Live 4 Financial Freedom

We just showed the boys again today how we were over charged at the store. It was only $4.20 on that trip but like we told them that $4.20 if it happened each week it would add up to $218.40 in one year.

We had a time with the boys that four out of six stops in a row we were over charged. We were wanted to be undercharged to show them how to be ethical and let the store know you owe them money. But that hasn’t happened yet when the boys have been shopping with them.

We stressed to them to check all receipts on anything they ever buy in their lifetime. This goes for all repairs that they ever pay for. We told them to look at how much they were over charged and then figure how many hours they would have to work to pay for that amount.

You may not think it happens often but it does. I know the Customer Service department at some of our stores we shop at a lot know us well. Darlene and myself grew up basically in retail and management jobs so we probably watch pricing better than most people do.

To be Financially Free I feel we need to not only to save and invest our money but we also need to not lose money when we don’t need to. I know all Investments can go up or down and we could lose on them but with what we purchase we can control what we are willing to spend.

Same goes for asking for deals. We taught the boys that and then told them that even when people said they would give us a deal to make sure that you get the deal. We have had many times that we were told that we would be getting a deal and they forgot to give us the discount. More covered on the Podcast.

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]or Text me at 480-389-6224

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Thanks, and Have a great night.  Please Support or Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/millsway  for access to all my blogs.

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Some people don’t like to think or talk about their own budget. They may feel like it is work to do or they feel they won’t have anymore fun in life if they start following a budget.

Having a personal budget is like work. The place you work needs to spend less on expenses than they bring in for income. That is no different than your own personal budget. It is simple Math.

This is part of our Mills Way to Financial Freedom Action steps and rule that we covered with our boys. They don’t do a great job at it so we help them at least with the savings part of their budget and staying debt free.

Creating a budget is more than just making sure to place a spot of each expense. It is also important to create a payment accelerator amount in the budget. The payment accelerator amount is what we use to get our debt paid off faster and then to save towards or Financial Freedom goal.

Sometimes when I have worked with people, they had to make hard choices what they felt was hard to them. To other people their choices may seem like they should have been easy. For instance, if one family gives their kid’s $100 per week allowance and someone like us that doesn’t pay our kids an allowance, we would see that as an easy choice to cut back on in the budget. But they may not think so.

One family may spend $150 per week on Cable TV and another family like us has Antenna TV. So, for us that would be an easy expense to cut back on in our eyes but maybe not theirs.

Couples I have worked with in the past had a harder time agreeing on what to adjust than single person of course. Sometimes people made even larger reductions by downsizing their house or selling off an expensive truck they own.

I have budget sheets available for people I work with that we can break each expense out monthly and yearly. We show what the percentage of the expense is to total expenses. Then we can see that they roughly need to in investments to reach their retirement goal.

Of course, before they can save for retirement, they need to get their budget in-line and then get all their debt paid off.

Below are some suggested rough percentages that people could use as a rough guideline when doing a budget. The one I like to plug in first is 10% for your Debt Accelerator amount to get debt free and save towards Financial Freedom.

Our Budget has Needs and Wants in it. Remember we need Shelter, Food, Water and the rest of our expenses are negotiable. Yes, we need clothes but in reason. Our Clothes budget for the four of us is $1,380 a year. I have seen some people spend over $6,000 on just clothes a year. Some people think if Blue Jeans or Shoes aren’t over $100 than they aren’t any good. If people make the income to support $6,000 in clothes then good for them. But a majority of people have debt, no savings and spend more than they make so they need to look at every expense.

Here are some suggested percentage of your family take home pay after taxes and insurance. It is covered in Podcast.

Remember my disclaimer on millsway.com. I am not giving any legal or financial advice. This podcast and blog are just for entertainment.

Click here for some Side Income and Part-time Business Ideas

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]or text me at 480-389-6224.

Down here in Arizona I have golfed with so many people that had plans on enjoying retirement and playing tons of golf but things happened with their adult kids that they had not planned about.

Most people love their kids and it is hard to say “No” to them. I know that for a fact. When the boys ask me for stuff it is hard for me to ever say “No” to them. They say “Dad” and give me those cute eyes and I melt. But there are times we need to say “No” so they can grow and figure it out on their own.

One of my friends has a daughter that got Divorced and moved in with them with her two kids. That was over ten years ago. Another friend has two adult kids living with them and they each have kids also. He said he is picking up after them all the time and they don’t help out at all with pitching in towards house or food expenses. His kids are in their thirties, that is crazy. I know one lady has a healthy and stable son that has never moved out, he is in his sixties. WOW.

The three examples above are sad stories. The parents are in their seventies and eighties and still working jobs to support their adult kids. I say it is time for their kids to move out and figure it out and to pay their share of rent. All three examples of parents all have Debt also. Ughhh..

