JosephSangl.com

Archive - May, 2010

IHHE Rant: It Is NOT An Income Issue

May 25, 2010 in Finance, IHHE Rant with 4 Comments

Pardon me while I rant for a moment …

I encounter numerous people who believe that their financial situation is solely an income issue. In nearly every case, they are wrong.

For example, Eddy Curry is an NBA basketball player who has reportedly made $57,267,294 in his career and is being paid $11,276,863 this season alone. He is in financial trouble. According to THIS ARTICLE from the NY Daily News, Eddy has defaulted on a $570,000 loan with 85% interest. Read that again. A huge loan for 85% interest.

Call me crazy, but this is not the result of an income issue.

While Eddy’s situation is an extreme case, I know many people who make ordinary amounts of money who genuinely believe that the answer to their financial struggles is more money.

Two cases in point:

Individual lost job and is in the financial ditch

They worked for 20 years and managed to save up exactly $0.
They earned $25,000/year for 20 years – that is $500,000, yet they managed to save exactly $0.
I wonder what their situation would have been if they had saved up $10,000 or $20,000 of that money over that 20 year period
If one saved $19.23/week for 20 years, they would have $20,000 – with no interest growth!
CONCLUSION: NOT an income issue. Definitely a planning/saving issue.
SOLUTION: Make SAVING a top priority!

Individual makes good money, but has no extra money.

Their non-house debt load is $600/month in payments (car, student loan, credit card, and furniture)
If they eliminated the debt, it would equal about $800/month in a gross income pay raise!
That is $9,600/year
CONCLUSION: NOT an income issue. Definitely a planning/spending issue.
SOLUTION: Plan every dime earned. Refuse to sign up for more debt starting immediately.

Here is how to win with what you have:

PLAN every dime
GIVE some
SAVE some
INVEST some
SPEND some

Thoughts?

Read recent posts

Remnants Upscale Thrift Store Accepting Donations – Anderson, SC

May 24, 2010 in Finance with 1 Comment

For those of you who regularly read this blog, you know that I don’t normally do this, but today is an exception.

I want to tell you about a new thrift store in downtown Anderson, SC (my hometown). It is called Remnants and is located on Main Street just one block south of the courthouse.

Proceeds from the Thrift Store benefit Shalom House Ministries – a women’s addiction recovery center. They are doing ASTOUNDING work that I believe in greatly.

They are accepting donations of the following items (and other similar type items):

Dress clothes
Shoes
Household goods
Furniture

Donations are accepted on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM.

Thanks for allowing me to take a post to talk about Shalom House.

Read recent posts

SERIES: Wisdom From Dr. John C. Maxwell – Part Two

May 24, 2010 in Dr. John C Maxwell with 0 Comments

Over the past year, I have had the incredible honor and privilege to speak at several conferences where Dr. John C. Maxwell has been the keynote speaker. The conferences have been called Stewardship Challenge and they have been presented by Injoy Stewardship Solutions, a premier capital stewardship campaign company.

I thought I would take a few posts to write a few of the thoughts he shared that impacted me greatly. I trust they will be helpful to you as well.

Part Two Connectors find common ground.

If you hope to accomplish something great, it is going to take lots of people to accomplish it. If you are unable to find common ground where there is a win for everyone participating, you will limit the opportunity.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some things that simply are not negotiable. For example, I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. will not promote payday loan providers offering loans at the low-low annual interest rate of 378%. It is simply not an option.

As I work with our customers, our team, and our suppliers, I am constantly looking for better ways to maximize the win-win-win scenario for ALL parties involved – not just our team. This is ESSENTIAL to our success. We want our customers, team, and suppliers to all win. To do so means that we must find common ground.

Guess what? When you work to find common ground, it may seem like you are giving up something, but in the long run you gain way more than you feel that you have given up.

Read the series

Read recent posts

Crusade is headed to Minnesota this weekend!

May 20, 2010 in FCE, FLE with 1 Comment

The team is PUMPED about traveling to Minneapolis, Minnesota tomorrow to serve Horizons Community Church.

We will be training financial coaches on Saturday and teaching the Financial Learning Experience on Sunday at 6PM. You can register HERE.

I can’t believe we get to do this for a living!

Read recent posts

SERIES: Wisdom From Dr. John C. Maxwell – Part One

May 20, 2010 in Dr. John C Maxwell with 1 Comment

You might be surprised that for me the highlight of the conference was not the opportunity to speak (on a subject I am VERY PASSIONATE about). No – the highlight each time has been the opportunity to listen to, learn from, and observe Dr. Maxwell. This is a man who is living his calling. He has mentored and taught me via books since my early twenties. People have bought over 18,000,000 copies of his leadership books (a few more than my books).

I thought I would take a few posts to write a few of the thoughts he shared that impacted me greatly. I trust they will be helpful to you as well.

