I’ve said this before, but it’s amazing to me how aggressive credit card companies are, and the lengths they will go to try and “trick” the consumer. Sadly, they succeed more often than not. I think there are many people who don’t take the time to read the fine print, and get screwed in the process.

Over the past year, I’ve paid off a lot of debt. I’m down to nothing but my mortgage and a 2nd mortgage. So, I don’t have any credit cards any more. I’ve been there - done that, and have no intentions of EVER going back. I got an offer the other day that proclaimed in large orange letters on the front, 0% APR FOR LIFE*. They always throw that asterick(*) on there, don’t they? I’m sure that many times, you have heard “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. I will ammend that right here and now, and say “if it sounds to good to be true, IT IS”….the word probably can be thrown out.

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The big harry monster called Stuffitis is coming toward you. You’re running, looking for somewhere to hide. Every step you take, it gets closer. You need some way to kill the beast before it gets the best of you. In the back of your mind, you’ve already made the decision that this isn’t the path you want to take in life. Being caught in the grasp of Stuffitis is a sure-fire way of keeping you from living beneath your means, which is the only way to win with money. The more you want stuff, the more time, energy, and money you will waste in pursuit of stuff. The more you look and admire, the more that superficial want is ingrained in your mind that you need it. Then your mind begins to subconsiously search for ways in which you could make possessing it a reality. This my friends, is the essence of stuffitis. (more…)

One of the things that I particularly like about the movie, is that it contains many memorable one-liners that inspire and open the imagination to success and overcoming obstacles. (more…)

Looking for Opportunities

The trick is to spot real opportunities and know how to recognize them amidst all the over-hyped-easy-cash-programs. Real opportunities don’t come with a start-up kit. The older I get, the more I realize that the way to spot opportunites, is to question everything. Everything we do and every product we use, is there a better way to do it or use it? That’s the kind of questions that help you spot opportunites. Or realizing the direction of a new trend, and getting in front of it with solutions to the problems that will be common………find a need, and fill it.

Here’s a Sure-Fire Way to Attract Opportunity

One sure-fire way to attract opportunity, is to always have some cash set aside for true bargains. How many times have you run accross something that you knew was a super-bargain price, yet had to pass because you didn’t have the funds? That all starts with living beneath your means, which I’ve learned to do the hard way. But when you have some money set aside, there are always bargins…..things you can buy cheap and sell on eBay or other auction websites.

The Opportunity Frequency

I plan to tune in to the airwaves of opportunity better. I look back over the past couple of years, and I can see several great opportunities that came by……either I didn’t recoginize them at the time, or I was broke. Thankfully, both situations can be overcome.

I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but by how high he bounces when he hits bottom. - George Patton

Regardless of the situation you are presently in, there is a whole world out there. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own little bubble and live life going through the motions. Now is the time to break out of that!

Don’t Wait on Perfect Circumstances

Personally, I spent a lot of time thinking I had to wait and get everything just right before I started really trying to reach for what I wanted in life. One day I realized that the circumstances would never be just right, but the years keep passing. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realize that everyone has a reason or an excuse for why they aren’t where they want to be. People who have reached their goals and are actively living the life they want, don’t slow down to reflect on why they aren’t where they want to be. They just keep plowing through whatever obstacles get in the way.

There Will Always Be Obstacles…….

Even if all you want is to sit in your living room and watch TV, there are obstacles.

So the questions is, how much can you take? No matter what it is you want, there are obstacles to overcome. Even if all you want is to sit in your living room and watch TV, there are obstacles. You will be interupted by the telephone, or the electricity will go out, or an un-announced visitor will drop by, or………..you get the idea. No matter what you want, there is always something to overcome.

What is one thing you and do today that would be a step in the right direction? Just one thing…..no matter how big or small. If something comes to mind, do it. Don’t worry about whether everything is just right, just do it. Tomorrow I want you to repeat the process. I believe if we take one step, even if it’s a small step, we are closer than we were.

What About You?

Do you have a habit of waiting till every thing is “just right”? Have you put your goals off until later? Do you have dreams and goals?

1. Even though the blog was new, I didn’t feel like I was getting any traction, so I got a little bored.
2. I took on some extra work to speed up my debt repayment. I’m still not debt-free, but I’m still on track…….a little ahead of schedule actually. (yay for me!) This left me less time…..therefore I this blog is one of the things I put on the backburner.
3. Personal Finance is not something I enjoy that much. Writing and keeping track of bills is not my idea of enjoyment. It’s necessary if you want to win with money, but it’s still a chore.

So why am I back now?

I have some new ideas for this site. I would like to shift the focus a little bit from debt repayment to more of a personal growth blog. I want to write about not only money, but other issues that lead us either closer or farther away from our goals. I believe there is more to winning than just paying off debt and getting your finances in check. That’s certainly a great place to start, but life is full of victories and defeats, opportunities and setbacks. So I plan to broaden the topic just a little.

