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

There is a specific moment in our lives that we can pinpoint when we've finally had enough. This is the moment that I like to refer to as the turning point. It's a point when we actually feel ourselves doing something so dramatic that we almost don't recognize the person looking back at us in the mirror!

When the spark of change comes, it's important for us to identify this opportunity. We all have pain points, and some of those pain points speak more loudly than others. When we identify what's truly bothering us in our lives, we have a unique chance to do something different in order to improve the situation. This is the specific turning point when we're introduced to somebody else in the mirror. We've now got a renewed sense of purpose. We now have something to fix that's broken, and we're finally up to the task.

Stop for a few minutes and think about your turning point, especially a turning point that has to do with your personal financial situation. When did you decide that you've had enough when it comes to debt? When did you realize that you wanted more in life aside from just getting by? Visualize that moment and allow it to boost you forward to do things differently and get out of debt as soon as possible! God bless.

Why is determination so important when we're trying to get out of debt (or trying to accomplish any other goal)? One reason is because determination in of itself is a natural motivator that keeps us going. This is incredibly important when it comes to accomplishing our goals.

Often times when we realize that there's a problem, this will cause the brain to go into problem-solving mode. We try to come up with a solution or an answer to the problem, and this resolution actually becomes the source of our motivation: our core determination.

Determination keeps us going for the long haul. Determination keeps us from getting lazy. We utilize determination to get us through the tough times because while we may not be able to see the end, we already know what our expected outcome is going to be.

Determination may not be the only thing that we need, but it certainly is the key that's needed to get things started. God bless.

You don't want to cut up those credit cards just yet, even if you are getting out of debt. The primary reason is because of the hit your credit score might take. You'll want to at least take this into consideration because a healthy credit score is still important.

Of course, if you're someone who may go back to bad habits once you have paid down or paid off your credit cards by charging more and getting yourself back into the same predicament, then by all means, close the accounts. It's more of a question of whether or not you trust yourself, and only you can truly answer that question. Even if your credit score does take a hit, the good news is that it likely will only be a temporary hit. You should eventually recover as you continue to move forward with your debt payoff strategy, but you'll want to keep an eye on things over the next several months once you begin closing credit card accounts.

For the others who have a good level of control over their spending habits and who have learned their lesson by being burned once already, I don't see any reason to close credit card accounts and take the credit score hit because of it. Credit scores aren't just about getting access to credit. Credit scores are also important in determining what you'll pay for insurance, refinancing your home, and in some situations, whether or not a prospective employer may hire you. They really are crucial, and anyone who tells you otherwise is not guiding you properly.

At the end of the day, it is up to you, your level of comfort, and your own unique financial situation. There's no cookie-cutter approach to personal finance, so take the time to determine what's best for you. The bottom line is that the common goal for all of us is to get out of debt and one day get into prosperity. God bless.

What do you do when the going gets good? If it's not going good for you just yet, trust me, it will. When it does, you'll want to be well-prepared for this exciting time in order to make the most of it.

Of course, we've all heard the saying about when the going gets tough, right? Well, here's the thing... we can look at things from the perspective of life being tough or we can look at things from the perspective of being thankful for what we do have going for us at the present moment. A positive attitude will beget more positivity in our lives. There is an answer to every problem, there is a way out of any mess, and the key is to be positive in order to realize these things and uncover these truths.

The bottom line is that many of us have gotten so used to having problems that we may not know what to do when we actually begin to win. While the ways to win differ for each and every one of us, the important thing to note here is to take it slow once winning does happen. Celebrate a little. Take some time to enjoy the ride just a bit. Then get yourself on track and move forward to focus on utilizing your newfound success in an analytical way. Whatever you do, be careful not to blow any opportunities once they do present themselves, and you'll soon find yourself on a carefully planned path of better days ahead. God bless.

Today I'm responding to two listener e-mails. Did I mention how much I love our community?

To-do lists help us to stay on track and stay organized, and this is why I love them. I have used to-do lists for many years, but it wasn't until recently that I had realized that there is a much better way of utilizing to-do lists than simply checking off some items on a piece of paper.

What I had realized is that while I was jotting down every little thing that I wanted to accomplish, I was actually diluting the overall sense of urgency of my entire to-do list. I had no idea what was a priority and what wasn't, and because of this, my actions were not focused or properly balanced when it came to accomplishing my bigger goals.

I've come to the conclusion that the best method to create to-do lists is to define the problem, think of a task that will fix or help fix the problem, then do a mind-map exercise that easily goes along with defining my task or goal that I want to complete. Doing so has helped me to drill down a bit before I actually build my to-do list. Overall, I'm left with a higher quality to-do list that results in a higher rate of completion because I get to know the true urgency of a given task by asking the right questions before I even put it down on paper as a to-do item.