Part One Nothing in the world gives more HOPE to mankind than a dream and nothing has brought more DISAPPOINTMENT than not fulfilling a dream.

An amazing statement. We all have dreams – all of us – yet so many people fail to achieve their dreams. This is what drives our team to teach foundational financial principles – so many of life’s dreams take money.

You want to fund your dream? Here are two fundamental steps you can take today toward fulfilling it:

Write down your plans, hopes and dreams on paper (you can use this form if you like – Planning For Your Life (PDF))
Prepare a written spending plan that includes the money to begin funding the dream (use one of the free budgeting tools HERE)

Read recent posts

Funny, Smart, or Reality or All Three?

May 19, 2010 in Finance with 1 Comment

A member of the IWBNIN team sent me the below cartoon by Jeff Stahler the other day.

It made me think … Is this FUNNY, SMART, or REALITY? or all three?

If you have just graduated college and financed all of it, moving back in with the parents (no matter how frustrating for both parents and child) can be a brilliant financial move – SMART!
If you have just graduated college and could not land a job because there are none available because of the economy, then this is a fact of life – REALITY.
If you have just graduated with a degree in underwater basket-weaving and loads of debt, you had no chance of landing a job in the first place – REALITY.
If this is just a tough situation, we might as well make it FUNNY to keep from crying.

Read recent posts

Sangl Home Pay-Off Spectacular – May 2010

May 18, 2010 in Home Pay-Off Spectacular with 1 Comment

Every month there will be an update of Joe & Jenn’s Home Pay-Off Spectacular!

Here’s this month’s update!

Total Squares: 2,426

Paid-For Squares: 842 847

Squares Remaining: 1584 1579

% of House Owned By The Sangl’s: 34.7% 34.9%

% of House Owned By Wells Fargo: 65.3% 65.1%

Here is the updated Sangl Home Pay-Off Spectacular

We were able to color in five more squares.

Diligence. Diligence. Diligence.

We have paid all of the hospital bills for Baby Sangl without incurring any debt, but it required the use of a large amount of our emergency fund so we are in “replenish” mode for the emergency fund right now. We are eating this elephant one bite (or five bites) at a time.

How are you doing on YOUR house payoff spectacular? If you do not have one, you can get one here => Pay Off Spectacular – House.

Read previous Sangl Home Pay-Off Spectacular Updates

Take Action This Week

May 16, 2010 in Saving with 1 Comment

Do you have a financial situation in your life that you KNOW you need to deal with? Why not make it your goal to resolve it or take steps toward addressing it this week?

Here are some financial situations that we regularly see people facing, but refusing to address:

Lack of a written will
Old debts that are not being paid at all
Lack of a budget
Failing to reduce fixed expenses (new insurance quotes, cutting or reducing cable, eliminating home phone, etc)
Spouse failing to pay child support which is resulting in an extremely dire financial condition, but unwilling to take the necessary steps to ensure that it is paid
Still financially supporting a 25 or 35-year old child
Being the 25 or 35 (or 45 or 55) year old child who is still being financially supported by Mommy and Daddy
Saving $0 each month (keeps you slave to debt)
Giving $0 each month (robs you of one of life’s greatest joys)
Investing $0 each month (prevents use of 8th wonder of the world – compound interest)
Spending more than is made each month

Are you facing any of these situations? What can you do THIS WEEK to address them?

Read recent posts

SERIES: Get Organized! Part FOUR

May 13, 2010 in Get Organized! with 1 Comment

Welcome to the latest series at JosephSangl.com – Get Organized! It is extremely important to have your finances organized. In fact, I believe that lack of organization is one of the top reasons that people do not reach the peak of their financial potential. I am excited about this series especially because we are releasing another FREE tool!

Part Four Where to find free or cheap resources

There is a free healthcare power of attorney provided by AnMed Health Center HERE.
Several free legal documents (including power of attorney and a basic will) are located HERE

If you have substantial assets (including sizable term life insurance policies), I highly recommend that you meet with an attorney to have them review your documents to make sure everything is well-organized and accurate.

Where else have you found great free (or cheap) legal documents?

Read entire series

Read recent posts

SERIES: Get Organized! Part THREE

May 12, 2010 in Get Organized! with 1 Comment

Part Three Information to include on your Financial Accounts Form

This form is meant to be the be-all to end-all location for your entire financial picture. When you are looking for key financial information, you won’t have to go far because it is all contained within this file. When you pass away, it allows your estate executor to easily understand what they are dealing with.

Here are the key items to include in your Financial Accounts Form (MS Word) or Financial Accounts Form (PDF).

