Archives for July 2018

There’s Nothing New Under The Sun

July 30, 2018 By Deanna 17 Comments

Everything I’ve ever done or thought has been explored and contemplated by someone else who came before me. What makes me unique is the meandering path I choose.

Just like snowflakes, not one of us is exactly alike but yet we are all so similar. I find people simply fascinating. In particular, I marvel when reading about the ways people have achieved Financial Independence (FI) and/or are working towards it.

There aren’t too many novel ideas. We all have access to the same levers:

Eliminate debt
Embrace frugal living
Discover what you value in life
Practice minimalism
Drive down your monthly expenses
Develop a high savings rate
Invest in low-cost index funds
Study and choose to allocate a small percentage of your investments to single stocks
Diversify with real estate and business investments
Start a side hustle
Embark in Geo Arbitrage

What makes each of our journeys unique is how/when we pull said levers and what happens to us in the process. Personally what I find the most enjoyable to read is the transformation that occurs in our lives. Many of us discover more joy, focus on strengthening our relationships, find more time for loved ones, and develop a sense of extreme gratitude.

I would like to take some time to talk about five characteristics that can be developed in a person through intentional financial living.

Patience

This is a hard one to develop. I don’t like sitting in rush hour traffic or waiting in long lines any more than the next person. Which, BTW, I try to avoid by my lifestyle choices. However, I know patience to be a virtue and the way to get it is through being in such situations.

It took me 3 & ½ years to pay off my debt and in the process, I lost a house to foreclosure. I paid off a total of $46,763 and at the start of the journey I was making $40K annually and by the time I paid it off, my salary was $60k annually. I just kept my nose to the grindstone and persevered. I wasn’t willing to think of the albatross around my neck (my debt) as a fixture in my life. I attacked it, I worked hard, I made sacrifices, I stayed the course, I paid it off, and became free.

And what do I have to show for it? Well, I now own my entire paycheck but also, much to my surprise, I’ve developed some patience. I was once told never to pray for patience because you’ll be given all kinds of opportunities to work on it.

I didn’t go into this thinking I wanted to become a patient person. Actually, quite the opposite, I thought I’d like to get this done as quickly as possible. I guess it’s relative if 3 & ½ years is long or short but I’ll tell you this, there were plenty of opportunities to give up and pay the minimum for the duration of the loan. Alas, I chose to be patient and you can too.

Self-Control

You Know He Wanted to Go In After That Fish

Aah, another hard one to achieve. I practice fasting occasionally and always think that helps develop my self-control muscles. Also, not buying everything that catches my fancy does the same.

This year, I moved into a little apartment and could have spent a lot of money furnishing it but I chose to utilize what I already had and was very selective about what I purchased.

I’d also argue that market investing requires self-control. To not panic and sell when the media is reporting a downturn in the market, requires discipline. With market investing it is best to just stay the course. Are you sensing a theme here?

Joy

You know how I said I sacrificed a lot during my debt pay off phase? Initially, it felt like I was making sacrifices when I:

Moved in with my parents
Consistently packed my lunch every day
Limited the number of times I went out to eat
Stopped highlighting my hair
Stopped skiing (okay this one was a sacrifice)

However, as I continued down this road, I realized I wasn’t less happy. In fact, I even found more joy in the journey. Why? I think that reason is twofold.

Firstly, I loved working towards a goal and seeing the finish line get closer and closer. There was great satisfaction in staying the course.

Secondly, I learned to focus on the relationships I wanted to foster. I had to be creative in how to do this without spending a lot of money. Cooking dinner with friends, playing board games or taking hikes is just as much fun as spending a night on the town which costs a lot more.

Turns out that living with my folks was not a sacrifice at all. It actually was a gift. For one I realized the last time I had lived with them, I was pretty rebellious. Getting a second chance in my 40’s allowed me the opportunity to submit respectfully. It was kinda like a do-over.

