Finance
I Need To Make More Money!
“I need to make more money!”
As I travel this nation teaching and coaching people to win with their money, this is one of the most common beliefs that people have about their financial situation. They truly and genuinely believe that more money is the answer to their current financial predicament.
While it is certainly true that more money would be a blessing and ease financial hardship, the question every one of us most answer is: “Am I managing my current income well?”
If the answer to this question is “yes”, then more income will most certainly be a blessing. If the answer is “no”, more income will probably lead to more of the same pain – only with more shiny stuff.
For me, managing money well includes the following components:
- Give at least 10-percent of my gross income away – FIRST
- Save at least 10-percent of my gross income for known upcoming expenses (like annual insurance and Christmas)
- Invest at least 10-percent of my gross income in long-term retirement accounts
- Invest at least 5-percent of my gross income for my children’s college, weddings, etc
- Pay all of my bills early
- Maintain a healthy cash margin so that obstacles and opportunities can be faced without financial collapse
- Staying in tune with my surroundings so that I can identify opportunities to bless someone or for investment
- Teaching my children how to win with their money
- Communicating with my spouse to ensure we are on the same page
- Prayer about all financial decisions
- Seeking wisdom for all financial decisions that I am unfamiliar with or that are larger than normal
What are some things you do to ensure that you are managing your money well?
Financial Storms Are Necessary
I was driving through a severe storm recently (the one pictured was one I experienced recently while in Erie, PA), and it was incredible, scary, awesome, and fearsome – all at the same time!
Here is the order of events:
- We saw the storms coming in the distance
- We were warned by a “Severe Thunderstorm Warning” for our county.
- The winds picked up a little
- We heard thunder grumbling in the distance
- We saw lightning and then thunder
- MAJOR wind arrived (40 to 50 mph)
- MAJOR lightening/thunder/wind/rain arrived
- Heavy rain continued for about 30 minutes
- Light rain continued for another 30 minutes and then the storm passed by
- The sunlight returned with the Earth having received a good washing
The storm knocked down lots of limbs, some power lines, and a few trees.
It made me think – what would happen to all of the dead limbs if storms did not happen? The tree would be left holding up all of that dead weight.
It makes me thankful that I experience financial storms from time to time. It helps me re-evaluate what is important to me and my family. It helps us get rid of dead weight – costs that are no longer necessary or are merely “wants” instead of “needs”.
YOU can share! I’ve experienced many financial storms, and I am sure you have too! I would love to hear about some of the financial storms you have experienced and how you came out better because of it! Share in the comments below!
TRUTH: We can either despise the storm or welcome it knowing that we will be better in the future because of it.
SERIES: Joe Sangl’s Favorite Financial Tools – Early Pay-Off Calculator
Welcome to the latest series at JosephSangl.com – Joe Sangl’s Favorite Financial Tools
In this series, I will be sharing the tools that I love the most. There are several reasons I love these tools, but mostly I like them because they literally helped me change my life!
Part Two – Early Pay-Off Calculator
The early pay-off calculator is a HOPE-GENERATOR! Do you want to get FIRED UP? Do you want to see the answer to the question, “What if?” Use the Early Pay-Off Calculator to answer the question!
I have found that the Early Pay-Off Calculator is most impactful when used to calculate how much more quickly a home mortgage would be paid off if one were to begin paying extra principal each month.
As example, consider a $150,000 home mortgage financed for 30 years at 5% annual interest. The principal and interest payment would be $805/month.
- Pay just $905/month ($100 extra), the early pay-off calculator shows that the mortgage would be eliminated in 23.5 years (6.5 years sooner)
- Pay $1,000/month ($195 extra), the mortgage pay-off would occur in 19.7 years
- What if one were able to make two payments per month ($1,610/month)? Pay-off would occur in 9.8 years!
Don’t think it is possible to make two payments per month? Think again! Most people could make two, three, or even four payments per month if they eliminated all of their other debts! I challenge you to pull up the Early Pay-Off Calculator, punch in your numbers and discover why this tool will be one of your favorites too!
TOOL: Early Pay-Off Calculator
RESOURCE: My book, I Was Broke. Now I’m Not., is a great resource to help you attack debt and make it leave your life!
SERIES: Joe Sangl’s Favorite Financial Tools – Monthly Budget
Welcome to the latest series at JosephSangl.com – Joe Sangl’s Favorite Financial Tools
In this series, I will be sharing the tools that I love the most. There are several reasons I love these tools, but mostly I like them because they literally helped me change my life!
Part One – Monthly Budget
Preparing a monthly budget each month BEFORE the next month actually began has been the single largest reason that Jenn and I started prospering with our money.
Our monthly budget applies the basic rule of “Spending less than we earn.” It is a key hallmark of the Financial Learning Experience that I teach and all of our resources – the basic formula of:
INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO
We ensure that the “outgo” includes giving money away, saving, investing, and paying our bills.
Every. Single. Month.
Not just once every now and then. EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH. We prepare a monthly budget and then we do something completely crazy: we follow it!
Do surprises show up? Absolutely. Do we have to make adjustments? All of the time.
BUT the budget helps us stay on course. We have realized that our budget is the engine that makes our financial vehicle run with power! The finely tuned budget ensures that our life hums with funded dreams, giving, and peace. It can do the exact same thing for you!
TOOL: Monthly Budgets
RESOURCE: My book, I Was Broke. Now I’m Not., is a great resource to help you prepare a budget that actually works.
Margin – Part 4 – Fill Up The Tank
Welcome to the latest series of JosephSangl.com – Margin. This is a series where we will focus on the real and emotional effects of living life WITH and WITHOUT financial margin. As part of this crusade to help people accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their money, I see so many people living life on the edge with no financial margin. Lack of financial margin leads to lots of issues. Through this series, we will be discussing the benefits of establishing and keeping financial margin.
Part 4 – Fill up the tank.
There are so many benefits to having financial margin, but one of the greatest is the ability to just “fill up the tank.” Let me explain.
When there is no financial margin, it may not be possible to drive to the gas pump and fill up the gas tank. Lack of margin means that one has to put $20 in one time and $37 the next. Whatever money is available goes into the gas tank. This can be very costly – especially in time costs!
When you are not filling up the tank every time, you lose time because:
- You have to fill up more often
- You have to waste time figuring out how much can be spent this time
For many people, it also costs more money because more visits to the gas station means more trips into the convenience store to buy super-overpriced soda and snacks!
When you have margin, you can just “fill up the tank.”
Here are other ways this applies to having financial margin:
- You can buy the proven name-brand appliance instead of the el-cheapo model
- You are in the position of power so you are not subject to obtaining financing and buying the junk they are trying to sell you
- Pawning, short-term financing, and other highly expensive ways to obtain money become completely unnecessary
To me, the sacrifices to obtain financial margin are worth it just to “fill up the tank” every time!