A GOOD DEBT IS NOT AS GOOD AS NO DEBT!

Credit can become evil when consumers become so over reliant on credit cards that is clouds their common sense. In my part of the country, it appears that one out of ten families is losing their cars and one out of ten is losing their homes!

Often times it’s not that they can’t afford the debt it’s because they overbought. Too much car or too much house for what they really could afford. I cannot stress enough how debt is the master that has no pity, mercy, or empathy.

A lot of today’s financial mess has been caused by easy credit and no self control. Debt allows people to buy what they don’t need with money they don’t have.

Spending money you haven’t earned leads to ruined marriages, spoiled kids, and a broken spirit. Most people are forced into bankruptcy due to job loss, major medical bills, and divorce with no financial reserves available. If they had had cash on hand maybe they could have weathered the storm.

The only good debt I can think of (if there is such a thing) is for a home and a college education. And then only in moderation. You can get a modest house and a good education at a state university.

Be true to yourself and you won’t have a broken spirit.

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

N0 COSIGNING FOR ANY LOAN, EVEN FOR YOUR KIDS!

I am not kidding. If your child needs to go buy a car (can’t afford to pay cash) and the bank won’t loan them money why should you? They have to learn the hard way.

If you live in a city they can take the bus. That’s right-take the bus. People today are buying their kids cars when they graduate from high school. When I graduated from high school, I had a friend who came from a family of 23 kids. What did he get for graduation? As suitcase! Hint, hint-time to move out!

When you cosign here are the facts:

1. You are being asked to guarantee this debt. If the borrower does not pay the debt-you do!
2. You may have to pay up to the full amount if the debtor does not pay. You may have to pay for late fees or collection costs.
3. The creditor can decide to collect directly from you without going to the borrower.
4. The creditor can use the same collection techniques against you that they would use against the borrower.

If you feel that you really must cosign for your kids consider the following:

1. Make sure you can repay the loan yourself.
2. Try to limit your liability with the creditor. They may be flexible with the loan.
3. Ask to be notified in writing if the borrower fails to make even one payment.
4. Make sure you get copies of all paperwork including payments and balances.

Cosigning may not seem like a big deal but it could ruin your credit forever!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

PRACTICAL IDEA FOR SAVING ON GIFTS!

Have you ever received gifts that you either did not need or did not like. What to do? Re-Gifting!

1. When you receive something you don’t need or don’t like, use it to bless someone else. Just remember who gave it to you and don’t give it back to them!
2. Re-wrap any item you are re-gifting.
3. The gift should be in good shape. Re-gifting doesn’t mean getting rid of junk.

Does this sound like penny pinching to you? It shouldn’t. What would you normally do with a gift you don’t need or want-put? You put it in a closet and forget about it.

Keep in mind that any gift you get, whether it was bought, homemade, or re-gifted should be accepted with grace. Ralph Waldo Emmerson said: “ He is a good man who can receive a gift well”!

Give, you'll be blessed!
Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?

Do you have one or two T.V.’s, maybe three? How many DVD players? One or two, three cars?

We all stress ourselves out at one time or other for stuff that maybe we really don’t need after all.

“ A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.” Henry David Thoreau

Sometimes we get obsessed with saving enough for our retirement, kid’s college, a rainy day, etc. This can be a lack of Faith or fear of lack. If you look at what you have in your home, I can guess that you have much more than your grandparents or even your parents ever had.

In 1999 a man named Bob Thompson sold his Michigan based asphalt and paving company for $422 million dollars. Do you want to know what he did? He shared $130 million of that with his 550 employees and some of them became instant millionaires. He could have easily walked away with the whole amount and nobody would have said anything. He had “higher values”.

So, how much is enough? Are you spending all your time working and you don’t have time for anything else including your family?

“The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price…the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.” Theodore Roosevelt.

Put your money and the pursuit of it in perspective! If you set priorities for your time and money, you will have a prosperous future and you WILL have enough.

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

STOP BLOWING YOUR MONEY!

Common definition of disposable income: The amount of income left to an individual after taxes have been paid and that is available for spending and saving. Disposable income may either be spent on consumption or saved.

Commonsense definition: Money you burn and later regret!

I have seen people trade their perfectly good car every two years because they want the newer model. Worse, they trade in the vehicle to get the new one. Talk about burning your money for your ego.

Don’t be pressured by peers or family. It’s your money and who are you trying to impress really? Who cares what they think? Most probably you are the last person they are thinking about.

1. Only one third of workers have any idea of how much money they need to retire.
2. The average social security check benefit for retired workers is about $900/mo.
3. Social security benefits represent 38% of the income of the elderly.

Where are you? Choose to save now so you don’t have to make bad decisions in the future. If you live a simple life style and are not trying to impress your neighbors you will find that you really do not need that much income to live comfortably on upon retirement -providing that you are debt free.

Every year that you procrastinate about your saving priorities is another year that you put your retirement on the back burner. By the way, retirement is not found in the Bible.
You might retire from you present work but you should be looking at being productive your entire life. That’s what life is all about.

Get started!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

SETTING YOUR PRIORTIES WILL SAVE YOU MONEY!

People will say: I want to retire early, send my kids through college, buy a bigger home, give money to charities, etc. We all have noble and good goals, however, if we don’t set priorities, we will be a day older and deeper in debt.

If you want to pay for your kids college are you putting money aside now? Waiting for their senior year isn’t going to cut it. Early retirement-same thing, what are you putting away on a consistent basis?

If you have your goals as priorities, this will have a huge impact on how you spend your money. You will be looking to put money aside for your priorities and will not be so quick to go to the mall just because you feel like shopping.

It’s all about making the right choices. If your money is already spoken for you don’t have it to spend. Let’s use money for your children’s college as an example. They want the latest gadget, clothes, new cell phone, etc and your answer is: NO- it’s going to the college fund. How can they argue with that?

I am also a big believer in having your children work while they are in high school and while going to college. We did this with our two children and they quickly learned the value of having earned their own money and were not so quick to spend their money, let alone Mom and Dad’s money.

Set your priorities and save money!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

WHEN IT COMES TO FINANCES-KEEP IT SIMPLE!

If you’ve read any financial magazines or newsletters, it is easy to get lost in their analysis and complicated terms. Based on what has happened on Wall Street, even the so called experts don’t seem to have a clue.

When it comes to your hard earned money, simple is never complicated or hard to understand. Save some of your hard earned money and put it in the bank. The financial pundits keep telling you to invest your money so it will earn at least 10% interest per year. Unfortunately, they never tell you WHERE to get the interest except investing in the stock market for the next 100 years.

Put your money in a savings account or CD’s. It’ safe for the time being and you don’t have to worry about exotic investment deals. Wait, the financial pundits are saying, putting your money in CD”s is not wise, you are not earning enough, look at what we can offer you: prime loan banks, sub prime mortgages, gold investments, etc.

Don’t’ fall for all those scams. That is what most of them are. Why do I say this? Because most of them will lose your money!

If you don’t know what they are talking about, hide your wallet and run! Don’t let your greed for higher returns cloud your judgment.

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts