That Is The Question!
I have not announced this here on EOD yet, but thought that today would be the best time to do so. Alana and I are having another baby, due to arrive on October 26th to be exact. I am very excited about this and today we find out whether we are having a boy or a girl. I LOVE BEING A DAD, it is the best gift EVER! What Do I Hope We Are Having? Honestly it really doesn’t matter to me. Either way I will be excited just the same. I do hope that my wife is able to have the little girl she has always wanted, but she has even said either way, she will be pleased. So if we had to say one way or the other, we would both say we want a girl next. So at 10a.m. this morning we shall find out!!
I Have To Slow My Blog Roll
Well, some of you may have noticed that last week, I didn’t post as much. In fact I only really posted one, had a video post, and offered you a guest post. I kind of figured it was going to happen, but I wanted to ride the wave as long as I could. I did, and it was fun! Real fun! In the process I got behind on some other things in my life and now it is time to step back up to the plate to take care of them.
Things I need to do:
- finish remodeling the upstairs – my in-laws have been kind enough to help us remodel our house, as their gift to us…and I need to get on it, so it can be done!
- work on organizing my time – I have to learn how to manage my time in a way that will allow me to maximize my efforts. I want to accomplish A LOT each day, so this is a MUST!
- hitting the gym – I really need to focus on this so that I can be around a long time to watch my beautiful children grow. This is probably one of my hardest to stick to goals, but it must become a lifestyle change and a priority. Now is as good a time as any!
- find a another full-time job – As you know, I work for tips. Tips have not been great lately, so instead of wait around for the economy to get better, I have decided to move on. I am looking for full-time employment and I plan to keep my delivery job part-time to bring in extra money. I am also considering doing some pressure washing on the side over the summer.
- prepare for my speaking engagement – In September I have been asked to speak at Sweet Briar College, for one hour, and this requires some preparation. (I will be talking about budgeting, savings, buying a home, and managing/avoiding student loans.) I have a few things I have to submit before July 7th, and really need to start working on my message and delivery as well. This is my chance to really dig my heels in and spread my message to even more people.
- focus on my public speaking class – It goes without saying that this class will help me with the above goal. The more I put into it the more I will get out of it. I actually have to deliver an Impromptu speech to my class this evening. We were given some freedom to choose our topic, and I have chosen to discuss why I hate debt so much. SURPRISED? Another thing about this class is that it will make me a better writer as well. I have already learned so much about writing, and truthfully that is the reason I decided not to publish the first installment of my new series. I want to make it better so it helps you the most.
- stabilizing my sleep habits – this area of my life probably causes me more problems than any other area. I would say that if I could get this one area stabilized, it would help me get better in all of the others. I DO NOT sleep! I have done a sleep study and got nothing from it. Sometimes I will just lie in bed, tortured by my burning eyes and intense desire to sleep, but can’t fall asleep to save my life! I need to put myself on a strict sleep regiment, requiring me to wake up and go to sleep at the same times every single day. I also plan to visit my doctor.
- KILL OUR REMAINING DEBT – This is something that in order for me to knock it out, I need to become intensely focused on KILLING it! It needs to be gone! It has hung around for too long! It is what is keeping me from starting my financial coaching business and experiencing financial peace for my family. Working more, is the short term solution, and is necessary at this point in time. With sacrifice comes rewards!
I love writing for this blog! I could spend everyday doing it, but the truth is I do not get paid for writing this blog. One day I hope to make enough money to justify spending so much time on EOD. I want to make this site the go-to-place for people trying to get out of debt, not just a place for people to come and read a bunch of filler articles so that I can say I write full time. I want to give you quality at it’s best, and it is something I am working on.
I am collaborating with one of my readers to eventually publish the EOD Deluxe Budget Version 3.0 with lots of new features to make your life easier. I am also trying to meet up with a friend of mine to help me with the look I desire for EOD. I really need to pump out that series that I started and I want it to be off the hook! I also have a few guest posts that I really need to write as well. I have a debt free interview coming soon as well from a twitter friend of mine. Stay on the look out, things will be happening, just at a slower rate with an interest on quality instead of quantity.
