Perception Will Make You Broke

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  One of the biggest reasons people overspend is because they worry what other people think about the possessions a person may or may not have as well as the perceived quality of what a person does own. Or maybe they simply believe they are a better person if they have nicer things.  Many people believe their value as a person is measured by what car they drive, the size of their home or the name on the tag of their clothing.  Unfortunately, that perception will do nothing for you but make you broke. My son was giving my wife […] Read more »

4 Reasons Procrastinating is a Horrible Idea

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We all procrastinate from time to time, but it rarely contributes positively towards finishing a task, or resolving a problem. In fact, one could argue that procrastinating is the worst possible thing you could do. Let me tell you about an experience I had with procrastination this weekend: Over the weekend I needed gas for the lawnmower, so I put my gas can in the back of the van and headed for the gas station. As I was doing so, my wife stated she was concerned I was going to spill gas and recommended I put the gas can in […] Read more »

Process Over Outcome: You Should NOT Be Focused On Paying Off Debt

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If your focus is to pay off debt, you may be focusing on the wrong thing and headed down the path of failure. This is the conclusion I’ve come to after listening to countless hours of motivational speakers combined with a handful of books I’ve read recently written by people who struggled their way to success. They all say the same thing, and unless they got together and decided on a common underlying message, maybe there’s something to their method.  What they emphasize is actually quite simple; focus on the process, not the outcome. To be successful, focus on the […] Read more »

Applying Agile Principles To Your Finances

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I spent three days last week in a workshop learning advanced concepts of the Agile Methodology. If you’re in software or project management you may have heard of Agile as a methodology in which the requirements to achieve a goal are constantly reevaluated, and course corrections made through incremental and iterative work segments. One of the workshop facilitators stated that she found Agile practices spilling over into her personal life.  As she made that statement, I could feel my eyes roll back into my head. The thought that a project management technique used for complex software development being applied to […] Read more »

Nobody Likes Being Reminded Of Their Mistakes

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A high school science teacher from Iowa ate nothing but McDonald’s for six months. Maybe you’ve heard this story before, or maybe you’re thinking this was another one of those attempts to show the public the evils of fast food. If you fall into the later category, you might be surprised to learn that the man lost about 60 pounds, lost 21 inches off his chest, waist, and hips, and significantly lowered his cholesterol. The caveat here is that while he did eat fast food for every meal for 6 months, he also stuck to a 2000 calories a day […] Read more »

What Does Your Refrigerator Tell You About Your Finances?

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I view life as being made up of many strands, all interconnected and affecting each other. Each strand represent some aspect of a person’s personality or a stream of experiences. They are separate, but intertwined, each affecting the other. I looked in my fridge over the weekend, and noticed how cluttered it was. I was reminded of how I had been feeling about our finances lately. Let me show you what I mean: Pizza : I found a container of leftovers from our favorite local pizza place. We got back to town late Saturday evening after being at a lake […] Read more »

My Favorite Part Of Having Control Of My Finances

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One of the most common questions asked of people going through the process of paying off a mountain of debt is what they will do with the extra money each month once the debt is paid off. Another similar, but slightly different question is to describe how life is different now that the debt has been paid off. I’ve been asked these questions countless times. It’s easy to give the standard answers of build a larger emergency fund, invest more, or save for the kids’ college. I’ve given all those answers. There’s certainly nothing wrong them, as they’re the answers […] Read more »

What Charcoal and Beer Teaches Us About Making Choices

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The end of May is in sight, the temps are getting warmer, and Summer is on everyone’s mind. There are great sales popping up everywhere for outdoor home improvement projects, and garden centers are opening up with huge selection of plants, yard care products and grills. Speaking of grills, this time of year I keep my eyes for sales on charcoal. Between my smoker and my grill, I use a lot of charcoal. If I see a great sale, I load up the van and pile it up in a corner of my garage to be used throughout the summer. […] Read more »

Change Your Perspective, Change Your Life

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I’m always the first one of our family to throw back the covers and climb out of bed on weekend mornings. My goal is always to get up, get to the gym, and get home before anyone else even thinks of getting up. One such Saturday morning I was composing a note to leave on the kitchen counter as I was preparing to head out to the gym. My wife likes to know what time I left so she knows approximately when to expect me back home. So, I ripped a piece of paper out of a notebook and wrote […] Read more »

Improvement Requires Change

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I’m looking to achieve some big goals in 2015. It all really boils down to being the very best I can be in the important areas of my life. One of the biggest categories is fitness. I want to tune my diet, helping me to become a healthier and much trimmer athlete. At the end of each day, I spend a little time reflecting on what I consumed. If you’ve never done this, I highly recommend doing this at least once. Each time I do this, it’s very obvious why I’m not at my goal weight. The amount of complete […] Read more »

Defining Phenomenal

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Waking up in the morning and realizing you’ve reached the day on the calendar when you get to add one to your age tends to make a person think about what they have and have not yet accomplished in their life. Yesterday was that day for me. Combine that with the end of the year when many people think about what they want to change, or do better in the new year and the result is some serious thinking going on within my brain as I drift off into unconsciousness for the night. If I was being honest, I’ve been pondering […] Read more »

Instant Gratification Here, There, and Everywhere

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I felt myself becoming more agitated as I sat at the stoplight waiting for the light to turn green. I was on my way to the gym, and was anxious to get started. The light was seemingly taking forever, so I decided to figure out how long the light was red.  I was sure it would be a ridiculous amount of time. I remember that I had started a new track as I pulled up to the intersection so I would easily be able to calculate how long I was sitting there. After what seemed like an excruciating eternity the […] Read more »

7 Ways You Can Stay Motivated to Get Out of Debt

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7 ways to stay motivated to get out of debt resources

Over the years I’ve seen plenty of people get motivated to get out of debt, but they never end up following through with the process.  They are usually pretty fired up about getting out of debt and start out very motivated.  But not long after they start the process, their energy flags and it’s not long before they lose their motivation. I’ve seen a lot of other people make decent progress in paying down debt, but for whatever reason, they end up losing their focus and go back to their old habits, never finishing the get out of debt process.   How to […] Read more »

Why You Should Walk Away From Free Offers

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Today’s post is from Douglas Goldstein, the host of the Goldstein on Gelt Show, as well as the author of  Rich as a King.  Please give a warm EOD nation welcome to Douglas! When you go shopping and you see a sign saying, “1+1 Buy one and get one free!” what do you do? Many consumers don’t stop to ask themselves if they need or want this product. The satisfaction that they gain from getting “the other one free” compels them to take up this seemingly generous offer even if they don’t need both of the items in question. But […] Read more »