Keep Workin’ Your Moneyplan Like Biz Markie

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This weekend I had a connecting flight in Baltimore. On the way to my gate I saw Biz Markie getting ready to board a flight to New Orleans. I checked his Twitter feed and found he would be performing in Baton Rouge that night. If you don’t know who Biz Markie is then just search YouTube for “Just A Friend”. Yeah, now you remember. What amazes me is that he hasn’t changed a bit. I would know, I saw him perform live at the Rosemont Theater back in the late 1980’s. How does a rapper who hasn’t released an album […] Read more »

How to Get Ahead if You’re Living Paycheck to Paycheck

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get ahead living paycheck to paycheck

Some recent studies showed that more than two thirds of people are living paycheck to paycheck at least some of the time. That’s pretty incredible! It seems to be getting harder and harder to keep your head above water financially, and there is no lack of reasons why that’s happening. Some of it is because our attitudes about money have changed over the years.  Some of it is also because of the changing economy, and some of it is probably due to the fact that the world is rapidly changing, and some are getting left behind because they refuse to […] Read more »

How to Talk Yourself Out of Debt By Creating a New Script

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How to Talk Yourself Out of Debt By Creating a New Script

Could it really be possible to talk yourself out of debt?  Can getting out of debt really be that easy? Actually, no, I don’t believe it is. Getting out of debt is not as easy as talking to yourself using the right words.  You have to take action as well. Even the bible says “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty”- Proverbs 14:23   The Right Self Talk Helps But using the right kind of self talk can get you into the right mindset to change habits and get out of debt for good. […] Read more »

5 Simple Steps to Start Getting Out of Debt Right Now

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get out of debt steps how to

Have you ever tried to get out of debt but just didn’t know where to start?  I think most anybody who’s attempted to get out of debt has experienced that feeling at some point. You have decided you’re no longer comfortable with your debt load, and now it’s time to do something about it, but you’re just not sure what to do. So how do you get started? You can start by taking some small, easy steps to set yourself up for success.  In this post I’ll show you the best small steps you can take right now to get […] Read more »

3 Reasons To Never Borrow From Your 401k

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borrow withdraw 401k

Have you ever needed a large amount of money and dipped into your 401k to get it?  Maybe you wanted to put a down payment on a house, had an emergency, or some other reason you needed the money. If you did dip into your 401k, was it really worth it?   Taking Money From Your 401k Has Consequences When you withdraw funds from your 401k account to take care of a present need, it can be very detrimental to your future.  Even if you take the money out with the best intentions, it can still have far reaching consequences […] Read more »

My New “Celebrating Financial Freedom” Course!

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Celebrating financial freedom online get out of debt course

If you’ve been following my posts here on EOD for a while now, you may know that I offer a popular Christian get out of debt course that I’ve taught at various venues over the years. The course has always been offered in a physical version with a workbook and CD’s. I’ve been asked many times if I have the course available in an online format, and I’ve always had to say “no”. But not anymore. You Can Win Access to the Course for Free!  (Continue Reading)   You Asked, I’m Making it Happen Over the last few months, I’ve […] Read more »

How Fragile Are Your Finances?

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Financially Fragile. What do those words mean to you? A few months ago TeamEOD writer Dr. Cabler wrote a post addressing the subject of being financially fragile. He gave the example that the majority of Americans would have to sell some of their possessions if they had to come up with $2000 within 30 days. I identified with the post because that described me for a very long time. Something happened this week that made me think of this post again. Major layoffs occurred within the company I work for. As the week progressed, the names of those affected spread. […] Read more »

I Seriously Screwed Up!

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financial panic

Not long ago, I was reflecting back about the first time my wife Angie and I were scheduled to make announcements and greet visitors from the platform at our Sunday church service. I’m an introvert, so I was pretty nervous.  I wanted to make sure and do it right, make people feel welcome, and keep from screwing it up. So with Angie by my side we made it through the greeting and announcements just fine.  At that point I realized that no one had told me who to hand the mic off to next. I froze like a gallon of […] Read more »

Are You One of the “Financially Fragile” Americans?

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financially fragile

I read in a Wall Street Journal article that almost half of all Americans would have to sell some of their possessions if they needed to come up with $2,000 cash within 30 days.  The author called these people “financially fragile”. Wow!  That’s disturbing statistic. It’s especially surprising when you realize that a normal emergency expense like a major car repair or a child’s broken arm (which happened to my son a few weeks ago) can pretty easily set you back a couple of grand. Why Are So Many of Us Financially Fragile? So what’s the deal?  Why is it […] Read more »

Debt and Deeper Issues

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Have you been trying to gain control of your money issues but just never seem to get any traction?  I’ve talked to a ton of people over the years who have taken classes, written budgets, read books, and made every effort they could to get out of debt and try to make sense of their money.  But after a short period of time they’re back to the same old habits they’ve always had, ending up with more month than money and steadily adding to their pile of debt. Why does this happen so often?  Is it because I just didn’t […] Read more »

An Oil Change and a Conversation About Debt

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Pulling out my debit card to pay for my oil change, I told the young man behind the counter who my employer was and asked if I qualified for a discount.  He acknowledged that I did, punched a few buttons and said, “Looks like that saves you 8 bucks.” Up until this point, our conversation had been standard small talk, but here’s where it got interesting. “Every little bit helps, right?” he continued. “Absolutely,” I responded. “My girlfriend has me going to this financial peace thing,” he stated. “Oh, you mean Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University?  What baby step are […] Read more »

“You Know You’re Broke If… “- 50 Ways to Know if You’re Light in the Wallet

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You Know You're Broke If...

If you’re broke, well, you probably know you’re broke.  Most of the time nobody has to tell you.  Even so, today I thought it would be fun to inform those who may be a little unsure by taking a look at the lighter side of being light in the wallet. So I made a list of 50 ways you know you’re broke. Because sometimes talking about money can be boring and you just gotta have a little fun!   You Know You’re Broke If… …Your latte’ bill is as vente’ as your car payment. …You comfort yourself by saying “Mo’ […] Read more »

Razor Customer Support Rocks!

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Standing in the kitchen, we told our daughter, Tori, she was only getting one present for her birthday. She looked a little confused as we handed her a small, flat, rectangular present that was very light. She opened it up and screamed in delight as she realized it was the picture cut from the packing box of the Razor electric scooter she had been coveting ever since her friends in the neighborhood had gotten one a year earlier.  We had not intended to purchase such an expensive birthday present, but it was something Tori really wanted. So, we sacrificed a […] Read more »

Dealing With Student Loan Debt

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student loans

  If you have student loans from attending college (Let’s hope you don’t) and you’re a recent graduate, you might be a little concerned about how you’re going to get that student loan debt paid back. As college tuitions have risen over the years and starting salaries have remained flat or even gone down, it has become much more difficult for many people to meet those huge student loan obligations and get them paid off in a timely manner. Total student loan debt is now over $1 Trillion and even exceeds total credit card debt according to Allie Johnson at […] Read more »