Archive for March 2014

8 Ways To Speed Up Debt Elimination

In a recent live event, 58% of respondents shared that “reducing or eliminating debt” was their top goal for the year.

If this is one of your top financial goals, here are some key ways you can speed up your debt freedom date.

8 Ways To Speed Up Debt Elimination

  1. Reduce Interest Rates Many people with substantial consumer debt do not realize that 50% to 75% of their payments are merely going to the lender as interest – greatly reducing their ability to lower their debt. If you have high interest rate credit card balances, consider transferring to a 0% interest card (like these 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers). Is your mortgage interest higher than those listed at BankRate.com? If yes, consider refinancing the mortgage. It is amazing what a few hours of focus on interest rate reduction can do to speed up your Debt Freedom Date!
  2. Pay Raise Are you being compensated fairly? Check out Salary.com for current pay rates of positions similar to yours. Take some moments to document how you are adding substantial value to your organization. If it makes sense to have a conversation with your leader, do it! Nothing like some more income from your current job to speed up debt elimination.
  3. Tax Refund A tax refund might be an “interest free loan to the government,” but it also represents an opportunity to impact debt in a big way.
  4. Bonus A bonus can also help kill some debt. One great thing about debt freedom is it allows future bonuses to be used to fund future dreams – instead of paying for things from the past.
  5. Found Money From Better Budgeting When I started preparing and living by a budget, it literally transformed my finances. I freed up hundreds of dollars that was going to “miscellaneous cash withdrawals” and impulsive grocery shopping trips.
  6. Sell Some Possessions Sell the boat, motorcycle, extra car, and collectibles. Eliminating possessions will free up space, eliminate stress, and greatly speed up your pace toward accomplishing debt freedom.
  7. Overtime If you have the chance to work overtime, it can really help speed up debt reduction. Plus, you’ll be too tired to spend the extra income on frivolous things.
  8. Second Job If you don’t have the opportunity to work overtime at your existing job, take a second job – or start a small side business. The key here is to focus on something that is short term. You don’t want to sign up for a permanent second job. Instead, commit to applying all additional money to your debt elimination plan. The reward when you become debt free? Quitting the second job and still prospering because you’ve freed up all of the money that was previously committed to payments.

You can do this!

Read the How To Pay Off Debt Series

Small Business Tip: Importance Of Audits

Small business owners don’t lack for things to do. There is the endless work of creating new products and improving existing ones. Meeting with new customers and existing ones – local and abroad. Hiring employees and freeing up non-performing ones to “pursue other opportunities.” You get the thrilling task of managing payroll and cash flow. You get to deal with all of the wonderful governmental entities – federal, state, and local – regarding licensing, codes, rules, laws, and endless regulations. Then, of course, there are the meetings with your CPA around tax time.

The LAST thing you need is to wonder if your financial books are correct and accurate.

Unfortunately, we hear of cases of a modern-day Judas, where a rogue employee who has been entrusted with the money decides to help themselves to it and embezzle money. It can literally bankrupt a business.

This is why it is important to conduct financial reviews and perhaps even complete third-party audits. Annual financial reviews are instances where internal members of your organization are tasked with performing random “tests” of financial records and require those in charge of the finances to provide objective evidence that records are retrievable and accurate.

Third party audits take this process to an entirely different level. An outside organization is hired to put the financial team through a rigorous test of all critical financial systems – accounts payable and receivable, payroll, record-keeping, financial reporting (balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement), and separation of authorities (i.e. separating rights of who can print checks from check signers).

While no review and audit can completely eliminate the chance for fraud, it can reduce it tremendously. And it will allow you to make business decisions with full confidence in your finances and the financial team.

Here’s the statement I use: “Trust, but verify.”

This post is part of a Small Business Series here at the wildly popular JosephSangl.com. Click HERE to read more of the posts in the series.

Bible Money Tip: Generosity Is Contagious

I recently heard Ken Friar, Executive VP of INJOY Stewardship Solutions, share the following statement:

People don’t plan to be selfish. They just don’t make a plan to be generous.

But it only takes one or two people who are living generously to move literally hundreds – even thousands – to give.

Consider Exodus 36:3-8:

And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.” 6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 8 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Moses cast the vision God had given to him, and the people responded in an amazing way.

I’ve seen similar examples happen throughout my life. When tornadoes swept through Alabama in 2011, I saw one or two people begin giving to provide immediate assistance, and it compelled me to give. The next thing we knew, more than $100,000 had been raised.

