There are times that I am just overwhelmed with gratefulness.  Right now is one of those times.

You see, my life over the past 20 months has had the incredible potential to become a financial disaster.  Here are the issues Jenn and I have faced.

• January 2009:  One heat pump failed.  The other failed four months later.  Cost: $9,500
• January 2009: Attempted In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) after nine years trying for a second child.    Cost: $18,500
• June 2009: Started “I Was Broke. Now I’m Not.” as a full-time business Cost: Entire Salary PLUS had to obtain individual health insurance
• June 2009: Discovered that Jenn was pregnant (God works in wondrous ways!) – but we had been unable to obtain full maternity coverage – but we had to pay for our insurance plan  Cost: $4,000
  
• February 2010: Keaton Joseph Sangl arrives safe and sound  Cost: $13,500

Add those costs up.  It adds up to $45,500!!!

Why am I grateful?  Because we have not incurred ONE DOLLAR OF DEBT as a result of these MAJOR EXPENSES!!!

You want to know why I am so passionate about the financial principles I teach?  That’s why!!!  Because we gave. Because we saved.  Because we have had a plan.  Because we have been diligent, we have been able to avert COMPLETE FINANCIAL DISASTER!  We are LIVING THIS.  This is more than just some “good idea.”  This is a “way of life.”

Think about it.  I teach personal finances for a living.  Where do you think I will be tested the most?  In the management of my own money!

The bank saving accounts are definitely smaller.  I am still blessed.  It has been an emotional 20 months.  I am still blessed.

And our opportunities to serve people and help them become financially free are greater and more numerous than ever!  The passion I have for this crusade is hotter than ever.

I am so blessed.

QUESTION OF THE YEAR: Could you absorb a $40,000+ financial penalty over a period of 20 months and still avoid debt and be able to give throughout it all?

By a miracle of God Himself, I can answer that question with a resounding, “YES!”

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As I have traveled the country speaking and teaching about personal finances, I am continually reminded that this crusade has A LOT of work to do!  Many people just do not have a clue about how to win with their money.  It was not taught to them in school (and they may not have paid attention even if it were), they have not taken any classes since, and time is so limited that the last thing they want to do is to use the one spare moment they do have to read about money.  BUT if one does not take control, money will usually always be a problem and a source of endless frustration.  It can even cause lasting injuries to relationships.

With that said, I want to share what I believe are the Top 5 Things People LACK In Their Financial Plan:

1. Monthly Written Spending Plan The old adage is true: “Fail to plan. Plan to fail!”
2. A “Get Out Of Debt!” Plan Debt robs us of our ability to go do EXACTLY what we have been put on earth to do!
3. A Written Will Statistics show that nearly sixty percent of people do not have a written will!  If you do not prepare a legal will, the government will decide who gets what.
4. Life Insurance Again, statistics show that a majority of people who have dependents relying upon their income to sustain their lifestyle do not have adequate life insurance.  Term life insurance is just too cheap for this to happen!
5. Health Insurance We know that it is EXPENSIVE, but it is way more expensive to not have it!

I hope that these help you take your finances to the next level!  Would you add anything to my list?

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My family spent a week at Table Rock Lake in Missouri this summer swimming, skiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, tubing, boating and fishing.  It was an incredible week.  Except for the broken toe I sustained while doing a good deed and the faceplant I performed while wakeboarding.

The faceplant reminded me a lot of some financial emergencies my family has sustained.

• It happened so fast I did not see it coming
• It HURT – at first I could not even register the pain, then I felt more pain than I ever wanted to
• It happened even though I did not want it to
• It was visible to everyone that I was on the edge of a mess, but I was not able to hear them for the noise

In fact, they had the camera rolling as I crashed.  You can check it out by clicking the 43-second YouTube video below or by clicking HERE.

You can hear how much sympathy I received at the end of the video when you hear the laughter.  Ever noticed that some people have no sympathy for your financial mess?

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I was looking over the visitor stats using Google Analytics the other day, and I thought it might be interesting to share the Top 10 Visited Posts for JosephSangl.com since January 2010.

1. SERIES: How Do I Budget
2. USA Today Snapshot – 4/30/2010 – Why Many Are B-R-O-K-E
3. Eliminate Budget-Crushing Expenses
4. SERIES: Eliminate The Mortgage
5. I Am Passionate About Helping
6. SERIES: How To Pay Off Debt
7. Funny Money YouTube Video
8. Budget Spending Money
9. SERIES: Setting Financial Goals
10. Miracle On The Way

And I will throw in my FAVORITE post of the year – when I announced the arrival of Keaton Joseph Sangl – who arrived on February 6th – a whole ten years after big sister Melea brightened our world with her arrival!

I am so excited about this crusade that our team is on to help people accomplish far more than they ever thought possible.  Others are also apparently excited too – since we have been given the opportunity to teach and speak to literally tens of thousands of people (nearly 100,000!) over the past three years.

