Limbs lost, and Redirection Needed

I suffered a loss of a young relative this week and it brought sadness and deep thought to me. I thought about how he used to live with me as a kid. Times were tough for them and my family welcomed them in. One thing that I have always admired about my family both close and distant is that we can always rely on family to help in times of need. I think it’s natural for us Hispanics to stick together; we tend to build that close knit with each other. His passing also made me reflect on my life and my path that I have taken. I think about if I’m at the place where I’m supposed to be. I wonder if I’m on the right track to fulfill my dreams. As I mentioned before, I didn’t come from a wealthy family; and that is an understatement. I enjoyed my childhood because I had friends and family that had cool toys like Nintendo’s, baseball equipment, and even a basketball court. I didn’t have things like that. I even rode a girl’s bike that was passed on from my eldest sister. It was pink, but that wasn’t anything a little spray paint couldn’t fix. The only problem was that the rubber handle bars were also pink and I couldn’t get the white paint to stick. Embarrassing isn’t it? Even with all the paint in the world, every kid knew that bicycles have different body styles along with seats. This one had one of those big padded banana ones. LOL. I’m laughing just thinking about it. Anyways, this is where I’m from. My family tree doesn’t consist of large amounts of wealth. I don’t know one millionaire in my bloodline. Can I be the first?

This tragic event even made me realize how unprepared most of us are. When my mother died a while back, we were totally unprepared. She had insurance that I don’t even want to go there. My grief was pushed aside by worries for my mother to have a nice funeral. It took all of my siblings to come up with a plan to give my mother a decent farewell. My cousin’s family was also unprepared. Thank goodness for our family, now they are planning some sort of fundraiser so my cousin. His burial will depend on donations from those who can give. Should it be this way? I don’t think so. From personal experience, it’s too much of a burden to worry about money during this period of time. I never hope this upon my children. It’s not my mother or cousins fault for the lack of financial planning. We just are raised this way. It’s the way our family tree is being grown. Well, I refuse to water that tree! I am making it a personal goal of mine to change the direction of my branch in this large tree grows. In what direction are you allowing yours to grow? Are you making a change in direction your family tree grows? When I leave this earth, I want to have affected my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. That is the legacy I plan on leaving. I want an empire to be passed on and on. All it takes is for me to make a ripple in this pond we call our lives. Will you be the one that affects those children for generations down the line? Push away the skeptics and drive on. WE CAN DO THIS!

Name That Dollar

It’s been a while since my last post and now I’m back. I had to finish up a class and re-evaluate my finances. I like going over my finances because it allows me to see what’s working and what isn’t. It also tells me where I need to improve and where I don’t. I’ve also been doing a lot of research into investing and real estate. I don’t really want to touch on that tonight because I want to make this post about debt and budgets. Budgets are not fun, but they are necessary. I never made a budget when I was younger; I just lived on what I have. Now I like to see where my money is going and where I can squeeze more into savings, then investments. I made a budget before but it was tough to stick to so I sort of avoided it not knowing how much damage that can do. I have to give Dave Ramsey credit for helping me get back on track. With his resources and great speeches, I realize that a lot of people give up on their budgets. He goes on to even say that budgets don’t usually work for the first couple of months. I’m on the second draft of mine so I’ll see what kind of adjustments I have to make. At first I made my budget on Microsoft Money but maybe that’s another reason why I didn’t stick to it. It wasn’t simplified and customized to my life. So what I now use is Dave Ramsey’s Cash Flow Plan sheet. It’s pretty easy to fill out and read so it’s great for my wife and me.

I can’t stress how important it is to make a budget. I know how you may feel when making one. It’s tough to see what you spend your money on. It’s tough to see your money come and go. Some of us are even afraid to see where we stand when it comes to our finances; I know I was at first. But think out your future, family and retirement. We need to make a budget if we are to be financially free. Like I said before, I was one of those people who believed I didn’t need a budget. When I was working at a grocery store as a teen, I had no idea where my money was going. Ask my cousin Nick; he’ll tell you. As I got older though, I had to learn the hard way, by not having any money.

Wondering where your money is going? Never had enough money at the end of the month? Is your car broken down and you don’t have the cash to fix it? YOU NEED A BUDGET!

Click Below to Get the Cash Flow Sheet for FREE!!
http://www.daveramsey.com/media/pdf/fpu_monthly_cash_flow_plan_forms.pdf

Fix that LEAK!

I had to put some power steering fluid in my little old Focus today because when I checked the fluids I realized it was low. Another thing I realized is that I have a small oil leak. Like I said, it’s a small one but it’s causing the oil to run down the motor and burn. When you get burned oil, you get a little smoke so that can’t be good. By now you are probably thinking about where I’m going with this right? Well, like I said before, I always try to relate things to my journey to financial freedom.