When Hurricane Katrina smashed the Gulf Coast, people around the world rushed to help by giving tremendous amounts of money. The same was true for the earthquake in Haiti and tsunami in Indonesia.

We see it happen when a family’s home burns down and a community unites together to help them.

Generosity is contagious!

As I consider the various “contagious giving moments” I’ve witnessed, here are some common variables:

  1. There was a clear need. We all want to make a difference with money that we give away. We want a “return on investment” on the money. Without clear understanding of the ROI, we are more inclined to hold onto their dollars.
  2. The need was urgent. There are many cases where there is a need, but it isn’t urgent. Urgency is what causes us to move immediately.
  3. There was a trusted entity to send money. There have been so many highly reported instances of financial mismanagement that we have been conditioned (and rightly so) to ask the question, “Is this organization going to handle this money in the exact manner they’ve communicated?”
  4. Someone gave first. When we see our friends, family, or heroes give, it inspires us!

Have you ever been able to be a part of a “Contagious Generosity Moment”? Will you take a moment to share it with us in the comments?

This is part of the “Biblical Financial Lessons” series here on the wildly popular JosephSangl.com. Click HERE to read more posts in the series.

Leadership Tip: Importance of Communication

During a leadership conference I attended, I heard a great statement by Pastor Van Moody. He said:

When you get sick of saying it is when they are just starting to get it.

It is so true. As a leader, you are the chief vision caster. This means that the vision must ooze from every pore of your body. Even when you feel like everyone in the room has heard you say it 7,004 times, say it again. After all, vision leaks.

While you may have heard yourself say it 7,004 times, it could be the first time one of your clients hear it. It might be the first time a team member truly heard you say it – and finally get what you are saying.

What is it you want your organization to accomplish? What good thing are you expecting your team to deliver? What do you dream of your customers saying after your organization has served them?

Say it! Then say it again …

This post is part of a Leadership Series here at the wildly popular JosephSangl.com. Click HERE to read more posts in the series.

Small Business Tip: Monthly Cash Flow Planning

Every single month, I sit down with Matt. Most of you don’t know him, but he is a key reason IWBNIN has continued to grow and expand. You see, Matt is our Financial Administrator. He manages all of the finances for our businesses. He and his team manage the regular financial management dealings of a business: payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivables, bank account reconciliation, credit card reconciliation, and governmental filings. However, Matt helps with a monthly task which we’ve found to be vital to our success – monthly cash flow planning.

For our two businesses with employees, we sit down at the beginning of each and every month to plan our financial decisions.

Here is the process we utilize:

  1. 12 month rolling plan  We have a rolling 12 month plan. This means at the end of each month, we add a new month at the end of the plan to ensure we are always looking forward for an entire year.
  2. Evaluate last month  We review last month’s plan to identify any major deviations – both positive and negative. This intelligence is utilized to continually improve our planning.
  3. Plan next month  We make changes to this month based upon known information.
  4. Review the next 12 months  We make changes to future months based upon known information.
  5. Make business critical decisions  We utilize the cash flow plan to determine when we can spend money for larger initiatives.
  6. Live by the plan throughout the month  Once the plan is finalized, the financial team follows it. If an unusual opportunity presents itself or major expense crops up, it generates a conversation amongst company leadership to determine an appropriate course of action.

Here’s how we’ve found the 12 month cash flow planning process to be helpful:

  1. Prepare for major financial challenges  As with any business, there are cycles. Some months are higher revenue while other months cause business owners to wonder if their business is going to fail. These cycles can create cash flow crunches if not carefully planned for. Viewing 12 months out allows our leadership to make better decisions.
  2. Prepare for known, upcoming non-monthly expenses  This type of planning forces a leader to think longer-term. As a result, known upcoming non-monthly expenses can be accommodated with ease by ensuring appropriate accrual accounts are established. Nothing makes me happier than to know the money is stored up for estimated quarterly tax payments, car repairs & replacement, annual software licenses, etc.
  3. Communication  Monthly reviews create a “trip point” that forces communication to happen regarding the financial and general affairs of the organization.

Want to get rid of a bunch of financial headaches? I highly recommending instituting a monthly cash flow planning meeting!

This post is part of a Small Business Series here at the wildly popular JosephSangl.com. Click HERE to read more of the posts in the series.