One of the key steps required to thrive is to SAVE MONEY. Build margin between you and Murphy’s Law.

My challenge to you TODAY is to save your tax refund.

I know that you want to …

• Spend it!
• Go on vacation with it!
• Kill debt with it!
• Pay off Christmas 2011 with it!

BUT, if you do not have AT LEAST $2,500 in your emergency savings account, then you should put it directly into savings. Margin is what will allow you to think in terms of five and ten years from now instead of five and ten minutes from now.

QUESTION: What are you going to do with your tax refund?  Would you please share it with me in the comments?

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National Debt as of 2/6/2012

$15,321,143,716,542

QUESTION: Have you ever lived this way – where you used a credit card or some other form of debt to spend money that you did not have?

My question is this:  At what point in time will this type of spending stop?

What are YOUR suggestions for addressing this?

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There are some statements that are particularly telling of what I call a “broke mentality” – the thinking of a financially broke individual.

One of those statements is “How much are the payments?”

People who are not broke ask the better question – “How much is the total cost – the purchase price AND the ongoing operating expenses?”

I have observed that people who ask “How much are the payments?” are more likely to:

• Pay a much higher purchase price
• Pay a much higher rate of interest
• Be unaware of the ongoing operating expenses
• Finance their purchase versus pay cash
• Still be paying for their purchase even after that item has been discarded

We are ALL susceptible to falling into the “broke mentality” – Have you ever made decisions this way?  Would you mind sharing your story in the comments?

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• His book, The 21 Indispensable Qualities Of A Leader, was given to me by my friend and pastor Perry Noble when we were launching NewSpring Church.  This book impacted me immeasurably.
• He combined his entrepreneurial spirit with ministry.  I didn’t know that was really possible.
• He is a continuous learner.
• He makes complex topics understandable and applicable.
• His voice is ridiculously great.

Anyway, I heard him share a story once at a conference we were speaking at, and it is so good I wanted to share it with you.

5 Swings Of An Ax

Suppose you want to cut down a huge tree in your front yard and all you have is an ax to cut it down with.  You could approach it a couple of ways:

1. Go after it!  Swinging vigorously and mightily until you were completely worn out.
2. Pace yourself.  Swinging strongly 5 times each day.

If you were to choose Option #1, you could swing vigorously and mightily until all of the strength had left you body, but all you would end up with is complete exhaustion and a tree with some chop marks in it.  And because you had exhausted yourself so completely, you might not even be able to bring yourself to pick the ax back up!

If you were to choose Option #2, you would make a serious mark each day with your five swings and there would be NO QUESTION of “if” the tree were going to come down.  The only question would be “when” the tree would fall – because with this method of 5 swings of a ax EVERY DAY, it WILL fall!

This is so important when pursuing a financial goal.  If you go crazy and loco after the goal, you might make a short-term difference, but chances are high that you will burn yourself out and just give up.

Choose instead to establish a pattern of “5 swings of an ax” toward your goal.  Every single day, get up and take 5 swings toward your goal.  Every. Single. Day.

Then your goal is no longer a matter of “IF” – only a matter of “WHEN”!

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I believe that the Bible is the best money book ever written, and I really want to take some time each week to share the money lessons I have learned from the Word.

Proverbs 22:7  The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

This verse is merely an observation of reality.

When you have margin, you are positioned to fund dreams, build businesses, and have influence over others. Wealth positions you to have conversations with people that focus on “What if?” instead of “That’s impossible.” Have you noticed that people with money are the ones who are building houses, businesses, and funding huge projects?

The borrower is truly a servant to the lender. Anyone who has ran into trouble paying their bills clearly understands this part of the verse. They know EXACTLY what it means to be a servant to their lender. The lender is super nice when the money is provided to the borrower, but the sharpness of the lender’s teeth are felt the very instant that the borrower fails to fulfill their obligations.

You must perform exactly to the terms set forth in the loan agreement, or else you will have serious issues such as law suits, judgments, and harassing phone calls or even person visits from the lender.

YOU have a choice – to be rich or to be poor – and it all starts with a mindset.  A mindset of “I am not going to live a broke-to-broke life.” and “I am going to apply biblical wisdom to free myself from the bondage of debt and poverty.”

