STOP SHOVELING YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY OUT THE DOOR AND START BUILDINGWEALTH!

Getting yourself debt-free, you will be able to free up your most powerful wealth building tool, YOUR INCOME.  Building wealth takes dollars. Building wealth takes less expenses and more income. When you stop shoveling your paychecks out the door to credit card companies, car payments, personal loans, student loans, past due medical bills, you will have money to do things like saving for emergencies, remodeling the house, taking vacations that won’t follow you home and investing for retirement --or better yet: actually retiring!

Think about it. If you are currently carrying a $10,000 credit card balance at an annual interest rate of 24% you are literally flushing $2400 a year away for NOTHING. That’s $200 a month! It’s just money that the credit card is taking from you. If you are able to pay that card off, those dollars can be reallocated and spent where and when you want.  Most Americans today think that $10,000 of credit card debt and two car payments in the household are ‘normal’.  This ‘normal’ is making the credit card companies rich. Last year it added up to them earning $18.5 BILLION dollars in interest charges. American’s habits of charging things like gas, groceries, clothing, mani’s/pedi’s, tools, car repairs, etc added up to a whopping Trillion Dollars last year. It’s time for a shift in mindset, behavior AND habits.

I teach my clients to use the debt snowball technique once we establish their monthly budget. 

How does the debt snowball work?  Its simple. You list your debts (other than your mortgage) smallest to largest by amount owed.  Don’t worry about the interest rates, just list them! ANY and all extra money goes to the smallest debt on the list each month until it’s paid off. Why do I not suggest you pay off the highest interest card first?  I agree that mathematically it’s correct that you would pay off the highest interest card/loan first BUT this is not about math.  It's about behavior.  If it were simply a mathematical issue you would have already done the simple math and realized that there wasn't enough coming in to pay off what was charged or bought.  Using the snowball and paying off the smallest debt first gives you instant success and you can see and feel the results of ridding yourself of a debt. Once you do that with one, you will want to continue until it’s ALL gone!  There are plenty of tools that can to show the efforts of this technique. For more information on how a financial wellness coach can help you gain back control of your finances visit my website at www.sickofthehustle.com

RESISTANCE…

RESISTANCE: The law of physics says that for every 'action' there is an opposite 'reaction'.  If you learn to understand that this is so, your added awareness to the law of resistance, can help you hold stronger, as you walk towards your dream of Financial Peace.

Think of a rubber band.  Resistance comes when you first take a hold of each side and start to pull them apart.  Isn't that also true of how we feel when we first begin to work on our financial wellness plan?  The 'feelings' that come up as we step onto this new road are overwhelming at times.  One partner may be excited to get started and the other resistant.  In a single's situation, you may be ready in your heart but your head starts to tell you differently.  The funny thing about resistance is that you will find as much resistance as you did in the beginning as you near the end of your goal. Why? Because that's the law of physics!  The more we pull outward to see how strong that elastic really is, we have a new 'fear' of it breaking, so we are resistant to continue to pull.  I've seen many people start their journey off strong and as they are so so close to having their debts all paid off, retract due to resistance.

So, how will you know if you are in 'resistance" at the beginning or towards the end of your journey? Quite simply.  You will MAKE EXCUSES.  You will PROCRASTINATE.  You will START SLIPPING back into your old spending habits. You will STOP BUDGETING. You will STOP COMMUNICATING.  You will STOP WORKING THE PLAN.

At the 'beginning' of working on your new plan,  you might find yourself saying things like, "I have no time", "I'll just watch you do it and see how it works", "that's just not MY thing", But what is 'x' happens?".

At the end of working on your new plan, you might find yourself saying things like, "But we've worked so hard for the past few years, let's just reward ourselves", "I'm sick of measuring everything I do!", "I meant to fund the envelopes but forgot", I don't know where that extra week's paycheck went this month, was there really an extra week?",  "we've skimped this long, I need to splurge just once."

All of these statements are clear signs that you are 'resistant' and resistance will inhibit you reaching your goal is you don't see it appearing.   If you find yourself using any of this language, do something about it today.  Regroup. Recommit. Reconnect.  HOW?  Sign up for a Facebook support group and share, such as my Sick of the Hustle Budgeting discussion group-- it's a great forum to connect with others on the same journey.  Sign up for another Financial Peace University Class in your area.  Get one on one coaching to help you along. (that's my specialty!). Get an accountability partner.  Read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover or Smart Money Smart Kids (again). Listen to some Podcasts on financial wellness. Share your success with someone else who is struggling and help them.
     
