Most of you know how important marriage is to me, and how important it is to be all you can be and strive to continually improve who you are.  To be a person of character, build your relationship with Christ and be loyal to those who you love and those you love.  What you may not know is I am just as passionate with other areas of life specifically areas related to your financial health.

I am so blessed to have so many people visit and read this blog and I want to thank each and every one of you for your support.   I have read your emails and know by the search statistics that those visiting here come to read about how to fireproof your marriage, stand for marriage restoration, find people of character, how to improve who you are, ways to do life better, and other related issues.  I also see that you are coming to read about ways to get out of debt or deal with general financial issues.

You may not know this but in addition to this blog, I also operate and write a daily blog on LifeandFinances.com.  The LnF blog is focused on the areas of life that touches your money.  Your probably thinking, “well money touches just about everything in my life.”  You are absolutely correct.

So with that in mind I want to invite you to visit my sister site LifeandFinances.com, listen to the podcast of how Life & Finances was started, read the articles and subscribe to the newsletter (oh, as a side note, and a sneak peak of the inside workings of KimStaudenraus.com, keep watch here for a new newsletter option in the next couple of weeks that you will want to subscribe to.)

As I am sure you have read on my About page, in 2006 I attended training with Dave Ramsey and the Lampo group and became a Certified Money Management Coach.  In my coaching I found that being in debt is really just a symptom of so many more serious issues that occur in ones life.  The Life & Finances blog is a resource of support, ideas and encouragement for all the areas in life that money touches.

Please visit LifeandFinances.com, subscribe to the newsletter, listen to the podcast, read the articles and of course leave a comment or two.  I pray it will provide you encouragement and hope for your financial life as a supplement to the support you are receiving here on KimStaudenraus.com.

Again, thank you for your support and your emails, please keep them coming and keep.

God Bless.

Becoming debt free, building wealth and taking control of your finances does not happen overnight, nor does it “just happen”, it takes planning, commitment, and dedication. It is important to set goals as I discussed in Debt Free Goal.

Setting goals requires you lay out and acknowledge your financial priorities, but how do you do that, start here:

1. Be realistic.

You probably won’t be able to achieve every financial goal you have ever dreamed of. Don’t just identify your goals, decide what is most important to you and your family. By concentrating your efforts, you have a better chance of achieving what matters most.

2. First goals are the one’s that matter.

It isn’t about what you want most, but rather what is most important. You may have to postpone the “fun” stuff like a new boat or a special vacation in order to pay off credit cards. This doesn’t mean you can’t have the fun stuff, it just means you have to do them on a different time table.

3. Prepare yourself for multiple goals with the same level of importance.

There may be multiple important goals which conflict with one another. When faced with such a conflict, you should ask yourself questions like: Which conflicting goal will benefit more people? or Which goal will cause the greater harm if it is deferred?

4. Time is on your side.

Building wealth does not happen overnight. Time is on your side. Money in interest-earning savings accounts or invested in mutual funds, stocks and/or bonds grows and compounds. The more time you have, the more chance you have of success. Your age is a big factor.

5. Choose carefully.

In drawing up your list of goals, you should look for things that will help you feel financially secure, happy or fulfilled. Some of the items that end up on your list may include building an emergency fund, getting out of debt, investing, paying off your home and paying tuition for your children. Once you have your list together, you need to rank the items in order of importance to you and your spouse.

6. Include family members.

This is very important, if you have a spouse or significant other, make sure that person is part of the goal-setting and priority process, if married, you cannot do this alone, it just won’t work. If you have children who are a little older, and are able to understand some basic financial talk, include them as well, it will be a good learning process for them in many ways, such as how to set goals, how to improve communication in a family unit, and how to manage money.

7. Tomorrow never comes – Start now.

Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today. The longer you wait to identify and begin working toward your goals, the more difficulty you’ll have reaching them.

8. Focus on your behavior.

Once you have prioritized your list of goals, build your budget and stick to it. Whenever you make a large payment ask yourself, “Will this purchase bring me nearer to my primary goals — or will it lead me further away from them?” If a big expense doesn’t get you closer to your goals then it is not in your best interest.

