Libertine
12-27-2007, 02:09 AM
A little background.
In 2004, I was riding the wave of a management position of a small newspaper that was owned by a corporate giant.
I was underpaid, over-worked and stressed to the max. Yes, I had money, but I was also living well above my means as are most Americans today.
Credit cards, loans, car payments, not to mention a house payment, utilities, and the like, were taking up my entire check. My wife worked full-time and made a fairy decent wage, but that went towards some child care, groceries and savings.
We could keep up with Joneses as long as we were just as in debt as the Joneses.
But, in 2005 that all changed.
I made a decision to "drop out" of this system as best I could. A life-changing experience changed my way of thinking and I begin to put together a plan.
In October 2006, I executed that plan.
Now, not everyone can do what I did exactly the WAY I did it, but you can do it nevertheless.
In October 2006, I resigned my position to work on my own business (not real stable at the time), but I decided that I could supplement my income with part-time work or contract work if things go too hard.
I took out my savings and my last check and paid off my car, my three loans, and my credit card. I didn't pay my medical bills, because they can kiss my ass. :) I don't recommend that, but I am just sick of dealing with careless, heartless assholes.
So, here's the first thing you must do: DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS FOR REAL. It WILL have a profound effect on your life. If you LOVE materialism too much, and think you NEED a plasma tv instead of a regular one, or a new car instead of a good used one, don't even think about this class!
If you are ... well ... you must do the first thing: GET OUT OF DEBT.
ESTABLISH A BUDGET. Make three categories :
A) CONCRETE DEBT- Debt that will probably always be.
B) TEMPORARY DEBT- Credit cards, payments, loans, etc.
C) ASSETS- Income, Savings, any money or items you have or get on a regular basis.
D) COLLATERAL THINGS- Things you own that you could sell, pawn or trade.
Such things as taxes, insurance, long-term loans (such as house payments, etc.) would fall under concrete debt. You'll probably always owe these things (or at least for a long period of time), so you can't eliminate them, but you can attempt to LOWER them.
If you own, you can refinance your home for cheaper monthly payments and cut down on your utilities (usage of water and power). Some water/power companies will average out your usage monthly and you can pay the exact same payment each month. Or you can be sure to eliminate wasteful energy (cut the lights off unless you need them, for instance). This helps SIGNIFICANTLY.
So, the key to CONCRETE DEBT is to lower your monthly burden.
For TEMPORARY DEBT, the key is to ELIMINATE it. One way to do this, is to use a tax income return to pay off these debts, or your savings, or (if possible) CONSOLIDATE them with one loan. Either of these ideas are great to help eliminate these debts as quickly as possible.
My wife and I have a credit card ONLY for emergencies (but don't even use it). We do not have a checking account anymore, but have a savings. We also hoard cash and valuables.
If you can lower concrete debt, and eliminate temporary debt, you are 75% of the way there.
NEXT CLASS : This Sunday night. Right here. :)
In 2004, I was riding the wave of a management position of a small newspaper that was owned by a corporate giant.
I was underpaid, over-worked and stressed to the max. Yes, I had money, but I was also living well above my means as are most Americans today.
Credit cards, loans, car payments, not to mention a house payment, utilities, and the like, were taking up my entire check. My wife worked full-time and made a fairy decent wage, but that went towards some child care, groceries and savings.
We could keep up with Joneses as long as we were just as in debt as the Joneses.
But, in 2005 that all changed.
I made a decision to "drop out" of this system as best I could. A life-changing experience changed my way of thinking and I begin to put together a plan.
In October 2006, I executed that plan.
Now, not everyone can do what I did exactly the WAY I did it, but you can do it nevertheless.
In October 2006, I resigned my position to work on my own business (not real stable at the time), but I decided that I could supplement my income with part-time work or contract work if things go too hard.
I took out my savings and my last check and paid off my car, my three loans, and my credit card. I didn't pay my medical bills, because they can kiss my ass. :) I don't recommend that, but I am just sick of dealing with careless, heartless assholes.
So, here's the first thing you must do: DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS FOR REAL. It WILL have a profound effect on your life. If you LOVE materialism too much, and think you NEED a plasma tv instead of a regular one, or a new car instead of a good used one, don't even think about this class!
If you are ... well ... you must do the first thing: GET OUT OF DEBT.
ESTABLISH A BUDGET. Make three categories :
A) CONCRETE DEBT- Debt that will probably always be.
B) TEMPORARY DEBT- Credit cards, payments, loans, etc.
C) ASSETS- Income, Savings, any money or items you have or get on a regular basis.
D) COLLATERAL THINGS- Things you own that you could sell, pawn or trade.
Such things as taxes, insurance, long-term loans (such as house payments, etc.) would fall under concrete debt. You'll probably always owe these things (or at least for a long period of time), so you can't eliminate them, but you can attempt to LOWER them.
If you own, you can refinance your home for cheaper monthly payments and cut down on your utilities (usage of water and power). Some water/power companies will average out your usage monthly and you can pay the exact same payment each month. Or you can be sure to eliminate wasteful energy (cut the lights off unless you need them, for instance). This helps SIGNIFICANTLY.
So, the key to CONCRETE DEBT is to lower your monthly burden.
For TEMPORARY DEBT, the key is to ELIMINATE it. One way to do this, is to use a tax income return to pay off these debts, or your savings, or (if possible) CONSOLIDATE them with one loan. Either of these ideas are great to help eliminate these debts as quickly as possible.
My wife and I have a credit card ONLY for emergencies (but don't even use it). We do not have a checking account anymore, but have a savings. We also hoard cash and valuables.
If you can lower concrete debt, and eliminate temporary debt, you are 75% of the way there.
NEXT CLASS : This Sunday night. Right here. :)