Stay Positive and Keep all of these 'tools' handy in your toolbox when resistance rears its ugly head!

Michelle
www.sickofthehustle.com

I LOVE MY WORK AND THIS IS WHY…

CHANGE IN ALL FORMS MATTERS! 

What people don't always 'feel' is possible when they take on something they want to change or improve,  actually IS possible! 

With a little guidance and direction in any area of our lives that can use improvement, we can reap HUGE benefits.  MAJOR shifts and changes can occur in a short time if you are willing to be 'coachable' and put in new efforts! 

It is human nature to have areas in which we need to grow and learn. I always joke that "since I'm still on THIS SIDE of heaven, I must have MORE work to do."  It is so so true! 

The things that I needed to learn in my 20's are certainly not things that I'm learning in my 40's.  Yet I had no idea in my 20's of the things I would still be needing (and wanting) to learn in my 40's.  I've always been pretty open to self education and always wanting MORE in terms of knowledge, but truth be told, many times I focused my attention to learning in areas that I was already pretty sufficient in. I have NOT always put the effort into areas where I lacked skill or motivation.  Case in point --after my recent return from Mexico, I truly think it's time to purchase the Rosetta Stone Spanish version and get started on what I've been saying I'm going to do for more than 10 years-- LEARN SPANISH! 

You see ANY CHANGE and GROWTH starts with a simple decision that we can know and learn more.  Then it takes action. We can't just WANT to learn something, we have to DO something to learn. 

I have many clients who seek me out because they are looking for support and a change in the area of handling their personal finances. It's not always bad. 

Sometimes it's a recent college graduate who is just starting out on their own but have no idea how to budget or handle their own money and new living expenses. 

Sometimes it's a new couple who have no idea how to manage their money jointly or how to handle what each just brought for debt into a new marriage. 

Sometimes it's a couple who have fallen on hard times such as a job loss, or a medical issue that eliminates one of them working, kids are now embarking on college, or over spending has finally caught up with them.  

Sometimes it's a recently divorced man or woman who is trying to adjust to a new life as a single person/single parent and unsure of how to make their finances work with less than what they had before.  All of these client scenarios improved once we started our work together but it started with a desire to learn and grow…

I just received this testimonial from a new client….

"As a person that has never been good at saving, I really didn't think that Michelle could teach me anything new about managing my money. But I was so wrong! In 2 months, she has helped me create an emergency fund that seemed completely unobtainable. She has been extremely easy to work with, and she has given me excellent guidance throughout this financial process. From making very difficult phone calls to creditors to realizing that the most important things don't need to cost a lot, her coaching has been a blessing! I highly recommend her to anyone needing guidance." Dawn C.

If you feel you can use some guidance or direction to help you manage your money better MAKE THE DECISION to get more information on how it works!  Check out my website at www.sickofthehustle.com

Michelle 

SELL SOME STUFF- AND BUILD THAT EMERGENCY FUND or PAY DOWN SOME DEBT!

Now that the weather is decent, it's that time of year when many people enjoy looking for treasures! Why not take advantage and SELL SOME OF YOUR STUFF!!! My last two yard sales netted me over $500 (and my kids over $100 each) so it was worth the time we put in…

Before you just throw everything onto a table in your driveway, there is some prep work that you should consider!

1. Pick a good day(s) and time. This all depends upon where you live. I think Saturday mornings are the best times for sales.  As far as the time of day and length to run your sale – that is really personal preference.

2. Advertise your yard sale time/place:  Use social media to your advantage! Post an announcement on your personal Facebook page, Twitter, or Instagram!! Ask your friends and family to share as well. Also, Facebook now has yard sale 'group sites'- many for each town where you can post your events. Craigslist allows a free posting as well. Many local newspapers also allow free listings for local tag sales so get the word out along many outlets!

3. Clearly Direct Traffic to your Sale.  Two days before, make sure you place signs helping shoppers find your sale.  It is best to start close to major intersections close to your home, followed by additional signs (with arrows) directing them to your home.  

