Suppose you transfer a balance of $5,000 from a card that has a 21.99% interest rate. You apply for a 0% balance transfer credit card. This offer comes with a 3% balance transfer fee, but it also provides 0% for 18 months.

Upon acceptance of your application, the 3% balance transfer fee ($150) will be applied to your balance on the new credit account making your total balance owed equal $5,150 ($5,000 balance that was transferred PLUS the $150 balance transfer fee).

Now comes the good part! You now owe 0% interest for the 18-month period – as long as you make all of your payments on time, of course. 

Let’s take a look at cost if you did not switch to the 0% balance transfer card. Assuming you made no additional charges and paid only the minimum payment due each month, you would have paid $1,162.70 in interest over the 18-month period!!

By taking 15 minutes to do a little research and apply for a 0% interest card, you can eliminate hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest and accelerate your debt freedom date.

20/20 MONEY

From Joe:

In all of my live events, I ask this question: “How many of you do not have your plans, hopes, and dreams written down?” Without exception, more than half of the people raise their hands.

After experiencing this same response for more than ten years, I realized that many people really struggle with having a clear vision for their lives. As a result, it is difficult for them to have clarity for their finances. I wanted to help people have 20/20 vision for their lives and their money. Thus the name of the book “20/20 MONEY".

Wouldn’t it be appropriate as we enter into the year 2020, that we would have 20/20 vision for our lives and money? What a great time to consider the plan God has for each of us!

This book has already been a huge help to me! As I was writing it, I stole away with my bride for a few days to work through Chapter 5: “22 Questions for Clarifying Your Fully Funded Life”. These challenging questions helped prompt a lot of great conversation for us – even as we are in our 23rd year of marriage!

Some lessons I’ve learned over the past 10 years

A Note from Joe -

We’re celebrating the 10-year milestone with I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. I’ve spent some time reflecting on some key lessons I’ve learned along the way, and I thought I would share them with you.

Lessons Learned:

1. Ten years is a long time: Ten years ago, Jenn and I had one child and were told we couldn’t have any more. Now we have three kiddos. Back when we went full-time, we had a daughter in third grade. Now, she’s a junior in college and we have another in fourth grade and our youngest is in Kindergarten. We had one book in print back then. Now, I have been blessed to write and publish three more. I wonder what the next ten years will bring?

2. Great team members make the work so much easier: Without Matt, Megan, David, Caroline, Craig, Chad, Brian, and Ken along with all of the people who’ve helped along the way – like Paul, Mark, Greg, Rachel, Keri, Casey, Ashley, and Jessica, we wouldn’t be able to help so many people. I’m grateful for everything each and every team member has brought to the table – those who journeyed with me all along the way as well as those who served for a season.

3. Innovation is not an option: Some things that worked ten years ago do not work anymore. Back then, social media was in its infancy. Now it is a central part of the way we communicate with people, share successes, and tackle challenges. Back then, receiving an email was still a special thing. Now, we have special email addresses for all the junk and spam email. Video lessons used to be available only via DVD. Now, they have to be on-demand and on-line, or they’re almost irrelevant! Our tools were in Excel format only. Now they are on our app and on Google Drive.

4. Passion alone isn’t enough: When you begin with a dream, passion is excellent fuel to initiative movement toward the goal. However, passion alone isn’t enough to help you continue to move forward. It will take relationships, a great team, lots of money, and a ton of exhausting work. For me, it has involved hundreds of flights, hotel stays, and car rentals. Any of you who are road warriors know just how draining this can be! I’ve written dozens of newspaper articles, hundreds of blog posts, penned several ebooks, and managed to author four books. I have found it very important to continue to meet one-on-one with people and help them with their specific financial issues because it always reminds me of the “why” behind everything we do.

5. This work becomes more and more rewarding: One of the great blessings of being able to last ten years full-time is being able to see the long term impact of our work. It takes some time for some financial principles to pay off. A person can choose to pursue debt freedom, but it can take many months or even years to achieve Rung #4 of the ladder. For a person who begins to aggressively pay off their house, it can take seven to ten years. Compound interest doesn’t seem very powerful in the first decade of investing, but then all of that seed money will begin to escalate very quickly. We’re seeing that just beginning to happen in so many people’s lives right now. There’s nothing greater than seeing a person climb the IWBNIN Ladder and begin living their fully funded life!

Learn how to make your money behave and begin to climb the ladder to financial success.

Learn how to leverage financial oxen to fund the biggest dreams of your life.

The perfect resource for young people as they embark on their own money journey

A Special Note to Say Thank You

A Note from Joe:

It was the summer of 2009. The Great Recession was underway, and it was clear that America was hurting financially. That’s when I decided to leave the safety and security of a full-time job with benefits (when lots of people had already lost theirs!) and travel across the nation speaking and teaching about money to try and help people.