If you were reading the blog a few months back, and your reading this now, thank you for hanging with me. I’m not going to make any promises at this point as to how often I’ll post. I’m gonna take it like I’m taking life…………..one day at a time.

So, here are the top 5 things I’m currently obsessed with:

1. Paying Off Debt - This is the one thing that I’m extremely focused on right now. I think it’s like a little light bulb in my head right now that sheds light on the fact that debt robs me of freedom. The faster I can get out of debt, the sooner I can live as a free man with options, rather than a slave.
2. Blogging - I really like blogging. Although I’ve slowed down the pace here somewhat, I have another blog that has a few more readers than this one. I won’t link to it, because it’s not a financial blog, and I’m trying to maintain some level of privacy and anonymity. I may get over that at some point, but talking finances and sharing details is a little out of my comfort zone.
3. Reading - I love to read, although I’m not sure I would call it an obsession. It’s just one of those things that I do without thinking to much about it. As time consuming as it is, and as little extra time as I have, I seem to find time to go through a novel every week or two.
4. Spreadsheets - This kind of goes in hand with paying off debt, but I’m a spreadsheet junkie. I catch myself making spreadsheets for everything. I think they’re neat and easy to make. I don’t know why…….
5. Coffee - I don’t know if this would be better defined as an obsession or an addiction, but I love coffee. I drink way to much of it. The strange thing is, I don’t care for the fancy stuff. I’ve never stepped foot in a Starbucks. I just like the plain old Folgers and Maxwell House. What can I say? That’s just how I like it. It works for me.

This has been kinda fun. Thank you Tammy for the tag. I’m not sure who to pass this on to……..hmm.

]]> http://www.livingswitch.com/top-5-obsessions/feed/ http://www.livingswitch.com/top-5-obsessions/ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LivingSwitch/~3/261607557/ http://www.livingswitch.com/credit-card-companies-to-play-nice/#comments Mon, 07 May 2007 13:19:28 +0000 Tony http://www.livingswitch.com/credit-card-companies-to-play-nice/ I read a story in the latest issue of Kiplinger’s titled, Breaks On the Way for Credit Card Users by Joan Goldwasser. In the article, she reports that during this “changing business and political climate”, credit card issuers such as Chase and Citibank are adopting more consumer friendly schemes. These companies are feeling the heat from Congress and may soon be changing their ways whether they like it or not.

What’s the beef that Congress has with Credit Card Issuers?

• Double Cycle Billing
• Universal Default
• “egregious” late fees
• mail solicitations to minors
• the mailing of unsolicited “convenience” checks
• applying payments to the lowest interest rates first
• imposing over-limit fees…..after they approve the purchase!

The more I step back, I realize what SCUM these companies really are. They’re just a legitimate business, right? In my opinion, they exist to take advantage of you in anyway they can. When they back you in a corner, they gang up on you and beat you to a pulp.

]]> http://www.livingswitch.com/credit-card-companies-to-play-nice/feed/ http://www.livingswitch.com/credit-card-companies-to-play-nice/ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LivingSwitch/~3/261607558/ http://www.livingswitch.com/financial-stability-is-a-choice/#comments Wed, 02 May 2007 22:00:00 +0000 Tony http://www.livingswitch.com/financial-stability-is-a-choice/ I’ve come to realize that financial stability is a choice……at least in the long term. I realize that is a rather general statement, but it’s a broad topic. If we’re in a bad situation with our money, and we take a long hard look at our life, the far majority of people would have to admit that they are where they are because of poor decisions. That includes me. How bad the situation is depends on how bad the choices we make are.

For instance, I’m in my mid-thirties, and I have approximately $13k in consumer debt, and that’s aside from my $85k mortgage payoff. The thing is, that debt has been reduced by about $5,000 in the past year or so. I’ve been carrying this debt for years. I’m talking like seven or eight years. Now I’ve had some “unlucky” things happen(no emergency fund) and I’ve made some very poor decisions. The decisions not only got me in debt, but they’ve kept me in debt for all these years. I haven’t taken on new debt in a long time, but bad decisions have led me to spending money on other things rather than paying off debt. The debt has hung around and become part of the family. It’s an anchor holding my ship out in a stormy sea.

Now I’ve made a decision that this debt will be eliminated. Period. Whatever I have to do, I’m ready to make it go away…..forever. In order to do that, I think we have to come to a certain level of contentment. That brings me to my point. In order to ever have any money and in order to actually get out of debt, we have to find rest and contentment where we are and with what we have. If we can’t come to that place, there will always be something on our horizon that we want to spend our money on the next time we get paid.

So, the question is, are you content? I really believe that I am. Sure, there are things that I want to spend money on, but they are gonna have to wait, because I’m on a mission to clear out my debt. I’m shooting for 18 months.

]]> http://www.livingswitch.com/financial-stability-is-a-choice/feed/ http://www.livingswitch.com/financial-stability-is-a-choice/