4. Organize your items for display. If everything is thrown onto a table or things are dirty, most people will perceive your items as "junk" and may not even take the time to look through your goods.  Just taking the extra time to have several tables and items split out by category (household goods, tools, toys, books) can yield you more money!

Be sure you price your items. Start this process early in the planning stages. Don't wait until the night before or the day of to get started.   

5. Make sure your items are clean. As you set your items out for your sale, take a minute to make sure that everything is clean.  If your clothes or toys are dirty or your picture frame is coated in dust, it can really turn off potential buyers.

6. Launder and fold/hang clothing items. If  you are going to sell clothes, you will want to spend time getting these items ready.  I actually launder everything before I sell it.  This helps me find those hidden stains that seem to appear after time.  Think about it—  Would you really want to purchase a dress that has a stain on it? Probably not!  Sort clothes by season and according to size. This makes it very easy for your buyers find what they are looking for. I also HIGHLY recommend hanging outfits. Either buy a rack or use a study clothes line and string across your front porch if you have one!

7. Clearly price all of your goods. It's a turn off to me when I go to a tag sale or an antique store and nothing is tagged. People like to know what you are asking. If there are some items you are open to negotiating, keep those on a "make me an offer" or put a sticker with MMAO!  If you are not sure what to price things, you can go and check out Ebay or Craigslist so that you can be sure you are asking a fair price for your items. Just be sure you don’t under price your stuff! People at tag sales will usually try to get you down, especially near the end. Know what you want and go from there. 

8.  Make sure you have plenty of change available (and only take cash).   I get $100 in change before I start.  I start out with $20 in change in my box at a time. Make sure you have $1's, $5's, $10's and regularly coin change! If you are selling items at .75/.50 you will need quarters!! Wearing a carpenters apron helps if you are walking around a lot.  Accept only cash!  I’d also recommend you accept nothing larger than $20 bills.  If you are selling a large ticket item, you can ask the purchaser to please go and get $20 bills. You would hate to get counterfeit bills given to you and then you’ll be out your cash — and your item!

9.  Offer 50% off of “Goodie Boxes” Toward the End of the Sale.  If time is drawing close to ending your sale and you have items to move, you can offer 50% off of all marked prices. People that show up at the end are those that are probably expecting that and will haggle anyway.  

10.  Price Items to Sell and Be Willing to Negotiate Those Prices.  If you really want to sell your items, make sure that you remove emotion. If you are attached to a baby blanket, you will think it is worth more than it really is.

When the sale is over decide if you want to have another run at this. You can take the remaining items and put them up on the Facebook community yard sale sites, Ebay, Craigslist OR  you can gift your treasures to Goodwill or another local charity so that others are blessed by your giving them. 

LASTLY, tally up what you made and make those dollars count! Deposit them into your growing Emergency Fund (if you have NOT yet saved $1000) and if you have apply those dollars towards your debt snowball.    

DON'T LET A "TREAT" SCREW UP YOUR PLAN TO CRUSH YOUR DEBT!

Sometimes, when you're working your plan to pay off debt and get to your debt free dream, you feel the need to treat yourself to something!  I came across a really neat budget tool to help decipher the 'cost' of opting to buy yourself a 'treat' while you are working your plan to pay off debt.

For those of you who know my personality or work with me one on one, I'm a FACT based decision-maker.

I ask my clients to look at both the pros and cons  of decisions BEFORE making them. It's easier to 'own' your final decisions knowing the impact it has on your goals/plan.  It's so important to look at the 'treat' and know HOW it will affect your debt pay down plan.

For example,  if you currently are on task to pay off all of your debt within the next 46 month, a 'treat decision' can actually delay you by many additional months, maybe even a year. For example if you are currently paying down $22,000 of debt at an interest rate of 12.99%, making normal monthly payments, a $4800 Disney Vacation 'treat' would actually become a $6119 vacation!

Click the link and try it yourself…

http://www.whatsthecost.com/treats.aspx


Treating yourself occasionally can be a good way of keeping motivated or rewarding yourself while dealing with debt. This calculator isn't designed to convince you not to treat yourself, simply to give you an idea of the real cost!

YOU CAN'T WISH AWAY YOUR DEBT! YOU MUST HAVE A WRITTEN PLAN!