Learn how to get your to-do list properly organized, properly analyzed, and sitting on one list. It will make your life so much easier, and you'll be more focused on completing what's truly important in no time at all. God bless.

It's that time of the year! When it comes to shopping for Christmas, including Black Friday specials, do you typically find that you spend to the point where you have no idea what had happened that ended up wrecking your finances come January? Most of the time when this happens, it's usually because of poor planning. This year, we're going to change that.

There are many ways that we can enjoy the giving spirit of Christmas while still staying on track with our finances and with our plans to pay off our debt. First, and most importantly, don't go into more debt to shop for Christmas gifts. Giving is terrific to do, and I would never tell folks to not give. There are plenty of ways to give without spending a fortune and putting yourself deeper in debt because of this.

If you're a particularly crafty person, have you considered making gifts for friends and family at Christmas? This could be a creative and fun way to stretch the holiday shopping dollars and bring true joy to others when they receive something that comes from the heart.

If you're not all that crafty and would prefer to go the retail store route, consider shopping at stores offering free layaway. It's a great way to start shopping early and giving yourself plenty of time to pay cash for your purchases while staying on track with your Christmas budget at the same time. If you haven't done so this year, you could also consider a Christmas savings program with your local financial institution to get a head start on next year. This helps you to save for Christmas shopping all year long.

There are many ways to help yourself to truly enjoy this time of the year and not use this time as an excuse to go off track and wreck the budget over the next several months. You'll be happy that you planned and executed those plans appropriately, and you'll thank yourself come January. God bless.

There are bargains to be had at the local thrift store. If you're wise about this, you could combine shopping for clothing and other items at the thrift store along with shopping at your local dollar store and limiting your grocery spending. This triple threat will equal more cash in your pocket and more financial resources to aim at paying off debt.

What we've learned about thrift store shopping is that you can't try it just once. You have to give it several attempts because the inventory changes almost daily, and you may not find what you're looking for the first time. You also have to have an open mind and search out the best quality items from what's available with almost every trip. Prices are sometimes negotiable but not always. The bottom line is that you'll end up saving so much money by shopping at the local thrift store that you won't really care much about negotiating prices, anyway.

If you've been listening for a while and would like to help support this show, it's really easy to do. Simply go to http://followmeoutofdebt.com/support and select your level of monthly support. Your contribution helps to keep this show going, and even if you're not ready to support the show just yet, it'll still be published for you to listen for free each and every week. God bless!

You have to speak truth when it comes to your current debt situation. We have to be real and speak the truth as far as why we are on this journey of getting out of debt. All of us will come across at least one or two road blocks and other challenges along the way that may set us back and derail our progress.

When this happens, it's incredibly important to make the decision that giving up is simply not an option. A large part of how we do this is by remembering the why in all of this. When we speak the truth into the situations that we face, we are reminded of what first brought us to the moment when we decided that we were going to live a different life free from a large debt burden. It's never a good time to give up, and we must persevere, especially when times get tough.

If you've been listening for a while and would like to help support this show, it's really easy to do. Simply go to http://followmeoutofdebt.com/support and select your level of monthly support. Your contribution helps to keep this show going, and even if you're not ready to support the show just yet, it'll still be published for you to listen for free each and every week. God bless!

Using a cash envelope for grocery spending is a great way to control how much you're spending in this budget category in any given month. There's something about driving to the bank or the ATM to fill an envelope with a pre-determined amount of cash that physically and psychologically sets a limit as to how much we're going to spend at the grocery store.

There's no doubt that the grocery line item in the budget is typically one of the larger line items for most of us. If we can be in better control of this particular line item and be able to prevent going over what we had previously budgeted, this will almost always put us at an advantage financially. What's more, if we do go over in the form of running out of cash and need to reach for our debit card to make up the difference, we can utilize this information to tweak our grocery budget for the following months. Over time, we will vastly improve our chances of correctly estimating how much we are going to be spending on groceries in any given month.

I've noticed that when we had decided to go back to using cash to pay for groceries rather than using our debit card, we found ourselves being more focused on our grocery spending overall. Personally, I've put back snacks or desserts that weren't really essential to have for the week because I didn't want to run the risk of overspending what was already determined by the amount of cash in our grocery spending envelope. My wife and I find ourselves coming up with shopping solutions to lessen our grocery bill, and it's all because we want to stay in bounds with the amount of money that is in our envelope each and every week.

If you're currently using a debit card to pay for groceries every week, take a few weeks and try spending from a cash envelope instead. You may be pleasantly surprised by how much you can save on groceries by just making this small adjustment. God bless.