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

Did you know that 85% of wealthy folks read two or more self-improvement, career-related, or education-related books every month? This is an interesting statistic and one that we should be paying attention to if our eventual goal is to grow rich.

You don't necessarily need to read two books every month right off of the bat, but I would highly recommend setting a goal to read at least one book per month to start. If you think that you won't have time, try to integrate your reading time with other activities. If you've got kids (even teenagers), spend some time going to the library or sitting outside on a nice day and reading together. Read while you're at the gym. If you don't have time to sit with a good book, start a free trial with Audible to see if that might be a good alternative for you.

For most of us, education will only take us so far. The key to success is continuing education, and I have found that there is a plethora of relevant and good information to be found in books. This is a habit that will truly pay dividends if you can get yourself to get into this habit. Don't wait, start today!

If you're looking for a great way to support this show and get something absolutely free that will help you to pick up the phenomenal habit of reading, give Audible a try. The folks over at Audible will give you a free 30-day trial plus two free audiobooks that you get to keep. Head on over to http://followmeoutofdebt.com/audible to start your trial today!

It's that time of the year again! Yes, Christmas is right around the corner. We're being bombarded with advertisements, which in reality probably started a couple of months ago. Stores know that we're gearing up to spend some of our hard-earned money, and they will aggressively try to capture our attention so that we're walking right in through their doors.

Did you know that this time of the year causes a large amount of stress for a lot of folks? Did you also know that credit card usage spikes dramatically at this time of the year? People are going into a brand-new year with more debt than they had before. People are willfully putting themselves into a hardship situation because they feel obligated to buy gifts that they simply cannot afford.

I believe that you have more ways to give than just with your finances. We give of our time, money, as well as other resources. For example, some of us know how to make crafts. Giving these as gifts will cost less as far as the amount of money needed for supplies for multiple gifts, and we're also giving of our time and resources (knowledge) to actually create these masterpieces.

We need to treat this time of the year like any typical month. Yes, the Christmas shopping season requires its own budget as your necessary and separate framework. Plug in the numbers and make sure that you're comfortable with the total amount to be spent and stick to the budget. This will help you to have a happy holiday season and will help you to keep yourself out of trouble financially. This will essentially make you a very cheerful giver, and that's exactly the way that it should be.

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.

What if the starter emergency fund runs out? What do you do if you're hit with another emergency? Sometimes you're hit with a double-whammy (or maybe even a triple-whammy), and when this happens, what do you do?

Well, you do have the option of using a credit card. If you decide to go this route, you'll want to have a plan in place to pay that amount back and get it back off of the credit card as quickly as possible. However, a better plan might be to earn some money quickly through a little ingenuity and imagination.

Find what it is that you're good at, and put it out there on social media to sell it as a product or a service. Be sure your price point is low enough to grab the attention and actions of others but still high enough to earn you a decent amount of money in the short-term. Remember, you need money now. That is your overall goal. Think outside of the box, and do what you need to do in order to get past the lack of an emergency fund or a shortage of available resources in your emergency fund and bounce back as quickly as you can.

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.

I was provided with a different perspective by one of my valued listeners about working for Rev.com, and I wanted to share that with you today. I have a feeling that the listener of the show who had e-mailed me is not the only one who has been frustrated with Rev.com, and in all fairness, I think that it's appropriate to discuss those frustrations on this show.

I have touted the benefits of working for Rev.com in order to earn a little additional income on several previous episodes. I have said several times that you won't get rich quick (or even slowly) using this as a revenue earning tool. Rev.com simply isn't paying out tons of money, and because everyone has different abilities, the individual experiences seem to vary quite a bit.

Tune in today to consider some of the cons on the pros and cons list of Rev.com. I personally don't mind Rev.com, and it has provided opportunities to earn some additional revenue when it has been needed, but as I had mentioned above, your mileage may vary.

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.

When it comes to money, you don't want to hide things from your spouse. The two of you should be on the same team and on the same page, and the quickest way to destroy that unity is to hide things from your spouse.

Perhaps you want to avoid a money fight. Perhaps you want to protect your spouse from what you feel might be unnecessary worry. While that's a good reason on the surface, it's not going to help you in the long run. Your spouse needs to know as much (or close to as much) as you do about your family's financial situation. Simply put, they can't help you if they don't know.

Of course, there are more serious issues that may be at hand. This could be in the form of an addiction, such as a gambling addiction. It's never easy to admit to something like this, but you do need to start this process with your spouse. Hopefully, the two of you can do what's necessary to get help before a serious problem brings on serious consequences.

It's time to have that difficult conversation with your spouse. It's time to pray together. It's time to get on the same page. This is essential and will be well worth it, especially once you are celebrating getting out of debt and getting into prosperity - together.

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.

What did you do this weekend? I decided to earn a little extra money on the Rev.com platform. I mentioned this opportunity on episodes 159 and 192. I was also busy cleaning up my budget and getting things ready for the upcoming month. I wanted to make sure that this upcoming month's budget is lined up as it should be, and I've made some corrections and improvements in the budget from previous months.

We've all had situations where we may have, simply put, screwed up the budget. Maybe we didn't want to look at the damage right away, but eventually you do have to poke your head up from being buried in the sand. Even though it may not be pleasant for us to have to realize to what extent we've trashed the budget, it is still considered to be an opportunity. It's an opportunity to learn from mistakes. It's also an opportunity to get better at this whole budgeting thing going into a brand-new month because, as you've heard before, practice makes (close to) perfect.

