Finance

“I’ve declared bankruptcy. Now what?”

This is a combination “statement – question” that millions of people have made over the past few years. According to the United States Courts website (HERE), 1,221,091 individuals and companies declared bankruptcy in the U.S. in 2012 alone.

Bankruptcy is an embarrassing, stressful, and humiliating process. It can make one feel like they are not just a financial failure, but a total failure as a person. That’s not true, of course. Many people have made the tough decision to declare bankruptcy (Dave Ramsey is a famous example in the world of personal finance – so grateful he shares about it openly!), and it became a catalytic moment in their life that launched them to an incredible future. This is the very reason the option to declare bankruptcy exists in the first place: to help people recover from extremely difficult financial decisions.

Because bankruptcy affects people so deeply, over a series of posts I’m going to help answer the question: “Now what?” The reason this matters so much to me is because a large percentage of people who declare bankruptcy once are likely to file again! In fact, 28% of the people who filed for bankruptcy in 2011 were “repeat filers.” It is my goal through this series to help bankruptcy filers become adept financial leaders and managers so that they can prosper and never be broke again!

To open this series, here are a few facts about the most common types of bankruptcy one can declare:

1. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy  Liquidation of one’s assets (minus exempt items)
2. Chapter 9 Bankruptcy  Municipality bankruptcy
3. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy  Reorganization under the bankruptcy code
4. Chapter 12 Bankruptcy  Family farmer or fisherman bankruptcy
5. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy  Individual debt adjustment
   

And here are some interesting facts about bankruptcy:

1. You can’t erase student loans by filing bankruptcy  This is true in almost all cases.
2. You can’t erase taxes owed by filing bankruptcy  This is true in almost all cases.
3. You can’t erase child support or alimony obligations by filing bankruptcy  This is true in almost all cases.
4. More than HALF of bankruptcies are due to medical bills  The failure of our own bodies causes a financial collapse. Awful!
5. Filings for bankruptcy have dropped substantially over the past few years (more than 10% each year)  Has the economic recession gotten our attention and made us better money managers?

I look forward to this series. Please share your stories and comments as it will help thousands of people who are in this process right now!

Read the entire series (available after 3/25/2013)

The I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. Group Study Kit costs only $20 and can help you avoid bankruptcy and position you to prosper! Check it out HERE.

“How to become a millionaire.”

That title can seem to reek of selfishness or greed, but what if you looked at wealth this way:

1. Wealth allows us to serve and bless the less fortunate.
2. Wealth enables us to fund the work of our church and other great causes.
3. Wealth allows us to focus on doing EXACTLY what we’ve been called to do!
4. Wealth provides income so we can meet our needs when we are no longer able to work.

Perspective matters, doesn’t it?

I’ve tried broke, and I’ve tried not being broke. I like not being broke much better!

With that said, here’s how YOU can become a millionaire:

INVEST and capture the power of COMPOUND INTEREST.

When it comes to compound interest, three things matter a lot:

1. Amount of money invested (start with whatever you can and work to increase it from there)
2. Time (start early!)
3. Interest rate (growth rate of your investment)

Here’s how YOU can achieve $1,000,000 at a constant Interest Rate of 12%:

1. Invest $85.00 per month for 40 years at 12% annual interest.
2. Invest $286.13 per month for 30 years at 12% annual interest.
3. Invest $1,010.86 per month for 20 years at 12% annual interest.
4. Invest $4,347.09 per month for 10 years at 12% annual interest.

Here are some ways YOU can achieve $1,000,000 in just 20 years:

1. Invest $1,697.73 per month for 20 years at 8% annual interest.
2. Invest $1,316.88 per month for 20 years at 10% annual interest.
3. Invest $1,010.86 per month for 20 years at 12% annual interest.
4. Invest $768.54 per month for 20 years at 14% annual interest.

Here is how YOU can achieve $1,000,000 with just $300 per month:

1. Invest $300.00 per month for 473 months at 8% annual interest.
2. Invest $300.00 per month for 404 months at 10% annual interest.
3. Invest $300.00 per month for 355 months at 12% annual interest
4. Invest $300.00 per month for 318 months at 14% annual interest.

For those familiar with investing, I already know one of the biggest questions you want to ask:

“Where on earth do I get 12% annual interest?”

It’s a great question! The number one way to get 50% or even 100% interest is to contribute to an employer-sponsored retirement plan where matching contributions are made. For example, if your employer matches your contributions “dollar-for-dollar” up to 3% of your pay, that is a 100% interest rate that AUTOMATICALLY HAPPENS with NO RISK! It’s called FREE MONEY! Beyond that, I like investing in mutual funds that are older than me and also in other great investments like residential and commercial real estate as well as small businesses.

In fact, I have spread my investments into most of these categories with small businesses and mutual funds being my preferred options. If you are interested, you can view my CURRENT INVESTMENTS HERE.