Do you remember just how tough it was back then?! Millions had lost income, were struggling with high debt levels, and many people had watched helplessly as their home lost more than half of its value.

That was TEN YEARS ago, and what an amazing journey it has been! You’re receiving this note today because you’ve been a part of it. Perhaps you downloaded one of our free tools, attended one of our live events, or you’ve received one-on-one financial coaching training from our team. Whether we’ve had a small or large impact on your money journey, I want you to hear just how thankful I am that you’ve allowed me and my team to be a part of it.

Knowing most small businesses fail in the first 18 months (80% of them do!) and even fewer last five years (only 10% of them make it), we’re going to take a few days to celebrate!

Learn how to make your money behave and begin to climb the ladder to financial success.

Learn how to leverage financial oxen to fund the biggest dreams of your life.

The perfect resource for young people as they embark on their own money journey

Here’s to increased financial success, expanded generosity, and more dreams being accomplished in your life!

- Joe
Founder, I Was Broke. Now I’m Not.

Change Your Mindset On Budgets

What thoughts or emotions come to mind when you think about creating a budget? Frustrating? Horrible? Painful? I’d rather go to the dentist for a root canal? This used to be my mindset on budgeting so I completely understand every negative emotion that you feel. However, when I decided to change my financial future I knew that the key to this was a budget. In order to actually create a budget and follow through with it, I had to change how I viewed a budget and I’m here to tell you that you can too.

If you want to change your mindset on budgeting you first have to realize what a budget really does. It is not meant to be restrictive or remind you that there is never enough. What a budget really does is the opposite. A budget allows you to actually decide where it wants to go instead of wondering where it went! This is HUGE! A budget gives you control. A budget allows you to manage your money and ultimately fund dreams. I don’t know about you but I would much rather fund my dreams instead of going to the dentist for a root canal.

Instead of looking at a budget as a worthless process, start to think about what a budget can do for you. Write down your dreams. Do they cost money? How are you going to get that money? A budget. Once you start looking at a budget as a way to make your dreams a reality, any negative thoughts will become a thing of the past.

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401(k)'s Explained

I’m sure by this point you know it is very important to save into a retirement account so that at one point you can stop working. But this can be confusing to navigate when you are unsure of what the different accounts are and how they work. The numbers and letters are thrown around so often it can be easy to feel like you should just KNOW what everything means. But what exactly is a 401(k)? 

Simply put, a 401(k) is a retirement savings plan that comes from Section 401 part k of the IRS tax code. It is what is known as a “pre-tax” investment which means that generally you are able to deduct annual contributions on your taxes each year. Once the money is in the account, it grows tax-free until you withdraw the money. At that point, you will have to pay taxes on your initial investment and also any growth that has accumulated. 

If your employer has a 401(k) available for you to invest in, most times they will also offer a match up to a certain percentage. For example, some employers may match dollar for dollar up to 6%. So if you invest 6% of your paycheck into your 401(k), your employer will match that 6%. That’s FREE money! 

401(k)’s can be a fantastic vehicle to accumulate money for retirement. While it can be confusing with so many different types of accounts the key is to get started saving and never turn back! 

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How Interest Rates Work

I’m sure you have seen interest rates on a variety of different credit cards, car loans, student loans or other lines of credit. But what do these numbers mean? An interest rate is simply what you are being charged on a loan. For example, if you take out a $25,000 car loan at 5% interest, you will not only owe the original $25,000, but you will also owe an additional $1,250 in interest over the life of the loan. 

Alternatively, interest can work in your favor and tell you how much you will be paid on your money. Different savings accounts, CD’s and investment vehicles tell you exactly how much interest you will be paid by putting your money in that specific account. 

If you are looking to find out how you can get interest working in your favor, check out the list of online banks and investment vehicles that we recommend HERE on our website. 

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How Do Payday Loans Work?

I have two words when it comes to payday loans: RIP OFF! This type of lending is what I would classify as TRBL debt. T-R-B-L. Terrible. This type of lending is awful, and it should be illegal! So how do these loans work exactly? 

First, these businesses set themselves up in sections of town where people have little money and little education. They prey on people who are in a financial bind and offer small loans of 200 or 300 dollars and then charge exorbitant amounts of interest. I have seen some interest rates as high as 782%! 

As if paying these ridiculously high-interest rates wasn’t enough, these companies also force people to refinance these loans as often as every two weeks. This means that people are being continuously charged refinance fees on top of the crazy interest rates! Do you agree with me now? This type of lending should be illegal! 

