This Too Shall Pass – Getting Beyond The Financial Chaos In Your Life
Posted by Heather Taskovics · 11 Comments
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A friend of mine sent me the link to this video by OK Go:
Besides being a really cool video to watch, the song itself carries a very important message that we all need to remember: THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
We all have experienced times in our lives when we find ourselves in less than desirable financial situations–unemployment, maxed out credit cards, too many bills and not enough money to even pay the minimum–all these things can make a person feel like they are drowning and can’t get up for air. What you have to realize is that no matter what your current financial situation is, IT IS ALL TEMPORARY.
Like when facing any problem that initially seems insurmountable, the trick to getting yourself out of the red and into the black is by taking the financial recovery process one step at at time:
***Please note that I am NOT a financial advisor–the following tips are based on personal experience and research on the subject. As with anything else, do your own research and contact a financial advisor to help you out.***
- Contact a debt consolidation agency to help get your credit card debt consolidated and at a much lower interest rate than what you are currently paying, while keeping your monthly payments manageable. Keep in mind that when you use a debt consolidation agency to reduce your credit card debt, those cards are then cancelled and you can no longer use them.
- Fire your corporate bank! Put your money in a local bank or credit union–you’ll have all the same benefits as a ginormous corporate bank, but there won’t be all the outrageous fees that the corporate banks impose on you. The other benefit: better interest rates on your savings account! Learn more about the benefits of credit unions here.
- If you never budgeted your money before NOW is the time to start! Keep track of your regular monthly spending (groceries, gas, utilities, mortgage/rent, car payments, student loans, etc.) for each paycheck period. With the money from your paycheck that is left over, make sure to pay yourself a set amount that you know will get you by until the next paycheck and DO NOT GIVE YOURSELF MORE IF YOU RUN OUT–if it’s $30 per paycheck, then that is all you are allowed to give yourself.
- Cut back on extras. You’ve heard this before and you’re gonna hear it again–until you can position yourself in a better financial situation, plan on taking lunch to work, brew coffee at home and bring it in a travel mug (or better yet, bring your coffee pot to work with you and get your coworkers to contribute to the coffee fund that you would all share). If you absolutely MUST eat at a restaurant, keep to once a month as a special treat; otherwise, cook all your meals at home–you can make enough so that there’s leftovers that you can have for lunch during the week.
- Instead of purchasing books that you want to read, go to your local library. Most libraries have networks with other libraries–if the book you are looking for is not in the library you typically go to, then you can borrow via inter-library loan.
- Cancel the Netflix subscription – most movies (and CDs!) can be borrowed from the library–the one I go to has a really great selection of movies. Most libraries give you a week before you have to return the movie.
All these small steps will add up to help you get back on track financially. If your current financial circumstances are really dire, you may want to consider filing for bankruptcy. As awful as that word tends to sound, it is really a chance for you to regroup and start over. I spoke with a friend a while back who had filed for bankruptcy who said that she actually felt like a lot of the weight of her finances was lifted from her shoulders and she enjoyed the opportunity to have a fresh start.
No matter what your situation is, think of it as a time to *start over*–give yourself the chance to rethink your philosophies on money and spending, and educate yourself on what can be done to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. BE SMART ABOUT YOUR MONEY. If you are still not sure how or why you continually get into financial straights, you may want to consider counseling–there may be an underlying reason that has kept you in this vicious cycle.
Here are some books that you may find to be extremely helpful while you are getting reorganized with your finances:
“Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny” – Suze Orman
Suze Orman’s Action Plan: New Rules for New Times
“Payback Time: Making Big Money Is the Best Revenge!” – Phil Town
“The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness” – Dave Ramsey
“The Richest Man in Babylon” – George S. Clason
It is my undying wish that everyone the world over realizes their own power to create ultimate personal wealth and prosperity. Some of the tools have been laid out before you–now it is YOUR TURN to take them and build the life of your dreams that you so richly deserve.
Leave a comment in the space below and share your thoughts on this subject. If you found value from what you’ve read, please share it with others who may benefit from this. Thank you.
