Posts made in October, 2013
Building Your Financial Plan
Building Your Financial Plan by Casey Lewis The room went dark. After a few hours of humor and wisdom pouring from the stage, the crowd of 600+ people at Jon Acuff’s Start Conference grew silent. We were given these tiny finger lights and told only to raise it in the air when something we saw on the screen resonated. The black screens only projected a new phrase with white letters once every 15 seconds or so. “You’re not good enough.” “There are others that already do what I do.” “You’re too old to start.” “You’re too young to start.” “You’re not smart enough.” This simple idea was to have a visual representation of the voices of fear that speak so powerfully into our lives, and then to provide comfort in knowing we’re not alone as the room was lit sporadically by hundreds of finger lights. But then, this flashed across the screen: “I don’t have enough money to chase my dream.” The room lit up faster than the end of Silent Night at a Christmas Eve Candle Light Service. It struck a nerve. To financial guys like me, this wasn’t a huge surprise. A recent Wall Street Journal report tells us that 75% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. The National Consumer Law Center says that 14% of Americans age 65 and up have a negative net-worth at the time of retirement. The idea that someone doesn’t have enough money to chase after a dream isn’t a theory. For many it’s a cruel reality. But because you may not have $30,000 sitting in a savings account or you aren’t completely debt free doesn’t mean that you can’t make strides toward your dream. It actually means the opposite. It means you can hustle harder than you ever have before to clean up your financial mess and that by doing so you are actually doing one of the best things that you can to see your dream come to life. Right now, today, you may think your financial situation is hopeless and that you’ll never be able to give up your day job for a dream job. And right now, today, you may very well be right. But lets fast forward 18 months and see that you’re debt free and have six months of your expenses sitting in an emergency account. In addition to that, your dream job or business or side hustle or whatever you want to call it is bringing in a couple thousand dollars each month. Now, do you feel hopeless? Of course not! All we need to do is put you in that financial position and here’s how: A plan. It’s that simple. You just need a financial plan to get you to where your finances become your biggest contributor instead of inhibitor to chasing your dreams. Here are 4 simple money steps to set your dream up for its best chance. Step 1: Create a cash flow plan. Yes that is a fancy way to say budget. You need to make a plan for your money. Step 2: Reduce expenses & Boost income. If your dream really is as important as you say it is, you don’t need cable TV or to be eating lobster. Slash your expenses as much as you can and then have a garage sale to get rid of your extra “stuff.” Step 3: Kill Debt. It’s very difficult to leave a day job for a dream job when you have monthly payments siphoning away all of your money. Use the debt snowball method to eliminate all your debts. Step 4: Build your “Dreaming Savings Account” All that extra money you’ve been throwing at paying down your debts can be thrown into a savings account once you get rid of debt. This dreaming savings account allows you the freedom to walk out of a job you hate when the boss yells at you one too many times. It gives you the leverage to leap to your dream without the worry of your electricity being shut off. By hustling to get your...
Read MoreDreamers & Builders – Challenge #3
“I believe in you.” We all like notes of encouragement – a few words from someone who believes in us can make our day when the journey gets tough. Today, be that someone – but this time, write a note of encouragement TO YOU. Post it on the Dreamers & Builders wall. You never know – your note could help someone else’s journey...
Read MoreBuilding a Blog
Whether you’re an author, business owner, speaker, singer, or anything in between, a blog can play an integral part of your brand. You need a place to share new ideas with your clients and readers. You need a place to direct your social media accounts to and to offer a product or some sort of advice. Before you dive in to the blogging world, there are some things you need to know. Know Your Name. The first thing you need for your blog is your name. This should be short, simple, and to the point. You want something that people will remember. This is what your whole brand will be built around. The easiest choice is your own name. This will eliminate any problems if, for some reason, your niche changes down the road. Know Your Purpose. Why are you blogging and who are you talking to? You need to know who your audience is and offer them something that no one else can. What is unique about you? What are you passionate about? Know Your Competition. A little competition can be helpful. Don’t look around at what other bloggers are doing to copy them. Watch what they’re doing to learn from them. What does their design look like and why does it work? What are they sharing on their Social Media platforms? What are they offering that keeps their readers coming back? Know Your Commitment. Take into account how much time you can invest into your blog. Have several posts ready to go before you launch to avoid writers block on day two. You’ll also want to stay consistent. If you know that you can’t offer more than 2 blog posts a week, then keep it that way. Your readers will get used to your routine and know what to expect from you. Blogging is hard work. Not many bloggers become famous over night. It will take time, trials, errors, joy, and pain. Have patience. Keep going. Know Who Owns You. Before you launch, you need to know that you get what you pay for. There are some great free blogging sites that can help you get started. But, you need to remember that if you use free hosting, your blog is not your own. They can shut you down whenever they please. If you are considering keeping your blog around for the long haul, you will want to be self hosted. Starting out self hosted is much easier than transferring a blog down the road. If you’re ready to launch your self hosted blog, you can see how to do it in less than 20 minutes over at TribeBloggers.com What’s keeping you from starting your blog? If you already have one, what do you wish you knew before you started? Corie is a wife and mom to 3 kiddos. She’s been blogging for 4 years and loves help people find their purpose and live it out. She blogs over at CorieClark.com and she helps bloggers build community at...
Read MoreThoughtful Thursday // 10-17-2013
Thoughtful Thursday // 10-17-2013 “Courage is pressing forward even before peace arrives.” –Libby Norcross These words came to me in a time of personal unrest. Sometimes, things just don’t work out like you envisioned. Sometimes, as if from out of the blue, circumstances shift and leave you feeling shaky. Sometimes you just can’t predict what will come next. Sometimes you just won’t feel “settled” about an issue at hand. Fear will try to use these times to stop you. It will try to sidetrack you with doubts and uncertainty. Don’t let fear win – sometimes you have to keep going even when you don’t feel like it. Sometimes you have to be brave and move forward into that black night to which you are called to go, even though you’re scared or unsure. You can beat Fear: take a step. Obedience before feelings arrive–acting on what you *know* is true before you feel it–is real courage. Question: What’s an area where Fear is leaving you unsettled? What small step can you take until peace arrives? Note: Today’s #ThoughtfulThursday was hand drawn by me. You can see more hand-drawn posters by going to libbydoodle.com and clicking “LibbyDoodles.” “But what IS Thoughtful Thursday?!” you may be asking. Check out the original...
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