The New Year is getting closer...

Are you ready for the New Year?

I'm on a roll here, so can I keep it going?  I am inclined to think that anything is possible provided you put your mind to it.  So let's continue with what I learned from my own personal experience.  I know I'm guilty of wasting time and as I get older time is becoming more valuable.  Don't let it slip through your fingers...

As I look back, yet again, I wonder where the time has gone.  So as not to waste any more precious time, I'm sharing the last several years of personal experience in growth.  As the blog states "Success From Within", it truly does generate itself from within our on existence.  It may take some poking and prodding from outside sources to get us motivated but it's possible for us to better ourselves in ways we'd never imagine.

2012 brought it's own challenges.  More house work, vehicle issues and the ever slow recovery of the economy.  I continued reading and applying what I learned to my everyday life to improve my situation.  My traveling was getting more extensive as business started to pick up.  I found that almost every book I picked up all said the same thing.  Set goals, focus on the future, save and give to create abundance.  My two oldest children were now out on their own, although I still supplied them with insurance and vehicles.  The nest had shrunk and so did my out flow of cash.  I concentrated on my savings and found more places to stash it.  Hiding it away so I'd never have to face the multiple years of stress I had when the recession hit.

2013 threw a curve ball as my company was sold to a huge corporation.  The finalization was at the end of the year.  We felt it was for the good of our survival in the industry but wouldn't know for sure until the conversion was complete.  Business continued to grow and so did the traveling.  I continued on making improvements to the house.  I had another section of roof leaking that needed to be replaced.  There were other changes around the house.  The exact year this happened eludes me so sorry if I'm jumping back in time.  Our neighbor across the highway sold their property to the same gentleman who bought the acreage next to us.  He is the local banks CEO and was starting to cattle farm.  I rent my well to him since it runs over to his acreage and I let him graze the cattle behind my house just to keep the grasses down.  Near years end we had a meeting in Maryland where the new company made all the usual announcements.  The bad news of big corporate running was evident.  That feeling of needing to move on was sinking in but for some reason I decided to tough it out.

2014 was a much better year.  The best I'd had in a long time.  The reading, saving and giving were starting to pay off.   I'm not one to budget my money but with sticking too my guns I was able to start getting things that I normally would not have been able to in the past.  I sent my youngest on some trips that the other two didn't have the luxury of but also she is more out going than the others were.  I had replaced two exterior doors and had central air installed for the house.  Vehicle swapping was a little more easier since I had cash to deal with it.  Our savings grew and the pressures of paying on time were gone.  I was finally able to get a credit card again and made sure that it was paid in full every month.  I found new ways to get extra cash such as shopathome.  Buying through their website allowed me to get cash back on purchases.  The Ibotta app also was a great way to get cash back from grocery shopping.  A positive outlook on things and always looking at new opportunities pushed me forward to a better, more relaxed life.  Not to say that all is perfect but many worries went away.  I am left with only one loan other than the mortgage but I set up an accelerated  payoff plan and am happy with the results.  I did have a fight with them since they had taken over the loan and were mishandling the funds I was sending.  I simply made copies of all my canceled checks and sent them a nice letter stating where they missed my payments.  I also sent it registered with a statement saying if it wasn't handled in a timely matter, my lawyer would be receiving it.  Needless to say they came through rather quickly to fix the issue and there has been no issues since.

2015 was an all out better year.  As usual there is always something that will spring up and steal your cash but overall it went well.  I hit my goal of how much money I wanted in the bank.  Traveling was getting pretty extreme.  Spent very little time at home but it paid the bills.  Nothing really done with the house this year but a new set of windows was bought.  I bit too much for me to put in alone so they sit for now and the old ones are boarded up to keep the elements out.  My new company was again put policies into place that made no sense for our industry.  Seemed as though they were doing everything in their power to destroy what ever profits we are generating.  As the small group of guys I work with tried to stay under the radar, we still felt the little pricks and pinches the big corp was rolling out to us.  I had multiple accounts set up for various things so nothing would take me by surprise again.  At years end I had made the decision to do the 52 week challenge.  You can find out about it yourself @ 52weekmoneychallenge.