If you'd like to learn more about Rev.com, check out the following episodes:

http://followmeoutofdebt.com/episode159

http://followmeoutofdebt.com/episode192

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.

If you've got plans this weekend, first you'll want to make sure that your budget is ready for those plans. Many times, the weekends can be a budget-killer. We tend to spend more carelessly on the weekends than any other time of the week, and because of this, we will typically end up trashing the budget in the process.

This particular episode is not only coming out on the day before a weekend, but it's also coming out on the last weekend of the month. With that in mind, you shouldn't just be focusing on having fun this weekend, but you should also be setting some time aside to do your budget for next month (if you haven't done so already).

If you're single, then doing your budget should be easy enough for you to take care of. Simply set some time aside and get busy. If you're married, there might be a challenge to this process if your spouse doesn't particularly like doing a budget. Perhaps it's you who doesn't like doing the budget. Whatever the case may be, there's nothing wrong with one spouse taking the majority role of handling the budget. With that said, the other spouse still needs to be involved. There has to be participation in this process on both sides in order for your budgeting strategies to be truly successful. Yes, this is Budgeting 101, but sometimes we all need a gentle reminder.

So have fun this weekend but also be responsible. Head into the weekend and the new month coming up with a renewed sense of accomplishment by getting that budget of yours under control and helping you to take charge of your available resources!

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.

What do you do when you're going through lean times? Lean times fall upon all of us at one point or another. When you are in this type of particular situation, you've got to do things that may be outside of the norm or outside of your comfort zone. You're lacking resources, and you need to make up for the difference by whatever means necessary (that are legal, of course).

The obvious thing to do is to get a part-time job to bring in more income. Think about your strengths and use them to your advantage. If you're a natural salesperson, walk into your local car dealership and ask if they need help, perhaps even on a part-time basis. If selling cars isn't your thing, visit a retail store and apply to work evenings and weekends. As a bonus, see if they have any commission sales positions available to fully utilize your sales background.

Of course, going the route of a part-time job is not always a good option. Perhaps there aren't part-time opportunities right in front of you or perhaps scheduling might be a factor. This is when you need to get inventive and creative. Ask someone with a somewhat successful small business if you can help them to increase their sales by working on a commission-only basis. Are you a graphic designer? Ask small businesses if they need a new or updated logo. If you're a web designer, ask a small business owner if you can design their website for them at a reasonable cost. With websites like Fiverr.com, you can even do this on an almost global scale. If opportunities aren't right in front of you, sometimes you've got to make your own opportunities!

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.

This episode is all about PMI: Private Mortgage Insurance. Private Mortgage Insurance is money that you pay in addition to your monthly house payment to protect the lender in the event that you are unable or unwilling to continue making payments on your mortgage.

Typically, PMI is only necessary when you are unable to come up with at least a 20 percent down payment at the time of purchase. There are some creative lending products that may help you to avoid PMI, however, they are usually only beneficial to the lender. They are typically in the form of a second mortgage or other loan with a higher percentage rate than the primary mortgage loan. I don't personally recommend this. I would do what you can in order to come up with a 20 percent down payment before you consider purchasing a home.

I do understand that sometimes it's not possible to do this, so you may need to pay PMI (or perhaps you are already paying PMI). If that's the case, I would recommend to find out from your lender the date that the PMI will automatically fall off as well as the date that you will be able to request that PMI be removed. In most cases, PMI will drop off on its own when you owe 78 percent or less of the home's original appraisal amount. You may be able to request PMI to be removed once you have built at least 20 percent equity in your home, but you will need to confirm this with your particular bank or lender.

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.

When it comes to conversations about money between you and your spouse, you have to find common ground first and foremost. In most situations, married couples aren't typically on the same page at the start of things. Both parties feel that they have certain needs that should be met, and until the two of you are able to both win, you won't have much success.

This is one of those situations where silence is a bad thing. If one or both of you are being silent about how you feel and what you think is right, communication will start to break down. Once it gets past a certain point, it will be difficult to recover from unless you hit the big red reset button and simply sit down to engage in a cool, calm, and collected conversation with your spouse.

What I recommend is to find common points or common ground by talking about some of the issues at hand that affect both of you. Start talking about retirement savings, college funds for the kids, or any other goals that you both want to have success with accomplishing. Also, talk about things in life that excite you. Perhaps one of you wants a newer vehicle. Come up with ways in which both of you can have what you want without the other one feeling as though they need to give in. Learn how to negotiate in a way that keeps the relationship in good spirits.

The point here is that you want both of you to win. This will help you to realize sooner than later that the two of you can work together and can talk about money successfully. You'll also want these conversations to eventually turn to budgeting together, because budgeting together when you're married is Budgeting 101. You'll naturally lessen the money fights through successful communication, and before you know it, you'll be on the same team - and a winning team at that.

It's easy to support this show. If you are looking for some great bargains and like to shop online, check out http://followmeoutofdebt.com/deals. When you purchase something using that link, even if it's a gift for someone else, you'll be helping to contribute a small amount to keep this show of ours going. Your help is truly appreciated; thank you.