I can't wait to carry the crusade to Wilmington, NC this weekend!

I will be speaking during the Sunday morning services of Lifepoint Church - Pastor Jeff Kapusta

They are finishing a series called "ING - A Financial Series" and you can listen to the iTunes podcast by clicking HERE.

On Sunday afternoon, I will be conducting the Financial Learning Experience!  This is a two-hour, practical, HOW-TO, LIFE-CHANGING experience!  There is one thing I do know about this class - it is changing lives!!!  That FIRES ME UP!

The crusade is also coming to Peachtree Community Church - Pastor David Reid in Villa Rica, Georgia two weekends from now (December 9th)!  It is part of the "Money For Dummies" personal finance series!  I LOVE IT!

Interested in having Joe carry the crusade and the Financial Learning Experience to your church or business?  Contact Joe by clicking HERE!

My blog post about Wants <==> Needs a couple of weeks ago really generated quite a response, and it has been interesting to receive all of your feedback on the steps that Jenn and I are taking to eliminate our home mortgage.

If you recall, we are considering eliminating/reducing our spending on:

• Cable TV
• Spending Money
• Babysitting Money
• Internet
• Entertainment Money
• Gasoline Money
• Christmas Money

Well, here is an update to our discussion.

• Cable/Internet  I was spending $126/month on my stupid cable and internet bill.  That is ridiculous!!!  After forty minutes of phone conversation and talking to six representatives (yes I counted), I have been able to reduce to basic cable and basic internet for $34/month.  That is a savings of $92/month!  Annually, that is a savings of $1,104 and it will allow us to color in over 15 extra squares on the Sangl Family Home Pay-Off Spectacular PER YEAR!
• Gasoline Money We are starting to take our lunch to the crusade instead of going home.  This allows us to save 12 miles of driving each day.  This will save us around $36/month!  Annually, that is a savings of $432 and it will allow us to color in nearly 6 extra squares on the Sangl Family Home Pay-Off Spectacular PER YEAR!
• Babysitting, Entertainment, Spending, and Christmas Money are all on the docket for this month's spending discussion.  PRAY that this goes well!

As I have routinely said throughout my life - Thoughts and talk without action is mere babble!

We are taking ACTION to destroy this stupid mortgage!

I welcome any money saving tips you may have!

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As I have helped people prepare hundreds of budgets, I realize that debt is sometimes hidden from people.

Let me give you an example.

One of the first things I ask when helping a person prepare a written budget is "How much is your take-home pay?

They tell me a number, and we start applying the famous equation:  INCOME - OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO

Everything is proceeding smoothly until we get to the debt column.  The "revealing" of the hidden debt happens here.

The statement is made, "I have a 401(k) loan, but it is taken out of my paycheck.  Should we include it here?"

The 401(k) loan is taken from their paycheck before it ever gets to them.  Ever hear the saying, "Out of sight.  Out of mind."?

I usually adjust the "Take-Home Pay" by the loan payment amount and then include the payment in the debt column.

Here are some common "Hidden Debts" that I see:

• 401(k) loans
• Overdraft loans
• Car payments
• Company loans

These hidden loans are "Out of sight.  Out of mind."  Yet they are eroding one's ability to win financially.

Expose the debts to daylight and ATTACK them! 

Oh, by the way, you ought to list out all of your paycheck deductions and see how much you are paying annually for each one.  When you see how much you are paying in taxes, it will ensure that you vote every single time you have the opportunity!!!

You can start your written spending plan by using one of the FREE easy-to-use forms on the TOOLS page. 

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About eight weeks ago and after nearly two years of blogging, I finally established the ability to track the number of downloads for individual forms.

Sometime this week, the Monthly Budget Form (Excel) will be downloaded for the 1,000th time during that eight week period!

That is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!  I put these tools on my web page for FREE because I wanted to help people start winning with money, and it is working!!!

How do I know that it is working?  Read some of the success stories HERE.

Are you one of the many who have started using the budget forms to put together a spending plan that works?  Share your success story HERE!

Maybe you have been on the fringe reading the writings of this lunatic named Joe Sangl.  Is today the day that you will put together a spending plan that works?  Click on TOOLS at the top of the page to start your journey to financial freedom!

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I remember the days that I used credit cards to pay for Christmas.

There were two key reasons that I used these fabulous credit cards:

1. I did not save money for Christmas during the year
2. I overspent on Christmas presents

I solved #1 by creating a Christmas escrow account.

Let's say that I wanted to spend $1,000 for Christmas.  By saving $83.33 each month, I magically have $1,000 when Christmas arrives!   This takes away a lot of stress, and I highly recommend it!  You can read more about creating your own escrow account by clicking HERE.

I solved #2 by putting together a written plan for my Christmas shopping.  I pulled up a copy of the Mini-Budget Form (Excel) and entered the names of those I am shopping for this Christmas.