Additionally, I utilized the library and started listening to podcasts which, BTW is totally free. Actually, that is how I discovered FI. A colleague turned me onto the ChooseFI radio podcast. We can all figure out the influence that one had on my life 😉

Peace

Oh yes, this is something I believe we all want in our lives. It’s an attractive concept. Heck, Dave Ramsey named his course after it, Financial Peace University.

Financial peace is something that eluded me for many years. I believe when we are lacking peace in one area, it spills out into other areas.

Inversely, when we gain peace in one area of our life, it starts to spread out into other aspects.

So what kind of peace came first in my life? Well, I got sober 8 & ½ years ago and undoubtedly that needed to happen before anything else could happen. Simultaneously I returned to faith. Through these choices, I found a new peace.

Eventually, I became ready to work on my fiances because once I had tasted peace, I wanted it in all areas of my life!

Faithfulness

At first blush, this one may not seem so obvious but let me define it according to Merriam-Webster:

Faithful –

1: steadfast in affection or allegiance: loyal

a faithful friend

2: firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty: conscientious

a faithful employee

3: given with strong assurance: binding

a faithful promise

4: true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original

a faithful copy

So when you make a financial plan and stick to it, you are being faithful. When you put up an investment policy statement because you want accountability in staying true to your plan, you are being faithful. When you pay off your debt because you made a promise, you are being faithful.

Closing

So there you have it, 5 characteristics that can be developed by taking control of your finances. And when you develop these characteristics financially, they’ll spill out into other facets of your life. Trust me, it’s inevitable.

What characteristics have you developed in your personal finance journey?

Breaking The Circuit

July 26, 2018 By Deanna 7 Comments

So I had my first podcast interview with Jason on the Everyday Money Show, which BTW is a great new podcast that I highly recommend you check out! Here is my takeaway…

My Testimony

I’ve shared my testimony many times before in the rooms of recovery but this whole financial recovery is kinda a new thing for me. Yeah, I shared it on the Dave Ramsey show, but a podcast interview is a bit more detailed. The questions swimming around in my head went something like:

Do I talk about my bottom?
Should I share the deep-rooted reasons I discovered why I fell into addiction?
Will people want to hear that stuff?
Is it too personal?
Do I glaze over the fact that I got sober?
Should I focus solely on my financial story?
Do I share my faith?

Yeah, there’s an overactive mind up in here! I tend to over-analyze everything. While this can be a useful trait in my job, it can be unnecessary in my social life. Ugh! But alas and alack I am who I am for better or for worse and I’ve learned to embrace it.

I settled on my story is a testimony to how amazing God is and just how miraculous the transformation has been. That is worthy of a share.

Sure this is a personal finance blog and I was on a personal finance podcast but heck if I’m keeping it only to money, you’ll miss out on a lot of good stuff. Plus it’s my story to tell 🙂

Nervousness? Who Me?

I wrote a post over at ChooseFI where I talked about Terry Crew’s interview on the Tim Ferris podcast. Terry reflected on the nervousness he felt in his acting career and he came to the conclusion, “if you care, you’re going to be nervous.”

Yep, I got nervous. Yep, I care. And if the day comes when I’m not nervous anymore, I need to reevaluate why I’m doing this.

Fortunately, podcasting is not live so things can be edited out. Jason set me at ease from the start by letting me know that if I didn’t like how something came out, I could stop and say it again. #powerofediting

Going Deep

While I was raw and honest about the dark and lonely place of addiction, I didn’t go too deep into why I believe I fell so hard. Do people want to hear this? Probably. People like to stare at car crashes.

And as I reflect back on this interview and feel I left the most crucial part of my story out, I wonder who it’s really crucial for. It was for me. But is it crucial for you to know?

In recovery, I uncovered the wounds of my past and it hurt. I cried a lot. Anger rose to the surface. I pushed through because it was healing I was after and not just for me but for all involved. My entire family found healing in my recovery.

I was able to reconcile with my past and find a better future.

Do I have to reveal it all? Probably not and certainly not if it will cause further hurt to others who may hear/read it.