With this growth comes the need for great people to help steward this tremendous effort.  That’s why we are hiring an Administrative Assistant.  We will be starting with a 20 hour/week position with the potential that it will grow into a full-time position.  This will be an “in the office” position with hours of 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM each weekday.

I’m looking for someone who wants to do life-changing and life-giving work, is living what we are teaching, and is passionate about helping others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible.

Download the full job description HERE.

If you feel like this role would be an incredible fit with you – here is what you can do to be considered for this critical role:

• Send your resume to: info@iwasbrokenowimnot.com
• Tell us why you feel that you would be an incredible fit for our team and this role
• Include as many specific skill sets and abilities that you possess that believe would allow you to excel in this role

I can’t wait!

A member of the IWBNIN team sent me the below link to an article over at ChristianPF.com.

First, read the article HERE then read my thoughts below.

My thoughts

• Work is INFINITE – it never stops or ceases. You can always find something else to do.  Family must be priority regardless the stage of life.
• This is a constant struggle – especially for leaders and small business owners. When you are passionate about your work, it can be easy to lose track of time and family.  It requires constant attention to balance time at work, time at play, and time with family.

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As I travel this nation on this crusade to help others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances, I am continually reminded about the virtue of diligence.

Everyone understands “spend less than you make” and “save money for a rainy day”, yet not everyone spends less than they make or saves money for those rainy days.  Why is this?

There are many reasons, but one of the largest is the lack of diligence (also known as self-control).

According to Thesaurus.com, other words that have similar meanings to the word “diligence” include:

• Commitment
• Concentration
• Consideration
• Dedication
• Deliberation
• Perseverance

Knowledge without application is useless.  Application of fundamental financial principles requires diligence even when it seems that you are getting nowhere or the goal seems so far away that it is unattainable.  We can’t be diligent for a day, week, month, or even a year.  Diligence many times will demand years before the fruit of that diligence pays off.

What do you do that helps you remain DILIGENT?

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During our crusade to help others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible, I occasionally run into the person who wants to “complexify” the simple (I know I made up a new word – it’s one of my hobbies.)

For example, I distinctly remember a person telling me after attending a Financial Learning Experience:

“Well, of course this stuff works for people who have income.  What about those who don’t have income?”

Ummmmm …  Get some income?  INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO is a fundamental money rule.

Another example asked by a person who told me that their financial situation was horrible even though they had excellent income:

“Well, I know that you said to ’spend less than you make’, that’s obvious, but what else am I supposed to do?”

Ummmm …  Spend less than you make!  INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO is a fundamental money rule.

Sometimes, even the OBVIOUS answer is not obvious.  Obviously.

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Yesterday, I wrote about how things have changed in the past 12 years since I recorded the Saturday Night Live production of The Chris Farley Special.  It made me pause to consider the changes I have observed in the world of finance in the past 12 years.

Here are some changes I have observed:

• On-line bill payments have virtually eliminated my need for checks
• Most of my banking is done on-line and most of my deposits are done at an ATM (some banks even allow you to scan the checks at home and never even take them to the bank)
• My canceled checks are no longer returned to me – I can pull up scanned copies of them on-line if I need them
• It is a lot easier to track spending patterns because of on-line banking and on-line credit card transaction reports
• Houses used to be “can’t miss” investments that ALWAYS went up in value – ummmmm, that is not so true any more …
• Sarbanes-Oxley changed the way corporate accounting takes place (more bureaucracy – thanks to Enron, Tyco, and Worldcom)
• 529 college savings plans have grown in prominence
• On-line shopping is a way of life – it barely existed in ‘98
• Music cost nothing for some people in ‘98 (Napster)

There are MANY MORE changes that have occurred in the world of finance in the past 12 years.  What changes have you noticed most?

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My bride and I had one of those evenings the other night where we started talking about some really important things.  We had not planned on having such a detailed conversation, but before we knew it we had talked until 1:30AM in the morning.  It was great conversation, but we both got so pumped up about what we were talking about (it was about some of our life dreams) that we were wired and could not go to sleep.

So we went downstairs to watch a movie.  I found a VHS home recording of a Saturday Night Live Special aired in 1998 – it was The Chris Farley Tribute Special – complete with my favorite skit ever – Matt Foley, the motivational speaker.

MY GOODNESS.  How things have changed!  We had a blast watching the special, but the commercials were priceless!  Here are some specific things we noticed:

• The car commercials were still horrible, but even though the cars they were selling were new – they looked old to me (why is that?)
• Not ONE commercial mentioned a web address
• There was a commercial for Kodak MAX film – film, people!  You took pictures, then you had to go PAY MONEY and WAIT SEVERAL DAYS until you knew whether or not the picture came out.  And you only get 24 pictures (or 36 on a super roll).
• The letters “HD” were never mentioned.
• We watched it on VHS – I even had to adjust the tracking (and I remembered how to do that – I guess I’m old)

It makes me even more determined to continually learn about finances.  Think about how much the world has changed in the world of finances in the past 12 years!  Maybe we will continue the discussion on this tomorrow.

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