I figure I've ranted enough for today... Tomorrow I'll finish up with 2016.

Regards and Happy Holidays!!!

Another year passes by....

Another year is reaching its end!

For anyone who has stumbled upon my blog and has read any of it.  You will know that I have not stuck with it and only write once a year.  Commitment is part of success.  I've had ups and downs over the last few years and am now ready to share what I've learned.

At times life tends to catch up to us.  We miss small opportunities that would lead us to a better, more fulfilling life.  I travel for a living and have for the past 8.5 years.  I have relocated my family to provide a better living environment and made every attempt to improve our lives.  I've made several mistakes along the way but have been able to learn from them.  In the interim, I have read several books to help with finances and gathered much knowledge to advance my goals.  Does this qualify me as an expert?  Probably not but does it allow me to help someone else avoid the same mistakes?  Most likely but as the old adage goes "Opinions are like @$$holes, everyone has one".  If I offend anyone, that's good, means you're reading, listening and learning.  It gets you out of your comfort zone, causing you to form your own path to success.  If you're easily offended, then "Suck it up Buttercup" because the road to success doesn't get any easier and isn't for the soft hearted.  I'm not saying that you shouldn't be kind at heart or caring but you will need thick skin to advance.  You may feel I'm pushing your buttons at this point but that is also good.  Everyone needs a little poke now and then to get up and moving towards their goals.  Every year I make new commitments.  Some I keep, some I lose and forget about.  Kind of like this blog, seems to get lost in the shuffle of everyday life.

So lets get started....

First off, my thoughts tend to be a little scattered at times and the order of events may vary from what is told.  I will do my best not to jump around but I can't guarantee this.  Secondly, although spell check is available for this, my grammar isn't always the best either.  As most anyone may know the English language isn't the most friendly to learn.  Thirdly, I don't believe in or perform "Political Correctness"!  You can see for yourself what political correctness has done to USA so if that's what you've come looking for then you've arrived at the wrong location.  Please take your ball and go home, with your tail between your legs or what ever you feel necessary to shield yourself from the offensiveness I may spew out.  Don't worry though, I'm an equal opportunity offender and won't discriminate when I do offend.

With the disclaimer out of the way, lets continue....

In 2007 the economy headed into a tailspin that would last what seemed a lifetime.  I was actually making more than I had my entire life but still like most living paycheck to paycheck.  We lived in PA and over my life the area progressively went down hill.  The bad elements from NJ and NYC were slowly moving in as the older generations moved out or died off.  My home which had been my grandfathers since 1948, went from having a latch hook on the garage door and a skeleton key for the back door all had to be dead bolted.  A security system was installed to reduce the threat of break-ins but to no avail.  Security systems had to be installed on the cars that use to be left unlocked only a few years earlier.  This was the breaking point.  As much as I liked the home and wished to keep it in the family I quickly realized it was time to move on.  My wife had prodded my for years about leaving and now was the time.  I told her pick a state and I'll find a job there.  Our first original focus was on Maine but a recruiter called with a position in Iowa.  If I had been a little more knowledgeable of the countries events, I probably would have passed on the opportunity.  It was in the automotive parts manufacturing industry.  When I interviewed there, it seemed like a golden opportunity to get my family to a better part of the country but little did I know that the industry itself was about to spiral into a bottomless pit.  It was the end of 2008, I excepted the position and used my life savings to move the family to a fixer upper farm house in rural IA.  At first the position itself paid well with the overtime but then the cutbacks started.  Reduction of hours yet to mention the temporary shutdowns that mirrored car manufactures which meant temporary layoffs.  I should have figured that there was something up with the new employer when everyone I met and heard where I was working suggested other places that could use my expertise.  Needless to say, there was way more drama there than I wanted to deal with.  After 8 months, enough was enough and I was in search of something better.  In mid 2009 I lucked out and found a position that I already knew the equipment and some of the people that worked there.  The pay wasn't as high as I'd like but I figured it would work out.   Unfortunately the economy was worsening and everyone was tightening their belts including my new industry.  What made matters worse was that I had dug a hole that was a bit of a challenge to dig out of.  The car and house were behind and I couldn't afford to lose either one.  Another thing that went against me was that the IRS had audited my move and were nailing me with some new taxes for the money I used to buy my house.  Life seemed to make a turn for the worst.  We were close to losing everything just when things should have been getting better.

