I believe that the Bible is the best money book ever written, and I really want to take some time this week to share a money lesson I have learned from the Word.

Proverbs 13:22  A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

There are two distinct parts to this verse.  Let’s focus on each part separately.

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children”

This is a very challenging statement.  It forces us to understand that we are not just supposed to look at the “here & now”, but also to the future.  Here are some key things I take from this:

• It’s not all about me
• I’m supposed to bless my children and my grandchildren
• The way I live my life will affect my descendents
• Blessings are generational

“but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous”

What an interesting statement to follow the first portion of the verse with!  This part is making an observation that God will bless the righteous and that those who ignore Him and His commands will have their wealth transferred to those who will pursue Him.

Question: If you keep managing money the way you are currently managing it, will you leave an inheritance for your children’s children?

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I often am asked the following question:

Have you ever made a poor financial decision because you got caught up in the moment?   I have.   I once bought a car when I was caught up in the moment.   I paid full price (plus more).   I financed the car 105% – I even financed the sales tax!

Personal discipline.  Do you have it?  Or do you lack it?

File this one under “Weird”.

I recently had an article sent to me by my friend, and I have been stunned ever since.

Did you know that there is a Food Stamp Program for PETS?

You can read an article about it HERE.

What are your thoughts?

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Two words: “OWE” and “OWN”

The words share the same first two letters, but the third letter makes all the difference!

When you purchase a car with cash, you owN it. If it is financed, you owE it.

Here’s the difference the third letter makes:

1. A different future.  Owning equals no future payments. Owing means you’ve pledged away future income.
2. Stress.  Owning equals reduced stress. Owing means HAVING to produce income just to hand it over to the bank.
3. Relationship.  Owning equals positive relationship. Owing means there is a unique “borrower-lender” relationship where the lender has the right to bother and hassle you should you fail to meet every part of the lending agreement.

Do you OWE or OWN?

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I was recently on a flight that had a connection in Charlotte, NC. Charlotte, however, experienced a little snowfall. I say “little” because I grew up in Indiana. But for Charlotte Douglas International Airport, it was a MAJOR deal! My 5:55 PM flight was missed. So was the 8:05 PM that I was reassigned to. After it was delayed to 8:30 PM, 9:00 PM, 10:00 PM, and 10:30 PM, it was canceled. Then my 10:20 PM reassignment was delayed to 10:25 PM, 10:50 PM, 11:05 PM, and 11:20 PM. Nearly all inbound flights had people stranded on planes for over two hours as they attempted to navigate the pile of planes on the ground and de-icing stations that had been established. It was awful, and it leads to the bottom line.

The Bottom line: Charlotte Douglas International Airport was not equipped to handle this disruption very well.

It made me think of my financial situation and ask this question: “Am I prepared to handle a MAJOR financial disruption?”

Most of us will face a MAJOR financial disruption at some point in our life, so we must be prepared for it.

So, let me ask you the question: “Are YOU prepared to handle a MAJOR financial disruption?”

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I love my bride. As of today, we have been married for 15 years 252 days! Amazing!

Here are 10 Reasons I Love My Bride:

1. She’s Beautiful!
2. Off the charts SMART
3. She’s an incredible adviser
4. Organized!
5. Three children: a daughter, a son, and a “currently not known”
6. She’s the most patient person on planet earth
7. She’s a saver
8. She’s THE REASON our organizations have experienced success
9. She challenges me to do scary things. Things like whitewater rafting, rock climbing, and bungee jumping.
10. Three words: Polish Chicago Southsider

Happy Valentine’s Day! I HEART JENN SANGL!

I love to learn. Every day, I read 40 web sites about personal and small business finances, leadership, and macro-economics. It might mean that I am a nerd, but it also means that I’m not broke anymore! Education has helped me take my finances to an entirely different level.

Here are 5 new things I learned about money in the past year:

1. Mindset change drives a lot of money behavior. Instead of saying, “I can’t afford that.” say “HOW can I afford that?”
2. Contrary to many investment “gurus” advice, I finished paying off my house, and it is AWESOME.  I realize that most investment “gurus” haven’t paid their house off and are merely “parroting” the advice they’ve heard from other people who haven’t paid their house off.
3. More money merely amplifies who people are – it doesn’t change them. More money just enables behavior – whether good or bad. If a person was an extremely generous person when they were broke, they will be an extremely generous wealthy person. If they were greedy when they were broke, they will most likely be incredibly greedy should they encounter wealth.
4. Waiting for a bank to say “yes” to fund a dream will usually take way longer than finding an alternative way to fund it. I’ve bought land and a business without a bank loan. For fun, I actually approached banks on both deals. On both deals, I was told, “NO!” (They must have discovered this web site!)
5. Consistent persistence (say that 5 times really fast) truly pays off! It was 10 years and 1 month ago that my bride and I decided to pay off our house early. We set a goal of June 2014. Consistent persistence allowed us to beat the goal by 16 months!