TO YOUR SUCCESS AND PROSPERITY!!!
“On A Mission To Help You Achieve Success In Life”
http://heathertaskovics.net
contact@heathertaskovics.net
Tel: 781 475 0936
Skype: heather.taskovics
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Sound advice Heather! You hit the nail on the financial head. I just remember to add to Pay yourself first and no matter how dire things are, still save 10% and don’t cheat yourself. Another resource to add is the book The Richest Man in Babylon. It has timeless truths about money we all need to know.
Great stuff!
Patrick McIntosh´s last blog ..Squaw Valley Freeriding
Hey there, Patrick!
Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed this post.
I’m not 100% sold on the idea of paying yourself first and making sure to save a set amount of money no matter what your situation. I believe it was Suze Orman who recommends paying off your debts as quickly as possible and then you can focus on saving money.
Think about it this way: a savings account these days has an interest of anywhere between 0.50% to (at best) 3.00%, whereas credit card debt has interest of about 18-22% on average. It would make more sense to pay of the credit card first before even thinking about saving. The longer it takes you to pay off credit card debt, the more you will end up paying back down the road–pay off the credit card first.
BTW – I DID include “Richest Man In Babylon” in the list above…it’s actually on my list of books to read as well!
Thanks again, my dear Crusher friend!
Totally agree to every word on this post. Financial freedom can come if you spend less time in splurging on things that are not productive to your lifestyle instead these ppl can make every dime its worth by training themselves on how to become financially independent and write their own paychecks
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Many thanks for discussing such an topical article with all of us. I’ve bookmarked your blog will come back for a re-read again. Keep up the great work.
Awesome video Heather. I love it. Great tie in with your post!
Hey Heather…great advice…I tend to agree with Patrick and we can have that discussion another time. I have very good reason for believing it. However, I still think the post is great and the tips are strong. Thanks my dear friend.
I also wanted to mention however the power of the video for me lay in the display of how a small amount of energy can be transferred over and over again and even grow into enormous power toward the end. Imagine what a unified tribe like the Daily Crushers can do with the awesome power we generate together…Complete and total Global Domination! What do you say?
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Hey Heather,
Great Post! I love this video and have been sharing it as my new anthem to life! Another tip is swaptree.com. You can swap books/CDs?DVDs/ and video games here. All you pay is the shipping and you can rate the user. Also, without going to credit counseling agencies, many credit card companies are willing to work with you to reduce your rate if you close your account. Sometimes the credit counseling agencies charge you fees. I will absolutely check out my credit union thanks to your post! Keep sharing all this great information! I love following you on twitter, always great stuff!
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Heather, great advise throughout your whole post, starting with an awesome and pretty addicting video. I can’t imagine how long it took them to set up the stage, but I have to imagine that when they were done and it all went as planned they got the same satisfaction as cracking open a crab let and pulling out all the meat in one long piece. Ecstasy!!! =)
I appreciate all your advice, especially being a single woman, I’m always seeking out financial stuff and you had some great tidbits here that I had not thought about.
Thanks again my fellow DailyCrusher!
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Whoa! That video was cool!
Thanks for sharing so much great advice about $$$$$$$$.
I will definitely check these books out and let you know if I read any.
Much love!
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Hello Heather,
As an Assistant Manager and Lending Officer in another life, I appreciated the sound advice that you shared. It is very difficult for many people to get their finances under control and excessive debt can lead to many other problems in a relationship.
Good post and I have joined your site. I look forward to coming back.
Cheers
Jackie
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Really great advice Heather.
Debt is one of those things we’d really rather not talk about… might make it go away??
I think it has to be dealt with creatively, or it will not pass. Of course, the best way to make it disappear is to create new wealth, but… I’ve found that when I have a client in debt, they often live in too much fear to have the clear-mindedness to do truly creative, wealth-building work. They want a fast fix and we all know, that’s a long-shot that you don’t want to put too much faith into.
So thanks for the great ideas, Heather. I’ll be sure to share pass them on!
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