Dont Give UP

I don’t usually like to quote songs; something about it seems so cheesy. Anyway it’s almost the weekend so I thought I would put up a post to maybe give some people hope there is light at the end of the tunnel.

On the radio was a song by Peter Gabriel called “Give Up”. I personally never heard the song before and it’s not really my type of music but I caught a part of a lyric that made me stop and think. It went like this, “When times are tough don’t give up…”

Simple but powerful advice.

How does this relate to having good credit or crushing your debt? I can speak from experience that when you are so deep in debt you feel like you are being crushed. Life seems bleak and cold. It seems like you are a second class citizen in this free country. You are ashamed of the hole you have dug for yourself. When you reach the breaking point you will do one of two things break down and give up. Or you will pick yourself up and make a game plan. It starts with setting up your budget and starting to pay off your debt.

You fight to find every extra dollar in your household and you apply it to your debt. If you keep this up you will start to win the war on debt. Things will start to look up. Life will get better. But it starts with making the first step. It starts with a choice, a choice to be free.

So when times are tough don’t give up! Search this free blog for answers. Check out other sites we link to. All the answers you need to fight this battle against debt are right in front of you and best of all they are free!!! Email me, post on my blog I will do everything in my power to help.

Keep Crushing that Debt!!! You will win the war.

Have a great weekend.

One of my bosses from way back gave me a picture similar to this and somehow it just fits this post. I am sure many have seen this one before:
Dont give Up!

Debt stops some from Duty

A growing trend that is not only effecting non-military personal now is starting to make an effect on those that can now serve. More and More military personal are racking up too much debt and are then unable to serve. They are considered a “risk”. The Pentagon says the debt load over 30% of their income can make them vulnerable to bribery and treason.

Is this a deliberate attempt to get out of serving? “While the number of revoked clearances has surged since the beginning
of the Iraq war, military officials say there is no evidence that
service members are deliberately running up debts to stay out of harm’s
way.”

Thousands of U.S. troops are being barred from overseas duty because they are so deep in debt they are considered security risks, according to an Associated Press review of military records.

Troops’ debt a growing security concern – Yahoo! News

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maybe you shouldn't payoff your mortgage

I agree with this article. If you are carrying high rate credit card debt then you should focus on getting rid of that first and then take on the mortgage. Some cards are as high as 30% so get rid of them!!!

Many homeowners dream of the day when their mortgage is finally paid off. They look forward to not making any more house payments and having the satisfaction of owning their home free and clear. Some homeowners try to use aggressive tactics to pay off their mortgage–tactics like having a 15-year term on their fixed-rate mortgage or a bi-weekly mortgage.

Find Real Estate News, Mortgage News, Home Loans and Homes for Sale on Yahoo! Real Estate

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My 2 year old saves

Today my daughter said in the car; “I want money so I can put it in my bucket!” I was so excited because her bucket is the place she keeps her best toys for safe keeping. She lets no one touch her bucket or the items in the bucket. In essences it’s a savings account for a 23 month old child. She is less than two years old but we think it’s important to teach her the value of money. She has a piggy bank and every time she receives a cash gift, together we put the money in her piggy bank. We let her know it’s her money but we are saving it for later. So far she understands.

Back to today’s story, I was so proud of her for saying what she said and inside proud of us for making the decision to show her the value of money and saving, at such a young age. These lessons will help her to make sound financial decision as she gets older.

Here is the down side of this story. We were on our way home from the mall where we just spent $300 in new clothes for our child. The upside is we paid cash.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Top 5 Costly Addictions

As reported by MSN money the top 5 costly addiction are:

Alcohol: with an annual cost of $166 billion.

Smoking: With an annual cost of $157 billion

Drugs: With an annual cost of $110 billion

Over eating: With an annual cost of $107 billion

These numbers are amazing. The amount of money Americans spend on the top five could compete with the GDP of smaller nations.

When looking to increase income or pay off debt try cutting down on alcohol and cigarette.

Despite growing publicity about ‘soft’ addictions, drinking, smoking, drug abuse, overeating and gambling still are the most costly to society.

The 5 most expensive addictions – MSN Money

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Need Money Move

A new Forbes survey shows which cities are doing the best to build wealth.

On page two they give a listing of how your city ranks. Also one of the most telling items in the article is this comment: “What do the best-performing cities have in common? Low debt.”

This makes sense. When people have debt they are less likely to build wealth. So if you don’t want to move, then work on reducing that debt and then you will be in a position to build wealth.

A new survey shows which American cities are doing the best job of building wealth. The index ranks the top 500 markets based on their residents’ investing and personal savings behavior.

Where the money is — MSN Money

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Holiday Budgets

[tag]Halloween[/tag] is just around the corner and if you have kids this can really screw up your monthly budget. It is reported Americans will spend $4.96 billion this year on Halloween related stuff. Candy, costumes, party stuff, etc… I know our family will spend $80 this year on Halloween. $30 on a costume for our child and the rest for candy decorations and little party we are planning.

How do I know I will spend $80 this year? Because we budgeted for it! That’s the key. Our child will have a great Halloween and we will not suffer from a financial hangover 30 days later. This holds true for Christmas. We already have our [tag]budget[/tag] and have saved all year to meet that goal. Again we want to avoid holiday financial hangovers.

It’s easy to spend a lot of money on holidays that revolve around kids; because we all want our children to be happy. But it’s a balancing act which requires discipline from the parents. By budgeting you create a win, win situation for everyone.

Don’t let this post scare you out of having a good time this Halloween but do keep your monthly budget in mind as you head out to the stores in the next couple weeks.

Heating Bills Down

A report form the Energy Department is predicting gas bills will be down about $119 this year. If this is the case, this is a great opportunity to use it to pay off more debt. 🙂

The bad news is if you use oil to heat your home your bill will be about $91 from last year. Time now to budget for this up tick.

Families using natural gas should expect to pay an average of $119 less during the upcoming winter compared to last year, a decrease of 13 percent, the Energy Department said.

Associated Press Business News: Winter Heating Bills Likely to Be Lower – MSN Money

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It Takes Motivation

Sometimes when the debt is so large and you are looking at 2 to 3 yeas before you [tag]pay off the debt[/tag] you feel like giving up. But a word of advice, it really does get easier. As you start to pay off more and more debt and sell results you create momentum which push you a long to continue on your journey to be debt free.

I have always compared getting out of debt to getting in shape. It’s hard but not impossible. It takes a plan (budget), discipline (tracking your progress) and motivation. I have found motivation is key to my success. Take notice of your small wins. Because every win is just that, a win!

Even if you are $80,000 in [tag]debt[/tag] and have paid off $2,000 in the last year, that is great. You have taken action and need to stay motivated to succeed. Believe me that is better than doing nothing. And as you pay more off you will free up more cash to apply to debt and your debt reduction will start to rapidly increase. Thus the name [tag]debt snowball[/tag].

Slow to start but once it picks up speed it really gets moving. I believe in you guys so keep up the hard work and keep crushing that debt.

Further Education

Getting your employer to pay for your further education of training is a awesome way to put yourself in a position to make more money with out taking on education loans. I happen to be lucky enough to be a part of a company which will pay for training if they feel it will help their bottom line.

It doesn’t hurt to ask if your current employer will pay to educate you.

Education and training can give your career a tremendous boost. Chances are pretty good that your employer will help pay for classes that enhance your career.

How to Pay for Distance Learning – MSN Encarta

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