What about the Past?

Kids make mistakes. This is a commonly accepted fact of life. While learning to ride a bike, they fall and scrape a knee. Proudly displaying a flower picked from mom’s prize garden, they rush into the house. Naturally, the trail of mud leads straight across the new, white carpet.

When these things happen, what should parents do? Should they never forget the incident, telling their child to give up and never try again? Of course not! They should never allow their children to be locked into the past by mistakes. Instead, they should encourage them to learn from the mistake and move on.

As an adult, you are faced with a similar question. What will you do about your financial mistakes? Will you carry them with you, refusing to ever move on? Will you give up? Or will you learn to leave the past behind you so you can move on in your life? Remaining trapped in pain and failure accomplishes nothing; you must learn to let go of the past if you are to succeed in your finances in the future.

Obviously, this doesn’t mean you entirely forget your past. Instead, you acknowledge that it happened. It is over. It no longer controls you. Rather than being trapped by it, you are free to chase your dreams and goals.

You cannot improve your financial future without first accepting the past. Learn from it, and move on. The past is for teaching, not for stopping.

Brianna Cooper
Frugal College Student
Editor at My Financial Life Coach, LLC

http://www.MyFinancialLifeCoach.net

https://www.facebook.com/MyFinancialLifeCoach

Related articles

• 3 Ways to Learn from Mistakes (thecoachingsource.com)
• Taking the Time to Learn From Mistakes (piedpyper.wordpress.com)

Create your spending plan– maximize your income

Less than half of adults (42%) keep close track of their spending.

                                          National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) – April 28, 2009

What happens when you go into the store hungry? That’s right . . . you buy more.  The same thing happens if you don’t have a spending plan. You buy more because nothing is spelled out. So what will a spending plan do for you? A written plan will help you to avoid overspending.

You have a lot of resources to manage.

Take your current yearly household net income (left column) and multiply by the number of years to determine your income during that time period. Below is an example of someone who had an annual income of $70,000. Note that this example does not figure in any type of pay increase over the next 30 years.

Example . . .

_70,000______  x  10 years  =  __700,000_______

_70,000______  x  20 years  =  __1,400,000______

_70,000______  x  30 years  =  __2,100,000______

Now, go ahead and calculate this for your income.

____________  x  10 years  =  ________________

____________  x  20 years  =  ________________

____________  x  30 years  =  ________________

Wow!!  You have a lot of money to manage.

Have you ever thought about this before? In the example above this individual will be managing $2,100,000. Let’s put that into perspective. If he was going to build a $210,000 house he would have to have a survey, building plans, permits, and many inspectors & inspections to manage this $210,000 project. If that much planning is needed for a $210,000 house, how much more planning should be done on a project (your financial life) that is ten times larger?

Take a few minutes and think about your finances. The last time you received your W-2 did you ask yourself “where did all of the money go?” It is time to start putting a plan together if you don’t have one. If you have one please take the time to review it. One more thing…a plan is worthless if no action is taken on it so get out there and take some action this week.

You have a choice, and the choice is yours. – Coach Bryan

Thank you for reading the My Financial Life Coach blog where we talk about money, goals, family, life events, spending, and economic news. We do make every attempt to avoid the topic of politics but we will bring up economic policies that need communicated. Our job is to educate and motivate you to the debt-free life style.

Don’t forget to checkout our website, www.MyFinancialLifeCoach.net  for 100’s of resources including tips, articles, spreadsheets, web-based training, and more.  Why not tell a friend? Looking for daily motivation on your financial walk? Checkout the My Financial Life Coach Facebook page.

Is This the Dream You Want?

Are you having fun?

Are you living the life you’ve always dreamed of? Have you reached your goals? Or are you worn out, driving to the job you hate while wearing the “nice clothes” and driving the “cool car?” Are you miserable even though you have what you are supposed to dream of? How do you feel about your life and your priorities?

I see this every day

Prospective clients living the “dream.” You know the dream, the dream where you must have the best of everything- the best clothes, cars, vacations, houses, and electronics. It even affects your children. Part of this so-called dream includes having your kids involved in so many activities that they don’t have time to be kids.

Evaluate

Step back and take a look at your life. Is this really the life you dreamed of? Or are you too busy to do what is really important to you? Make sure you’re living in the right dream. If you aren’t, invest some time in the areas of goal setting and prioritization management so that you can pursue the dream that you really want.

You have a choice, and the choice is yours.