Many of my clients sit with me during their first session and say they just CAN'T cut their spending in certain areas, but we all know it comes down to wanting to get out of debt bad enough to make some serious changes.  Sitting down and filling out a basic budget is the first place to start. If you continually chose not to look closely at what is coming IN versus what is going OUT you can't possibly know what or where to cut.  It not just about cutting spending, its about DIRECTING your money.  If your goal is to get out of debt you must direct dollars TO the debt in order to crush it and make it go away.

       You can't wish it away.

       You can't dream it away.

And while you may think you can 'earn your way' out of debt, I find many people get raises and still can't tell me where that money went this year. For many of us, the more we make, the more we spend.

It takes a PLAN. A WRITTEN PLAN.

This is where a financial coach comes in. My job is to sit down and help people establish and learn how to plan, decipher and WIN WITH THEIR MONEY.  It takes a few sessions for us to get your money plan in order but once it's written you can start implementing and working your plan.  The accountability helps for sure. The guidance as well.  Take the first step towards winning with money and hire a coach!

Check out my coaching 101 package at Sick of the Hustle Coaching Services

One of the FASTEST ways to change our spending habits it to change our 'awareness' around them.

How do you do this?  A Written Cash Flow Plan                  

You look at what you have coming IN for the month in advance-that would mean you sit down NOW to figure out what March will look like and what needs to go OUT… you decide in advance of the month, where your money needs to and will go. 

You will find your best success will come from setting a 'limit' on your spending in areas that can get away from us such as entertainment, eating out, kids asking for lunch money, the last minute trips to the grocery store.  For me it was eating out. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but we were spending $1200-$1300  PER month eating out! We were both running businesses and we had kids in after school sports and also on leagues after the school sports ended. Most nights, that meant we were not eating until after 8pm. Most weekends were also spent in another town for most of the day. 

When I actually decided to start getting back to "budgeting basics" two years ago I had to pull my 'records' to see what I was currently spending on each category-for most of us that means looking up all the charges and debit transactions and adding them up. Even though my balance was paid each month, I was SHOCKED at how much we were spending on this one category.  Whether we could afford it or not was not the issue, it just seemed excessive to me.   I became concerned about the expensive 'habit' my children were 'inheriting' from me! I didn't want to be the one responsible for their inability to manage their financial lives because I became oblivious to how much we spent on this behavior each month.  I HAD TO come up with a new 'habit' amount and try to stick to it. This also meant I had to figure out a number for groceries. This took some guessing on my part because I had not cooked more than once or twice a week in what seemed like five years. 

But I was determined!  I established an 'envelope' and set up new monthly spending LIMITS for our family of four (+ 2 every other weekend) in the following areas: 

• EATING OUT - This envelope is labeled "entertainment & eating out' 
• GROCERIES -Keep my coupons in here as well
• GAS - Ha! Been beating this one lately and having extra each month!
• CLOTHING - Keep my coupons in here as well

I started planning my meals, clipping coupons, looking at sales flyers, saying 'NO' we are not stopping and made it a game that I was determined to WIN!

Was has winning this game done for me?  I was able to reallocate that  'excess' spending and pushed that $400 extra per month onto the car loan I had and I was able to pay the car off early!!

That was the last debt on my debt snowball so now those dollars go to the mortgage each month and that will be paid off earlier too!  

It's empowering to win with money. Not to just have it. Not to just earn it. But to really win with it.  I'm going to win at this money game and I'm determined to help other families do the same!

Check out my services at sickofthehustle.com 

Americans paid a sickening $32 BILLION in overdraft fees to US banks last year!!!

Banks make their money on MONEY or LACK THERE OF...  

Unlike a retail store who makes its profits on a product, banks profit on the 'transaction' of money.  Think about when you open a savings account at your local bank. You basically deposit (loan them) your money at a very low interest rate.  Once you're in the door their marketing machine begins… sign into your online banking and you can see for yourself there are 10 offers on each page trying to capture your attention.  Open your mailbox and there are offers for their credit card. Open your bank statement and you find a slick insert with their most recent program rates! 

They are working very hard to lend your money back to you in the form of mortgages, home equity lines, credit card offers, personal loans, car loans, all of which range with interest rates of 2.75% to well over 20%-- WELL OVER your .035 that you are earning on your savings. 