The next couple of years almost seem like a blur.  2010 led to many sleepless nights of worry.  The problems compounding themselves like catching up on payments and the fixer upper house needing way more than anticipated.  Our electric had issues and I had started a claim that didn't turn into anything payable for insurance but my insurance company decided to drop us.  Now was a panic to find a provider and after several I finally found one that would work with our otherwise non-insurable house.  I had to resort to hiding our vehicle to prevent repossession.  My new company gave us 2 weeks of unpaid furlough which didn't help matters.  Our church though, gave us some money towards our bills and took a collection that paid our propane for the winter.  A change in how we shopped also proved to help in cost cutting.  This is when we went to a Thrift Shop that was missions based.  Everyone working there were volunteers and all proceeds went towards bible missions.  We bought the kids a ton of clothes and I picked up a handful of financial books.  Can't be reading material for a quarter.  This is what started me on a new path, a new path to financial awareness.  This isn't the only thing that helped.  My Dale Carnegie coarse also added great value to my knowledge of our financial situation.  Due to my hard work ethics and being dependable my salary increased to more livable levels for the family.  Also the kids were growing up and moving out.

2011 was the getting over the hump year.  It was still tough but the light started to shine brightly at the end of the long tunnel we were in.  The Yukon was finally paid off freeing up a substantial amount of cash and lifting a very heavy burden off the family.  I was able to slowly make the changes mentioned in the books I was reading to secure financial stability.  I pretty much broke even that year with at least making on time payments.  The older 2 kids were the new problems where they needed transportation so I forked over money I really didn't have to get so vehicles.  Of course this placed new added costs to my bottom line that I wasn't ready for.  Let alone things that had to be fixed on the house such as the porch floor, stairs and roof.  Seemed like every time I had a plan to save something else would pop up to take it away.  This is were I became creative and used forced savings.  So before I continue with my trials and tribulations, lets look at what some of the financial books said.

• Pay yourself  before all else

This is in every book.  You work hard for you money so you should get to keep some of it for your own wants and desires.  We are too quick to create bills and make that the focus a priority in our lives.  In todays society everything is direct deposit.  We don't get a paycheck and then run to the back to cash it, split it up between savings, checking and cash in the pocket for shopping.  Those days are long gone.  The ATM and credit cards are the norm.  With that being the case we have a bad habit of going to the ATM, looking at what's in the account and judging how much we can suck out for cash and what needs to remain to pay bills.  This is where forced savings really helps.  I have a couple accounts that aren't easily accessible.  They aren't with a local bank that I can just go to a grab the cash.  I know when my check is deposited so I have a portion automatically rerouted to these "other" accounts.  If you start with a small amount, you will never miss it.  Once you realize that it doesn't hurt you and you see the cash growing, you'll find more ways to add more.  I get paid twice a month on the 15th and 30th every month.  So on both those dates I have $5 transferred from my main account to my forced savings account.  I also had a written goal of how much I wanted to have in the bank.  This amount can be what every you feel comfortable with.  I also looked at tax advantages such as my companies 401K that has a match percentage up to a certain amount.  That's like getting free money and you should take as much advantage of that as possible.  Here again I started small with 1%.  Every year when my raise comes up I'll add 1%.  I never miss the few extra dollars that are being deferred plus it helps shelter some of my earnings at tax time.  I also started putting towards and IRA.  I started out small and keep working my way up. 