9. It is not all about long term planning.

Much of what I have discussed is based on long term planning and goals, however most of life is lived in the here-and-now. Most of what you spend be for daily expenses – including many that are simply for fun. Fun is okay, and should be part of your plan and priorities. We work hard for our money, and even though we have our financial goals and priorities, that doesn’t mean we can not have fun. Plan for the fun in your budget.

10. You change so should your goals and priorities.

Your needs and desires will change as you meet goals and as you age, I recommend you re-examine your priorities at the end of every year and possible re-adjust at least every five years so you stay in step with your life as you grow.

You will make mistakes, don’t beat yourself up to much when you do, but learn from them, and then get back on track as quickly as possible.

Today a friend of mine talked to me about his debt situation and in the same breath stated he wanted to lease a new car. I won’t mention his name but he is a smart individual, well established family man who makes a good salary, close to six figures.As we continued our conversation, he stated that he wanted to become more aggressive in getting out of debt, that he needed to get a job where he made more money so he could pay more on his debt and eventually become debt free like me.

I made mentioned that he could become debt free now, after all he is making a very good salary, but that he just needed a little bit if spending discipline and sacrifice a little bit now, such as not leasing a new car but keeping the perfectly good car he currently has which will be paid off in three months.

“Why should I make sacrifices, I work hard and deserve nice things for me and my family” he said, then he went on to say “who am I kidding, debt is a normal part of life, you are the one that isn’t normal by not being in debt.” I replied and said, “yep, you’re right, I am not normal when it comes to money, normal is broke!”

My dear friend then said “So your are debt free, you made sacrifices what if you die tomorrow, you wouldn’t be alive to enjoy your efforts” I said ” But I am not died and I am enjoying it now and when I do die, debt free, I will be able to leave something positive behind for my family, instead of something negative like debt, I will die with dignity and be known as and individual of character and responsibility who took care of their business while alive and did not leave a mess behind for my family to handle”

From there the conversation went down hill, he was getting upset at my thought process and I was confused as to why since he was the one that brought up his debt in the first place.

One minute he is telling me he “wants to be debt free” but in the next breath he is all but stating he will never be debt free because it isn’t normal, and what is the point in attempting to be debt-free you may die and not enjoy the efforts. Maybe he needs to read a little bit about having a positive mental attitude because that thought process will keep him in debt for sure.

Sadly, it is this thought process that is causing millions of people to continue to live with debt. They believe that having car payments, credit card payment, second mortgages, etc, is a normal part of life.

Like Dave Ramsey says “Normal is broke.”

Many people are short sited and only thinking of themselves with regard to the debt the carry rather than their family after they die. I would much rather change my family tree for the better now while I am alive, still having the things that I want by paying cash, giving wisely and also leaving something behind that will benefit my family as well as charitable programs rather then being selfish and spending what I don’t have and racking up debt. What does that tell loved ones in a non-verbal way? “When I’m dead I don’t care what you have to deal with or that I didn’t leave you anything to live on.”

I think it is a shame that people view debt as a normal way of life, that stress and working all the time to pay someone else is the way it is suppose to be. Debt is not “normal” it is not even biblical, Romans 13:8 says “Keep out of debt and owe no man anything” and Proverbs 22:7 “The borrower is slave to the lender” It doesn’t get much clearer than that.

Debt is not a badge of honor or a sign of success, it is a symbol of failure and a lack of discipline. It is time to change your view about debt if you are ever going achieve financial freedom and peace for you and your family.

Goal – Dictionary.com defines it as: “the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.”

Goal, intention, objective, destination, target, mission. No matter what word you use, it is a point in your future that you aim for success.

We have all set goals, we have successfully achieved many and we have all not met some of the goals we set for ourselves.

Goals are important both professionally and personally as they are a stake in the ground that we (or your employer) set to encourage growth and forward movement.

It has been said that most people believe in setting goals, however only about 3% of us actually set and write down goals for our personal life. There are many reasons for this; fear is very near the top of the list.

