Tag Archive for: debt elimination

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.
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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

Do It Now!

It’s an attitude as well as a work ethic. Some would rather put off till tomorrow what they do not want to do today. Funny thing is that these same people are the ones with next to nothing in savings, buried in debt and living pay check to pay check. The one’s who do it now are much better off. They are typically high achievers with no holds barred attitude. They know what they want and they go for it with laser beam like focus. Which one would you rather be?

Actually it is a lot easier that you would think. The best way to approach it is to prioritize your day, then start at the top and work your way through. If you find yourself getting sidetracked, don’t beat yourself up remember your only human. ( Dog’s reading this need not apply!) Have a list, better yet pictures of your goals around where you work. They will help snap you back when you get off track. Take action as if you knew you would never fail. Fact is you have a far great chance by doing than by thinking about it and not doing it at all!

As I am a Cape Bretoner, they would say at home ” Get off your arse and do something”! We only come this way once, how about making it a memorable journey. I don’t know anyone who gets paid for thinking about doing something.  Take baby steps if you have to, but at the very least take some action. You will find that everything becomes easier, and achieving your goals will happen quicker.

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 debts as quickly as possible. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat

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

After spending the beautiful weekend with my wife and kids playing at the pool and seeing adults wearing much less than they should, it’s back to work tomorrow. I am using forecast in this instance not to describe the weather, which was wonderful, but to talk about a forecast in the sense of a prediction. Not a wild prediction like Y.E Yang beating Tiger Woods at the PGA (few saw that coming), but something with a little more certainty like your own financial future.

Those of us in sales are familiar with forecast in the sense of a sales forecast. Working strictly on commission you have to keep your pipeline full to ensure that your income stays consistent and predictable. Can you forecast your financial future for the next 30, 60, 90 days? Most of us should be able to do that, but what about for the next 3, 5 or 10 years? Where do you want to be? Do you have a plan or are you just living day by day and from paycheck to paycheck?  If there is no plan then it’s very likely you won’t get ahead in your life.  Now is the time to get off the sidelines and take charge and be the designer of your own fate.

They say that once people reach 65, most are either dead broke or dead. To me that does not sound that appealing! All the more reason to come up with a plan, and the sooner the better. This is not something that you have to do on your own either. Use the resources that are available to you, like my friend Steven Cox a Certified Financial Planner who can help you build a road map to build true long term wealth. Also feel free to contact my office where I can help you review your current situation and come up with a plan to eliminate all your debts as quickly as possible.

Remember at the end of the day, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. Take the time now to design a prosperous future.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.
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Wake Up call!

I don’t mean the telephone call you receive to get you out of bed when you are staying at a hotel. What I am taking about here is the proverbial wake up call that snaps you to attention to the current state of your life. It could be that your suddenly realize that you are 42 years old, 50lbs over weight, in a job that you hate, and have 150K in debts and no actual savings. Your time of living a zombie like existence is now over and you have to do something drastic to change your life, and you need to do it now! By drastic, I don’t mean taking a swan dive off the nearest high structure.

You have succeed in realizing that what you are currently doing is not working, and you experiencing enough pain that you need to make a change right now. As bad as that may sound this is great news. You have reached a point where you are now able and willing to do something about your life. You should first take stock about what you can and can’t change as some things are beyond your control. Other than your age, height and genetics everything else is open to undergoing some massive changes.

For the purposes of this article let’s focus on finances. If you are open to it, we can show you how to eliminate your debts as quickly as possible so you can be in a position to actually build some net worth. It is easier than you would think and it is possible with the money that you are currently making today. Please feel free to give my office a call as soon as possible so can schedule a time to get you heading in the right direction.

Cheers,
Pat

p.s- You can find me on Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.
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Put a few notches in the win column!

We have all had those times where we think that nothing is going our way. I was having one of those days and one of my good friends sent me this:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

– Author unknown

So to summarize that, persist until you succeed. If your goal is to get in better shape, then decide to do something about it by starting a health & fitness program, If you want to improve your relationship(s), then work on improving “you” and if you want to improve your finances, then pick up the phone and contact my office and we would love to see how we could improve your situation.

Cheers,

Pat

Twitter,Linkedin, Facebookand friendfeed.
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What the Frack!

Hey I like sci-fi, and it is much better than the alternative. But seriously, what the Frack! What have you done with your life so far? Are you were you want to be? Financially? Spiritually? Socially? or Physically? Are you currently building long term equity? Paying down debt or just getting by? What ever your current situation you have made the choices whether consciously or unconsciously that brought you to where you are now. You are also the only one who can do anything about it. So unless your life is perfect, exactly what you want, you got some work to do.

Today my wife and I packed our our kids ( we have 3) and took them down to see the Buskers at the Halifax International Busker Festival. While we were down there we caught a show, had lunch and walked till we were all tired. The thing that stuck in my mind the most from our trip to the Halifax waterfront was not the performers or the crowds of people, it was the 2 mega yachts that I saw while were were there.

I assume if money were no object we would all live the high life. Is it that only a very small percentage of people aspire to greatness and the rest just settle for a life of mediocrity? This reminds me of a passage from Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grown Rich“; “

I bargained with Life for a penny,

And Life would pay no more,

However I begged at evening

When I counted my scanty store.

“For Life is a just employer,

He gives you what you ask,

But once you have set the wages,

Why, you must bear the task.

“I worked for a menial’s hire,

Only to learn, dismayed,

That any wage I had asked of Life,

Life would have willingly paid.”

Wouldn’t you rather have a Mega Yacht too? I know I would. To get there I want to help as many as I can get back in control of their finances and put them on the path to prosperity. If you are or know anyone I may help, please feel free to let me know.
Cheers,
Pat