News Flash:  It will soon be $46,000+ when our national debt reaches the new limit approved by Congress – $14.3 TRILLION.

What are we going to do about this?

NOTE:  I don’t know who owns this photograph, but I would gladly provide credit.

Welcome to the latest series at JosephSangl.com – “Ways To Eliminate The Mortgage More Quickly”.  It is my hope that this series can help you eliminate what is usually the single largest expense in the household budget and free that money up to much greater things than make a bank rich!

Part 1  Introduction

I remember the day that I signed up for my first home mortgage.  I financed such a large amount of money that I could not really comprehend the amount.  All I knew was that I wanted to purchase a house, and the bank was willing to lend me the money.  When I made my first mortgage payment, I realized just how much this debt was going to cost me.  Less than two-percent of the payment was applied to principal balance reduction.  The rest of the payment went to make other people and businesses wealthy – banks, insurance companies, and the government.

What I discovered was that if I paid the scheduled payments on my first house for the entire thirty year term, I would end up paying more in interest than I paid for the house.  Ridiculous!  I set out to find ways to eliminate the mortgage more quickly so that more of my money would be applied to the principal balance.

This will be fun!

Read the entire series HERE

The I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. team had a GREAT time this weekend at Colwood Church (Pastor Jonathan Herron) in Caro, MI!  We were able to train four financial coaches/counselors, speak during both morning services, teach the Financial Learning Experience to the adults and What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD to the youth.  What an amazing response we had!  I am so dumbfounded that we get to do this life-changing work for a living!!!

Here is the event schedule for this week and upcoming weekend:

March 3, 2010  FLE SE Conf of SDA  Patmos Chapel Worship Center Winter Park, FL

March 4, 2010 Unleash Conference NewSpring Church Anderson, SC

March 6, 2010  FCE New Life Center Bridgeton, MO

March 7, 2010  FLE New Life Center Bridgeton, MO

March 8, 2010  FLE NewSpring Church – Florence Campus

March 9, 2010  FLE NewSpring Church – Anderson Campus

March 10, 2010  FLE NewSpring Church – Columbia Campus

March 11, 2010  FLE NewSpring Church – Greenville Campus

We hope to see you at one of these upcoming events!

See the entire schedule HERE.

On Twitter yesterday, I saw the following tweet from “DebtFreeGuy”:

“Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out. “

Well said.  Well said!

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Ever read something and said, “I can’t believe what I am reading?”  Well that happened to me recently when I read THIS ARTICLE via FoxNews.

Here are some one-liners from this article:

• The House of Representatives Thursday voted to raise the debt limit by $1.9 trillion. That vote raises the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion, a new high for the amount of debt the U.S. has ever carried.
• If Congress doesn’t hike the debt ceiling, the U.S. would be unable make good on Social Security and Medicare payments.
• The debt ceiling increase is part of a broader bill that would impose so-called “PAYGO” rules on the House. In other words, the House would have to pay for all tax cuts or programs it creates so they are budget neutral.

Can you believe this is happening in America?  We are paying for outrageous and ridiculous spending as individuals and as a collective whole.  Let me put this into perspective …

• Assuming there are 310 million Americans, this $14.3 trillion in debt is equal to $46,129 per man, woman, boy, and girl.
• In the early-80s our national debt was not even $1 trillion
• We are increasing our debt load while Americans are struggling the most – the burden to repay it will be borne by Americans – and the burden is becoming greater by the minute

I am not sure what I can do to address this mess, but I do know this fundamental fact:  INCOME – OUTGO must equal EXACTLY ZERO

Is that true for your household?  When my income decreases, it means that I must cut out expenses or I will go broke.  It is just that simple.

What on Earth is going on?!!!  As a collective nation, we are spending money like it is water.  It is time for us to “go green” and start conserving all of our dollars – government, businesses, non-profits, and indivudals – it ALL applies to us.

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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!

That decision helped me write the “I Was Broke” part of my book I Was Broke. Now I’m Not.!

If you are just getting started on your Debt Freedom March, I want you to pay attention to another form of impulsiveness that can keep you broke – the impulsive desire to become debt-free.  Let me explain.

I see people who take our classes or participate in the I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. Group Study who catch a vision of what life would be like with a written life plan, a written spending plan, and free of debt.  They understand the freedom that this delivers, so they want it NOW!  It is so inspiring!  So exciting!  So motivating!  Yet, I have seen this impulsive desire to become debt-free become financially harmful.

How has it become harmful?  Here are some common ways I see people (who have great intentions) hurt themselves financially because they want to become debt-free NOW!

• Cash in the 401(k) I have seen countless examples where people cash in the 401(k) to pay off credit cards or other debts.  There are two problems with this.  (1) They ROB themselves of their retirement savings! and (2) There is a tremendous cost – taxes PLUS a 10% federal tax penalty if the person withdraws it before turning 59-1/2 years old.  It usually means that 40% or more of the 401(k) ends up leaving to the government!
• Cash in the whole life insurance policy I have seen people cash in a whole life insurance policy and NOT have other life insurance in place (I own 30-year level term life insurance).  There are two problems with this.  (1) Without another life insurance policy in place, there is a gap in coverage.  Gaps are terrible.  (2) The immediate debt problem is addressed, but if the individual does not address the behavior that led to the debt in the first place, they will usually end up right back in debt.  Only now they will not have the cash value built up to bail them out.
• Apply all of the tax refund to debt pay-off The first step toward financial health is to have at least $1,000 in an emergency fund ($2,500 if you have kids or a house).  Too many times I see individuals become consumed with becoming debt-free and they fail to save money.  As a result, they might pay off more debt at the beginning, but something will happen like a car breakdown or appliance failure.  Without any savings, the individual will have to turn to debt again.  Make sure that you save money FIRST.

