Rob Singleton, pastor of Southbrook Church in Weddington, NC (Charlotte), is giving away a copy of my book to the person with the best "funniest/dumbest financial decision you ever made" story.  There are LOTS of great stories that are there right now - it is worth the visit to read them!

You can click HERE to read his post, read others' stories, and share your own story!  You might just win the book!

You can order your own copy of I Was Broke. Now I'm Not HERE.

Welcome to the latest series at www.JoeSangl.com - Financial Software!

One of the keys to maximizing your financial potential is to GET ORGANIZED.  Organization helps in so many ways.  It helps ensure that bills are paid on time, helps you locate a financial record swiftly, and allows you to focus on "doing" instead of "searching".

I am a huge fan of financial software, and in this series I will be reviewing different types of software that is available.

I personally use Microsoft's Money Software.  Microsoft recently changed the name of their Microsoft Money software to Microsoft Money Plus.

I have used Microsoft Money software since 2000.

The top reasons I use this software are:

• Ease of use  Above everything else, financial software needs to be straight-forward and easy to use.  Microsoft Money is exactly that for me.
• Multiple Accounts  I can manage multiple bank accounts and investment accounts within the same program
• Reports It has tons of built-in reports that allow me to see where my money is going!
• I always know exactly how much money is in all of my accounts!  This alone is worth the entire cost.  I know my balance to the exact penny, and I know if a transaction has cleared the bank or not.
• When I earn or spend money, I am able to categorize the transaction.  For instance, when I pull out money for my cash envelopes, I am able to split the transaction into multiple categories.  Let's say I pull out $600.  I can split the cash withdrawal into the different categories I will use the money for - $300 for groceries, $100 for clothes, $100 for spending money, and $100 for restaurants.

In the next part of this series, I will share how I use Microsoft Money to better manage my money.

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I am FIRED UP to announce some additional dates/locations for the Financial Learning Experience and Financial Freedom Experience!

The Financial Learning Experience will be at:

February 17, 2008  Pine Ridge Church  Burlington, NC

March 9, 2008  Hyde Park Baptist Church  Lumberton, NC 

April 16, 2008  Oak Leaf Church  Cartersville, GA 

The Financial Freedom Experience will be at:

February 29 & March 1  Gateway Community Church  Goldsboro, NC

I can't wait to make some more announcements in the very near future!

Interested in hosting a Financial Learning Experience or Financial Freedom Experience?  Contact me HERE!

I ran across an interesting link the other day.

You type in your age and income, and it tells you how you stack up against your peers.

It is ALARMING to see how little Americans are saving!

How do you stack up?  Check it out HERE.

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Written by someone who left their name as "I'm not bitter or anything":

"Our economy, the largest in the world, is driven by consumer spending. I say that you and Dave Ramsey have crusaded us right into a recession with your message of paying off your debts instead of taking that vacation and buying a 60″ flat screen when you get home - all courtesy of the Visa card.

I hope you're happy with yourself and can sleep at night as my 401k has now become a 301k."

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm …

Readers:  What are your thoughts?

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I was reviewing my credit card offers the other day, and I just starting laughing out loud!  It is a regular comedy act!

Here is what made me laugh:

• The Visa Signature card states "This card has everything you want, even your initial."  HA HA HA HA HA!!!  It goes on to say, "… it proudly displays your monogram every time you lay it down.  Jennifer, this card is YOU!"   HA HA HA!
• In the fine print of the above card, it says "We will allocate your payments to balances (including new transactions) with lower Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) (including zero percent) before balances with higher APRs."   The REAL credit card personality shows up in super large 2-pt font!
• The Household Bank Platinum card says "Everything you like in a card. Including the design."  I don't like anything in a credit card.  They never helped me WIN with money.

When you look at your 200 - 250 credit card applications that you receive each year, what stands out to you?

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Are you filing your taxes yourself this year?

I have always prepared my own taxes each year.  I have used TurboTax every single year.

This software has been extremely helpful and straightforward to use.

I have considered using TurboTax's competitor, TaxCut (by H&R Block), but I always back out because TurboTax is designed to automatically transfer all of last year's information over to this year's return.

(I wonder if TaxCut can auto transfer a return put together using TurboTax?)

If you have a very simple tax return and plan on using 1040EZ, TurboTax provides their software and one federal tax filing for FREE! 

Otherwise, there is a cost for the software, but it is reasonably priced for such a good software package.

I've never had a problem with a filing I have made with TurboTax.

I am sure it is the same for TaxCut software, but I have not used the product.

By the way, I usually look at the Staples or Office Depot sales ads this time of year before purchasing my TurboTax software.  Usually, they will have a special - something like "Buy TurboTax and get a $10 gift card" deal.  I like that!  Last year, I ended up buying my software from Best Buy, and it came with a free wireless mouse.  It is a great mouse!  It was backordered and took over two months to get it, but they did ship it to me!

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I have had a crusading dream the last eight days!

Let me recount the last eight days …

Sunday January 20th

Spoke at NewSpring Church for all four services!  You can watch an entire service HERE.  You should also check out Perry Noble's site as well.

Friday PM and Saturday AM (January 25th & 26th)

Taught the entire Financial Freedom Experience at NewSpring Church (over 300 attended!)  People drove 5 and 7 hours to come to this class.  That absolutely blows me away!

Saturday PM and Sunday AM (January 26th & 27th)

Taught at the weekend services at Southbrook Church, pastor Rob Singleton.

Sunday PM (January 27th)

Taught the Financial Learning Experience at Southbrook Church!

I got to speak eight times and teach both versions of my class in EIGHT DAYS!  It is UNBELIEVABLE that I get to do this for a living!  Oh yeah, I also see that there are 14 one-on-one financial counseling appointments on our calendar this week!!!!

To all who attended the classes or church services, THANK YOU!

You can see where the crusade will be next by clicking HERE.

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The wildly popular web site, www.JoeSangl.com, has lots of helpful FREE tools that can help you take your finances to the next level.

Until recently, I was not able to track how many times each of these tools was being downloaded.

About four months ago, I was able to establish the ability to track them!  The numbers are UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Let me share a few with you!

• The Monthly Budget Form (Excel) has been downloaded 2,553 times!
• The Weekly Budget Form (Excel) has been downloaded 1,743 times!
• The Debt Freedom Date Calculator (Excel) has been downloaded 1,189 times!
• The Pay Off Spectacular - House has been downloaded 836 times!
• The Pay Off Spectacular - Llama has been downloaded 117 tiems!  That's just FUNNY!

You can download your own FREE TOOLS by clicking HERE or by clicking the word "TOOLS" at the top of the page.

SO since these tools are being downloaded by you all - How are they working for you?  I LOVE to receive pictures of Debt Pay-Off Spectaculars in action too!  Especially if you have a Llama that you are paying off. 

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When the Financial Freedom Experience finishes up tomorrow, I will be headed up to Southbrook Church in Weddington, NC to speak at their weekend services and teach the Financial Learning Experience in the afternoon!

I love taking the crusade on the road!

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