Bryan Cooper

My Financial Life Coach, LLC

Delaware, Ohio  43015

http://www.MyFinancialLifeCoach.net

Check out our new, totally online program, yours today for just $29.99.

Balance Up: 42 Days to Maximize, Energize, and Organize Your Life

Balance Up is different than most other programs because it combines Goal Setting, Financial Management, Prioritization Management, Time Management, and Life Balance into a single program. In the mid 90′s Bryan developed and delivered corporate training in the areas of Goal Setting, Action Planning, and Time Management, so he understands adult learners. Bryan has combined that experience with his experience in financial coaching to create Balance Up.

So what are you waiting for? Take action today and start working on your dream, goals, or finances.  Let Balance Up walk you through the process.

This Labor Day weekend, “work” on the family life balance.

It is important to work hard but you still need that balance. Don’t spend all weekend working or worrying. Take time to enjoy those around you, doing things all of the things you love to do. This weekend, you should “work” on the family life balance.

You have a choice, and the choice is yours.

Bryan Cooper – Financial Life Coach

My Financial Life Coach, LLC

www.MyFinancialLifeCoach.net

http://www.facebook.com/MyFinancialLifeCoach

MyFinancialLifeCoach.net is a provider of financial & life balance education, web-based training, coaching, and seminars to individuals, businesses, and non-profits.

10 Tips for Caring for Aging Parents – The Best Life (usnews.com)

10 Tips for Caring for Aging Parents – The Best Life (usnews.com).

This topic came up in a discussion last night. When I saw the article today I wanted to pass it along. There are links in this article to some additional resources.

Appreciation

It is important to appreciate what you have. Do you have good health? A roof over your head? Family? It is easy to forget about the more important things when you are so focused on the money issues around you.

Each day, you can use an appreciation journal to reflect on the positives of your life. Like they say, you get what you focus on. If you only focus on the negatives, everything in your life will seem negative. If you focus on the positives, you will find it easier to see the good in situations, and this positive outlook will give you strength to continue during tough days.

The first 4-6 weeks of budgeting is often very difficult. Things break, unexpected bills show up, and it is easy to grow frustrated and to start focusing on your problems. I tell the folks I coach that when (not if) this happens, I want them to find $35 dollars or something they can sell for $35 and give it to an organization that will help a child in a country such as Haiti.

Why? The $35 you just sent can feed an impoverished child for about a month. Most likely, the setback you are currently dealing with isn’t anywhere near as difficult the issues the child in Haiti is dealing with on a daily basis. As you reflect on your situation and the situation of that child, you will begin to understand the benefit of using an appreciation journal to track and reflect on what is really important in your life.

You have a choice, and the choice is yours.

Bryan Cooper
Financial Life Coach
http://www.MyFinancialLifeCoach.net

http://www.facebook.com/MyFinancialLifeCoach
Keywords: Budget, Budgeting, Change, Finances, Financial, Miscellaneous, Personal Finance, Priorities, Uncategorized

Related Posts:

Six Benefits of Keeping a Journal – Simple Life Habits

So Guys, How is Your Spare Tire?

So Guys, How is Your Spare Tire?

No, I’m not talking about the one you start seeing as you approach your mid-thirties; I’m talking about the one in your car. I know this is a money blog, but allow me to explain.

I had the privilege of experiencing a flat tire at midnight on a dark, muddy country road, only to learn my spare tire was flat. The spare tire was placed in that vehicle when it was new and had never been used. The assumption was that it would do the job when needed. But what changed? Time.

Time went by and the spare slowly lost its air. What “spares” do you currently have that are no longer doing the job? Below are a few things I suggest you look at this week:

1. Is your life insurance still adequate? Life brings changes, we add mortgages, we have children, etc. Also, are the named beneficiaries still accurate?
2. How about your auto and homeowner insurance? Are you adequately insured?
3. What about your will? Is it updated? Who will care for your kids should something happen to you?
4. Do you have an emergency fund? Or are you going to pull out the credit card and go deeper in debt if you have an emergency?

I recommend that you do one more thing- check your spare tire to make sure you are prepared should you have a flat. Don’t procrastinate!!

You never know when you might end up with a flat tire at midnight on a dark, muddy country road.

Until next time . . .

Bryan Cooper
My Financial Life Coach LLC
Financial Life Coach
Dave Ramsey Certified
“Helping You Get Your Financial House In Order”
Delaware, OH 43015

Visit us at http://www.MyFinancialLifeCoach.net