Financial impulsiveness rarely works out favorably.

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Have you made any of the following statements?

• A budget is just too hard to live by
• Debt freedom is not really that important to achieving my dreams
• I am too old to save for retirement
• My kids need to learn this stuff, but my financial situation is too far gone to recover
• I gave up dreaming long ago
• There is no way I can earn enough money to pay my bills
• There is no hope for me

The answers are as follows:

• A budget is just too hard to live by (It is a GREAT way to live, and it is the most FREEING thing I have ever done – and remember – I’m a spender!)
• Debt freedom is not really that important to achieving my dreams (Debt freedom is THE REASON my family has been able to achieve many of its dreams!)
• I am too old to save for retirement (Wrong – Even if you are 183 years old, you can still save for retirement)
• My kids need to learn this stuff, but my financial situation is too far gone to recover (Children learn best from a parent who is living strong financial principles out loud in their own lives – and you CAN recover – 2 years from now your financial situation will be ancient history)
• I gave up dreaming long ago (Why?!!!  Dreams are FREE!!!  Dreaming re-awakens the desire and passion that is necessary to stick to a plan even when it is easy to give up)
• There is no way I can earn enough money to pay my bills (Yes you can.  One key way is to reduce the number and amount of bills to be paid – a budget can really help bring that into focus)
• There is no hope for me (There IS hope for you!  You CAN do this!)

Zig Ziglar said it best, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right!”

What are you saying to yourself (and buying into) that you need to STOP saying?

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Like everyone else – I LOVE A DEAL!  I wrote the “I Was Broke” part of my book by always paying full price for items.  I was able to write the “Now I’m Not” part by demanding a deal.

I have been learning a lot about obtaining great deals from The Saving Freak.

One way to save money is try out free samples.  A good site to check out is Shop4Freebies (link has expired).

Since Jenn and I are expecting a baby boy in early February, I signed up for a bunch of free diaper samples!

Hope you find some deals!

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Below is the schedule for the 1st Quarter this year!  Me and the team are FIRED UP about the many opportunities we have to teach practical financial tools and train financial coaches!  If you are interested in partnering with IWBNIN, you can contact our team HERE to start the conversation.

January 9, 2010  FCE Leave A Mark Church Columbus, OH

January 10, 2010  FLE Leave A Mark Church Columbus, OH

January 16, 2010  FCE Christ Church Hickory, NC

January 16, 2010  FCE New River Community Church Lake Wylie, NC

January 17, 2010  FLE New River Community Church Lake Wylie, NC

January 18, 2010  FLE Grace Community Church Clarksville, TN

January 23, 2010  FCE Element Church Cheyenne, WY

January 23, 2010  FFE Element Church Cheyenne, WY

January 25, 2010  FLE Forefront Church Littleton, CO

January 26, 2010  FLE Christ Church Hickory, NC

January 27, 2010  FLE Christ Church Hickory, NC

January 28, 2010  FLE Christ Church Hickory, NC

February 6, 2010 Conference  Community Christian Church Chicago, IL

February 20, 2010  FCE The Lighthouse Cresco, PA

February 21, 2010  FLE The Lighthouse Cresco, PA

February 27, 2010  FCE Colwood Church Caro, MI

February 28, 2010  FLE Colwood Church Caro, MI

March 4, 2010 Unleash Conference NewSpring Church Anderson, SC

March 6, 2010  FCE New Life Center Bridgeton, MO

March 7, 2010  FLE New Life Center Bridgeton, MO

March 8, 2010  FLE NewSpring Church – Campus

March 9, 2010  FLE NewSpring Church – Campus

March 10, 2010  FLE NewSpring Church – Campus

March 11, 2010  FLE NewSpring Church – Campus

March 20, 2010  FCE Main Street Baptist Church Alexandria, KY

March 21, 2010  FLE Main Street Baptist Church Alexandria, KY

Each year, I make a point to reflect on everything that took place in the past year.

Here is a short list of what happened in 2009.

• Announced STUNNING news that we are expecting a 2nd child (read about it HERE)
• The IWBNIN team spoke/taught 91 times!  (we want to speak at your church or business in 2010 – contact us HERE)
• We taught over 40,000 people!!!!  Unbelievable!!!
• Released a new book – What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD
• Built a tree house in the backyard for my daughter – and camped out in it TWICE – once in a major thunderstorm!
• Caught a “Fish-Of-A-Lifetime” – a 47″ 28.3# Muskie

• Completed my 2nd 26.2 mile marathon (like Pastor Jeff Kapusta just did) in Houston, TX – and I beat my goal – and two of my brothers while finishing in less than 4 hours – 3:55!!!!  (you can read about it and see my mile splits HERE)
• Took off with my wife on two separate trips WITHOUT the daughter – NICE!

I am SO thankful for the blessings in my life, and I can’t wait to see what 2010 holds!

Did I mention that we are having a son in early February?!!?!?!

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