The first thing I had to do was figure out where this leak is. I’ve already established that an oil leak can’t be good. It would be quite embarrassing to be putt-puttin’ around in a billow of smoke. Plus if you don’t fix the small leak, doesn’t that usually lead to a bigger one? Like I said before, I don’t claim to be a mechanic, but I also don’t want to pay somebody for something I may be able to do myself. So now that I have figured out where the leak is coming from, what do I do now? Well, I’ve determined that it’s just a gasket that needs replaced and I should be able to do it myself. How does this pertain to my financial journey? Well, I think we all have some kind of leak going on in our wallets that might be setting us back. What am I talking about with all this? I’m talking about debt. I didn’t talk too much about debt except for a link so now might be a good time. I have allowed my budget and finances to have “leaks”. I bought things I really didn’t need and dined-out when I didn’t really have to. It took a lot of lectures and lack of money to make me realize I had these leaks. Just like in a car, you don’t really know you got a leak until you see the signs or you actually get under the hood and look around. You have to take the time to do a self-assessment and see if you are leaking cash. You might not know where those last 20 bucks went to last week, but if you don’t figure it out it might be 40 the next. Most people don’t realize they have a leak until it’s too late. Honestly, how many times do you step in oil when you are in the parking lot of Wal-Mart or any other shopping area? I know I see them all the time because I always have to tell my son not to step in them. Do you think the people that left the oil on the ground actually knew that their car is leaking? They might have known about it but some people just don’t care until they see the estimate given at the local mechanic shop for major repairs. Ouch!

Are you one of those people who just don’t worry about it until something major happens? Does it take an emergency to realize you haven’t saved any money at all? You have allowed your wallet to leak so much to the point that it’s no longer a small repair. Then you start getting loans and making even more holes in your wallet. I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve been there before. Most might be but I take it as a learned lesson on this path I’m on. It takes real dedication to locate and admit that you have leaks in your financial situation. You have to put your pride aside and actually tell yourself that you spend too much on this or that. Control your debt today, so you won’t have to see the bill later. It makes no sense to have a great idea on how to make money if you haven’t learned how to control the expenses. It’s tough I’m telling ya.. Make charts or lists on your expenses. Find out where YOUR money is going. If I had a nickel for every time my son stepped in oil at the market, I’d be well-off. If I had a penny for every time I’ve allowed money to be wasted, I’d be RICH!

So, we must find our leaks and seal them. There are tons of tools out there to help reduce your debt. I have a great one posted on the website. That is the one I use and every month I see myself closer to the goal. Get under that hood and see where you stand. Don’t get stranded along the side of the road

Quick Thanks

I'd like to say a quick thank you for all who have taken the time to view my blog. Every time type in a new entry, I do it in hopes that I can teach someone out there in the world something about financial freedom. I hope you have enjoyed what I have written to this point and look forward to hearing comments and feedback. I would also like to give a special thanks to my world-wide viewers. I've been getting some views from all over, from China to the U.K. to Columbia. Thank you once again for taking this journey with me.


P.S. Don't forget to check out these links provided on my page and Pass it on to all your Friends.


Sincerely,
Francisco

The Golden Rule for his Birthday.

It was my oldest son’s birthday this week and it gave me an opportunity to realize how much he has grown. I look at all the things he is able to do all by himself. I also get shocked at the things he’s great at (especially Xbox360 games). As I watched him, I sat there and thought about what are the important things in life to teach him. Obviously I would love to show him traditional values of our American way of life and how to be respectful and all that. But what are some other things that I wish I would have been taught? Shouldn’t he know about the Golden Rule? The Golden Rule that states "treat others as you would like to be treated." But, what about the other Golden Rule? The other one says, “He who has the gold, makes the rules.” Ever heard of that one? Believe it or not but neither did I until recently. I guess I should have figured it out sooner since I’m in the military and all. Regular enlisted folks don’t make nearly the same as officers do. Since they have a degree and different training, they are paid more. And since they get paid more, guess who makes all the decisions….you guessed it, Officers. From my small experience and knowledge, I’m pretty sure the rest of the world’s job market operates in the same matter. Does your boss make more money than you do? So what is our goal here, to make more gold right? I know mine is but I would rather make it in a way that doesn’t require more back ache and longer nights. So I concluded that it’s going to make great sense to teach my son financial skills that I learn so maybe he can make the rules. They don’t teach this stuff in school and I wasn’t even taught it at home. I’m not upset though because the average child doesn’t get taught stuff like that. If you did, lucky you. I didn’t even know what a credit score was until about 7 years ago. Weird huh! Things like that weren’t taught to me when I was growing up. The focus was more on getting good grades and learning a trade. The best part about getting rich is that you will know how far I came along proving that you can too. I can't really explain all this to him just yet, but soon enough I will have to and hopefully he will continue to pass it on as well. Happy Birthday son.