What Debt Promises

What I can promise you, debt will bring if you don’t manage debt and let debt manage you!

For so many people in this world, debt can be debilitating. Shopping with friends and you get asked: “would you like to apply for a credit card?” You qualify and here we go.

Most young people are never really taught the importance of good credit and managing money properly.

Debt – noun

something, typically money that is owed or due.

credit card, credit card bill, bankruptcy

Here are the promises debt makes and will keep:

  1. Constant stress over how you will pay your credit cards or other bills at the end of the month.
  2. Family stress. The number one killer of marriages is money. Buy homes we cannot afford, cars, furniture, clothes, on and on. Until the end of the month, and the dining table is covered in bills!
  3. Parents working one or two jobs to make it from one paycheck to the next. Waking up to find children grown and bitter. Why? You were never there! To busy trying to make a living, you forget to have an experience.
  4. The barrage of endless phone calls letting you know the obvious. You’re behind and we need a payment!
  5. Picking which bill gets paid and who does not get any money this month.
  6. Food vs. Credit
  7. Feeling as though one wrong move and financially, you are ruined. Stress beyond limits!
  8. Dark moments, suicidal thoughts all over bills.
  9. Keeping up with the Jones’s only to find ourselves in bankruptcy.
  10. Bad credit and loss of buying power. High rates of interest.

Imagine someone in your family deathly ill and you cannot come up with the money to travel. Another of debt’s promises!

Emotional purchases will sink your financial boat the quickest.

For example:

You go into a car dealership to buy a new car. You have a budget and payment in mind. Shopped online and narrowed down your search. All good stuff.

Upon arrival at the dealership, you begin to browse. “Wow look at this color, look at this car, check out these accessories.” All, of course, are on vehicles outside your budget. The internal battle begins. Metaphorically we’ve taken a raging alcoholic into a bar and said, don’t drink anything I will be back in an hour to pick you up! Only to come back and find your alcoholic passed out drunk.

If you do not control your spending, your debts will overtake your life. Guaranteed! Not too many things in this life come with a guarantee but debt does.

I have worked around consumer credit for thirty years now. Debt has also overtaken my life because I allowed it to get totally out of hand. The ten promises above are indicative of my own life. Poor choices have cost me plenty.

Parents or young people starting out. Educate yourself about credit and debt. Buying that beautiful $300 shirt that will make you look amazing. Won’t look so amazing at the end of the month if the money is not there to pay for it.

Sure, you can make the minimum payment and the $300 shirt becomes a $2000 shirt. Do the math on 26% interest and see what happens to the cost of just one item. Living paycheck-to-paycheck over several years. Chipping away at maxed-out credit cards will overtake your financial life.

Properly managed credit will make sure that your life will be filled with joy. Buying power and forethought to pay will allow you to own homes, cars, beautiful furniture, and other assets. With little to no stress.

TAKE EMOTION OUT OF ANY FINANCIAL EQUATION!

It does not sound fun, but the wake behind poor decisions can last years. Worse still ruin any chance you have of being a homeowner.

Imagine a mortgage broker coming back to you and saying, “unfortunately, YOUR credit will not allow us to give you a loan.” Devastating. Your credit prevents you and your spouse from homeownership. Sounds damned harsh because it is.

What can help:

  • Check out books by great financial folks like Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, let experts guide you.
  • Check out the credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian. Lots of excellent free resources.

If you have credit issues, you can recover. Start back small and work your way again. There is always hope and with diligence, you will be back on track.

Questions or comments:

Are You Working Your Gift

Class gets yourself a scratch pad and pen. No, seriously, get a paper and pen!

In the next few questions, I want you to write down the answers to the questions posed. The test is you all will pass.

Take time to answer the 3 questions. Then when you’ve responded to them add one more section to your answer, WHY?

  1. When the alarm clock goes off, are you excited?
  2. Do you love your job? 
  3. Does your life have meaning for YOU? 

The vast majority of us will answer, “hell no, I have when the alarm clock goes off.” Why?

You are NOT living your gift!

happy, self improvement, spiritual

 

God has something for each of us. A gift.

Everyone has something that wakes them up before the alarm goes off. You love your job because, to you, it’s not a job. If you are living God’s gift, absolutely life has meaning.

Life has no flavor, no scent for you to smell. You get up and go to some job, have an idiot for a boss, and life appears to be sleep, work, and repeat.

Are you ready to find God’s real purpose for your life?

