Tag Archive for: financial planning

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.
Stumble it!

Give ‘em the old one-two combination!

I would not profess to know a lot about boxing, however, something can be said for a good sport analogy. My point is that goals and massive action are like a one-two combination. You cannot achieve success with one and not the other. Sitting on the sofa and wishing you could win the lotto will not do you much good unless you have already purchased a ticket or two. If you want reach your goals, they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. If you were paying attention that means “SMART”.

An important part of that formula has been omitted – action and I mean massive action. Being “Smart” about your goals is all well and good, but if you are still sitting on the sofa then shame on you. 

The same can be said if you were smart and timely enough to take advantage of current interest rates to restructure your finances. If you have just restructured, but have no plan to improve yourself financially, then you may find yourself in the same position in the future.

The one-two punch here is to make sure that if you have restructured; you have a plan and will take action to follow your plan. Ultimately your goal should be to eliminate all your debts as quickly as possible and then start building true wealth. It is possible; we have done this with many clients – clients who have saved thousands of dollars in interest payments and are now saving money every month!

Feel free to contact our office today – we can show you how to make improvements to your financial situation, it is possible.

Cheers,

Pat

 

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

Obama knows a thing or two about timing!

By the time you are reading this Barack Obama may have already been sworn in as the next President of the United States. When he first announced his candidacy to run for the President of the United Stated on Feb 10, 2007, the odds were not in his favor. Many were predicting that another Clinton would receive the nomination for the Democratic Party. She was heavily favored to win, however Obama did things different. 

Many in politics advise candidates to focus on their message and to get it out to as many people as possible. Which is more important the message or the medium? They say that he was an ace at both. Their is no denying it that Obama is a brilliant orator, however what many do not realize is that he was particular adapt at getting his message out. Not everyone can attend live events, watch CNN, or follow the countless stories in the newspapers. In this day and age people have a constant urge to stay informed and want to do it in their own way. Barack Obama saw this and took advantage of the many social networks to get his message out to as many people as possible via facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and his own web site. People were able to stay informed on their smart phone on the go. You may be asking how this has anything to do with timing. Well it has everything to do with it; it helped him get his message out, by taking advantage of the latest social networking trends. He engaged more people, got them involved with the process, which gave him momentum to win the nomination and eventually the Presidency. 

You may also think that timing has nothing to do with the current state of your finances. Well nothing could be further from the truth. Think of it this way, would you rather have a 6.0% mortgage rate or 4.5%? The answer is simple; you would rather have the lower one. You probably assume that the higher rate is for people with less than perfect credit and that you could easily get the lower one. However, both were available as the discount rate for people with good credit over the last 24 months. The biggest difference is timing. You may also say that you will go out and get a loan only when you need it, well I am telling you that it may be too late.

You may not qualify for what you want if you wait for when you need it. Don’t wait until you are painted into a corner and you need a loan to help you out, because the only one available at that time may not be exactly what you want. There is no better time that now to look at restructuring your finances. It will put you in a better financial position in the long run, and allow you to weather out the uncertain financial times that we are currently facing. 

Feel free to contact my office so we may see if the timing is right for you.

Cheers,

Pat

p.s- This is by no means a reflection of my political views but rather an acknowledgement of his achievement.  

 

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

Signs that you may be in need of a bailout and what you can do about it!

Unless you have been living on a deserted island some where you are probably aware that we in the midst of some interesting and challenging economic times. Big business are lining up for bailouts, the markets are just one roller coaster ride after another, yet we ( the consumer and tax payer) are the engine that runs the economy and where can we turn if we need help?

Here are some signs that you may be in need of a bailout and what you can do about it:

1) More than 40% of your income is going to service your debt.

2) Your balance is higher than 90% of your credit limit.

3) You are using one credit card to pay another.

4) You have been late more than once in paying your creditors ( not utilities). 

5) You have or are receiving calls about money you owe.

6) You are living paycheck to paycheck.

7) You think the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train.

8) You are stressed about the money you owe.

9) Your debts are keeping you up at night.

10) You feel like you are working only to pay your bills!

There is a better way! If you are a home owner, the lowest cost of borrowing is against your home. That is because it is  a secured loan. Contact me today and we can look at combining all your debts into one simple payment, also providing you with a plan to pay it off quickly and efficiently if you qualify. Start focusing on designing your life instead of just paying your bills and you will be surprised how different your life can be. I would recommend that you sit down with a financial advisor like my friend Stephen Cox to help you design out your long term financial plan. 

Cheers,

Pat