Finance

WOW!  What a tremendous response to my post about my MOM telling me via the blog to REPLACE THE CAR!!!

There was a multitude of well-thought out responses that have me thinking …

Here are some of my thoughts about the responses:

• "Steve_Sr1" cracked me up when he said that I should have listened to my dad about checking the oil occasionally – He's right!
• "Indiana Pal" knows WAY TOO MUCH about me – he brought out a reference to a 1981 Datsun B210 that I used to drive
• "Joe D." needs to understand that I will pay cash for a car – car payments – did he say CAR PAYMENTS?  May my voice never utter the words CAR PAYMENT ever!!
• "Julie Brown", "Rich Brott", "Moneymonk", and "Paul Moyer" all just flat-out agreed with Mom.
• "Mark Asbell" and "Chip" offered excellent responses that indicates that they may have encountered this situation before.
• "Just Me" needs someone to help her out with her car!

The amount of responses to this topic really have made me think a lot about this.  There are so many people who have to deal with making the two key decisions when it comes to their car:

1.  Should we replace the car?

AND

2.  If we decide to get rid of the car, what should we replace the car with?

Tell me some of your stories about how you made these decisions in the past, and I will post a consolidated group of those stories to help us all make a more informed decision.

PS:  The Sangl's HAVE made a decision and HAVE TAKEN ACTION in regards to the car situation.  Details to follow …

Well, my 10-year old car is starting to make decisions that could alter our relationship.

First, she decided to die in the middle of my 10-year anniversary evening.  As you can see in the comments to this post, my MOTHER actually wrote a comment telling me to dump the car.  The car's brakes went out.  When Jenn went to get the oil changed and tires aligned, they made her sign a waiver because the oil wouldn't register on the stick and the tires were too worn to align.  While at the oil changing joint, someone HIT the car.  Now, the stupid vent fan won't operate again in the low setting (I've had this problem before – $19 fixes it).

Total expenses since September 2006 have been around $1,200 (around $120/month).

I was wondering, if your 66-year-old mother tells you "ON THE INTERNET" "THROUGH YOUR BLOG" to get rid of the car, should you?

UPDATE TO STORY:  You won't believe the rest of this story.  More on this in the next couple of weeks.

Dave Ramsey is one of my financial heroes!

It was a book that Dave Ramsey wrote that helped position me to truly pursue financial freedom.

The name of the book?  Financial Peace, Revisited

Jenn and I became debt-free in 14 months by learning the most powerful word in the English language – NO!  The experience birthed a passion in me to help others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances!  So much so that I left corporate America and negotiated myself a massive pay cut to do so.  Don't feel sorry for me!!! I LOVE what I do and I no longer have to work for a living!  I am on a CRUSADE!

Part of this CRUSADE must be to meet with Dave Ramsey.  I would love to be able to meet one-on-one with Dave Ramsey to obtain mentoring and to be able to learn from him!

Some questions I will ask Dave when I meet with him are:

• How do you balance family with your work?  The opportunities are endless at this point to do something other than go home to your family – what helps keep your family the highest priority?
• You wrote your first book, type-set it yourself, and had it self-published.  What did you learn from that process?
• You are in a field that can be emotionally draining.  What keeps the passion high for what you do?
• What do you look for when hiring a new employee?  What are the absolute MUST-HAVES?
• Has your mission/vision changed since you started?  How has it changed and what helped you figure this out?

Dave – I want to meet with you!  Tell me when and where.  I'll be there, buy the lunch and ask all the questions!

I just finished listening to Bishop Jakes speaking in the series "Positioning Yourself To Prosper"

You need to listen to this!!!

Below is a list of things I wrote down while listening:

• Sometimes it feels funny to share how God is blessing you => Like we should be ashamed or something.
• Why don't we need classes on "How To Be Poor?" FUNNY!
• God blesses people through premier relationships
• The fact that young people have to start out with no money is a CURSE!
• If I catch you in a paycheck cashing place, I'll shoot your tires out!
• You better not let me catch you with a rent-to-own TV!
• If I sound angry about this (people's financial condition), it is because I am!

Words that come to mind when summarizing this series are – challenging, inspiring, motivating, action, thankful

Why is Larry Burkett a www.JosephSangl.com Financial Hero?

Larry Burkett is a www.JosephSangl.com Financial Hero because he LIVED what he taught.  Larry taught the principle of "God is the owner.  We are the managers."

Think about that principle for a minute.  It changes the entire way you manage your money.  It forces you to look at it from the position of a manager, NOT the owner.  Let's break this down.  If you are a store manager for my favorite fast-food restaurant, Chick-Fil-A, what is your job?  Ultimately, it is to help the owner make more money!  Yes, you are responsible for ensuring the customers are delighted with the food and service and ensuring that the drive-through moves swiftly, but ultimately you are responsible for boosting sales and increasing profits.

If you were the owner of U, Inc., would your fire yourself?  How are you doing?

Larry consistently challenged everyone to look at their finances from a biblical perspective.  The Bible is very clear that when you approach your finances from a manager's perspective, you will obtain better results.

Larry wrote over 70 books!  Let's put this into perspective.  I am still working to have my first book published!

He passed away in 2003, but he has left a legacy in print and spoken word that continue to impact tens of thousands every year.  What a legacy!

Larry Burkett, an official www.JosephSangl.com Financial Hero!

Read about other www.JosephSangl.com Financial Heroes!