I hope that switching back to writing part-time does not mean that I will lose any of you. I truly enjoy that you have decided that what I have done here is valuable to you, and my only goal is to make it better and more valuable. After all I do not write for myself, I write for YOU! I also do not want this to sound as though I want the ideas or questions to stop coming. Those are often where I get my best articles from, so thanks, and keep them coming!! I am going to try and publish 2 to 3 articles a week, and if I have time for more, or am feeling so inspired, you will get more.
What About This Week?
I will probably be a little light this week as well, so that I can play catch up. I do have a guest post I plan to post as well as a follow up by me concerning that guest post.
Now it is time for me to just do it. I talk all the time on this blog about taking control of your own problems, by resolving to fix them yourself. Instead of complaining that I just don’t have enough time in the day, or that I am not making enough money, or that my debt just won’t go away, or complaining about my weight, I am taking control. I CAN MAKE THESE GOALS HAPPEN, and I will!
What do you think? Is my decision a deal breaker for you, the subscriber? What do you think of my goals, and can you give me any advice that will be valuable to me in achieving those goals? I want to know!
I got a little annoyed last week, when it was suggested that for someone with only a high school diploma, they were limited to working at the checkout at Walmart. (This argument was used to explain why debt was needed by low income families to get by.) Believing this is ridiculous, and spreading it around for someone without a degree to hear, is irresponsible! This is America!! Imagine someone with only a high school diploma, hearing someone say this and believing it. Dreams can be crushed before they ever have a chance to germinate. This is why I am such a strong believer in teaching people that they can do whatever they want, if they are willing to do what it takes to achieve it. If you do nothing, you will be nothing! (Sounds harsh right? But how can you be something, if you have done nothing to get there?)
Yeah, there might be some folks out there that do not aspire to be anything more, and that is okay for them, but the rest need encouragement! Here are some things you need to know that will keep you from accepting and keeping a cashier position, because someone else says that’s all you can be!! For the record, I am not belittling anyone who might be a cashier. I am simply responding to the idea that if you have only a high school diploma, that’s all you can be, leaving you forced to accept debt as your only means of survival.
- Wherever you are, even if it is at the bottom, doesn’t mean you have to stay there! This may come as a surprise to many, but minimum wage is not intended to support a family. It is intended to give someone a starting point in the work force. It allows you to build some confidence in yourself, as well as prove to others that you are reliable, trustworthy, and hard working, just to name a few. It provides you with some references to use at the next stage in your working life. If you make minimum wage and are sick of it, go look for something that pays more. Thinking that the employer should support a family, by paying someone with minimum wage skills more money, just because those wages do not provide adequately for them, in my opinion, is wrong!
- Education does not come from a degree, it comes from knowledge! College does make things easier, but have you ever known an unemployed grad student? It’s not the end all be all, and it certainly isn’t the only way to success. There are tons of jobs that you can do that can pay very well, but it’s up to you to make it happen.
“You don’t need fancy highbrow traditions or money to really learn. You just need people with the desire to better themselves.” – Adam Cooper and Bill Collage
- Knowledge is found for free at your local library…GO READ! The average millionaire reads a non-fiction book a month. A great place to start is by reading No More Mondays & 48 Days To The Work You Love written by Dan Miller. Dan Miller is a personal and business coach that teaches people that the traditional methods of employment are becoming obsolete. He pushes the idea that if people did what they were passionate about, then not only would they be happier, but the work they do would not feel like work at all. What are your strengths and how can you offer a legitimate service to others using those strengths? Check out his website at 48days.com.
“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” – Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
- Expand your limitations by getting online, which is also available at your local library. The internet has changed the way people do business, and made it easier for anyone to become successful if they choose to. Darren over at Problogger wrote, Secrets For Blogging Your Way To A Six-Figure Income, to help others learn how to make additional income, or start a new career by blogging. You can blog, and even become successful at it, without a college degree. There are lots of non-traditional jobs like this where you can earn money for your talents.
- There are tons of FREE resources! University of the People is a tuition free, online, open source university. Here are the Top 10 Universities that offer free courses. Don’t limit yourself by thinking that the information you need is not available! Go look for it!
