SERIES: 5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money
Welcome to the latest series on the wildly popular JosephSangl.com – 5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money
It is my hope that this series will help provide you with practical questions to ask when preparing to spend a substantial amount of money. Practical questions that will help you truly understand the enormity of the decision and help you make the decision that is best for you and your family.
Question 4: Will this purchase generate income for me or take income away?
What an incredible question to ask – and what a difference it will make in the way you think about money! I used to earn money and then immediately begin pondering which fun item I was going to buy. I rarely (if ever) thought about the fact that I could use the money to buy in to a small business, purchase stocks and mutual funds, start a small business or purchase a rental home.
Even more, I did not truly realize the ACTUAL cost of many of the items I had purchased. I had purchased a new car (my smokin’ hot Chevy Cavalier) and I only thought of the bank loan as my “cost” to purchase. In actuality, I also added the costs of insurance, property taxes, license tags, maintenance, repairs, and additional gasoline consumption.
Before spending your money, just stop and ponder the options available to you to use those resources to generate more income for you in the future.
BONUS: Review your budget to see how much your current possessions are costing you on an ongoing basis – where can you lower your expenses?
SERIES: 5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money
Welcome to the latest series on the wildly popular JosephSangl.com – 5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money
It is my hope that this series will help provide you with practical questions to ask when preparing to spend a substantial amount of money. Practical questions that will help you truly understand the enormity of the decision and help you make the decision that is best for you and your family.
Question 3: Do I have the money to pay CASH for this item?
My hero, Dave Ramsey, would be proud of me for asking this question! (By the way, Dave, it would be great to meet with you again!)
I got to write the “I Was Broke” part of my book, I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. (you should buy a copy HERE) by always financing stuff. My car, truck, next truck, engagement ring, wedding ring, honeymoon, credit cards, college student loans, furniture, and many other things were financed because I did not stop and ask myself this key question. I know that the day I started asking this question was THE DAY that my family started winning with money.
If I do not have the cash to pay for it, I’m not buying it UNLESS it is a house or an asset that will increase in value (like a business, rental house, etc). Even then, the answer is still usually “NO!” unless I have all of the money available to pay cash.
BONUS:
SERIES: 5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money
Welcome to the latest series on the wildly popular JosephSangl.com – 5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money
It is my hope that this series will help provide you with practical questions to ask when preparing to spend a substantial amount of money. Practical questions that will help you truly understand the enormity of the decision and help you make the decision that is best for you and your family.
Question 2: Will this item INCREASE or DECREASE in value?”
Asking this simple question can prevent a lot of poor spending decisions!
Chewing gum goes down in value. So do cars, 4-wheelers, refrigerators, swimming pools, and clothes.
Businesses can go up in value. So can houses, land, antiques, mutual funds, company stocks, bonds, and intellectual property (patents, licenses, etc).
Here is what I KNOW: Not all of your purchases can be for items that increase in value, but if ALL of your purchases go down in value – something ain’t right!
BONUS: Find someone you know who is prospering with their investments. Invite them to lunch (pay for his/her lunch) and ask them to mentor you! They will probably LOVE IT!
SERIES: 5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money
Welcome to the latest series on the wildly popular JosephSangl.com – 5 Questions To Ask Before Spending Money
It is my hope that this series will help provide you with practical questions to ask when preparing to spend a substantial amount of money. Practical questions that will help you truly understand the enormity of the decision and help you make the decision that is best for you and your family.
Question 1: “Do I need this?”
This can seem very basic, but as a “spender” I can get caught up in the “I WANT THIS!” moment and never stop to ask, “Do I need this?”
My garage is full of “I WANT THIS!” items that we never use. EVER! This includes a RC Airplane (it’s cool – but I don’t use it), bike (never ride it), tennis rackets (once every three years – not a priority), and many other items.
Pausing to ask, “Do I need this?”, can prevent a lot of poor spending decisions. I’m not saying that I never purchase things that are pure “wants” – I am saying that when I ask the key question, I make much smarter overall decisions.
BONUS: Wait overnight before answering the question! It is amazing the clarity that a good night of sleep will bring to a spending decision!
How To Have A Debt-Free Christmas
According to Sangl’s Dictionary, here is the definition of “Debt-Free Christmas.”
Debt-Free Christmas – noun The act of buying Christmas gifts without incurring any debt.
Here is the 1-2-3 steps that will ensure that you can have a Debt-Christmas of your own:
- Save money for Christmas throughout the year – save some money for Christmas every single paycheck.
- In October/November, prepare a Mini-Budget for the money you have saved for Christmas. Click this link to pull the tool up: Mini-Budget Tool. See the picture below for a sample budget.
- Ensure that it balances to EXACTLY ZERO!
- Stick to the plan!
It is that simple!