Step-by-step:

  1. Find a place where you feel at peace. Lakeside, river, fountain, park, mountains, but find a spot where you can be at peace. 
  2. Begin to talk to God. Ask him for the wisdom and vision to see your life’s purpose. What gift that God wants you to share with the world. You may already have an idea. Embrace the thought, make it yours in your mind. 
  3. If needed, keep coming to this place until it comes to you. When God is ready for you to know, if you’re like me, he will hit you over the head with it, so you don’t miss. 
  4. When you have an idea. Write it down. As clearly and concisely as you are able. 

Be open-minded and, most importantly, have patience.

Big question:

How am I going to begin, this is where the “I don’t have ________.” will destroy your dream. 

If God can bring the Universe into existence, I am pretty sure he can bring your life’s purpose to fruition. Since he put it in your head, don’t you imagine he has a plan to finish?

You may have to pray, “God, I don’t see a way for this to ever occur. I leave this in your hands to guide my way.” Then stay in faith! Do the work no matter how small or insignificant you may think forward motion is. It’s still forward motion.

You can always find something to do that moves you one step closer to your dream.

One time in your life. Give yourself the gift of running all the way with God. You will get knocked down, run over, feel as though one more step will be your last (metaphorically speaking), yet you take one more step.

Stop now and go to God and let him know you are ready!

Questions or share your dream, I would love to hear:

Vision Board and Goals

Amazing how the bible is filled with everything we believe in regarding self-improvement. You can find it all in the Bible. Proverbs is an excellent place to start if you want to test my theory.

Proverbs was written by King Solomon. Let’s just say in today’s terms, King Solomon’s wealth would make Bill Gates look like a pauper.

Vision boards! Read this bible verse pretty cool:

Habakkuk 2

2-3And then God answered: “Write this.

Write what you see.

Write it out in big block letters

so that it can be read on the run.

This vision-message is a witness

pointing to what’s coming.

From basically the dawn of time, folks like you and I have studied to improve their lives. Throughout history, self-improvement has been a part of the discourse for millions of people.

Something to be said for goals and having a vision board for visual reference.

Here are some fun ideas to create a vision board:

  1. Gather up pictures from magazines, the internet, with your goals and dreams. Don’t be shy. Remember, God flung into existence the Universe, so I think he can handle even your wildest goals.
  2. A poster board makes a great vision board. Glue your photos all over it in a collage. Then place the board in a prominent place so that you see it every day. Several times a day!
  3. You can also make a folder in your photos on your phone, vision board. Then save into these photo pictures that inspire you.
  4. It’s okay to have more than one board. Again, don’t be shy.
  5. Do work. If you just stare at photos and never act. Nothing will happen. Action must occur faithfully, diligently, and consistently if you ever want your vision to come true!

Vision boards are ever-evolving. As one goal is achieved, get a new one on the board.

John Assaraf, in the movie The Secret. He told the story of his son, asking him what his vision boards were for. He said to his son, “they are daddies vision for his life,” as he thumbed through the boards,  stopped to see a photo of a house that years before he put on a vision board. He had not looked at this board for a long time. He then realized the new home they were moving in was the exact house he had just purchased.

goals, self improvement, self help

He never put that together until he was unpacking boxes in his home. A picture of his dream house, he clips out of a magazine years before he now owns. Wow, what a fantastic story.

Last year I had not looked at my board for some time. Even lapsing reading my goals for a time. Yet, I endeavor to not miss a day. Reading my own goals, I paused when I read the one that was to publish my first book in 2019. It dawned on me at that moment, I published seven.

Vision boards and written goals work!

The key to success with your goals is action. You cannot sit on your ass and expect the world to feed you. Get off your duff and get working. Small steps, giant steps, just move. Forward momentum with a plan will open up your life to incredible heights.

The life you want to have. Put in front of you every day. Let God know. Remember what it says in the bible. You have not because you ask not—James 4:2

Give it to God, vision yourself with what you ask. Do work. See your life manifest into abundance, peace, hope, and love.

 

I found this and love it, for those of us that need creative help..lol…

Check out this Vision board kit: https://amzn.to/2NiBWb3 

vision board, goals, happy

 

Single Mom Living My Best Life

My New Book just published today. Enjoy the Introduction, and you have a link at the bottom of the page to visit my Author Page available at Amazon. Single Mom’s its your time to shine! 

Even Mary, the Mother of Jesus, had Mom struggles!

Mary: “Jesus, what are you doing, son?”

Jesus: “I am taking a bath like you said, mom.”

Mary: “How many times have I told you boy stop walking on that water. How are you ever going to get clean if you keep walking on that water?” “Sit down and take your bath!”

See ladies, even Jesus Mom had her parenting troubles. 

A Guide for Extraordinary Change

single mothers, mom, parenting

Introduction

‘When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.'”—Erma Bombeck

Well, let’s start with the obvious. I’m not a single Mom, and why should you listen to this dude?