At the top of the form, I entered $1,000 for the "Cash Budgeted".

I then wrote in the amount of money that I plan to spend for each person on the list.

Applying my secret formula for financial success, INCOME - OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO, I spend the $1,000 to EXACTLY ZERO.

By pulling out cash for the Christmas Shopping, I can ensure that I will not overspend!

I am FIRED UP by all of the success stories that readers are sharing via the "Success Stories" link!  Have you shared your successes - both large and small?  You can do so by clicking on SUCCESS STORIES on the sidebar or by clicking HERE!

This morning I am going to go Christmas shopping.

I will join the masses of people who are engaging in one of America's great events - buying stuff.

I get to shop for Jenn (my wife) and that is it.  My bride woke up this morning at 4:45AM to go shopping, and she has the list for everyone else.  I am thankful that we save for Christmas every single month of the year as it really makes Christmas more fun when I am not worried about spending money that we don't have!

I was handed an updated "Wish List" from Jenn last night.  The items on it now exceed the budgeted amount by at least five times!  I really need help from The Saving Freak to show me a frugal way to increase the purchasing power of my Christmas shopping money!

I also get to take my daughter Christmas shopping with me.  She has a few people on her list, and I love watching her shop!

Perhaps while I am out and about I will pick up a Clay Aiken Christmas album for Perry this year!

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"I saved $3,000 when I bought this new car!"

"I saved $250 when I bought this new TV!"

"I saved $200 when I bought this new computer!" 

I am sure that you have heard people say this.  You have probably said this.  I know that I used to say this a lot!

The FACT is that - I have never seen anyone save money by spending money!

I have seen them spend less money, but I have never seen them save money.

People want to believe that they are getting a great deal, AND they know that they should be saving money.  Marketers are genius to use the phrase "Save money by buying today!" 

I will probably use this phrase when my book is released.  I will say … "Save $3 by purchasing today!" 

I guess there is one way to kill my statement.  That is to take the money that you did not spend and actually save it!!!  Like physically putting the money into a savings account where it can gain interest.  That would certainly put a hole in my rant!

I really like saving my emergency fund money in my ING Direct account and receiving 4.2% interest (it's current interest rate)!

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It was only a matter of time before someone did it, but K-Mart decided to remain OPEN on Thanksgiving Day.  I don't know about you, but I enjoy hanging out with my family during the holidays.  I don't believe I will go over to K-Mart today.

Anyway, my family is among those who join with the crazies on the day following Christmas.

As I went through the ads in the paper, I see that JC Penney has coupon for $10 off any purchase of $50 or more and a coupon for $15 off any purchase of $75 or more.  You can click HERE to view/print the coupons (Click on "View Coupons").  They will also give you a WAKE-UP CALL to ensure you get up in time!  THAT is funny!

Wal-Mart has a great deal on a Garmin GPS unit for only $128.88 - I suspect these will leave VERY quickly.

Best Buy has a TomTom GPS unit for only $119.99 - These WILL leave very quickly.  The details say you must have a ticket.  To get a ticket, you have to stand in line.  Starting at 3:00AM, Best Buy employees will start handing out tickets.  I am NOT that crazy.

I think the bottom line for me is that I will be shopping on Friday, but I won't AWAKE by the time many of the so-called doorbusters are sold.  That's OK.  I WILL go shopping with a written spending plan.  I know I won't go over budget because I have the plan.  I used the Mini-Budget (you can get your copy HERE) to develop the plan.

Have a great Thanksgiving Day!

It is unbelievable to see that today is post number 500!!!

I thought I would celebrate it by sharing some love with my fellow personal finance bloggers!

My Sangl Family Home Pay-Off Spectacular was featured in numerous blogs over the past week - resulting in a tremendous amount of web traffic to www.JosephSangl.com!

• www.MyMoneyBlog.com linked last Sunday
• www.CarnivalOfDebtReduction.com linked today!
• www.Moolanomy.com linked yesterday!

Thanks for the links!

And to the readers of www.JosephSangl.com - THANK YOU!  I am FIRED UP just thinking about what this next year holds!

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Today, I proudly introduce a new feature of www.JosephSangl.com - Success Stories!

Beginning today, there will be a link on the sidebar that links to this post.  Why?  Because this is THE SPOT where you can tell the entire www.JosephSangl.com community about your financial successes - both great and small!

Did you save money on car insurance?  We want to hear about it!

Did you try out cash envelopes and save money at the grocery store?  We want to hear about it!

Did you put together your first-ever monthly budget and actually follow it?  We want to hear about it!

I want to hear your stories!  We all want to hear your stories!  Let's see if we can get 1,000 success stories by the end of the year!

I am going to list one of my recent success stories first!  Who's next?

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