I asked my Dad for money a few times in my life and he turned me down each time. He said “Sorry son but you will figure it out, want to talk to your mom?” He was right, I did survive and figured it out. It is hard for people to say “No” to their kids but they could be hurting them more than helping them.

CBSnews.com said “Almost 40 percent of young adults lived with their parents, step-parents, grandparents and other relatives last year, or the highest point in 75 years, according to data from real estate analytics company Trulia. The research echoes findings from the Pew Research Center earlier this year, which found that 32.1 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds lived at their parents’ homes in 2014, exceeding the 31.6 percent of young adults who were married or living with a partner in their own household.”. See link below in the show notes.. Listen to the whole podcast for all the details. 

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Click here for some Side Income and Part-time Business Ideas

Millsway.com and Live4.Club

Personal Capital - Manage your money now. Smart way to track and manage your financial life. Award-winning financial tools and more.

#financial freedom #financial independence #FIRE #Hustle #Live4 #podcast #millsway

Have a great day! Bruce Mills and family

Sources and Resources from Podcast (Available in Show Notes)

Most people would say they love pets. I know growing up I had Rabbits, Fish and Dogs. As an adult I had dogs also until I was in my mid-thirties. My first dog was a Black Lab called “Flash” and he was a fun dog but I had to leave him with my folks when I moved out of the house to an apartment. My next dog was a female Golden lab called “Mariah”, she was a great dog also but tore up the yard.  Our boys would love to have a dog I know but it just doesn’t fit in our current situation.

For us the boys are busy with work and school for one thing so I would be taking care of the dog. Plus, our backyard isn’t ideal for a dog since it is a Golf Putting and practice area. My last dog would have torn it apart. Another reason a dog isn’t for us now is we travel a lot so we would have to find a place for it to stay. Also, some of our relatives are allergic to pets so they wouldn’t be comfortable staying with us. The last reason is that a dog or a pet doesn’t fit into our current budget and plans for financial freedom. But I know some of you may be saying “they are so cute”, yes, they are but there are too many reasons why not to have a pet in our situation.

I have worked with families in the past that had anywhere from one to four pets in their house which they couldn’t afford. They weren’t saving for retirement; they weren’t saving for their kid’s college and they were all in major debt problems. A pet to most people is a “want” not a “need” like we covered before in rule 38 of the Mills Way to Financial Freedom Rules.

For those of you that track your expenses you will know that they can get very expensive. One of my dogs averaged us around $1,800 a year or $150 per month. I know that number can change depending on the health of the pet and how much you pamper them. I am sure there are some people that drop a ton of money a year on their pets.

Some people have Dogs, Cats or even Horses as pets. The cost per year is going to be a lot different from a Dog or Cat to a Horse. So, I will give some examples in the podcast.

Let me know your thoughts about this blog and let me know of others you would like me to do in the future. I feel we can all learn from each other. That is why I am in the helping people retire early, enjoy life more and be more successful. Also, please see my Disclaimer page.

Don’t give up on your dreams; don’t let others talk you out of your dreams. Make your dreams happen. Make it happen today.

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]or text me at 480-389-6224

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Click here for some Side Income and Part-time Business Ideas

Thanks, and Have a great night.  Please Support or Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/millsway  for access to all my blogs.

Millsway.com and Live4.Club

Personal Capital - Manage your money now. Smart way to track and manage your financial life. Award-winning financial tools and more.

#financial freedom #financial independence #FIRE #Hustle #Live4 #podcast #millsway

We all probably have different meanings of what a “Need” or a “Want” is to each of us. We have tried to get our boys in the habit of looking at things as a Need or Want when they want to buy something.

Of course, it would be nice to buy only Needs until we are Financially Free but that is not the real world. I am not saying it isn’t possible but I don’t know of anyone that hasn’t bought a want sometime in their lifetime.

In life every thing we strive to be in balance even though it is hard to achieve. When we get out of balance in one area then another area suffers. Same goes with buying too many Wants versus Needs. If we spend too much on Wants then maybe our Budget is out of whack, we could get in debt or take longer to reach our Financial Freedom goals.

Basic needs we need is a roof over our head at night when we go to bed, Food for our body to have energy for the day, Water to drink for our body and Air to breathe. We also need Money to purchase those items.

To find money for the basic needs we have we need a source of income either from Savings, Investments, Job or other outside sources. If we have a job, we would have some more needs and if we have kids, we have even more needs. More is covered in the Podcast.

Positive Quotes

Here are two positive quotes I like; “There is no way to happiness; happiness is the Path.” By Buddha

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” By Peter Drucker

“Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life” by Wayne W. Dyer

Let me know your thoughts about this blog and let me know of others you would like me to do in the future. I feel we can all learn from each other. That is why I am in the helping people retire early, enjoy life more and be more successful. Also, please see my Disclaimer page.

