Follow Me Out of Debt | Get out of debt and get into prosperity!

Here's an alternative to paying down debt that might actually help you to pay things off even faster. I'd like to introduce you to something that I like to call The Savings Game. I would say that it's more of a strategy than a game, but it's more fun to refer to this as a game, right?

Ideally, you'll want to check with your bank or credit union to see if the savings account can be set up to not directly tie in with your checking account. In other words, your savings account has a built-in way to stay protected from taking cash out of this account at the ATM or spending from the account via your debit card.

If you can save money above and beyond your starter emergency fund in your savings account to an amount that you can use to pay off one or more of your credit cards and loans, you can knock them out in one high-octane blow. What's great about this is that you'll also boost your credit score at the same time by making a larger-than-normal payment and quickly reducing the amount borrowed and increasing the amount of credit available to you.

I hope that this alternative method allows for some folks to be able to pay off their debts faster by taking the anxiety and fear out of the equation. God bless!

What do you plan to do with your stimulus check? This is going to vary based on individual situations, of course.

Some folks are now unemployed due to this pandemic or have a reduction in hours, and some folks are blessed to continue earning income as they were before.

With this in mind, the stimulus needs to immediately go towards living expenses for some. For others, it may not be necessary to use the stimulus for living expenses at all, and in essence, it's simply extra and unexpected money.

Wherever you may fall in that spectrum, the last thing that you want to do is to screw this up. Chances are, there won't be further stimulus opportunities to use as a do-over if you don't get this one right.

You have one chance to utilize this as an opportunity to improve your situation and to allow this stimulus to lessen your anxiety as a savings security blanket in the interim while you wait to make a decision. The bottom line is to be smart, be patient, and do what's best for your current situation. God bless.

Will the new economy change the way that we work, shop, and define our wants versus our needs? I think so.

While working from home has become more prevalent, it's not a new idea. However, this among other changes are becoming more generally accepted, and I think that this may carry over past the current pandemic that we're facing to become a new norm.

We're also learning how to live with less. We are adapting to getting better at defining our wants versus our needs, and we are doing without because we have to right now in these current circumstances.

With that being said, this will also likely become the new normal for us, which means that we'll be able to prevent unnecessary purchases from holding us back from getting out of debt once this is all said and done. There truly is a sliver lining as long as we're willing to look for it, so please keep that in mind. God bless.

It's time for a monthly check-in to discuss what I've been up to as it relates to getting out of debt and getting into prosperity.

I think that it's a good idea for us to touch base once a month to see where things are at on my personal journey to get out of debt and get into prosperity, and hopefully it inspires you to continue forging ahead with your goals as well. God bless.

This has been called an unprecedented event; a true pandemic that has shut down the majority of what we know to be normal. Businesses are closed or will close, churches are moving to video or audio broadcasts rather than a physical gathering, folks are no longer able to go to work, and kids can't go to school.

How does the uncertainty of this whole situation play into what we had already planned before when it comes to our personal finances? Let's talk about that today, and let's not forget that throughout this and every other situation, God is with you. He walks with you. He holds your hand in the dark. Remember this as you navigate through this world and remind your family and friends of this as well. God bless.

You've heard it before. Someone walks into an automobile dealership and proclaims that they are a cash buyer. When you hear about these folks, they seem to be these mysterious creatures who have defied the natural laws of purchasing vehicles.

The simple truth is, they're not mysterious, and paying cash for a vehicle is more common than you might think. With this being said, there's a proper way to purchase a vehicle without going into debt. If you avoid the common mistakes that are made when purchasing a vehicle with 100% down, you'll save even more money in the end. God bless.

I've been thinking about notching things up a little and taking more drastic measures to accelerate debt payoff. One of the things that I've discovered is that it's very common for many folks who are making extra payments or increasing their monthly payments towards their debt focus to never ask if they're doing all that they can as fast as they can.

Let me explain. It's completely normal to feel a little scared when you step out of your comfort zone. Don't let that fear stop you, though. The fear that you might feel with increasing the rate at which you're paying down and paying off debt will soon turn into feelings of excitement. You'll begin to see that acceleration isn't your enemy; procrastination, hesitation, and fear are the true enemies when you're fighting your personal war on debt. God bless.

One of the best ways to know how well we're doing is to have a metric in place. This apples to being able to tell how well we are doing with our goals of getting out of debt and getting into prosperity.

How much cash we have available to us, either in the form of a wad of cash in our wallet or purse or what's available for us to use on our debit card, is a good way for us to tell where we're at on our journey. If you are just getting started on your journey, you might notice that it's difficult sometimes to even be able to carry a twenty dollar bill on your person. However, as you continue to pay down and pay off your credit cards, loans, etc., you'll have more cash resources available to you.

The bonus is that the more cash that you use for budgeted purchases, the more you will train yourself to rely less and less on credit cards. This will help you to avoid unnecessarily using credit cards as a purchasing source and going backwards with your goals by adding back on to the balance that you've worked so hard to pay down.

Use cash as a metric. It's a good way for us to see where we stand and will keep us motivated to move forward. God bless.

Have you ever wondered how you can start a successful business with little or no money? It's not easy, but it's also not as difficult as you might think.

Many folks believe that they need to invest their own money or borrow capital in order to start a business. This simply isn't always the case. Rather than starting a product-based business, instead you'll want to focus on starting a service-based business.

The easiest way to get started is to think of something that you do really well that people will pay money for in order to utilize your particular service. Because this business is service-based and shouldn't require anything more than your time, you will have minimal expenses to start things out. This is truly the best way to generate revenue with your new business in the fastest timeframe possible.

Once you've gained your first clients, the next step is to gather those all-important positive testimonials. Get folks to talk positively about your business to friends and family, then simply rinse and repeat. You'll gain more customers at a faster rate than you could even imagine, and before you know it, you'll be paying yourself a nice paycheck as your own boss in order to pay down debt that much faster. You can do this! God bless.

Planning is one thing, but action is a whole different beast. If you have yet to take that all-important first step, it's time to do that today. Don't wait until tomorrow; you won't see your goals met until you actually take the steps necessary to get out of the starting gate.

While paying off debt can be a little scary, the good news is that as you continue to reduce those balances, you will become more and more motivated to continue. You'll find yourself almost addicted to the process, especially once you realize your first several wins during the process. God bless.