After raking in money on savings accounts, Banks turn their attention to checking accounts. Banks make most of their money by charging the following fees:

• Overdraft fees: which represent approximately 60% of the fees charged by banks. The average overdraft fee today is $29 per transaction! Only 10% of the population pays 75% of the fees, and they tend to be the most economically vulnerable, including our troops. Can you believe that last year overdrafts fees paid to US banks exceeded $32 Billion!?!? Yes $32 BILLION!!  In 2007 that number was only $17.5 billion so we have gotten twice as bad with handling our money as we were 7 years ago. 
• ATM fees: which can add up quickly. If you go out of network, you pay ATM fees to two banks: your bank, and the bank that owes the ATM- this accounts for over $11 Billion in fees.
• Monthly fees: which most people get waived. A direct deposit or minimum balance usually takes care of this fee but the average American is paying $6.00 month just to have an account at their local bank.  

HOW did we get to this point where we are financing 60% of the bank growth by our STUPIDITY?? For some of us we just stopped using basic sixth grade math and keeping track of what we have in our accounts. It's craziness really.  Some of us haven't balanced a checkbook since online banking became the 'norm'- we just check our balances 1-2 times A DAY!!! It's laziness really. Living paycheck to paycheck has become the norm because many Americans have tried to 'out earn' their stupidity. It doesn't work and this is the price we pay… FEES! Late fees, monthly fees, higher interest rates. 

I'm here to tell you there IS ANOTHER WAY!  

Let me help teach you how to implement a healthy financial budget that will have you taking control and putting money back in your pockets NOT the banks! 

If you would like to learn more, visit my website. 

THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE....

Very few of us have had real guidance in terms of how to have a healthy financial lifestyle. We may have picked up some good AND bad habits from our parents and grandparents. I always remember my grandmother saying 'You MUST save for a rainy day" yet while that was one of my early memories of money by the time I was 16 and had my first job I immediately wanted STUFF!!!  I realized money was a way to freedom. Freedom from the constraints of NO. If I wanted those jeans I didn't have to ask for the funds, I just bought them. If I wanted a certain shampoo or hairspray that my mom didn't want (or couldn't splurge for) I bought it.  The freedom was something new and I LOVED IT!! I loved the independence it allowed me and it was that feeling that led me for many years. It made me want to work. That was a great thing because in order to have the things I wanted I had to work for them.   The reality was however, that while my mom taught me to balance a checkbook by the age of ten (was one of MY chores!) I really didn't want to 'structure' how I handled money. I just wanted to 'use it'.  

I think this is true for many of us.  We start to 'earn' our way and 'buy' the things we want and because someone else is taking care of many of the things we need we get off on the wrong footing. We shoot from the hip so to speak and don't have a real plan about how to handle our finances. We get to our full time job, we enroll in benefits that we don't understand, we start to save for retirement because we are told we will get 3% matched and we roll forward. Many of us however look like the photo above, the cart is leading us, not us leading the cart!  

What is wrong with this picture? The cart doesn't move!  

Many of the couples and singles I meet with have money in their retirement accounts yet are carrying credit card debit of $10-15,000 at a 14.54% interest rate. They are socking away money into retirement and carrying such a heavy consumer debt load that can't be attacked because they have it backwards.  The steps I teach are pretty simple. You do them IN ORDER. They work! Millions of Americans have implemented these steps and reached a new financial freedom that they never imagined possible.  You do them in this order:

• Step 1: Save $1000 ($500 if you are earning under $25k year) into a small emergency fund
• Step 2: Pay off ALL non mortgage debt smallest to largest (this is called the Debt Snowball)
• Step 3: Now fund a fully funded Emergency Fund saving 3-6 months of your monthly expenses
• Step 4: NOW start to put aside 15% of your household income into tax favored retirement funds
• Step 5: NOW start to put aside 15% for college planning for your children
• Step 6: PAY OFF your mortgage early!Step 7: Build your wealth and Live & Give like no one else!!!!!

Designing & mapping out a plan helps us reach our goals quicker. When you lead the cart and know where it's going we can actually get there!  What are you doing to work your way towards financial freedom? Do you have a real plan?