It was innocent enough – you set the goal to get this money thing figured out and then BOOM, here you are months/years later in no better place than when you started.  You know you have to live on a budget to win with money, but somehow it just isn’t working.  Here are the five biggest reasons I run into when I talk to people who tell me their budget isn’t working…and how to fix each one of them.

Situation

The boss just walked in and gave you the worst news.  Management decided to lay off some staff.  Your department is being closed and you will be on unemployment (if you’re lucky) in less than two weeks.

This scenario happens every day to someone.  Every day, someone has to go home and tell his/her family that things are getting ready to be turned upside down.  Eventually, when shock passes, coping with stress begins and the realization hits: I NEED A JOB! In today’s world, that isn’t usually an easy task. What do you do?  Today, I’ll help you (or someone you love), get through this mess, and maybe even come out on the other side with a great story to tell. Moreover, it’s important to remember that in challenging situations like wrongful job dismissal, seeking professional advice and support is crucial. [Read more…]

Today I’m going to rant. I’m going to be politically incorrect.  I’m going to make a lot of you extremely angry (the comments should be fun to read).  I’ve heard too many people whining and complaining about how bad they have it and how hard life is. I’ve heard people give me excuse after excuse of why they can never get ahead financially and how “the man” is always putting them down.  Come on, people – get with it.  Life is going to happen.  Life sometimes sucks (apologies to those of you who don’t like that word).  Life isn’t fair, and isn’t supposed to be.  For those of you who have decided to let life happen and whine about it instead of doing something to make it better, this post is dedicated to you.  Without further ado, I give you: 10 reasons you’re destined to stay broke. [Read more…]

I was recently privileged to purchase my latest new-to-me car, a 2008 Ford Taurus SEL.  My 1997 Ford Ranger is still doing fine, but is not very family-friendly and the gas mileage on my 80 mile commute (round trip) was definitely a concern.  This is the third vehicle I’ve bought for us using $100 bills and several of you have asked me how to pay cash for your vehicles and/or how to break the cycle of car payments.  I dedicate an entire chapter in my book to that topic, but I thought I’d give you the gist of it through a post today. [Read more…]

If you’ve been around here long, you know we are pretty big proponents of using cash to help maintain discipline in your finances.  We use the good old-fashioned cash envelope system, and have since we got married.  For some reason, many of you think using cash is strange because we live in a plastic society (interpret that in a few ways if you like), so Stacy even did a video about our actual cash envelopes back in March to try to help you see how we make it work.

But what about those of you who refuse to use cash?  Maybe you’re scared of having more than a few bucks on hand because they’ll burn a hole in your pocket.  Maybe you’re convinced you’ll be mugged if you bring out a $50 bill to pay for groceries.  Whatever the reason, many of you haven’t bought into the idea of using cash envelopes for certain budget categories and want to know if there’s an alternative.  Well…yes.

What’s the real difference in a wealthy person and someone barely scraping by?  Why do some become millionaires while others end up broke?  I previously wrote about how poor and rich are really states of mind and not directly tied to your income level, and even went so far as to say you have to act like a millionaire if you want to become one.  That leads to today’s discussion: how do you define “wealthy?”

There are really two schools of thought:

1. A wealthy person is someone who EARNS a lot of money
2. A wealthy person is someone who can SAVE a lot of money

I’ve read Dr. Thomas Stanley’s books, The Millionaire Next Door, The Millionaire Mind and Stop Acting Rich (Hey FTC, those are affiliate links!).  I’ve also been privileged to know some people who would definitely qualify as rich/wealthy if you were to look at their net worth.  So which is it: high income earners or skilled savers?  Let’s find out.

So you’ve gotten yourself in a mess of debt and are trying to find the best way to dig out?  Is it so bad that collectors have been calling and offering a settlement?  The idea sounds pretty good – you owe $500 and they’re offering to take $200 to make it all go away.  Should you do it?  What’s the catch?  Today, I’ll give you all the details on a debt settlement and when/how it should come into play in your debt situation.

Just about every week I harp on some aspect of how to get rid of debt, live on a budget or do something more frugally than you previously thought you could.  Many of you have told me all that stuff is fine, but asked, “where the heck should I start on all this mess?”  Today is your answer!  Taking content from my book, numerous other posts on this site and others, and summarizing them into a few simple steps will hopefully give you the ammunition to get rid of your debt and live free of all the junk that goes with being a “slave to the lender.”

Last week I was kind, gentle and uplifting, encouraging you to make sure you “put your money where your mouth is” when it comes to what you say you value.  I meant every word I wrote and have given that encouragement to hundreds of people before.  Your comments tell me it was a message many of you needed, and I’m glad it helped.  This week, I have to go a bit in the opposite direction.  Just like when you are trying to cure a disease, you have to choose whether to work on the symptoms or the root cause.  Today, I’m working on the root cause.  I do not want you to stay broke!

As I’ve written many times before, the normal American is broke and has been taught that’s just the way it is.  The normal American has been sold the idea that to own nice things (of which we are all “entitled,” right?!), he/she has to make payments.  You’ve been told you cannot live life without debt or that debt is a tool.  Pish Posh.  That’s a bunch of garbage.  Believing those lies is roughly the same as believing the “food” you pick up through the McDonald’s drive-thru is top-quality, organic health food.  Mmmmmm, delicious! [Read more…]