Finance

This is a series about a certain purse owned by the Sangl Family.  Unlike every other series I have written, I am NOT excited to be writing this one.

Part 1 – The Loss

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that Jenn and I traveled to southern Illinois last weekend to celebrate her grandfather's 90th birthday party.  It was a wonderful trip.  Her grandfather is a real-life WWII and Korean War hero.  He was machine gunned down in WWII in the Battle of the Bulge and fought in the Koren War too.  He is an amazing man, and it was our honor to attend his birthday party.

Anyway, we headed home on Sunday.  It was about a nine hour drive home.  We stopped and grabbed some lunch at a McDonald's just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.  We then stopped one more time for some gas.  As we arrived home at around 8PM on Sunday evening, I told Jenn that it would be great to grab some Chinese food.

Jenn said, "No problem.  I will unload the car while you go pick it up.  Let me get you some cash for the food."

She reached down to grab her purse, and the feeling of dread set in.  She immediately knew that it was not in the car and that it had to be at the McDonald's that we had stopped at nearly SIX HOURS ago.

Panic might be an understatement.  Many of our cash envelopes were in the purse.  It also contained debit cards, checks, an iPod, and a lot of other stuff.  Frankly, I could not believe everything that Jenn said was in that purse.  Ladies who read this blog – HOW do you fit all of that stuff in your purses?????

So …  what do you do when you lose your purse?

Read recent posts 

Read the entire "Lost Purse" series

Introduction

This couple has been married for many years and have one child.   They have HAD IT with their debt and have been marching toward debt freedom since November 2007.  They are THROUGH with credit cards.

Good things this month

We are seeing balances come down due to making higher payments (National City) and lower or no interest on the others!  YEAH!!!!

Challenges this month

Still gas prices … BUT we have restructured our schedules to only run errands once a week if possible and it has really helped out! 

Updated Debt Freedom Date …

Month By Month Progress …

Sangl Says …

You can see the progress being made by Couple #3 now!  There were several months where the debt was being restructured by transferring credit card balances to 0% and low interest rate credit cards.  Now that all of that money is going directly to the principal, look at how swiftly they are dropping!!!  Couple #3 dropped their debt by a huge amount last month!  Outstanding.

Readers …

Are you paying high interest on your credit cards?  Move the balances to zero percent and low interest cards!  That can really help one gain traction toward debt freedom.  There are several 0% balance transfer credit cards available on the Next Steps page.

My book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not, is available via AMAZON.COM, BORDERS.COM, and PAYPAL.  You can read the Introduction HERE.  In this book, you will learn exactly how Jenn and I became debt-free in just fourteen months.

Introduction

Couple #1 is THROUGH with debt!  They have been married for many years and have two children.  They are now over a year into their Debt Freedom March.

Couple #1's Thoughts This Month

I am so thankful for your help and encouragement in these tough times. If we were carrying our previous levels of debt it would be stressful to say the least. We are seeing our 401k shrivel but we all know that will return with time and stability. I only hope Americans now see that being in debt is dangerous combination of timing and chance.

Updated Debt Freedom Date

Month By Month Progress

Sangl Says …

Another boring month of debt reduction … 🙂  Couple #1 has figured this thing out.  They have a plan that is working, and that means more debt has left.  Way to go!

Readers …

How is your Debt Freedom March progressing?

In my book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not., I share the story of my Debt Freedom March and teach the exact tools that Jenn and I used to become debt-free.  You can do it too!  You can read the book's introduction HERE.

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Before this moment, there were four key ways this crusade was carried out:

• Speaking (Churches, Businesses, and Civic Organizations – Upcoming Events HERE)
• Teaching (Financial Learning Experience, Financial Freedom Experience)
• One-On-One Financial Counseling (Financial Counseling Experience)
• Resources (I Was Broke. Now I'm Not. and its Group Study)

Today, I am PUMPED to introduce a fifth way that this crusade is carried out: NEXT STEPS

Let me tell you how this newest part of the crusade came about.

First I will start by reiterating my passion.  It is my passion to see others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances.  The reason I am so passionate about this is because I believe that when people are financially free, they are much more likely to go do EXACTLY what they have been put on this earth to do.

As I partner with churches and businesses throughout the nation to help teach PRACTICAL personal finance tools, my passion and this vision drives me to constantly ask the question, "What is a PRACTICAL next step that we can offer folks?"

Let me be more specific.

• "After this message series on money, what is the PRACTICAL next step we can offer to help people take their finances to the next level?"
• "After Joe speaks at our business, what is a PRACTICAL next step we can offer to help people take their finances to the next level?"
• "After the Financial Learning Experience or Financial Freedom Experience, what is a PRACTICAL next step we can offer to help people take their finances to the next level?"
• "After someone reads I Was Broke. Now I'm Not., what is a PRACTICAL next step we can offer to help people take their finances to the next level?"
• "After someone participates in the I Was Broke. Now I'm Not. Group Study, what is a PRACTICAL next step we can offer to help people take their finances to the next level?"

Next Steps is a website created to answer these questions. Over the next several weeks, there will be several series written about the practical tools and solutions that we have placed on the site.  I encourage you to check it out, and see if there are ways that can help you achieve YOUR next steps!

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