What are some new things you have learned about money in the past year?

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The journey to financial freedom can become laborious at times, and it can be difficult to know whether or not you are really progress. Here are some signs you can use to help determine if you are truly becoming Financially Fit:

1. You prepare a monthly budget – every single month!
2. You know what “net worth” means – and you track it at least once a year.
3. You value saving and investing more than spending.
4. You have eliminated all high interest debt.
5. You have funded at least one personal dream in the past 12 months.
6. You have been labeled as “odd” or “weird” by friends and family because of your focus on taking your finances to another level.
7. When a friend shows off their new financed car, you feel sorry for them instead of excited.
8. You know the interest rate that Capital One 360 bank (formerly ING Direct), Ally Bank, HSBC, and Emigrant are paying!
9. If married, you and your spouse are able to have a productive conversation about money – without arguing!
10. You don’t have to check your bank account balance every morning or even think about it on a daily basis because YOU KNOW there is more than enough money in the account to cover the bills. In fact, you know your balance to the penny.

What other signs would you add?

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This post is for everyone who is struggling with money woes.

You CAN win with money! Even if the bills are piling up, and it seems impossible for you to ever make it back to “break-even,” let alone prospering.

If you make right decisions now, your current financial situation will be ancient history two years from now. Don’t let your current financial situation dictate your dreams to you. Instead, let your dreams guide your financial decisions!

No one wants to make tough choices like selling a vehicle, changing housing situations to lower the rent or a mortgage, cutting cable, or telling our children that they can’t participate in an activity they love. It’s awful and dreadful.

But I will tell you that it is worth it!

It was on December 2, 2002 that I made a decision to change my financial life.

1. It required difficult decisions. We made them.
2. It required budgeting. We broke out the calculator.
3. It required giving up some personal dreams. We did so with sadness.
4. It made us weird. Many of our friends and family thought we had lost our minds.

You can win with money. In fact, I believe YOU are just one or two major financial decisions away from turning your entire financial life around! You probably already know the decisions you need to make. I encourage you to make them.

It. Is. So. WORTH. IT!!!!

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Happy New Year!

The entire I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. team wishes you the best year ever!

Here’s to funding and fulfilling dreams, giving more money away than ever before, and enjoying meaningful time with friends, family, and the new friends we make this year!

QUESTION: We want to know your New Year’s Resolutions (goals)! Would you share them with us in the form below?

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From my family to yours: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

It is an honor to serve you and to be a part of your financial journey.

We wish you a wonderful time with family and friends!

Joe & Jenn Sangl

It seems like the words “fiscal cliff” are mentioned every few minutes on every news broadcast I read, see, or hear.

This “fiscal cliff” is a combination of expiring tax reductions/exemptions, increasing insurance and living costs, as well as a faltering economy. Just hearing the way that news people are discussing it is enough to make one fearful – even if we don’t even know what the “fiscal cliff” really entails. Here are some ways to prevent the “fiscal cliff” from impacting you:

1. Maintain substantial financial margin.  There is nothing like having money in the bank for emergencies and to cover surprise expenses. It also allows you to better handle a job layoff.
2. Lock in low interest rates. They are at record lows right now. It seems unlikely they will decrease further.
3. Prepare and live by a budget. This allows you to maximize every dollar you have and ensures you will immediately recognize increases in prices being passed on to you.
4. Own paid-for fixed assets. When you own your home with no debt, you have secured your housing situation – regardless of the economy. When you own your car with no debt, you have secured your transportation – regardless of the economy.
5. Run all news reports through a “does this make sense?” filter. The media exists in large part these days to deliver “zinger” news. They want to shock you into listening. And, guess what? FEAR sells TV. Half of what I hear the media talking about is bogus “fear-mongering” nonsense.

We certainly are living in challenging times, but it has always been that way! Life itself is challenging, and that’s what makes it AWESOME!

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One of the great things about travel is that I have the joy and privilege of meeting people from all walks of life. Some are incredibly amazing. Others are brilliant. Some are absolutely crazy.

I. Love. It. Everyone of them. I LOVE PEOPLE!

It is clear that we are all different. Occasionally I receive feedback from a participant at one of our Financial Learning Experiences (you should come to one! View our speaking schedule HERE) that goes like this: “Joe, I loved this event. It was very inspiring, but I’m not sure I can do this becauseit’s just not my style.”

“That’s just not my style.”

Translation

1. This is going to cause me to change, and change is tough. It is indeed.
2. It is hard to say, “No!” It is indeed.
3. I’m not a detail-oriented person, so taking time to plan my spending is going to be a challenge. It will indeed.

A phrase that continually applies to my life is this: “What got me here won’t get me there.”

If I truly want to continue to grow and experience ongoing success,I must change.

If you are a person who has said something like “I can’t budget because that’s just not my style.” I urge you to acknowledge the difficulty required to change and then EMBRACE IT!

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