Tag Archive for: debt elimination

Set,point,match & championship!

Ok I have to admit that I have watched a fair bit of the U.S Open tennis recently. I have noticed that the players who have done the best were the ones who were focused on small things and were less emotional about the result of a single game. We can learn a lot from watching these people. *Congrats to Kim and Caroline, it has been fun watching you.

What small things can you do consistently that will give you exponential returns over the long run? What that will depend on what your long term goal is, but below are a few examples:

If your goal is to improve your health or fitness: do you workouts ( consistently), function follows form (meaning focus on what you are doing and your strength will soon follow), feed your body with small frequent meals. If this means starting with push ups, sit ups and walking do that but do it consistently and build on it.

If you goal is to improve your sales: Prospect, prospect, prospect, then follow up with everyone, be a product of your products (know what you are selling inside and out), show people how much your care rather than how much you know. This means talk to your past clients, your referral sources, and your target market, even if you have to start with 5 minutes a day, then build on it.

If your goal is to improve your financial health: Brew your coffee instead of buying it, pack your lunch instead of buying it, pay cash instead of credit, pay your bills on time instead of 90 days late, put away 10% of your income for retirement, and if needed consult an expert to help you develop your own personal plan.

Please contact me if you have any questions, I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.

Have I got your Interest?

Well if I have not then I should, that’s because the Bank of Canada today announced that they will leave the key lending rate basically unchanged at .25%. However that is not the best part, the kicker is that they say that they will not touch the rate until mid next year. That is provided we do not have any unforeseen increases in inflation.  At this point you may be asking yourself, what’s in it for me? Well here it is, lower costs of borrowing, on things like secured and unsecured lines of credit, variable rate mortgages and any other loan that may be linked to the prime lending rate.

So what do you do now? Well given this news there is no better time than the present to take a look at your current financial situation and see if there could be room for improvement. By combining you high interest loans into one low interest loan you will lower your current monthly payments, cut your cost of borrowing and if done correctly can also be a way to achieve debt freedom much more quickly.

If you would like a free no obligation debt analysis, then feel free to contact my office. I will provide you with a simple form to fill out where can get a better idea of where your finances are right now and show you how to create a brighter financial future for yourself. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.

Half assed?

Or complete ass? Unfortunately that is how most people approach the majority of the tasks that they do on a day in day out basis. At the end of the day the only person who you are really accountable to is yourself. Ask yourself how you think you really did? Did you give it your 100%, a half assed effort or were you just a complete ass about your responsibilities. If you are not happy with your current results, you only have to look back to the effort that you put into the task that you did.

Begin tomorrow with the end in mind. With that I mean, remain focused on your stated goal or outcome. Having a clear image of where you want to go is the 1st step. Next you must take massive action to make sure that you get going in the right direction. For example, if your goal is to improve your level of fitness, then sleeping through your workout is not the best way to start the day. Give each chosen (yes I said chosen because we are all given the ability to decide) task your full out 100% honest effort.

Also be flexible in your approach, notice what is working or not and keep changing till you find what works. Lastly stick to it until you reach your goal. These can also be applied to the goal of improving your personal financial situation. Sit down, take stock of where you are right now (know your income and expenses). See if there is opportunities to improve both. Decide where you want to go, income, expenses, trips, toys etc. Take massive action right away and notice what is working or not and keep going until you reach your objective. If you find that you need some help along the way, feel free and contact my office. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.

Walk your talk!

Walk your talk!

It’s all too easy to give advice, and much harder to live by it. We have all seen or heard about the out of shape personal trainers, broke financial planners or the struggling life coaches who just happen to be at the end of their rope. Tony Robbins says that “repetition is the mother of all skill”, and Malcolm Gladwell in his great book “Outliers” says that it takes roughly 10K hours to truly master a skill or profession. I find that if I read it, then I hear it, I teach it, then I know it.

I am not the best mortgage broker out there, but I have learned a thing or two over the past 7 years. Writing and researching these blog posts has allowed me to hone my skills and to pay closer attention to my own financial decisions. Some say ” those who can do, and those who can’t teach”, well I would like to add something to that by saying that the truly great do and teach or at least share their knowledge.   Where would we be as a society if we had to learn it all over again with each successive generation. We would probably still be living in caves, and hitting each other over the head with rocks and sticks.

