Archive for May 2011
5 Ways Joe Sangl Has FAILED With Money – Gotta Have It Now
I am writing this series partly to help people win with their own money, but also as a reminder to myself that money pitfalls abound and that we are ALL susceptible to falling into making a poor financial decision.
Part One Gotta Have It Now
I had graduated from college, and I was the first person in my family to complete a college education. With a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in hand, I was FIRED UP to have completed my education, and to be finally earning money. My college sweetheart had also just said “YES!” when I asked her to marry me. So to celebrate, I wanted to get a new car. After all, I felt that I needed a new car so I bought one. I did not even really negotiate the sales price. It is quite possible that I paid twice for that car when you toss in the interest that I paid.
Of course, hindsight tells me that I just really wanted a new car, but my “Gotta Have It Now” desire overtook reason and logic. The result was 48 months of payments for that smokin’ HOT Chevy Cavalier.
This is, of course, just ONE example of many times that I allowed myself to give in to “Gotta Have It Now” Fever, and it is a great reminder to me to be ever vigilant to ensure it doesn’t happen again!
PROBLEM “Gotta Have It Now” Fever
SOLUTIONS 1.) A written budget 2.) Working together on the budget with my bride 3.) Waiting overnight before making a major purchase decision
Have you ever failed with money because of “Gotta Have It Now” Fever? Share your story – we can all LEARN from each other!
Flushing Money Down The Toilet
Ever spent money and felt like you might as well be flushing it down the toilet?
I’ve had those experiences. We all have.
Situations like the following come to mind:
- Moneypit House Repairs
- Fixing a boat
- Health club membership and haven’t been to health club in years
- Giving money to a friend/family member who refuses to change their poor financial behaviors
Maybe you are doing this right now – and you don’t even realize just how big it is costing you!
- Paying interest on your home mortgage – adds up to THOUSANDS per year!
- Paying interest on a credit card balance or furniture purchase – can add up to THOUSANDS per year!
- Purchasing a brand new car/boat/truck/ATV/etc – and HUNDREDS and THOUSANDS of dollars are lost the moment it is taken off the lot!
- Paying for a storage unit for stuff you don’t even use!
These “hidden costs” can add up to a TON of money that can be used in so many more ways than just “flushing it down the toilet”.
What is ONE THING you could do today to make a huge difference tomorrow?
Mark And Shawna’s Story
Many of you know that Mark Asbell is a huge part of this crusade to help others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances. He has been a tremendous help in growing this crusade at NewSpring Church and taking this message to the nation.
What you may not know is Mark and Shawna’s financial story. If you want to GET FIRED UP and BE ENCOURAGED – take 3 minutes to watch their story:
If you can’t view the video, click HERE.
If your financial story were put into a 3-minute video, what would you say?
“And there will be a party.” I’m going to that party!!!!
By the way, Mark writes a blog about money and relationships. You can read that HERE.
GET FIRED UP!!!
THE RESPONSE: Do Parents Owe Their Children A Paid-For College Education?
I was BLOWN AWAY by the response to THIS BLOG POST where I asked the question, “Do parents owe their children a paid-for college education?”!!!!!!
Here is a summary of the responses:
- 76% said NO! Parents do not owe their children a paid-for college education.
- 24% said YES! Parents owe their children a paid-for college education.
In fact, many people were more than a little “bothered” (read: absolutely frustrated) by the use of the word “owe”.
Here are a few of the TONS of comments that I wanted to share with you:
Those who said YES! Parents owe their children a paid-for college education.
- “I think parents should pay for their children’s education, I guess I don’t like the word owe.”
- “College is right up their with providing other needs such as medical, dental. Parents should PLAN for college/technical education for their children.”
- “My mom and daddy paid for my college degree. I graduated with no school debt which made looking for a job in a rough economy a lot less stressful because I did not have worry about loans.”
- “Start NOW! What a great thing for your kids to not be burdened with college debt!”
Those who said NO! Parents do NOT owe their children a paid-for college education.
- “I want to be able to help my child with their education, but it is by now means something I owe them.”
- “I feel that parents should give their childern guidance and a help entering college. This may mean financial assistance the first year which is often overwhelming academically and socially. It will mean more to the child to earn their own way. Often, the child will work harder and be more responsible. My in-laws took a different approach with my wife. She had to pay her first year and they funded the rest of her education.”
- “It’s been my experience that kids who pay for their own college education are less likely to “goof off” or be lazy in college. They take their education more seriously and tend to appreciate it much. Also, if they work their way through school rather do 100% of it through student loans, they develop a good, strong work ethic.”
- “Parents don’t owe it, but it should be a priority for them to save for their children’s education. We have saved to pay 100% of tuition and room and board for our children’s education and hope it is a great blessing to them. They have also worked hard to obtain scholarships knowing that we have worked hard to provide this for them. Next year, with two kids in college, we will have $0 debt/student loans, but $30,900 in academic scholarships.”
- “I was responsible for books and living expenses, but at no point and time did I think that my parents owed me an education. My dad said that he would pay for 4 years. After that I was on my own.” Note from Sangl: This was my personal favorite response.
I was OVERWHELMED by your participation in this survey! We literally had HUNDREDS of people respond and write us paragraphs of great thoughts!
Do Parents Owe Their Children A Paid-For College Education?
This ought to be fun …
One of the largest financial challenges faced by many young people today is the cost of higher education. College expenses have continued to increase at nearly twice the rate of inflation. This has led to many graduates owing an entire year of salary (or even two or three year’s worth) in student loan debt! In many cases, these young people are repaying student loan debt equivalent to a home mortgage.
Parents can position their children to financially succeed by paying for their education – whether it is vocational school, technical college, or university. After all, there is an 18 year notification that a child is going to be headed to college. BUT education is very expensive, and there are so many items competing for our money.
Some people say that parents OWE their children a paid-for education. Others say that their children should pay for it themselves.
I want to hear your thoughts! Please share them in the quick 15-second survey below (or click HERE if you can’t see it).