Most people who don’t set goals are afraid they will not meet the goals they set. They don’t want to fail. Yet, I think dong “nothing” is worse than trying to do something and missing the mark. It is always better to attempt to improve even if you fail, than stay stagnant as life passes you by.

We have all set goals like “I am going to lose weight” or “I am going to stop smoking” or “I am going to get out of debt.” What ever it is you feel you need to improve, you have probably set a goal about it. Or have you?  Have you really set the goal to the point where it is attainable? It is safe to say, “I am going to be debt free” you haven’t really set a goal; you have just made a statement.

Goal setting is about being specific to what you want to achieve. Draw a line in the sand.

Be honest with yourself, look at your debt and your income, determine your behavior change and commit. Set your goal, write down your goal as well as a plan to achieve it. For example your goal should read something like: “I will pay off $18,000 by June 1, 2008. I will do this by using the money that I saved by not eating out and putting those dollars on credit card debt” Be specific. How much will you pay off, by what date, and how.

Write your goal down on 3×5 cards and place them in multiple places around your environment. On the refrigerator, bathroom mirror, visor in the car, edge of your computer screen. When you see it, read it out loud as well as to yourself, positively reinforce your goal to yourself, remember PMA – Positive Mental Attitude.

Once you have your goal set, tell someone close to you. Now this is very important.  When I say someone close, I don’t mean your spouse, after all you two are already in it together. Tell someone that is close to you, friend, parent someone who is not directly related to the debt, who you trust. By telling someone else what that goal is, you are placing accountability on yourself. You are making that goal real. It turns a general statement into something you must take action on and be accountable to yourself as well as admitting to someone else the status of your goal.

Set a goal to pay of a specific amount of debt by a certain date. Living with the stress and fear of debt is far more risky than setting a goal to begin your journey down the path toward financial freedom.

Most of my clients at one point or another ask me about investing. First, I tell them that legally, I can not advise as to what they should or shouldn’t invest in. However, I do offer some valuable, common sense advise.

First and foremost, never give your money to someone else and say “invest it for me and make me a lot of money.” You must always make sure you are educated and understand the risks of what your money is being invested in. You and you alone are responsible for giving the go ahead in any investment. You are the only one who really cares about your money. Giving someone else full control over your money voids your risk comfort level. With that said, it is not a bad idea to work with licensed investment professionals. But you must make sure you know who it is you are working with and what their qualifications are as well as their own portfolio. Again, do you want to invest with someone who is in debt and struggling financially or with someone who is debt free, and making good returns on their own investments?

Interview several different people, get recommendations from successful investors as to who is good and successful to work with. You should never choose an investment broker based on relationship, I hear this a lot, “oh, my brother-in-law is my broker” and when I ask how they made that choice, I usually get an answer something on the lines of “well, he asked, and I just couldn’t say no, he is family” or “he was just starting out and I wanted to help him out a little bit” then they go on to complain about how much money they have lost. Now, don’t get me wrong, if your brother-in-law has a proven success record then that is one thing….but then again, do you really want to mix money into family matters, not a recommendation I would make.

This is your money we are talking about, would you choose to be the first open heart patient of a doctor who was just out of med school and who had never performed the surgery before? Of course not. So why would you choose a investment broker based on relationship rather than experience and a proven track record? Interview many different people, don’t just pick the first one you come by.

During your interview process, if you don’t 100% understand what the broker is telling you, or talking about, or if you don’t feel comfortable with them, then they are not the right choice. You must completely understand how they work, and how they will be bringing recommendations to you. Remember, it is your money, keep control of how it is invested and understand every step.

Never invest more than you are willing to loose. Lets face it, investing is risking, and risk varies depending on what you are investing in. You and only you know what your risk comfort level is. You are responsible for the investments that are made, take accountability for your choice. You can’t blame your broker if you just hand over money to him or her, and they make a bad choice and you loose it all. You can’t even blame them if you tell them what to invest in and then you loose it all. Bottom line is you and you alone are responsible for the choices you make in all aspects of your money, from spending to investing. If you make money you can pat yourself on the back, and if you loose money you have no one to blame but yourself because you and you alone made the choice as to what to invest in based on how you educated yourself. Take responsibility!