compare it to your total debt from last year on the same date. You can pull up statements online for all of your accounts. Did your debt increase? If you bought a car or home
in the last year then you certainly know why your debt increased. If you don’t pay attention to where your money goes, there is a good chance it increased too and, like Reagan during Iran-Contra, you don’t know why. If your debt increased because you don’t pay attention to where your money goes, it is likely due to the fact that you have spent unwisely. If your goal is to pay off debt, save for a vacation
or retirement, is it wise to spend 40 percent of your income on clothes when you have more shoes than Imelda Marcos? Does it make sense to pay hundreds of dollars for cable when you can get Bravo on Hulu for much cheaper and debt collectors constantly call you? Is it wise to buy each new version of the iPhone when it hardly changes from one generation to the next and you have no emergency savings?
3) Create a financial plan. After you weigh yourself, assess your diet and
exercise habits and determine your goal weight, you create a plan to achieve your goal. The same logic, again, applies to your finances. Once you know how much money comes in and where your money goes, you must create a plan to achieve your financial goal. For many, it is better to increase payments to credit
cards or student loans to eliminate debt. If your plan is to save money in order to buy a house or to have a wedding, a reduction or elimination of unnecessary expenses is as smart a move as Neil deGrasse Tyson would make. All of us could benefit from increased contributions to a company-sponsored retirement plan or to a Traditional or Roth IRA.
THESE ARE COMMENDABLE GOALS, BUT A PLAN IS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE THEM. HERE ARE THREE STEPS FOR A FINANCIAL PLAN:
• Spend less than you make - Reduce and elimi- nate unnecessary expenses the way Snapchat erases pictures. • Make one or two financial changes - Simple changes can make big differences that are hardly noticeable. For example, always create a menu and grocery list before you shop for groceries. This will not be enough to get you onExtreme Couponing,though. • Use the difference to achieve your financial goals - These or similar changes will save you a few dollars each month. Put the difference into an emer- gency savings account or use it to pay off credit card debt. You will quickly notice the gain and not feel the pain. Now we sound like a Saturday afternoon infomercial. A financial plan is like a diet and exercise program
for your money. To be successful with your money, similar to your health, you must have a strategy.
FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO IMPROVE YOUR FINANCIAL LIFE AND VERY SOON YOU WILL FEEL LIKE A MEM- BER OF THE BARDEN BELLAS.
David Auten and John Schneider paid off over $51,000 worth of credit card debt in less than two and half years. Using their education, professional and personal experiences they share what is necessary for anyone seeking financial independence in their upcoming book 4:The Four Principles of a Debt Free Lifeand on their blog
atdebtfreeguys.com.
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