• Give to your church or charity

I understand that this can be as challenging at times the same as paying yourself but it plays a very important part of how money works.  The funny thing I've found about this is that although I didn't give regularly, every time I did things seemed to improve.  After our church had given to my family to get through the tough financial situation we were in, I made a conscious decision to give back.  I had never had an institution give in such a way.  I have successfully increased my contribution to them every year since.  You can feel good knowing that the money you are giving is going to help others.  Along with this it is tax deductible and will help when the tax man comes knocking the following year.  Here again it is best to start out small and comfortable.

I know what you're thinking... I can't make ends meet now and you want me to give my money away. Even stash some for a rainy day.  It seems ominous and near impossible but here I am today working on my new 2nd level savings goal.  I've given more than I have ever given in my life and have put more away then ever before.  I now have some cash set aside for true emergencies.  Remember, you can have more than one account where you put your money away.  I have several and the "total" of all accounts is what sets my goal.  I can easily switch funds between accounts via on-line and have debit cards tied to them for true emergencies.  A true emergency isn't the need to have Chinese or a movie night.  It's for when you need the doctor, car repair or some other unforeseen issue arises.  You'll be happy you saved it up.  Also make sure there aren't any fees and you're getting interest on your money.  If you're not gaining anything or you're paying out just for the convenience of have the money in an account, it's not worth it.  Find a bank that allows you to truly save and earn.

I'm going to stop here for today but I hope this gives you some encouragement and a place to start your road to success and financial freedom.

Regards and Happy Holidays

What is your definition of success?

What is your definition of success?

          When I started this blog, I gave the definition that Websters Dictionary had for success.  As noted by them, the definition changed.  I know it has been a while since my last posting but on occasion, everyone needs time to reflect.  Society today, looks very differently at success then we did in the past.  The whole point of this blog is to show everyone that our perception of success is wrong.  After spending 8 weeks in Dale Carnegie training, I have learned many things about getting my point across and giving my readers a true visualization of what I'm talking about.  First off, how can anyone relate to what I'm trying to convey without proper examples?  Real life examples, to show that everyone has experienced success at some point in their life.  Stories of real people who found out that success is not just being wealthy or having that high paying career.  I have also been travelling much of this year and found a lot of time to read several books on debt elimination.  This subject can be tied into ones desire to discover success from within.

          Let's start with the basics shall we...  Success to me is setting a goal and seeing it through to it's conclusion.  Resolving a problem or issue can also be called success.  Why?  Simple, if John needs some money to replace his tires he could go to the bank but if he doesn't have enough in his account, he will need to get the money somewhere.  With this example, John has two goals.  First is to get the money needed for the tires and second is to take the money and get the tires he needs.  John can solve first situation in a few ways.  John can save up the money, putting a few dollars away each pay period until he has enough for the tires.  He can work more hours and use the extra money earned to get the tires.  He can borrow the money, this is not recommended seeing how the value of the tires decrease over time.  All of the debt management books I have read agree that using credit to buy such an item is finacial suicide.  John can sell something he no longer wants or needs to pay for the tires.  So you see John has many options to get the money.  Once John has collected enough money to cover the costs, we can say that John was "successful" at reaching this first goal.  Next is getting the tires.  John simply needs to find a tire dealer, make the appointment and purchase the tires.  John now has "succeeded" in replacing the tires he needed.  Society doesn't see this as a success but John was successful in getting the tires by being successful in getting the money needed to purchase them.  It is the little successes we have that lead us to greater success.

          All the experts and guru's tend to agree, that we need to take little steps to reach a big goal.  A hand written plan that lays out little goals that help advance us to our final goal.  If a goal is set too big, we tend to get frustrated and give up easily but, if we set smaller goals, not achieving one is just a minor set back.  I, myself, have been battling a finacial crisis for the last fee years.  Every time I think I'm getting close to surmounting the situation, something new pops up to knock me down a few pegs.  I use to worry about this constantly, causing many nights of lost sleep and stomach ailments.  While attending the Dale Carnegie training, I was assigned to read How To Stop Worring & Start Living by Dale Carnegie.  The information contained within this book was life changing.  Sir William Osler was quoted "Live in Day-tight Compartments."  Shut the doors on the past and the future, live the day and the day alone.  With this the past is the past and should not be relived and the future hasn't happened yet so why fret over it?  I also learned to write my worries down and stick them in a drawer.  In a month or so pull them out and see the results.  Most of our worries are for nothing, by writing them down and later seeing the outcome reassures us of that.  I worried about my job, home and vehicle, just to see that my worries never materialized.  Now I use what is called a worry stone.  I take the worries I have writen down and place them under the worry stone.  Now the worry stone can worry about them.