- Stay away from negative people! There are people out there that always look at the glass as half empty. (<~~ I used to be that guy) They have nothing positive to say about anything, and when someone around them starts to move forward, they usually take the opportunity to tell them why it can’t be done. I have been friends with these kinds of people. They want you to do exactly what they are doing, which is usually NOTHING!
- Take responsibility for yourself! Nothing robs us of achieving success, as much as failing to realize that OUR own actions determine our path. By thinking that someone else is keeping you from taking action or becoming successful, you yourself, become your biggest obstacle.
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.” – William James
Successful People With Only A HS Diploma And Even Less!
Mary Kay Ash – (Mary Kay Inc.) High School diploma!
Coco Chanel – (Chanel Number 5) One-time orphan!
Henry Ford – (Ford Motor Company) High School dropout!
Milton Hershey – (Hershey’s Milk Chocolate) Fourth grade education!
Frank Lloyd Wright – (Famous Architect) Never attended High School!
Walt Disney – (Disney) High School dropout!
Steve Jobs – (Apple Computers) College dropout!
Michael Dell – (Dell Inc.) College dropout!
Other well known degree free people:
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Thomas Edison
Rachel Ray
John D Rockefeller
Abraham Lincoln
Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs Without a Degree (Traditional Jobs)
Air Traffic Controller – $105,820 (no degree, but 4 years of college is needed)
Real Estate Broker – $76,930
Transportation Manager – $75,130
Non-retail Sales Supervisor – $73,670
Nuclear Power Reactor Operator – $66,900
Gaming Manager – $65,920
Power Distributor – $59,510
Detective – $58,750
Elevator Repairer – $58,500
Ship Engineer – $57,290
Others with income ranging anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000:
Firefighter
Police Officer
Mechanic
Appliance Repairmen
Plumber/Electrician
Salesmen
Web Designer
Entrepreneur (income obviously varies)
Proof that a high school diploma doesn’t equate to poverty or being unsuccessful! Don’t believe the myth! Having only a high school diploma also doesn’t mean that you have to use debt and credit cards to survive! Do a budget, have a plan, and make better decisions with what you do make, and you will be more likely to escape or avoid poverty than if you use debt. Debt is NOT a tool, and it will only keep you poor or struggling if you use it! It will steal your hope, and cause you to see yourself as the victim that just can’t get ahead. (That’s the result of thinking debt is your best option, because when it doesn’t work, you have nothing to look forward to.) With that said I am currently taking classes, debt free, and believe that a degree will give you some advantages. It’s just not the only way to success! Get an education however you are able to, but do not accept that you can not be successful just because you don’t have a degree.
Are you a degree free success story? Do you know somebody that is? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
What Are The 12 Steps To Becoming Debt Free?
What started out as just a name for my Monday edition of sharing links with you from around the PF blogosphere, has turned into a project. I started to think about my focus on the debt free message and then it hit me – I am addicted to becoming and staying debt free! Are you addicted to becoming and staying debt free? If so, these are the principles that you could follow to achieve such a thing.
You have probably heard about the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, and how they really help these folks cope from day to day. I just created 12 principles very loosely based on those of AA, with a debt free spin. I really just got the idea of where and how to list them, and then I just started thinking of all the things one might need to do and realize, to actually become and stay debt free.
Are you addicted to becoming DEBT FREE too? Consider this the place to come to announce it to the world! When you are ready to join in, type the following, in the comments section below:
Hi my name is (your name), and I am addicted to becoming/remaining DEBT FREE!!
For the people who immediately want to analyze the differences between AA and this. This was never intended to be just like AA. The name being used is to declare my addiction, not to be related with that of AA. In this case I WANT to be addicted to becoming debt free so the principles shouldn’t reflect how to not be addicted, like they are in AA, but what they might be for someone who is addicted. That’s it. Debt Free Addicts Anonymous is a group of people who are addicted to becoming debt free.
Murphy’s Fall?
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to something that you have or will possibly go through. I have coined the term “Murphy’s Fall”. Murphy’s Fall isn’t the fall of Murphy. Instead it is something you yourself go through because of Murphy. That’s right. It’s what can happen when Murphy has moved in and just doesn’t want to leave. It could be equivalent to what marathoners call “The Wall”, which is when a marathoner reaches the 20 mile mark and starts to rationalize giving up. It’s when you start to tell yourself that you have already made more progress than most people, so quitting isn’t so bad. You may be tired, frustrated, depleted, and your hope is at an all time low. Frankly, you have fallen away from the hope and determination that you had when you first started your Total Money Makeover.