Knowledge is meant to be shared. I find that with each idea that is shared, 10 more great ones come back to me. if you have found any of my articles helpful then I would be extremely pleased, if you have anything to add or to share please feel free to comment. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat

We regret to inform you

That you did not get that job, have not been accepted at XYZ University or did not qualify for the loan. My older brother called these PFO letters and for good reason.  Thinking back they mattered so much because you had no plan B. What would you do if you did not get that job, get that loan, or if your child was accepted at the university and does not have a student loan and you have nothing saved up to send them . Do you  have a slush fund, 60-90 days of income put away that would allow you to live? Are you asset rich, but cash poor, or just struggling to get by? Either way there is a solution and there is no time like the present to do something about it.

Stop walking around looking at your feet! Set your eyes on a goal toward the horizon and go for it. It’s too easy to get caught up in living day to day that we forget to plan ahead. However before you know it, you are nearing retirement with nothing saved to support yourself in your golden years. What do you do then, live off family or the government? The vast majority are either dead broke or dead once they reach 65, and to me that does not sound all that appealing. Take the time now before it’s too late. Design your ideal future.
I would suggest that you contact my friend Steve Cox a certified financial planner who can help you develop your road map to get you where you want to go. Once you have that we can sit down, if you need to, and help you restructure your debts so you can eliminate them more quickly and get on the fast track to building true wealth and financial freedom. I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers,
Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.

Double the Pleasure!

Double the fun! Get your mind out of the gutter. In this situation it’s about the power of great combinations. Like Macaroni & Cheese, Burgers & Fries, Romeo & Juliet or in this case “Working Hard and Working Smart”! Working hard without working smart is sort of like the fly who keeps banging up against the glass thinking it will get a different result the next time around. How many times have you gone about doing something the same way as before but hoping that you would get a different result? If you were not aware, that’s the definition of insanity!

If you are working hard but not working smart you are just spinning your wheels, you go a few paces ahead only to have to take a few paces back just down the road. Don’t you think that it’s about time that you throw in the towel, no honestly I am kidding. One of the cornerstones of success is to take massive action. Notice what’s working and what is not, and be flexible in your approach, and to change what is not so you can adopt a new strategy to get you to where you want to go.

Romeo and Francine, just don’t cut it, nor does Butch Cassidy without the Sundance Kid. The result is much greater than the sum of it’s parts.

Working hard and working smart are the key, it’s the one two combination. If you find yourself struggling to get ahead financially, feel like you are living to just pay your bills. There is a better way. Feel free to contact my office, you never know we may be able to help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.

Daily Grind

Not the coffee and magazine shop in Halifax, which is a great place to kill some time between appointments. What I mean here is what you do on a day in day out basis. Are your daily routines helping you get ahead, tread water, or allowing you to fall further and further behind? This should not take you that long to figure out. Are you paying your bills down and saving money, just keeping up with your bills or falling behind. if you fall into the last two options, now may be time to do something about the direction you are heading.

Have you explored any and all options to increase your income? Do you know accurately how much money is coming in and out each month? Most important of all, are you willing to do what ever (legally of course) to improve your lot in life?

Assuming you answered an affirmative to the last questions, keep reading, if not no one can do it for you, come back when you are ready. What ever the endeavor, you first need a plan. By this I mean, you need to know your objective, what you want to accomplish. It must be crystal clear, and you should see yourself as already having achieved it.  Next take massive action, act as if you could never fail, in fact you can only fail if you stop trying. Notice what is working and what is not and persist until you succeed.

Actually it sounds a whole lot easier that it is. Everyday you are pulled in a thousand different directions. This mainly happens if you are living without a compelling or dominating goal in life. Keep focused on where you want to go, and everything else will come into place. Decide right now where you want to be physically, financially, spiritually or emotionally. Write out your goals as clearly and as concisely as possible, hold them in the forefront of your mind and get going.