          The last thing for today would be another quote from Dale Carnegie's book How To Stop Worrying & Start Living is "Thy will be done".  All the books that I have read dealing with overcoming financial burden mentioned giving and accepting the will of God.  Following the belief that if it is God's will for this to happen to me, than so be it.  It is said in the Bible that God provides for our every need and rewards us when we are deserving.  The mistake that most people make is that we, myself included, believe things are owed us but in God's eyes we truely are not deserving.  I will leave the giving discussion for another day but want to point out that unless we are thankful for the things we have, the Lord may take them away.  It has taken me many years to realize that I should be thankful for even the smallest things.  By being thankful everyday, my life has greatly improved and brought me to greater accomplishments.  With that in mind, be sincere and truely appreciative of the things and people in your life.  This will bring great opportunity to your door.

          In closing "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change... the Courage to change the things I can... and the Wisdom to know the difference."

Perseverance!

Perseverance!

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

—Thomas A. Edison, on inventing the light bulb

These are words to live by and tie into what I had discussed earlier about conviction.  I'm not sure if I shared this following story before but even if I did, I believe it is well worth repeating.  It is an excellent example of how perseverance along with conviction would have made someones dreams come true.

During the gold rush, a prospector staked a claim on a piece of property that he felt had a large amount of gold buried on it.  He started digging and found various bits and pieces but nothing very significant.  He invested every bit of money he earned to buy equipment to dig his mine.  After years of digging the prospector started growing weary of his claim.  A man visited him one day with a proposal to buy his claim and all his equipment.  The prospector thought for a moment about all the years of hard work he had put into his mine but thought this was a way to recoup his lost money.  The prospector took the money joyfully thinking that this poor guy will find nothing as well.  Now the man that bought the claim had no intention of digging himself, in fact he hired a geologist to study the land.  He was very pleased when the results came back.  It seems that if the prospector would have stuck it out and dug about another 3 feet, he would have hit one of the largest veins of gold ever found.

So you see, perseverance pays off.  If Thomas Edison would have given up inventing, many of the great inventions that revolutionized our world today may not exist or may have taken many more years to be discovered.  Think about the light bulb, telephone, phonograph and even motion pictures all were invented because someone believed that it could exist.  In this day and age we tend to take for granted the modern conveniences we have.  Just visit a country that doesn't offer the electric, transportation or even the clean water that many of us enjoy today.  You will see how the perseverance and conviction of many great people in history has helped to mold the world in which we live in. 

If you are facing challenging times and are about to give up, don't!  Your salvation may be just around the corner.  I have been tested during these financially tough times.  I believe through my constant perseverance I will come out ahead and with that I want you to be able to say the same thing.  I realize that my definition of success is a little different from what many believe.  This brings to mind another topic I will share with you in the future about the concept of money and what it represents.  I have recently read some information that opened my eyes about the way I think and feel about money.  I have come to a part of my life where it is make it or break it.  The pinnacle of a new beginning of financial freedom.  To have one of the biggest debts payed for in full.  To be down to counting the months left until that fateful last payment is sent out.  To finally be on a cash for everything basis.  Now that is a success in my mind.  I have followed programs, guru's and advice from so many on how to handle a situation that came out of nowhere like a landslide.  Just to emphasize the point I have included an excellent version of Stevie Nicks singing "Landslide".





Remember not to let the landslide bring you down.  Perseverance will prevail.

Life is too short!

