Savings rate is up, but not enough.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the personal savings rate — the amount of each paycheck that goes unspent — jumped to 6.4 percent in June, the highest rate since June 2009.
Well that’s much better than when the savings rate was closer to 1%, but it’s still way too little.
I recommend saving 15% of your take home pay for financial independence.
Here is an interesting article from Charlie Farrell.
Take This Job and Shove It became more than a song when JetBlue Flight Attendant Steven Slater made his grand exit and became a working-class hero.
So why did he become a working-class hero to some people? Because those people feel stuck in jobs that are less than satisfactory.
There are 3 steps be getting out of a job you hate.
1. Get out of debt by paying off all non-mortgage debt. It will take you about 12 – 18 months if you are really motivated. A great way to get the help you’ll need is to take a class like Creating True Financial Independence or Financial Peace University.
2. Establish an emergency fund equal to 3 to 6 months of living expenses. This will give you the freedom to try something new without having to worry about short-term income.
3. Find your passion. The is a wonderful book called The Passion Test and there is an online Passion Test.
These 3 steps will change your life. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get what you want?
Starting August 15, 2010 banks will have to decline customers’ withdrawal requests at ATM’s and point-of-sale unless they give express permission to banks to let them overdraw their accounts for a fee. This change is a result of a change in the Federal Reserve’s Regulation E policy.
In Durango, CO this fee is running between $27 and $40
Bank of the San Juans – $27.00 fee
Bank of Colorado - $28.00 fee
First National Bank of Durango – $35.00 fee
Wells Fargo Bank – $35.00 fee
Alpine Bank – $40.00 fee
I understand that motivation of the banks; they want to make a profit. They market this service as a privilege. And it’s relatively risk-free for the banks. Most overdrafts are small, on average about $17, and most customers make good on their bad checks while banks earn fees.
This new regulation is all about banks being able to allow your debit card and ATM transactions to overdraw your account; then they cover the transaction and charge you a fee for the “privilege”.
I recommend that you don’t opt-in for your bank’s overdraft “privilege” and instead you take control of your personal finances and stop paying unnecessary bank fees.
3 steps for avoiding overdraft fees are:
A recent CNN Money article featured Good Debt Vs Bad Debt. The truth is all debt is bad.
The Good debt Vs bad debt article features these statements:
The key here is defining NEED. We need very little of what we buy.
Basic necessities – food, shelter, clothing, utilities and transportation to get to work are needs. Everything else we buy are wants and even these basics stray into wants very quickly.
I am all for enjoying life, buying nice things and having fun; however I wish that I’d learned the truth about debt and personal finances earlier in life.
Our beliefs determine our actions and our actions determine our results and experiences – examine your beliefs to see if you might be better served by a different belief.
For me coming to understand that debt and unconscious spending steal our dreams has transformed my beliefs, actions and life.
Today, I received this message from a friend and thought I’d answer it here.
Hey Matt,I thought I remembered that you had been doing something with Dave Ramsey… I was curious as to your thoughts on his program, etc.
L.
Dear L,
Yes, I helped pilot Financial Peace University at First National Bank of Durango. It’s the class that helped Cheri, my wife, and I pay off $165,000 in debt and save $20,000 in 15 months.
For us it was an amazing and transformational class. It offers sound advice on how to get out of debt.
Financial Peace University (FPU) is a 13 week class taught primarily though churches by volunteer class organizers. The cost of FPU is about $100.
Each class in 2 hours long an consists of watching a Dave Ramsey DVD and then small group discussion.
To review FPU I’ll offer Pro’s and Con’s and how my class Creating True Financial Independence differs.
FPU Pro’s:
FPU Con’s
How Creating True Financial Independence is different from FPU.
I hope this helps you understand Financial Peace University and my class Creating True Financial Independence.
Found money is any money that comes to you unexpectedly…money you did not necessarily earn as Jimmy Buffett would say. And there are 3 things you must do every time you are lucky enough to fine some money.
I’ll start by describing what you should not do. A volunteer firefighter in Colorado won a $1.2 million home in Maryland. After selling the home and paying the taxes the found money amounted to about $200,000.
So what did she and her husband do with their found money? They took $50,000 and bought a new truck, paid off some debt and saved the rest.
The 3 things you must do when you get found money are:
Following these 3 steps make sure you are on the path to financial independence.
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