THE DAY that I decided to stop being broke was THE DAY that my family started winning with money. It happened on December 2, 2002. Of course, it was a process to move toward financial freedom, but it started with a declaration that we were no longer going to live a lifestyle beyond our income.

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Seriously, you probably have a month’s worth of canned and dry goods in there.  Yes, you will have to purchase the perishables like milk, bread, and veggies, but you could probably get by on 30% or less of your typical monthly grocery spending this month!

Here are some tips to maximize the use of your pantry inventory:

1. Pull everything out and place on the dining room table
2. Put meals together based on this total overview of your inventory
3. Write down the meals on paper so you don’t forget the ideas you have

I love these types of meals!  Is there anything better than chicken chow mein?  Or spaghetti? Or sardines and saltines? Or made-from-scratch biscuits and gravy?

For many families, doing this for just one month will save $200 or more!

QUESTION:  Have you ever done anything like this? If so, what was the strangest meal you ever put together with the items you “discovered” in your pantry?

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They believe that their financial situation determines their dreams.

They will dispute this, of course, but their ACTIONS (which speak way louder than words) indicate otherwise.  I tend to look past the rhetoric to see a real indication of belief.

I’ve found that I have been susceptible to this as well!  We are so good at self-deception.

For example, here are some situations I have seen a person say that they:

• Really want to be debt-free, but they continue to spend money without a budget!
• Really want to be debt-free, yet they pull the plastic out to charge items not in the budget!
• Want to improve their marriage, but they refuse to work with their spouse to plan their finances.
• Believe they can take a dream trip, but no money is saved for the trip.
• Want to start a business, but have never started the first step toward it because the challenge is so intimidating and daunting.

I’ve determined that I am going to pursue every dream given me.  I will surely fail at some of them, but the successes are so very worth it!

You have a choice – TODAY – to write down your dreams or to never write them down.

You have a choice – TODAY – to write down dreams regardless of the cost or to write down only the dreams you know you can afford.

You have a choice – TODAY – which will you choose?

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Here’s this month’s update!

Total Squares:  2,426

Paid-For Squares:  1070  1090

Squares Remaining:  1356  1336

% of House Owned By The Sangl’s:  44.1% 44.9%

% of House Owned By Wells Fargo:  55.9% 55.1%

Here is the updated Sangl Home Pay-Off Spectacular (click to view large size)

Another HUGE CHUNK has been paid off!  It is so exciting to see the mortgage balance declining at such a rapid pace, and we are so blessed to be able to do this!  It has now been 10 months since we cranked up our focus on the mortgage.  In that time, we have been able to pay for 8.6% of the house – that is almost 1% per month.

Jenn and I don’t take this blessing for granted. We know that we have been blessed beyond anything we could ever ask or imagine!

How are you doing on YOUR house pay-off spectacular?

If you do not have one, you can get one here => Pay Off Spectacular – House.

Read previous Sangl Home Pay-Off Spectacular Updates

It is time to prepare your budget for FEBRUARY!

Here are some great things to consider for this month:

• If you are expecting to receive a tax refund, be sure to use the Mini-Budget to plan that money also!
• Be sure to review your Known, Upcoming Non-Monthly Expenses to ensure you are not going to be caught off-guard by a surprise expense (like vacation, property taxes, or a car repair)
• Review January’s budget to see if you accomplished everything you planned

Get fired up!

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I believe that the Bible is the best money book ever written, and I really want to take some time each week to share the money lessons I have learned from the Word.

Proverbs 13:22  A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

There are two distinct parts to this verse.  Let’s focus on each part separately.

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children”

This is a very challenging statement.  It forces us to understand that we are not just supposed to look at the “here & now”, but also to the future.  Here are some key learnings I take from this:

• It’s not all about me
• I’m supposed to bless my children and my grandchildren
• The way I live my life will affect my descendents
• Blessings are generational

“but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous”

What an interesting statement to follow the first portion of the verse with!  This part is making an observation that God will bless the righteous and that those who ignore Him and His commands will have their wealth transferred to those who will pursue Him.

Question: If you keep managing money the way you are currently managing it, will you leave an inheritance for your children’s children?

Read the series

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