How about answering a couple of questions first?

  1. What if you could learn self-confidence enough to crush all your goals?
  2. What if you could learn to earn more money than you ever have?

No, we’re not selling pipedreams!

I felt compelled to share my life experience, knowledge of business, my Christian faith for single moms that might be struggling to make ends-meat.

What I am suggesting to you is that if you lack confidence, don’t believe you can go any further than where you are right now. You could not be more wrong.

This book will teach you confidence building through faith.  How to overcome negative mindsets. Most importantly, how to not only sell how valuable you are but potentially find a career in sales. Perhaps even further in whatever endeavor YOU choose! How about an I want a job, not a have-to-have mundane job?

Sales skills can help you advance any job. When you can ethically build value in products or services, you offer. You will begin to see your career move like the wind. I will teach you to do this in a fun and engaging way.

Throughout the book, exercises, notes, and learning will occur. Get a notebook to have ready to do some fun work.

Taking our life and turning it on its axis, shaking it up, and on the other side is your joy, peace, and smile!

Many times, over the years, I have heard Pastors say. Bring everything to the Lord. Nothing is too big or small. Joel Osteen once said if God can bring into existence the universe. Don’t you imagine he can bring into reality your dreams?

TD Jakes, who makes me laugh wonderfully. Talks about bringing wimpy prayers to God. He, too, uses the analogy God flung the universe into existence, and all you’re going to ask him for is, “Oh Lord, please, I need to pay my rent.” He, in a bold voice, says stop asking God to pay your rent but ask God for the means and way to have a mortgage.

With work and faith together in this book, we can move mountains.

Get all the stereotypical sales guy images out of your head, open your heart, and let’s learn! When I speak about sales skills if you can use your power of persuasion in the betterment of your life. Wow, watch what you can do!

Single moms of which by the way I was raised by one. Perhaps I have some insight given the struggles my mother endured.

When I was three years old, my father took me, my little sister and Mother to my maternal grandparents’ home. Dropped us off to never return. I can remember my mother from time-to-time crying uncontrollably.

Fast forward my life to times I remember how hard it was on my Mom. One morning I remember when I was seven, maybe eight years old. My mother was in the bathroom, and I heard a crash and a break in the bathroom sink.

My mother had saved her money to by some sort of face cream, something just for her. It dropped and apparently broke in the sink to the point of being ruined. I remember hearing her crying so hard, saying, “I never ask for anything why?” “I saved for months to get this, oh God.”

It was haunting to me. I knew my mother’s heart was torn for something she had struggled so hard to get.

Over the years, my mother gave up her life for my sister and me. She never really dated because my sister and I had terrible times with she would leave us. We had abandonment issues so severe that my mother simply stopped trying to have her own life.

She also worked her ass off, never in my life can I remember that my mother took a sick day from work. Two times in her life, she was hospitalized for cysts in her breasts. Doctors wanted to do a biopsy. Thank God she was always okay.

My mother made clothes, and other personal items work well beyond what they should. Just so, my sister and I could have new things. Or just food on the table.

She made sure we got to ski competitively. That I had new skis each season. Paid for ski trips to races. As a child, you don’t realize what this is assuredly costing our family.

Now that my mother is in her eighties, I can reflect on what she did for me in my life. The sacrifice (although she would never say that) she made for me. I don’t think any of us would change our life.

For me, maybe at this moment do I now realize why this book and why you.

If I could bestow any bit of wisdom upon you. My mother in her day did not have the same access to the internet, cell phones, information as you do today. Her choice was to, at any cost, make sure my sister and I were cared for. She did that with grace.

Some of you will say well, that’s what a Mother is supposed to do. That be the case, my mother passed this test with grace. Today, however, I believe if you’re a single Mom, you might have an opportunity to not only be the Mom you want to be but to be the individual you dream of being. I tell ladies you can have both!

You have before you a world in which you have choices beyond just taking care of your children. You can also have a life with not only your children but one in which you can have an experience to the point that you say to God at the end of your days. “Thanks, that was a hell of a ride!”

Limits are only set by you. There is no stone tablet, no law, nothing to prevent you from achieving all that life has to offer.

My mother was a voracious reader all her life. Now sitting here writing this. It occurs to me that maybe, therefore, I wanted to write as my career!

Since I cannot change the trajectory of my Mother loving choices. Maybe, just maybe, I can share with you enough to help shape the trajectory of your life. I can share useful information, but this is a path you must walk.

You don’t know how the course of our life and the lives around us will shape us. I believe that I understand better why I am an author today than ever before.

Click Here to Visit My Page Author Page