Investment accounts Include your 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP, Roth IRA, IRA, stock, bond, and mutual fund investments.
Bank accounts Include checking, savings, money market, CDs, and any other accounts held at a bank or credit union.
Real estate If you own real estate, be sure to list the addresses and the financial status of these holdings.
Will According to Bankrate.com, 58% of Americans do not have a written will. Have one, and include it’s location and your assigned executor on this document.
Power of attorney Healthcare POA, Limited POA, or other legal assignments of responsibility should be included in this document.
Insurance policies Include life insurance – be sure to include policies provided through your workplace. Also include insurance on key possessions owned.
Jewelry (or other valuables) If you have valuable possessions, be sure to list them and their locations.
Safe Deposit Box If you have one, indicate it on this document and include its location!

I know. I know. This can seem overwhelming, but it is absolutely worth the effort to put this together!

Read entire series

Read recent posts

SERIES: Get Organized! Part TWO

May 11, 2010 in Get Organized! with 0 Comments

Part Two Prepare a list of all of your financial accounts

If you are a slightly or very disorganized person (like I used to be!), this is probably going to be the most difficult part of the entire organizational process. It is important to gather together your financial statements so you can easily prepare a one or two page document that details your entire financial picture.

To speed up the process, we are PUMPED to provide a new FREE TOOL for you to consolidate all of your information in one place. You can download a copy below:

Financial Accounts Form (MS Word) or Financial Accounts Form (PDF)

Below is a sample of how the information can be written into the file (Click to view a full-size sample).

In the next step of this series, we will talk about specific types of information that you need to be sure to include on this document.

Read entire series

Read recent posts

SERIES: Get Organized! Part ONE

May 10, 2010 in Get Organized! with 2 Comments

Part One Understand why you are doing this in the first place.

Let’s face it. We are all extremely busy. The last thing we need to do is initiate another paperwork process just for the sake of what “might” happen. I believe, however, that this process is an extremely valuable step toward maximizing one’s financial potential. If you take the time to complete the steps in this series, you will discover areas where your financial plan is lacking AND also where you are winning (which is very satisfying to see).

Here are some reasons to get organized financially:

Control: It is hard for the finances to run out of control when you are focusing this intently on your financial affairs
Improved financial focus: We tend to improve that which we focus our attention on
We WILL die some day: Our family will appreciate a clearly organized set of financial affairs

Organization and a great financial plan are two of the keys to the reason that Jenn and I have been able to experience financial freedom!

Read entire series

Read recent posts

Go Read The Commments

May 6, 2010 in Finance with 3 Comments

I’m not going to write a blog post today. I am blown away by some of the comments made by the readers on THIS POST from yesterday.

For the three minutes that you typically give to reading this blog (I am so honored that you choose to do so!) – I want you to go read that post – especially the comments. Share you own too.

My heart is broken for those in this situation. Our team is going to do something about it.

USA Today Snapshot – 4/30/2010 – Why Many Are B-R-O-K-E

May 5, 2010 in Finance with 12 Comments

This may or may not be well received, but hear me out on this.

I was reading the USA Today the other day as I was eating breakfast at the hotel in Sacramento, CA. In the bottom left corner of the front page, I saw the below snapshot. I took a picture of it with my Blackberry camera (which is basically a terrible camera). Take a minute to look at the statistic that is shared.

Births to unmarried parents

The USA Today Snapshot shares the statistics of “Percentage of U.S. Births To Unmarried Women”, and I believe it is a very telling statistic as to why so many Americans are struggling financially.

Of course, one statistic does not tell the entire story. We are not told how many of these children are being fully supported by their fathers. We do not know how many families are living together, but are unmarried. What we do know as financial coaches and teachers is that single moms are the number one group of people that we see struggling financially.

For single moms, the struggle is not just financial. It is also extremely emotional, spiritual, and time-consuming.

Instead of two people to carry the financial load, many times the single mom has to carry it because the father fails to fulfill his obligation to pay child support.

Instead of two people to carry the emotional load of being a parent, one parent has to carry it – usually the single mom.

Instead of two people to take the child to the doctor, to school, to dance class, to football practice, it is done by one of the parents – usually the single mom. This is all done in addition to their daily work.

We are passionate about helping people accomplish far more than they ever thought possible. The task becomes much greater when we encounter this situation.

Thoughts?

Read recent posts

Great Graduation Gift Idea

May 3, 2010 in What Everyone Should Know About Money with 0 Comments

Looking for a gift for a high school or college graduate? A copy of What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter The Real World makes a terrific gift!

While this book is not glitzy, shiny, or coated in gold, the application of the tools and principles taught in this book will equip the graduate to win with the money they will soon be managing!

In fact, if the graduate applies these principles, they will be able to by glitzy and shiny things – with cash! They will also be able to give and save more than they ever thought possible.

You can purchase a copy HERE. We have a special “free shipping” offer available for purchases of five books.

Read recent posts