Earlier this week I received a call from a very dear friend of mine that her car died. It ran fine on her way to work but after work it didn’t have any power, it wouldn’t go over 30 MPH, and the motor sounded really bad. Upon taking it to a mechanic, her worst fears were realized… the motor was shot. It has a bad rod and piston and the motor either needs to be completely rebuild from the ground up or replaced.

As a single mom living in Michigan and working 5 miles from home, life is difficult with a vehicle. And, nearly impossible without one. How will she get groceries? Take her daughter to the doctor? Or, even make it to church that is 22 miles down the road? Public transportation won’t work as she often is at work before they are open and has days where stays until long after they are closed. A taxi could cost her over 25% of her take home pay. It’s unfortunate but walking is not a good idea either. Besides the weather, the neighborhood is not the place for a beautiful young lady to be walking around at 4:30 in the morning or 11:30 at night.

I’m a little bit of a numbers guy and I usually figure out where all I need to go for the following week and fill my car up by Sunday for the week. This week had been no different until I drove to rescue my lady from work and later take her to borrow a car so she could look at others to buy. As I left her at the car lot I had 47 minutes to drive 63 miles to work and my car said I had 80 left on the tank of gas. Thirty miles from work it simply said ‘Low Fuel’, at nine miles away it was below the orange line on the E. I was already fifteen minutes late and I needed to make it to work and then I would get gas. Just before the exit I tapped the brakes to take the cruise off and it hesitated a little. After slowing down a little for the first curve of the ramp I realized my car wasn’t running. The light at the top of the ramp was green but I still needed to make it there…. Up the hill. Somehow I managed to make it up the hill before the light changed and then I continued down the hill and made a left, between 2 vehicles, and stopped at the gas pump.

I see countless individuals and couples that live like this with their finances. Writing checks and hoping they can beat them to the bank. Spending money like they are congress then praying more money will magically appear before the heat bill is due. As a financial coach I help people go from cutting it to close to cutting the fat to creating some cushion! Please share my page with someone you know who needs to create some financial cushion in their life. Then, get a hold of me when your ready to cut the fat in your finances and begin living in financial freedom.

Blessings,

John

Steps to success…

• Live on less than you make.
• Stop borrowing money.
• Create a plan for every dollar you make.

How it looks…

1. $1,000 Emergence Fund
2. Paying off your debts from smallest to largest.
3. Increasing your emergency fund to 3-6 months of expenses set aside in cash.
4. Invest 15% of your income into retirement.
5. College funding (if needed)
6. Pay off your house early.
7. Build wealth, spend some, and give a bunch away.

3 Reasons why Financial Coaching is better than Credit Counseling (in my humble opinion)

When I began looking into financial coaching and credit counseling they appeared to be the same thing. There are even some companies that interchange these statements and try to make them mean the same thing. When it comes to credit counseling there are for profit as well as non profit companies. I haven’t found any great companies in either category. If you end up going to a credit counselor then I would highly suggest that you do your research and make sure it is at least a non profit company. I believe financial coaching is not only the best choice but that it should be the only choice. Here are 3 reasons why I believe this, I may return to this topic again as there are several more items I could list….

REASON #1 – PRIORITIZING YOUR BILLS

As a Financial Coach, I will teach you how to prioritize all of your bills before you spend a dime. I will teach you why it is important for you to determine where each bill falls in your list of priorities. You will also learn how to stop others from changing the order of your list. Once you have created this list you can make better decisions as to where you spend your money. By creating this list beforehand you are in total control of your finances. You are now in a position to say no to impulse and emotions, and say yes to the things that really matter in your life.

Credit counselors main concern is your unsecured debts, which should be at the bottom of your list. If you choose to hire them then you will be flipping your prioritizes upside down. In doing so you could very well be choosing to pay on a credit card instead of feeding your children.

REASON #2 – CREATING A BUDGET THAT WORKS

As a financial coach, I will teach you how to create a working budget. I will provide you with options on how you can reduce spending in different areas so you can reach your financial goals. Ultimately, you are the ones that decide how each and every dollar is spent in your budget. I will teach married couples what each of their roles are in the budgeting process. As partners in the marriage you will learn how to create a budget where everyone gets to win. Singles will learn the advantages and disadvantages of being single and how to use the disadvantages to their advantage. Having a working budget brings with it an incredible amount of freedom, self worth, and peace.

A credit counselor may provide you with a budget where they have made all of the decisions about how you spend your money. If you decide to participate in their debt settlement plan then you are required to pay the bills that matter the least no matter what. If you miss paying them then you will be kicked out of the program and may easily end up worse off than when you began.

REASON #3 – COMMUNICATING WITH CREDITORS

This is huge for everyone that is behind on their bills. Most people would rather hide from creditors, or have someone else talk to them, when they get in a pinch and are struggling to pay all of their bills. As a Financial Coach, I will teach you the importance of communicating with each of your creditors directly. You will also learn the most effective ways of doing so and why you are the best person for the job.

Credit counselors will insist that you direct all communication with your creditors to them, suggesting they can get you a better deal. Once you let your creditors know that you are working with one of these agencies your credit score could be damaged. As an added service, once you have complete their debt settlement program you can rehire the credit counselor to help you fix the damaged to your credit score from using them in the first place.

CONCLUSION

I believe that all three of these things are vital if you ever want to take control of yourfinances and move towards your financial goals. When I was a child my parents made all of my decisions for me. In order to be a responsible adult, I need to be the one in control of all of my decisions. When I was reaping all of the negative effects of my poor financial decisions I knew that I needed to learn better ways so that I didn’t make the same mistakes again. It would be easier for me to make all of your financial decisions for you but that would not teach you how to avoid it in the future. I would rather make the harder decision by allowing my clients to make their own decisions than have a repeat customer when they get into financial trouble again. My goal is not only to help you out of your current issue but to also teach you how to obtain all of your financial goals and radically change your family tree

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