No matter how bad you think your financial situation is, I strongly urge you, do NOT fall victim to a payday loan. This type of lending is designed to trap you into a situation that you literally cannot win! Don’t let this happen to you! 

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Have A Debt-Free Vacation With This Tool

Are you going to take a vacation this year? My guess is that your answer is YES. You have probably already decided when and where you want to go and have started dreaming about it. Now, how are you going to fund this vacation you’ve dreamed up? If you start planning now, you could fund it with cash! 

By planning ahead of time, you can more accurately see just how much each aspect of your vacation will cost. You can anticipate travel, gas, lodging, food, entertainment and other expenses. Once you know how much your vacation is expected to cost, you can save money ahead of time! 

We recommend using our Mini-Budget Tool to plan your vacation spending. You can really plan your vacation three different ways to see different scenarios and how they affect your bottom line. If you spend your money on paper, you can stay within budget during the trip. 

Setting a budget and planning ahead of time is key to having a debt-free vacation. And I guarantee you, a debt-free vacation is a million times better than the alternative. You can have all the fun with your family without the stress of the incoming credit card bill. 

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Want more tips like this one?  Subscribe to the Monday Money Tip Podcast HERE.

How Much House Can I Afford?

Are you looking to purchase a home in 2019? Many people buy a house outside of their price range and end up in a huge financial mess. This doesn’t have to be you! Before you get ready to purchase a house, you should check out our Mortgage Payment Calculator to help you decide how much house you can really afford. 

Before you purchase a house, you should consider a couple of things:

• How much should you spend on housing? Generally speaking, you should spend about 25% of your take home pay on housing. This amount can change depending on the amount of debt you carry. If you have no debt, you can likely accommodate up to 33% of your take home pay on housing. If you have a high amount of debt, you should probably only spend about 18-20% of your take home pay on housing. 

• How much of a down payment should you have? You should put down AT LEAST 5% down on a house. 

• How much should you borrow to buy a house? Generally, you could spend between two to three times your annual income on a home. This means if you make $75,000 a year, your mortgage should range from $150,000 to $225,000. 

Once you have this calculator pulled up, all you have to do is enter the expected interest rate, the number of months of the mortgage period and the amount of the expected loan. You can use estimates to calculate potential mortgage payments. You can then use this number to help you decide how large of a mortgage payment your budget can really accommodate. 

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Debt Freedom Date Calculator

Are you ready to pay off some serious debt? To say “goodbye” to the car payment, Sallie Mae and credit cards? If you said yes, the Debt Freedom Date Calculator found HERE on our website can really help you. This tool combined with the Debt Snowball Technique is how I became debt free and you can too! 

Step One: Identify All Debts Owed (Lender, Amount Owed, Monthly Payment)

Make sure you list out all of the debts that you owe and how much each one is. You can check your credit report just to double check that you have no outstanding debts that you may have forgotten about. 

Step Two: Sort Debts By Amount Owed (Smallest to Largest)

List your debts out by sorting the debts from smallest to largest by the amount owed. Make sure you have sorted by the amount owed and not the payment amount. 

Step Three: Pay Minimum Payments on All Debts, Except The Smallest Debt

Make the minimum payment on all of the debts except the smallest one. It can be very tempting to start to attack your credit card bills or car payment but if that is not the smallest amount you owe, make minimum payments for now. 

Step Four: Apply Any Extra Money to Smallest Debt

If you have leftover money in your budget, apply that to the smallest debt that you owe. The quicker you can see a victory, the more effective this technique will be! 

Step Five: When Smallest Debt is Eliminated, Add Its Monthly Payment to Next Smallest Debt

Once you have paid off the smallest debt, take the payment you were allocating towards it, and apply it to your next smallest debt. That way, as you pay off more and more debts, you’re creating a debt snowball! 

If you would like more information on this topic, check out this quick YouTube video HERE where I explain the technique and give visual examples. 

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Debt Payoff Spectaculars

Did you make a resolution this year to finally off that debt that has been hanging over your head? Once that debt is gone, that payment will be freed up for you to start making progress towards your plans, hopes and dreams. If you need a visual tool that can help you gain traction in your debt freedom journey, you should check out our Debt Payoff Spectaculars found HERE on our website. 

These spectaculars are incredibly easy to use and can give you a visual representation of your debt being paid off. All you have to do is take the amount of debt you owe, and divide that by the number of squares on the payoff spectacular. This will give you the amount of debt that each square represents. Each time you make a payment in that amount, color off a square! 

While it may sound simple, there is something cathartic about visually marking that debt out of your life. If you’re paying off a truck, you can physically see the amount of that truck that you now own and you will find yourself wanting to color more and more squares. You might even go crazy and adjust your budget to cut your spending and allocate more towards debt! 