If one of your goals involves improving your current financial state, then take some action now and contact my office right away. We will take an in-depth analysis of your current situation and help you develop a plan to eliminate all your debs as quickly as possible. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.

Sales Pitch

We all love to buy, but generally we don’t like to be sold. I like to compare it to driving, unless I am in the driver’s seat it’s just not the same. Let’s just face it we have all been sold to at one time or another. It’s just the experience of the sales process that some of us have trouble with.

You have to admit that you are almost pre-programmed to say that “Thanks I am just looking” when a sales person comes up to you at a retail store and says “May I help you with anything”?. Think of it for a minute, would your response be different if their approach was different?

When I first started as a broker almost 7 years ago now, my first branch manager (who was more of a bull in a china shop kind of salesman) at them time told me to call people up, tell them what I did and expect business to be thrown at my feet! Not only did that not work, I was not comfortable doing it. I turned to Google and did a search for cold calling techniques. I stumbled upon a site now called unlockthegame. Had a great chat with Ari Galper and hired him to teach me his process. The rest they say is history, more or less a night and day difference from what other sales trainers teach.

I have implemented his approach in all my dealings with clients and also use it in almost all my communication but mostly unconsiously. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some people using old fashion sales approaches and are doing quite well. If you want to improve your financial postion and want to be “sold” there are a number of people who I could refer you to, however if you want to uncover the root causes and find a solution that meets your need, then feel free to give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.
Stumble it!

It's not you, it's me!

Chances are if you have not said it in your life time you have had it said to you. However in this instance I am using the expression to refer to the state of the economy. Is it you or the economy that has the biggest effect on your financial future? Be very careful how you answer that, it is almost as dangerous as linking your mood to the current weather forecast. Ultimately what you should realize is that one has no effect on the other in most cases.

As I talked about yesterday there are industries that have experienced challenges because of the current economic situation. Some have suffered more than others. However there are still exceptions to this rule. I know of real estate agents who are thriving despite some of their colleagues experiencing great difficulties. The same can be said about mortgage brokers, financial planners, insurance agents, stock brokers and most other fields effected the most by the economy.

The point that I am trying to make here is that we alone are responsible for our own destiny. Sure outside forces may present some challenges, but it is up to us to handle them and succeed in spite of them. One of my favorite quotes from Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grow Rich” is this ” Every Adversity brings with it the seeds of an equivalent advantage”. In layman’s terms it is simply put, when one door closes another one opens.

If you want to close the door to financial challenges or are looking for help in guiding a course through a particular stormy sea, please feel free to give my office a call. As always I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,
Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.
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Recession Obsession!

Every where you look people are obsessed with this so called recession. It took them forever to declare that we were in one. Now everyone wants to be the first to say that we are on our way back out. However if you speak too soon, and without the proper amount of facts, the animal that is our stock markets will jump up and bite you if they do not agree. Just as they did on Monday.

However while I regularly meet with business owners, I always ask them how their business is going. Invariably most of them are telling me that business is great. Now that does not apply to all fields. My friends in the real estate game and fellow mortgage brokers have had better times. As tough as it may seem to be here, those in the west are feeling the pinch more than we were.

While we all have been tightening our pocket books it looks like things have been improving. We are well on our way to a recovery based on the recent MLS data. (see below) Almost every market in Canada has posted gains except for 4 western city’s.

Some people are suffering and some are not, but their is still hope. If you are looking for a way to improve your current situation as soon as possible, please do not hesitate to contact my office. We will analyze your current situation and develop a plan to help you get to where you want to go. As always I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers,
Pat
p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.
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Average MLS resale price for local markets

City June 2008 June 2009
Halifax $235,312 $240,093
Saint John, NB $170,199 $172,731
Montréal $269,257 $275,578
Ottawa $298,336 $307,793
Toronto $395,918 $403,918
Hamilton/Burlington $287,249 $297,117
Winnipeg $206,327 $212,542
Saskatoon $310,386 $276,867
Calgary $418,866 $392,601
Edmonton $341,376 $328,285
Vancouver $611,613 $575,949
Victoria $476,639 $476,686

Source: Canadian Real Estate Association