One way to control spending: Discipline - DELAYED GRATIFICATION

My coach, Al Hollingsworth, defined DISCIPLINE as DELAYED GRATIFICATION. In the area of finances, this means that you postpone any plan to satisfy your desire to buy for the sake of the future. Example, you want to buy a brand new TV but your existing TV set is still working well. Because you want to discipline yourself, you delay the plan to buy a brand new one and save the money for better use.


Discipline works
I admire one of my staff in the office. She likes to buy a brand new Blackberry. Mind you, she has a Nokia touch screen cellphone now. Her dream is to replace it with a Blackberry, latest model. Today she told me she has decided that she will buy the Blackberry in CASH by saving for it. She can get the Blackberry now by just one swipe of her credit card. But she is wise and will stick with her plan to save first and buy later. Isn't that discipline?

Keeping Track of your money
Another way to enforce discipline in your finances is by keeping track of how you spend your money on a daily basis. This is hard work mind you. I did this for a month with the help of my wife. Everyday, I list down our expenses on a small notebook that I always carry with me. Every centavo that I spent was recorded. The simple exercise is enough to make me reconsider any expense I make. It made me think twice before I decide to buy anything. Remember, it is a matter of discipline-delayed gratification.

This exercise gave me an idea and I saw a pattern of where my money went. It gave me control over my expenses. One example was my phone bill. I found out that my cellphone bill way too high from my budget. You know what I did? I saved money by cutting my non-essential calls. It worked for me.


The tracking report also gave me valuable information, which I used to prepare my monthly budget.


Why not try it? I promise you, it will be an eye opener. You'll be surprise where your money goes.


To your debt-free life,
Jimmy


P.S. If you want a sample of an expense tracking notebook, I would love to give you one. write me a comment and your email addy and I will send you one.

Photo credits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teegardin/5913014568/sizes/m/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30691679@N07/3252506530

Get out of Debt. All debt!

The Good book, the Bible, is right when it says that "the borrower is a slave to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7).
People in dire financial need usually resort to borrowing. If not checked, they become addicted to it. The only solution they see is to borrow from the lender. A piece of advice: shun borrowing like a plague!

For those who are in debt: get out of debt, all kinds of debt!
Here are five (5) strategies to free yourself from the lender:

1. Perform what David Ramsey calls "Plasictomy". Cutting your credit card and using cash only.

    There is no positive side to credit card use. I suggest you use Debit Card instead. It keeps you

    constantly aware of your financial condition and prevents you from buying impulsively and unnecessarily.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/434pics/3495447828/sizes/m/in/photostream/
2. Don't pay the "Minimum Amount" suggested by your credit card company
    Credit Card company are loan sharks! When you pay minimum amount you end up paying your
    debt in 32  years.

3. Pay credit card balance beginning with the one with the lowest balance. If you do, it feels like you're
    doing something to eliminate your debt. I did and I got rid of one credit card and it feels so good.

4. Negotiate. The credit card company is eager, so eager to have your business. In this regard, they are

    open to negotiating anything you put on the table like interest rates, annual membership fee, etc.

    I still have one credit card debt, which I am trying to manage and eliminate. Every year, I request my credit card company to reverse the annual membership fee they charge me

    and they gladly oblige. This year, I did the same and to my surprise, they told me that from this year on they will no longer bill me the annual membership fee. Just one of those fees you can deduct from your debt. It feels so good!

5. Talk to somebody, please. There's help. Share your burden with someone you can trust. Don't suffer alone about your debt situation.

To your debt-free life,
Jimmy

3 Practical Steps to Getting Out of Credit Card Debt

I like what I saw the other day on Channel 5's  SAPUL SA SINGKO morning show. They have a segment dedicated to FINANCIAL FREEDOM AND MONEY. The hosts were Amy Perez and Chinky Tan, author of "Till Debt Do Us Part".  
Money, to most of us, is a vital commodity. Without money, you'll have a hard time making things happen. Without money, you can't pay your basic bills like electricity, water, telephone and other equally important bills. With money, you can do a lot of things including helping people in their time of need.


So there I was, a bit sleepy coming out of a restful night, when I switched the TV on to SAPUL and saw Chinky Tan reading the letter of a sender who was asking help on how to be financially free and how to eliminate her mounting credit card debt. I really appreciate Sapul sa Singko for including this segment because I believe it will help a lot of people get out of credit card debt.

Here are 3 practical steps they advised the letter sender:
1. Don't pay the MINIMUM AMOUNT  DUE only. TRIVIA: it will take you 36 years to fully pay your credit card debt if you pay the minimum amount due ONLY. Doesn't look good isn't it? Pay more than the minimum amount due!


2. Don't use your credit card to purchase new items, specially BIG Ticket items like appliances (TV, ref, washing Machine, etc.). USE CASH to buy anything you need. (if I may add, if you want to buy big ticket items, save money for it and buy it only when you have saved for it)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmrosenfeld/2903513401/sizes/m/in/photostream/

3. Look for additional INCOME to increase your earnings. Your income should always be greater than your expenses. Chinky Tan says: don't over-spend (cause of debt). It's time to get out of debt by under-spending.


To your debt-free life,
Jimmy


P.S. Be wise! Commit to a budget and stick with it.