Don’t Spend it Save it!

As we all head into the holiday season and some of us out for Black Friday I wanted to just give you some numbers to maybe get you to not spend as much.  And maybe even start a savings plan!  All of these numbers are done based on a 10% rate of return, which is below the market average for the long term, which is just under 12%.

Save $25 a month

Years	Value	Amount Invested
5	$1,935.93	$1,500
10	$5,121.12	$3,000
15	$10,361.76	$4,500
20	$18,984.22	$6,000
30	$56,512.20	$9,000
40	$158,101.99	$12,000

Save $50 a month

Years	Value	Amount Invested
5	$3,871.85	$3,000
10	$10,242.25	$6,000
15	$20,723.52	$7,500
20	$37,968.44	$12,000
30	$113,024.40	$18,000
40	$316,203.98	$24,000

 

Imagine what would happen if you saved more, made the 12% and started saving as early as possible? ($50 a month over 40 years at 12% is $588,238.63) Start saving today (All 25 year olds can have half a million by retirement if they do nothing more than $50)!

How to stay calm in a financial crises

I know everyone is getting tired and depressed about the current financial rollercoaster.  So how do you get through in a calm fashion?  The short answer?  Ignore the media.  The long answer has a couple more details to it!

1. Ignore the media – If you do not subject yourself to the over analysis done by the media of what is going on it is harder to become depressed and easier to stay calm.  Liken it to a watched pot never boils, nothing major is going to change in one day.  Check in on what is going on once a week and spend the rest of your time focusing on you! (See number 4)
2. Remember what your timeline is – Investing is for the long run.  If you don’t need the money for five years there is nothing to worry about.  The market will come back and we will move on.  If you need it before 5 years you should not have been in the stock market.  It is a volatile investment in the short term and a great investment in the long term.  What to do if you are in it and you do need the money?  Sit for as long as you can, but then take it when you needed.  Exhaust all other responsible options first.
3. Use your extra time that you are not watching the news to educate yourself about how markets work and other money matters.  All economies must have their ups and downs.  We have been very lucky to have had a long period of growth; it was inevitable to have a down turn.  It has happened before, it will happen again and we will all be okay.
4. Remember that YOU create your destiny.  Take this as a time to move forward when everyone else is drowning in their tears.  Take a minute, determine where you are and then get out there and move yourself in the direction you want to go!

Need more help with that?  Check out our MoneyFit package at http://www.smartstepomaha.com/services

Where does the Money come from?

With all the talk of bailouts – they never seem to stop!  Every time I hear about Congress spending more money one thought comes up.  Washington does not create any money, all the money that is there is because we paid taxes or fees.  So every time they spend money and put us in debt it has to come from us latter.  SO congress spends money and our taxes go up.  End of story – there is NO other way for Washington to get money.  So please if you are listening Washington STOP spending money.  Assuming they are not listening then it is up to us to call them and tell them to STOP!

Kids and Money

My blog today is more a question that each of us has to answer for ourselves.  Why do we feel the need to give our kids everything they want and more?  I wrestled with this for my son’s first year and a half or so.  I thought that I needed to show him my love by buying and also make up for the time I was at work.  Then I started to really pay attention to why I was buying?  It turns out I was buying for me not him, so I just stopped.  It was really hard at first, but eventually it just because part of life.  Not saying I don’t buy him stuff, just not on a regular basis. 

Plus is it good to spoil our kids?  I really do not believe it is.  First they begin to expect it, it does not replace quality time with us and then when they do eventually leave our homes they have a big misconception about what money buys and brings you.  I could probably keep going with how it is bad, but that is enough for now.  Ultimately I think everyone should to stop and think about why they are buying stuff.   Why are you spending money on your kids?  Do they need it or is it to appease your emotions?  Is it to avoid a fight?  Is it worth it?

