Financial Breakthrough Live: Marriage and Money: Principle 1:TIming

 

 

 

 

 

Financial Breakthrough Live: Marriage and Money: Principle 1:TIming

7 Smart Uses for Your Tax Refund

7 Smart Uses for Your Tax Refund

Tax time is in full swing and many people are receiving large checks from the IRS. In 2010 over 64 million people received a tax refund check averaging $2985 according to the IRS.

With a few thousand dollars landing in the hands of millions of people, this could be a great opportunity to start impacting the nation’s economy by venturing into your favorite retailer. Or, you can use this as an opportunity to impact your personal economy. If you need help developing a plan, join me for FREE at Financial Breakthrough Live and get a personal finance question answered for FREE.

 

Until then, here are 7 suggestions to get you started.

 

1. Create an emergency fund. Go ahead and put together a mini-emergency fund of about $1000. This will give a strong foundation to start your debt elimination plan. If you are already ahead of the game and have your emergency fund in place, then move on to step 2. Read more

Dealing with Debt Collectors: When is an old debt too old for a debt collector to sue?

Many Americans cringe when they hear the phone ring or are nervous when they go to the mail box because of the possibility that the person delivering the message is a debt collector. I have been there myself with a judgement, a repossession, and multiple accounts that went into collections. As a Financial Coach I receive questions from clients all the time about how to deal with debt collectors, so I wanted to clear up some misconceptions between your rights and your responsibilities. So over the next few weeks I will be dealing with the major issues related to debt collections and practical solutions to those issues. Read more

Bible and Money: Release Yourself From the Curse of The Budget

Bible and Money: Release Yourself From the Curse of The Budget

The following scripture is not a direct reference to money or resources, but underlines how we should live our lives, which always manifests in how we use our money.

Matthew 5:17-20 (AMP) Read more

What Does The Bible Say About Good Debt vs. Bad Debt?: Part 2

Wealth Does Not Equal Happiness

People have been in the pursuit of riches and fame since Adam and Eve. So this topic is not anything new, however the open availability of being able to create wealth is new. With the evolution of the information/knowledge age, it is easier to make money with your mind than ever before. Read more

CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS DOWN 10 PERCENT THROUGH NINE MONTHS OF 2011

CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS DOWN 10 PERCENT THROUGH NINE MONTHS OF 2011

According to ABI.org October 4, 2011, Alexandria, Va. — U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings totaled 1,044,722 nationwide during the first nine months of 2011 (Jan. 1-Sept. 30), a 10 percent decrease from the 1,165,172 total consumer filings during the same period a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). September consumer bankruptcies decreased 17 percent nationwide from September 2010 as the data showed that the overall consumer filing total for September reached 108,517 down from the 130,329 consumer filings recorded in September 2010.

“The trend of declining filings has been consistent with consumers continuing to reign in their spending, household debt, and an overall pull back in consumer credit,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Total consumer filings for 2011 will be less than 2010.”

The September 2011 filings also represented a 4 percent decrease from the August 2011 consumer bankruptcy total of 113,432 filings, a slight change that could be the result of one less day in the month. The percentage of chapter 13 filings for September was 30 percent, a one percent increase from August.

My Comments:

I am extremely excited that bankruptcies declined vs. last year, but the mission is not over and the work to change the hearts and minds of millions of consumers is still a hard fight. One of the primary issues I have with the path to and from bankruptcy is that the majority of people who file bankruptcy will do it again, because they never changed the bad habits that caused the problem in the first place.

Bankruptcy does not solve the long term issues of not managing your finances, living above your means, and having a lack of savings. In my experience, most people who file for bankruptcy are not truly bankrupt, just scared and overwhelmed.

Quick Tip;

If you ask a bankruptcy lawyer if you  are bankrupt, you are not asking an unbiased person their opinion, they are translating your inquiry into if you can pay for the bankruptcy or not. Bankruptcy lawyers are not consumer advocates, there sole mission is to find a way to sign you up for bankruptcy according to the local laws and regulations. So ask an unbiased Financial Coach if you are bankrupt or you just need a plan to take control of your finances and learn how to win with money.

 

What Does the Bible Say About Good Debt vs. Bad Debt? Part 1

There are many financial gurus and financial experts who have differing opinions on what type (if any) of debt we should use to enjoy life, start a business, buy a home, or any other financing opportunity. So we are going to find out what the Bible has to say about the subject. Read more

3 Quick Entrepreneurial Sales Lessons

3 Quick Entrepreneurial Sales Lessons

The following is a guest post on Sprouter.com by Daniel Tenner.  Daniel is the founder of several companies includingGrantTree.  He blogs about startups and founders at Swombat.com.  You can also find him on twitter.

“Every no gets you closer to a yes.”

Permeating the human science (or art) of sales is this fundamental idea: sales fail all the time.

One of the hardest things for me to get used to, as a geek/artist/writer in business, is the constant disappointment of sales. The harsh reality, however, is that many leads will not turn into clients, no matter how exciting they might seem at first. And yet each lead must be given attention, enthusiasm, dedication, and so on, if it is to have any chance at all of turning into a sale.

Some people are very good at working on 50 new deals a week knowing that 45 will fall through. They deeply, personally understand that every no gets you closer to a yes, and yet don’t let it distract them from pursuing every answer with tenacity, ferocity even. We call them salespeople, and many people look down on them, but those people often make the difference between a business and yet another failed startup.

Competent salespeople, particularly those with an entrepreneurial attitude and the ability to work things out as they go along, are rare and precious. Treasure them.

“It’s not over until the fat lady sings.”

However, even if you’re not a salesperson, you will have to pursue and close deals. Deals, like sales, fail all the time. Never ever make critical decisions that depend on a deal happening (be it a grant application, an investment, a merger, or even just a new customer), until the money is in the bank. Even happily signed contracts are no guarantee that the money will actually change hands some day. The only thing you know for sure when you hold a signed contract in your hands is that the other person knows how to use a pen.

As an extreme example, one potential GrantTree customer we were talking to, at one point, asked us, “so, if you’re going to write this application for us, can I take on some loans right now on the basis of this grant?” That is almost exactly the wrong attitude when dealing with any kind of deal that’s not certain, and as we’ve already established, no deal is ever certain until the money is in your bank account.

Never base future expenses or commitments on money that’s not in the bank yet, even if it’s owed to you, even if you have an apparently ironclad contract. Any number of things can happen between now and then that can change that certitude into a painful (hopefully not fatal) disappointment.

“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”

Another truism of sales, which emerges from the high failure rate of any deliberate sales endeavour, is that customers that you already have on your books are worth much more than potential leads.

This is actually something many (though not all) salespeople fail at, because of the natural focus of sales around getting more leads and converting them. However, as a business owner, you can’t afford to make that mistake. It’s very tempting, when chasing a $100k deal, to look down on the 4 or 5 $10k deals you already have as a comparative waste of your time. And maybe, when you regularly close $100k+ deals, you should start turning away customers that are just too small for you. But until then, treat every customer as well as if there were no more leads coming for the next year.

If you treat customers well and they like you and are happy with your services and products, they will provide the best kind of leads: “hot”, word-of-mouth leads. They will also provide you with testimonials, client success stories, and other sales materials that you can use to get more leads and more sales. Your customers can be your best salespeople, but only if you treat them right.

Conversely, if you treat your customers badly, word will spread about that too, and leads will mysteriously become ever harder to close. So, treat them well.

“Go forth and multiply” … your revenues.

 

What are some of your hard learned sales lessons?

Before You Quit Your Job, Listen To This

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  • Financial Breakthrough Live: Marriage and Money: Principle 1:TIming
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