Archive for 2010

Recently, many of you shared some of the items you have placed on your “Bucket List” – HERE.   Today, I want to talk about some “Reverse Bucket List” items – things I am NEVER doing again.

I was introduced to this concept by my mother when she announced to me that she was never going to a roller coaster park again.   She said, “That is on my reverse bucket list.   I’m never doing that again.”

It made me stop and think about this from a financial sense.   What are some things I am NEVER going to do again?

Here’s the start of my “Reverse Bucket List” …

I’m never going to:

• Have non-house debt again (working feverishly to eliminate the house debt as well!)
• Finance a car again
• Finance anything with 90 days “same as cash” again – it is NOT the same as cash
• Buy something and say, “My tax refund is coming, and I will pay for it then.”
• Operate a single month without a written spending plan for that month’s money
• Miss a single month investing for my two kiddos college and retirement
• Operate without at least $2,500 in my emergency fund
• Buy anything that costs more than $200 without first talking to Jenn about it

What are some items on your “Reverse Bucket List”?     Share some of your thoughts below!

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In the movie, The Bucket List, one of the two individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness writes down his “bucket list” – the things he wanted to do before he “kicked the bucket.”

Call me crazy, but I believe that writing down one’s bucket list AFTER being diagnosed with a terminal illness is usually bad timing.   Of course, if you have a terminal illness and have not yet written down your bucket list, it is never too late!

So today, I am challenging you to write down your bucket list.   If you already have one, pull it out and update it.

Perhaps you would share some of your bucket list with all of the readers below. Once you have submitted your ideas, you can see everyone’s submissions by clicking the link provided that states “See previous responses” – Maybe you can get some more ideas to add to your list!.

By the way: We ALL have a terminal illness – it is called “being a human”.   The last I checked, the mortality rate was 100%.   So let’s get FIRED UP and LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST while we can!

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I can’t believe that I get to do what I get to do for a living! Every single day, I get to help people, churches, and businesses FREE themselves financially.   Every. Single. Day.   It is life-giving, joy-filled, and affirming!   I get to help hopeLESS people become hope FUL.   I get to help leaders fund their dreams.

So on this lovely Friday, I want to start off this Labor Day weekend with a huge POSITIVE.   I want to hear what you do and why you do it!   Click on the “comment” link and share with us all.   Let’s share and read each other’s reasons and celebrate the fact that we get to do Life-Giving work!

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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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Over the past 21 months, my family has participated in a wild ride with health insurance.   The experience has been enlightening, incredibly frustrating, annoying, confusing and intimidating.   Can I get an Amen! and a witness?!?!   In this series on health insurance, I am going to share my experience AND some helpful tips on saving money on health insurance.

Part Five The COST of not carrying health insurance

This series started out with me sharing my story of dropping maternity insurance coverage only to discover 16 days later that our baby boy was already on the way.   I got the joy of paying about $7,500 extra.

There are several COSTS to not carrying health insurance, some are obvious – others not so much:

• Monetary penalty This is obvious, of course.   I only had to pay $7,500 extra for my debacle.       I say “only” because I have seen SO MUCH WORSE!   A heart attack costs many multiples of what I had to pay.   Accidents do happen.   My twin brother is an ER doc – and every single day he sees people that are experiencing a life-altering health care crisis.   With a 100% mortality rate, I would say the chances of you or a family member experiencing a large health-care bill in the next ten years is very high.
• Emotional Stress I meet with people in 1-on-1 financial coaching session all of the time.   One of most common causes of unbelievable stress is unpaid medical bills that were incurred without insurance coverage.   In some cases, the stress has become so great that people begin to lose hope and despair of ever winning with their finances – and it ALL could have been avoided if they had just carried health insurance.
• Avoid necessary care/Delay visits to doctor When a person does not carry insurance (or do not have money to cover their deductible), they will avoid going to the doctor or emergency room.   Now, in some cases, this is a good thing.   The financial penalty has reduced the number of people going to the doctor for a hangnail.   But in many other cases, people have avoided a doctor’s care for necessary and sometimes urgent care.

What are some other costs you can think of that are a result of NOT carrying health insurance?

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