 

 

What to do when your latest Financial plan does not work

It seems like no matter what financial plan you follow it does not work for you.  You have tried following Suze Orman’s advice, David Bach’s advice and even Rich Dad Poor Dad, but none of them seem to get you ahead.  Why not?  Are you doomed to never have great finances? NO!  The only problem is that you are not buying into these programs 100%.  Why not? Because it does not resonate with you.  How do you find someone that is just like you?  You don’t.  So what do you do to be financially successful?  Educate yourself on what everyone has to say.  Read, listen to podcasts, and talk to those around you.  Then decide for yourself what parts make sense for YOU.  When you believe in what you are doing it is easier to stick to and easier to get ahead with your financial plan.  So get out there and start learning! 

Need a few places to start?  Check these out:

www.daveramsey.com

www.finishrich.com

 

More resources on my site:  www.smartstepomaha.com  (more added everyday)

 

 

 

Social services and Responsibility

Last night in Barack’s acceptance speech he had a couple quotes that made me go – YES!  At the same time they made me come back to one of my biggest issues with a lot of our current policies and tax laws regarding social services. 

The first quote – “let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.”  I love this quote!  The things I focused on were responsibility, working harder and looking after each other.  This is exactly how we became a great nation.  If we are to achieve our dreams we must do each of these!

The Second quote – “the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.”  My main focus in this one is opportunity, we live in a land where anything can be accomplished and this is fantastic!

So where are my issues with our social policies?  A lot of our policies currently do not enable people to be responsible, work hard, and help others or to even have hope.  Just two that we can look at is welfare and EIC (earned income credit). 

With welfare it is very easy to get trapped in the system, where if you get a raise or a second job you end up losing benefits and in the end are worse off than you were when you were not achieving.  I actually had a friend that this happened to, as a single working mom she would have lost her daycare, health care and other services if she were to even work four more hours a week!  It was not until the kids were in school all day and her father’s schedule changed (so he could help with after school care) that she did not need help from the government with daycare.  This enabled her to get a good job and take care of herself and children.  Her first 6 months on the job she did not have health care, after 6 months she was able to quality for care.  When she was finally off assistance she said she felt more empowered and had a great sense of self than ever before.  She also will tell you that the system is broken in that she was penalized if she achieved and she always felt trapped.  Is that type of system good for our sense of responsibility, opportunity and hope?

Earned Income credit, actually makes me VERY mad.  For those of you who do not know what it is about here is an overview.  Basically the government gives you anywhere from $0 – $4,716 based on the number of kids you have and how little you make.  It is not based on anything more.  In order to get the $4,716 you need to have a couple kids and only have made about $16,000.  At first you might say, but it is helping those who don’t have money make it easier.  My response to you – go do a season of taxes for HR Block (a task I think every elected official should be required to do).  Many people actually game the system to just work as much as they need to get the most money.  They will call in the summer to see if they have hit the best income spot – and then STOP working!!!!!!  I actually had a girl at the desk be upset that she had not meet the best payout spot and was very upset, her mother actually said “but it is free money, maybe next year you will have to work a little longer.”   This system does not help our citizens to thrive and have opportunities.  Not to mention that it is not free money, many of us hard working people who actually pay taxes give this girl her “free” money. 

We cannot continue to put in place systems like these as they destroy our desire to achieve and make a great life for ourselves.  Be careful in how you recommend we “help” people as many times it back fires and becomes more of a bad spot on our nation. 

Change in Company direction

I have always enjoyed my work as a coach, but seemed to be struggling with the marketing and words to use that described my services (balance coaching).  After careful thought and an amazing sessions with my coach (http://www.createradiance.com/) I realized I was not acknowledging my true passion.  I was in the wrong niche! So as of last Thursday I am officially a wealth coach.  The big realization was that it is the one topic that I will talk to ANYONE ANY DAY about.  I keep gravitating towards it, and amazingly my marketing ideas started to flow and won’t stop!  I so believe that you need to be financially healthy to truly create a healthy life that I want to educate people and help them plan.  All without trying to sell them a financial product or a get rich quick scheme.  Just a loving caring environment to explore their relationship with money and set up a plan that will work for them.  So now begins my new journey to my real passion!