Are you wanting to break out of the ordinary into extraordinary? My latest book, OXEN: The Key to an Abundant Harvest, can help you grow what you have into an abundant harvest. Read more and purchase OXEN HERE.

QUESTION: What do YOU need to do to become a millionaire? Share with us in the comments HERE.

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Welcome to the latest series at the wildly popular JosephSangl.com: “5 Things That Will Help Fix The Economy” In this series, I will be sharing some principles I believe will help fix the economy long term.

The economy has been stuck for some time. The words “Great Recession,” “Fiscal Cliff,” “Sequestration,” “Stagnant,” and “Jobless Recovery” have become common everyday language.

Number 5:  Make rip-off loans illegal

I know this seems a little out of place when compared to the other four items, but I really feel this needs to be included. When economies allow organizations to charge OUTRAGEOUS fees and interest to citizens, it is positioned to eliminate the middle class.

In a coaching appointment, I had a person who had signed up for a “payday” loan. The loan agreement clearly outlines that the “annual percentage rate” was 782.14%. That is not a typo! The interest being charged to this person was 782.14%.

I’ve heard arguments from those who make these types of loans:

• We help people who are “in a pinch”  You can actually say that with a straight face?
• People voluntarily sign up for these loans.  This doesn’t make it right!
• These are smaller loans, so it’s not that big of a deal.  Yes, it is!

Have you noticed where these rip-off loan businesses are located? Near rich neighborhoods? Nope. They are located next to communities where people have little money education. It’s my goal to help educate everyone to the point that no one would ever borrow money with such horrific financial terms and these types of organizations have to go out of business!

This type of lending is awful, and it should be illegal. Who’s with me?

Read the entire series (available after 3/14/2013)

Read recent posts

Welcome to the latest series at the wildly popular JosephSangl.com: “5 Things That Will Help Fix The Economy” In this series, I will be sharing some principles I believe will help fix the economy long term.

The economy has been stuck for some time. The words “Great Recession,” “Fiscal Cliff,” “Sequestration,” “Stagnant,” and “Jobless Recovery” have become common everyday language.

Number 4:  Incentivize Innovation, Job Creation, and Education (Especially Money Education)

Economies that possess highly educated people who focus on developing emerging technologies are the ones who help drive job creation. For this reason, it is essential that countries incentivize this because it will result in global economic improvement.

There are so many great areas where we need innovation:

1. Transportation: Rapid transit and mass transportation
2. Energy: Electricity, Oil, Gas (improving the old ones) and Renewables (replacing the old ones)
3. Housing: Improving efficiency and building materials
4. Education: Improve teaching and learning methods – especially providing experiential learning and connecting theory to real-life application

Here’s why money education is so important:

People without sound money knowledge will do the only thing they have ever seen done with money – spend it. They will spend every dime they have earned, then open a credit card and proceed to spend all of the credit limit also. This WILL help power an economy – but only for a very brief period. Very quickly, those people who have little money knowledge will run out of spending power and have to repay their debts. This causes economies to experience short-term massive expansion followed by years of stagnant growth or even contraction. Sound familiar?

While steady growth is not nearly as exciting as massive expansion, it is sustainable.  That sounds like a good deal to me.

Read the entire series (available after 3/14/2013)

Read recent posts

Welcome to the latest series at the wildly popular JosephSangl.com: “5 Things That Will Help Fix The Economy” In this series, I will be sharing some principles I believe will help fix the economy long term.

The economy has been stuck for some time. The words “Great Recession,” “Fiscal Cliff,” “Sequestration,” “Stagnant,” and “Jobless Recovery” have become common everyday language.

Number 3:  Build substantial financial margin.

When an individual, organization, or government continually operates without a “margin of safety” financially, they are always are at risk of collapsing in the face of a financial emergency.

Over the past decade, the national debt of the United States has soared. The actual debt was:

• In 2000: $5,757,000,000,000
• In 2004: $7,097,000,000,000
• In 2008: $9,472,000,000,000
• Now: $16,614,000,000,000

This debt has increased in large part because the nation has been “against the wall” financially – with no real savings. Just like a person who has lost their job without having any saved money, the decision was made to “finance” the gap to keep everything running. However, just like a credit card has a spending limit, so does the nation.

Just as it is of first and foremost importance for an individual to build financial margin (even before attacking debt), it is vitally important that the nation build savings. Savings allows the nation to have “breathing room” that would allow for the conversations and dialogue that is very necessary to make the best and wisest decisions regarding income and outgo.

Here are ways that the United States could build margin:

1. Pass a balanced budget that is REQUIRED to be followed. (This was part 2 of this series)
2. Ensure that savings is included as an expense that is part of the balanced budget.

I would be more than happy to pay more taxes if the government’s leaders would commit to STOP incurring more debt, and my extra tax dollars would be utilized to build financial margin and to reduce debt. Anything to ensure that my children and grandchildren won’t be left bearing the huge financial burden of a bankrupt nation!

Your thoughts?

Read the entire series (available after 3/14/2013)

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