The Whole Picture

My whole story is about the little girl who was too insecure to believe she could do anything successfully. This little girl who thought the whole world received a manual to life and she was passed by. The girl who believed a great many false things for many years and learned to hide behind a drink, a drug, a relationship or a pretty face.

You can’t tell part of my story (success with money) without telling the backdrop. I want to preface this by saying my entire past was not bad. However, here is the negative circuit that became evident to me upon getting sober.

I believed lies about myself
I drank/drug to escape
I sought negative attention
I made the outside look good
Rinse
Repeat

Circuit Breaker

I fell so hard something had to give
I surrendered and asked for help
I recognized God is bigger than me
The lies were exposed
Truth became the new norm
Relationships took a healthy turn
Money problems were faced
My Debt was paid off
Wealth is being built

Plain and simple. Solid truth. I couldn’t have done it alone. Christ is my Savior.

It’s no longer about me.

Now it’s about you and how I can help.

So You Want To Be An Investor

July 23, 2018 By Deanna 10 Comments

There is nothing wrong with hiring a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and if you do I’d recommend one with fiduciary responsibility.

What I’m not okay with is hiring a CFP because of a lack of investment knowledge. If hiring a CFP is in your best interest, you should hire someone who shares your beliefs/strategies about investing. That means first you’ll need to understand the basics of investing. My advice is to NEVER invest in something you don’t understand. It’s your money and you want it to work for you.

You took the time to make it, now take the time to learn what it can do for you.

Introducing Bite-Sized Thursdays

July 19, 2018 By Deanna 8 Comments

Hey all, I had to build up my confidence as well as become more efficient at editing my posts before I could think about publishing twice a week. I believe I’m ready and/or at least I am ready to try.

For now, my Thursday posts will be more bite-sized but I still plan on producing quality writing. Feel free to give me feedback in the comments.

Discipline and Schedules

I have a full-time career as an Account Manager for a Broker/TPA. Now I spend part of my time blogging. Additionally, I help women in recovery and women who want accountability with their finances. Then there are the things I consider high priorities: prayer time, exercise, family time, friend time and having fun. Life is good!

Anyways, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and so I decided to employ some accountability to my schedule. I am creating time blocking specific to my mornings. The first thing I want to acknowledge is that waking up every day at the same time is an act of discipline. I was inspired by reading this article by 5 am Joel. I do wake up early on the weekends, but necessarily at 5:00 AM 🙂

If you want more details into getting started doing time blocking, I recommend this article by Paul Minors.

I lived in a ministry house for one and a half years where we were expected to participate in community prayer time. This occurred in the mornings (including weekends). Additionally, we got together in the evenings to share gratitude. These practices built up a lot of discipline and certainly broke me of the habit of sleeping in on the weekends. Now my body automatically wakes up early every day.

The next step in being strategic with my time is to block it off in the morning when I feel I can be most productive before I begin the workday.

My Proposed Weekday AM Schedule

I typically do fitness classes after work in the evening but there are a few good classes that I like to participate in the morning at 6:00 AM. I certainly reserve the right to do that and on those days I will still be getting up at 5 but will shuffle a few things to the evening.

It All Starts In the Evening

The key to an early morning starts in the evening. The problem I have been facing is that I’m staying up too late working on my blog and then I still wake up early. That being said, I am commencing a no screen policy before bed. I read about Erin’s challenge to not look at any screens 1 hour before bed and thought that may be wise.

My goal is to aim to be asleep by 10:00 PM and so I know that means winding down around 9:00 – 9:30 PM. You heard it here first so let’s see if I can stick to this!

I will save the early part of my evenings for exercise, working with others and/or social activities.

Flexibility

Could I start this and fail? Sure, things may not work out exactly as I laid out but I won’t consider that a failure. This is the model I’ll strive for but I remain open to adjustments and improvements.

There it is! I am already feeling a sense of peace about a plan and for time efficiency. What are your thoughts? Do you employ time-blocking? How do you get all that you want to accomplish done in your day?