The HIGH!
I decided that it was time for me to write about this because for the past three and a half months I have experienced this symptom of not making any progress. When we first started our Total Money Makeover (TMMO), we were excited, and we made great strides because of it. We sold our car (saving us almost $500 between the car payment, high insurance costs, and property taxes), and paid off almost $5,000 in credit card debt, and old medical bills. This left us with $5,000 until we would be debt free except for our house—or so we thought. We also managed to save $2,000 for our Emergency Fund. (Savings for the first time EVER!) EXCITING STUFF!! I was PUMPED! Then Murphy decided that we were just too happy, and that it was time he paid us a visit. This would be Murphy’s first visit since we began our TMMO.
The LOW!
First we received a letter in the mail, letting us know that we owed an additional $4,000 from a student loan on top of the $5,000 in other student loans. A $4,000 jump all because we forgot about that particular loan. Next we had car trouble, some more car trouble, and yet a third round of car trouble. Throw in having to adjust to my wife having a new schedule as a Registered Nurse, and then me being forced to take time off at my job to be with Isaac until we figured something out. My wife went to nights, I went to days, and everything was taken care of. Or so we thought. After about 6 weeks, Alana was told with absolutely NO notice at all, that she would be moving to days. Now we needed to make some different arrangements. Child care was unavoidable. Still I was forced to take off some more time from work until we were able to find daycare quick and in a hurry. Wait, I’m not done! Next I get a hernia from freaking coughing, and am out of work for 3 weeks. “We have done so much more than most people!” This started to creep into my thoughts periodically until it was eventually considered rational thought.
The FALL!
In short, with all that going on, I have been really frustrated. We have made little progress since the video that I made. I am constantly thinking about how we are not paying any of our debt snowball down. We still owe $9,000 and we were supposed to be out of debt except for the house by September or October at the latest. I am coordinating a Financial Peace University class, and I am struggling with trying to remain positive and excited for the class members sake. It has been hard. The truth is, it’s not that I have lost faith in our Total Money Makeover. NOT AT ALL! I have lost faith in myself! I have let Murphy take me down, and my hope came tumbling down with it. Things seemed to reach an all time low. But has it really?
The ANSWER!
How can I truly be at an all time low? I can’t or maybe it’s better to say that I shouldn’t be. Here’s why. In less than a year we have cut up and paid off ALL of our credit cards, eliminated a car debt (saving us $8,500), managed to save $2,000 in our Emergency Fund, and with all of that doom and gloom above we have still been able to make it without borrowing any money at all. The absolute truth is that we have not even had a hard time making it through all this. Our bills have been paid extremely early compared to how we were living last year at this time. In fact, our mortgage is usually paid before the first of the month. So I must ask myself this: Why am I crying and most importantly why have I felt defeated?
I have felt this way because I have been thinking about the wrong stuff. Instead of thinking about the good, I have been analyzing the bad. Successful people are solution oriented, and they rarely think about the past. That is why it is called the past because it is gone, and you can’t do anything about it. I should have been looking at how easily we were able to find solutions that did not include borrowing money or not paying our bills. Had I been looking at it differently, I would have been getting hope and encouragement from our new found financial responsibility. I realized something all over again. WE ARE NOT LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK ANY MORE! That is something to be celebrating, not something to be depressed about! We have a plan, and it IS working.
My Message To YOU!
Please don’t let Murphy get the best of you! You are still winning if you still have a plan. As long as you do not have to go backwards you will always be in better shape than you were before! Go FORWARD! Think POSITIVE! As long as you remind yourself of how far you have come, and avoid thinking about how things have not gone exactly like planned, you will be okay. One thing that I am sure of is that plans often take unexpected turns along the way. The key is to adjust and continue to follow the road in the direction of your goals. Don’t let “Murphy’s Fall” get the best of you! You are going to win, that I am sure of!
GOOD LUCK!
Have you experienced Murphy’s Fall? Share your story in the comments section.
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