How to get what you want in life...

How to get what you want in life...

The book I'm reading right now is How to Get What You Want in Life with the Money You Already Have by Carol Keeffe.  I highly recommend getting a copy of this book if you are struggling financially on a daily basis.  The book provides very revolutionary ideas for reaching your dreams while still paying your bills.  Reading this reminded my of something that I had already done in the past but somehow became side tracked.  Back in 2004 I was bringing in more money then I ever did in my life.  Things were looking good and I had set up some accounts that had automatic deposits.  I never missed the money that went into them and by the years end I had a nice chunk of change set aside for a family vacation.  I did this for 3 years and never missed a beat.  Bills were paid and we still went on a great vacation.  By the end of 2007 I had found a new job in a better community.  In moving I stopped the deposits, closed my checking account and opened a new one in the state we moved to.  The biggest mistake I made was that I didn't restart my automatic savings deposits.  I no longer had a safety net for the unexpected.  3 years later by the end of 2010 our financial outlook was very bleak.  I made the determination that the situation had to change and I wasn't going to lose anything that I valued.  Now midway through March our financial perspective is looking up.  So what did I change?  I went back to my basics and started paying myself first.  Placing money from every paycheck into a savings account before paying bills.

Now you may think this is ludicrous when you're already falling behind on bills but believe it or not it works.  You never miss the money and can still manage to get the bills paid.  When we look at our checking account balances, we think of what has to come out and get paid.  If the money already automatically comes out and is stashed away we tend not to miss it.  That little bit, no matter how small, will then grow.  When we see it growing, we start to find ways to add more.  The book explains something that worked for me and I had simply forgotten it.  The next part even sounded more ridiculous but I also seen the point of what I was doing wasn't working.  Remember that if what you are doing doesn't work then you need to change your strategy.  What I was doing evidently didn't work and hadn't for 3 years.  It was time to make a change.  I always felt that if only I paid something off it would get better.  It didn't, it just became worse.  I'd throw some extra money at the car payment or the mortgage but would fall short at the end of the month.  So the bill that I tried to get ahead of would now fall behind.  Carol Keeffe explains that if we concentrate on paying the minimum, we will have money to cover us until the next pay.  Our bills follow us through our lives and don't go away.  We get sucked into trying to pay them thinking we're getting ahead just to fall further behind.  By paying the minimum my bills were payed and I didn't have to worry about those little extra things that would pop up.

Next she has you make a list of your bills but list what you pay yourself first.  That's the priority, it's your money, you worked for it, you earned it and it's yours.  The bills will always be there so it's time to pay yourself so you can start enjoying life.  Don't sell yourself short by thinking that you can't and there just isn't enough money to go around.  In just 3 short months, I have been able to completely turn things around for the better.  Just by paying the minimum, my one major bill will be history in 8 months.  So why try to push it?  Why jeopardize my family by trying to shave part of a month off?  It is pointless and senseless.

I am half way through Carol's book and will keep sharing the advise she gives.  I will also let you know how it has helped change my financial outlook.  If you get a chance to pick up a copy I strongly suggest it.  It truly is making a difference in my life.