Debt
Busting - Save $6,000 This Year!
Photo: Jeff Stutz,
former VP of Wellness Development assisting Beth Schomp burn her mortgage
at [Our Manufacturers] 2008 Convention.
David Bach, author of The
Automatic Millionaire, popularized a term called the “Latte Factor.” Often
before lunchtime many people have already spent nearly five dollars on a latte,
coffee, muffin, juice, or something.
Maybe it’s a daily ritual of buying a magazine, smoking, drinks, fries,
chips, cookies or whatever. The point is
most people are spending at least $5 per day on average for non-essential items. How much do these small, habitual items cost
us?
Let’s do the math:
$5 per day x 30 days/month = $150. Over a period you would have saved:
1 year = $1,800
5 years = $9,000
10 years = $18,000
This principle can be applied to several aspects of our
lives. Too often every day expenses
become so routine we think we need all these things just to survive. As we evaluate personal expenses and track
spending we find that in most cases there are lots of “Latte Factors”
throughout the month, some adding up to be quite significant. Taking an inventory of our spending can be a
healthy exercise. You can actually
eliminate a lot of things from your life that really don’t make much difference
to the quality of your life at all. The challenge however is finding a deeper
“why” within you that will motivate a change of priorities.
At every Convention, we witness dozens of families
burning their mortgages from stage. The
feelings expressed from those achieving Total Financial Freedom is really
contagious. Here are some of what some
past Award Recipients express:
“It’s such a great feeling when you don’t have any debt and
you can go out and spend some extra money. Of course, money can go out of your
hands really quickly when you don’t have a mortgage, so you always need to have
a plan. But financial freedom is so exciting.” –Stacy and Gary Bodnar
“We really want to encourage other people to get out of
debt. It’s so much fun when you can control your own destiny without financial
stress. All of our years working for a non-profit organization, we’d always had
to ask for money. Now, instead of asking for money, we’re able to write checks
to support orphanages and charities around the world.” –Dan and Renae Peters
“We’re no different than anyone else when it comes to saving
and paying off our mortgage; we just made different choices. People say to me,
‘I wish I could do that,’ and I tell them, ‘You can; you just have to make the choice.’ I knew that financial
freedom wasn’t about being flashy; it was about being down-to-earth and having
a lifestyle that brings freedom.
When I was teaching [This Company's] Financial Freedom University
from 2003-2008, I would ask participants to do the “$500 Exercise”. This exercise help you find up to $500 or
more of monthly waste. It is an exercise
of evaluating “needs” vs. “wants”.
Look at some of these suggestions and add you own to
discover hundreds of dollars in wasted
spending and possible cut-backs from your budget. Calculate how much you spend every month on
that item and add it all up until you have over $500.
The daily Juice/coffee & snack $150
Lawn Care Service $160
Yard Fertilizing Service $60
Housekeeper $200
Gas Station Drinks & Snacks $25
Vending Machine Drinks &Snacks $40
Nails & Pedicures $40
Satellite/Cable TV $70
Pay-Off Car Early $300
Dining Out $250
Excessive Entertainment $300
Excessive Gifting $150
Shopping Spree’s (Clothes/Hobbies) $200
Cigarettes & Alcohol $400
Whatever our small indulgences are for ourselves, most can
find some areas to cut back. When you
make the commitment to change your life, there is greater financial success and
freedom that can be yours in just a few short years.
“Five years after we started our home-based business we paid
off the mortgage on our first home and all of the tuition bills for our
children. Then we worked on some of our other debts, and on January 23, 2008,
we became totally debt free.” –Nancy
and Al Studer
“You have to be willing to do without; you have to be
willing to not have what the neighbors have.
You have to delay instant gratification, because 10 years
from now that will make a huge difference in your life. It has made a huge
difference to us, and we never thought of it as a sacrifice. It was a lifestyle
we chose in order to accomplish what we knew we’d accomplish in the future, and
the future is here.” –Trixie and Rod
Overcashier
Take the $500 Challenge this year and put $6,000 back in
your pocket to start paying off that debt.
The add your [new] Income to it and you will begin your journey
towards Total Financial Freedom sooner than you think!