     To start with, it has been some time since my last entry.  As you will find while seeking success, time is a precious commodity.  Time management is very important when it comes to becoming successful.  If you squander your time away on frivolous things, then your life becomes a waste of time and energy.  We are only on this Earth for a short time and it is best to use that time wisely.  Concentrate on what's important in life.  There are many things to enjoy in life such as our family or friends.  I remember someone telling me that I will regret what I haven't done more than what I have done.  At some point in life you may look back and ask "Where did the time go?"  "Why haven't I accomplished anything?"  If you have never seen the movie "The Bucket List" then I suggest you do.  It shows how living our lives to the fullest even when we know there may not be much time left can make our lives more fulfilling.

     So let's grab a pen and paper to start our own "Bucket List".  Why?  Simply put we want to have a list of things would like to accomplish before our time on Earth is up.  Remember, life throws a bunch of curves at us and no one can say for sure if tomorrow will ever come.  You need to take a good long look at the life you have lived so far.  What have I accomplished?  Where do I want to be in the coming months or years?  The list can start out with anything.  Any ideas can be put on the list because we will prioritize it and sort it out later.  This list will bring you on step closer to bringing out your success from within.

     Your list doesn't have to be elaborate.  Keep it simple, specific and genuine.  Things you want, not your spouse, children, boss or even friends.  Again as I had mentioned earlier that the only way to achieve your goals and dreams is to be totally selfish.  When you get what you want good things will come to your loved ones as well.

     Now that we have a list, it is time to prioritize it.  Your list will forever be changing according to your needs, wants and desires.  Look at your list and ask yourself "What do I want first?"  It is possible that on your way to getting that first item you may achieve other things on your list.  You want to clear your mind and envision how you plan to get there.  What is your first step to getting you closer to your goal?  Along with figuring out what you want first is to place a date on it.  When do you want to reach your goal?  Remember to be realistic.  If you know you can get it done in a few weeks don't set the date as tomorrow.  You will only put stress on yourself and be disappointed by unnecessary failure.  You want to get your mind working towards a solution.

     I've mentioned the need for time management.  Well here is what I use to get my thoughts organised and prioritize my goals.  Mark Joyner has developed the most useful tool called Simpleology.  Go to http://www.simpleology.com/ to sign up for free access to Simpleology 101.  I highly recommend this to organise and focus on your goals.  This program gets you thinking on how to achieve your goals and helps you keep on track.  I use this tool everyday and Marks program sets you up with the Web Cockpit which will organise your thoughts and prioritize your daily schedule.  Mark does offer other Simpleology programs that link to and enhance the usefullness of Simpleology 101.  Try it out and please let me know how it has been helping you achieve your success from within.

Realizing past success...

How does one realize past success? First we must define what success is. Success as defined at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/success

1. obsolete: OUTCOME, RESULT
2. a: degree or measure of succeeding b: favorable or desired outcome; also the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence
3. one that succeeds

By this definition, success is NOT always about having tons of money or fancy things. It relates to many different areas of our lives. As we grow up we achieve many successes but never really apply them to building more. If one takes a success and builds on it, the subsequent successes will grow. Even in our daily lives we have success and never realize them. We just take it for granted that it is a natural occurrence and brush it off as everyday living.

How can every day living produce success?

If we look back on how we plan out our day, we can identify our daily successes. If you wanted to take a trip or a vacation, you would plan it. The same is true for success. To be successful one needs to have a plan but it's not just the plan that makes one successful. You must put the plan into action. If you planned your trip and never went, how successful was the trip? It wasn't, because you never put the plan into action. Now if you went on the trip and did the things you wanted and seen the sights you wanted, how successful was your trip? Very, you planned and then executed the plan for a successful conclusion. So you never thought that going on a trip could be considered a success.

Making a list and going shopping is a form of everyday success. If you go to buy a car or a house, find new employment, save money for a rainy day, make repairs, remodel, the list goes on and on. Go ahead, take a few moments to look at your daily life and see what successes you have accomplished lately. Sounds pretty simple doesn't it. If we are successful everyday, why is it so hard to increase our level of success? By building on previous successes you can and will achieve greater success.

Coming up: My own success story...