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Want more tips like this one?  Subscribe to the Monday Money Tip Podcast HERE.

Known, Upcoming Non-Monthly Expenses Calculator

Have you ever prepared a budget and faithfully followed it only to have it crushed in the middle of the month because of an expense you forgot about? Does Christmas seem to creep up on you every year? Have you had to suddenly replace the tires on your car? Chances are, you answered yes to at least one of these questions. 

These budget busters are called “Known, Upcoming Non-Monthly Expenses.” The reason these expenses get forgotten is because they are non-monthly so they tend to be pushed to the back of the mind until the bill suddenly comes in the mail. But when they do finally appear, they can create a financial emergency causing you to either break your budget or go into debt. 

Think about what non-monthly expenses you know will come up throughout the year.

Here are a couple of common expenses that people have: 

1. Car tires need to be replaced 

2. Heating & Air goes out 

3. Christmas 

4. Vacation

5. Life insurance premium

6. Property taxes 

7. Health Insurance Deductible 

Once you have these expenses listed out, you can plan to save monthly for them in your regular budget. Check out our Known, Upcoming Non-Monthly Expenses Calculator to do this with ease. Below is an example of the calculator in action: 

By knowing what these expenses are and saving for them monthly, you’ll no longer have to “come up” with the money when the bill arrives. You will simply be able to pay the bill in cash. A cool feature of this tool is that not only does it calculate what you would need to save per month, but it also calculates the amount based on different pay frequencies. If you get paid twice per month, you would need to save $289.58 out of each paycheck. For a bi-weekly frequency, you would save $267.31. Regardless of how often you get paid, you can save accordingly and have the money available when you need it. 

Tips for using the tool: 

• Be sure to recalculate your monthly savings number at least once per year. 

• Don’t forget more long-term expenses such as college, weddings, vehicle replacement, and major home renovations. 

• Make your savings for these expenses AUTOMATIC by establishing an auto-draft. 

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Want more tips like this one?  Subscribe to the Monday Money Tip Podcast HERE.

Set Financial Goals For Next Year

As we move closer and closer to a new year, I’m sure many of you are considering the goals you want to accomplish in the next. I know I am! As you think about your goals, I would encourage you to also set financial goals that you can aim to achieve next year. You should consider setting financial goals for the following categories: 

Earnings/Income Goal: Set a goal for how much money you want to earn this next year. The more valuable you can be in your career, the more money you can bring home to your family. 

Giving Goal: How generous do you want to be this upcoming year? Do you want to give more to your church or have different charities you would like to support? Set a goal for how much money you want to be able to give away next year so you can be intentionally generous. 

Saving Goal: How much money do you want to put aside in savings? Do you want to have a Fully Funded emergency savings? Do you need to start saving for a new vehicle? You could even get ahead of the game and start saving for Christmas next year in January! How awesome would it be to have a full Christmas fund by September of next year? You should set a savings goal to get ahead of expenses that will pop up. 

Investing Goal: Do you want to increase the amount that you contribute to your retirement fund? We have never heard anyone say “I have saved too much for retirement”. Decide how much money you want to start putting away in investment accounts for the future. 

Debt Elimination Goal: Are there any debts that you want to see leave your life for good? Is there a medical bill you need to pay off? Are you ready to break up with Sallie Mae? I remember when debts left my life and it was a great feeling. Make sure you have set a goal for how much debt you want to be rid of by the end of next year and never look back! 

Once you have decided on the goals you want to accomplish, write them down! When you physically write something down you are way more likely to actually do it! How awesome would it be if you could end next year being more generous with more income, more money in the bank, more of your money working for you, AND less debt? Think about your goals, write them down, then make it happen. 

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Want more tips like this one?  Subscribe to the Monday Money Tip Podcast HERE.

How to Have A Debt Free Christmas

What if I told you that you don’t have to go into debt Christmas shopping this year? That you can buy your gifts IN CASH and can avoid those dreaded credit card bills in January? Can you guess how you accomplish this? That’s right, a budget. 

Christmas is a known, upcoming, non-monthly expense. That means that we know that Christmas comes on the same day every, single year and we should plan for it accordingly! In the Sangl household, we do this by saving a little bit for Christmas each month. 

First, we decide how much we want to spend on Christmas altogether. Then, we create a list of every person or organization that we’re planning on buying a gift for and decide how much we plan to spend on each person. All that’s left to do is make that budget equal EXACTLY ZERO. Once you have your plan put together, you can do your Christmas shopping guilt-free!   

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For more tips on how to have a debt-free Christmas, check out our full episode of the Monday Money Tip Podcast HERE.