Don’t give up on your dreams; don’t let others talk you out of your dreams. Make your dreams happen. Make it happen today.

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]or text me at 480-389-6224

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Thanks, and Have a great night.  Please Support or Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/millsway  for access to all my blogs.

Millsway.com and Live4.Club

Have you ever co-signed on a loan for someone before? If so, how did it work out? I have had many friends that co-signed loans from student loans to personal loans for their kids, relatives or friends and some of those loans they ended up having to pay them off. I co-signed on a couple of loans and they both worked out but at times I lost sleep worrying about getting stuck paying for them. I tell myself I won’t put our family in that position again.

We have told the boys many times that we won’t co-sign on any student loans or personal loans for them. We love them all but we don’t want to be on the hook for the loans. Also, we want them to learn to only count on themselves and to save up the money before buying something so they don’t need to get any loans.

You may think I am crazy but it is possible. We all have many choices in life and we can put off things till we can afford them. I know our society pushes us to borrow money and enjoy things today. That is why so many people are in debt in the United States.

We walked in Kohls department store on Thanksgiving night when Logan wanted to buy a Nintendo Switch and right in the front door, we were stopped by a Kohls employee who had a clip board. She asked if we had a Kohls Credit Card. Of course, she had a sales pitch on the values of having a Kohls Credit Card but not the negative things like high interest rates and being in debt. In the last month I have been asked at many places like Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart and more. Think of all the places you shop that ask you to open up a credit card.

We told the boys if they ever want to co-sign on a loan, they need to be prepared to take over the loan if the person decides not to pay on the loan anymore.

Let me know your thoughts about this blog and let me know of others you would like me to do in the future. I feel we can all learn from each other. That is why I am in the helping people retire early, enjoy life more and be more successful. Also, please see my Disclaimer page.

Don’t give up on your dreams; don’t let others talk you out of your dreams. Make your dreams happen. Make it happen today.

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Thanks, and Have a great night.  Please Support or Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/millsway  for access to all my blogs.

Sources and Resources from Podcast (Available in Show Notes)

Prime reason why you should do Action Step 3 of the Mills Way to Financial Freedom 10 Action Steps just happened to us recently. I got a call from Darlene and she said that when she was leaving for work at 1am that the Garage Door wouldn’t close all the way down. It would go three quarters of the way down and stop and then go back up or just stay there at times.

I did my normal you tube search of how to fix our household issues. I tried what I learned on the videos like making sure the sensor lights were matched up, the tracks were straight, wheels were oiled. But nothing worked.

So, I called the Garage Door repair company and they said that it may be a Mother Board to the Garage Door Opener. So, they lined up a repair person to come to our house the next day. When he got there and walked in our garage, he knew right away what the problem was (See Photo Above of the Broken Spring). He pointed up to the Springs above the Garage Door and showed me where they broke.

Bummer I said. It’s Christmas time and now we had to fix the garage door. The bill was $400. This is a prime reason why to have $1,000 Emergency Starter Fund in Action Step 3.  Since we have an Emergency Fund, we were able to pay for the Garage Door Repair easily. Even though it is never fun for me to spend money on repairs. But it comes with home or car ownership. On the Podcast we cover a lot of ideas on how to raise the money.

Positive Quotes

“Take Action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.” By Dr. Steve Maraboli

“The Future Depends on What You Do Today.” Gandhi

Let me know your thoughts about this blog and let me know of others you would like me to do in the future. I feel we can all learn from each other. That is why I am in the helping people retire early, enjoy life more and be more successful. Also, please see my Disclaimer page.

Don’t give up on your dreams; don’t let others talk you out of your dreams. Make your dreams happen. Make it happen today.

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Thanks, and Have a great night.  Please Support or Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/millsway  for access to all my blogs.

Millsway.com and Live4.Club

Weddings are a fun and very emotional time. They can also be a very expensive time. We get all caught up with the excitement of the event or party and can lose control of the cost if we use a credit card instead of paying cash.

Start with having a Wedding Budget is a key. Sitting down and deciding on how much you both want to spend on the wedding, reception and honeymoon. Also ask both sets of parents if they want to give any money towards your wedding. It is your wedding and you aren’t entitled to any money, it is there choice to help you out or not.

Setup a Checking Account just for the Wedding expenses. Both names should be on the account. Stick with your budget. If they agreed on $250 for a dress then you shouldn’t buy a $800 dress unless you both agree on a revised budget. No need to go into debt for a wedding.

Don’t think you have to have a big wedding or reception. Some people who don’t have the money can just go to the courthouse and get married for little cost. You don’t have to go on a honeymoon if you don’t have the money for it. We were married we never went on a honeymoon. We figure everyday we are together is our honeymoon. LOL

Pay cash is the way to go so you don’t go into debt for this special event. I would suggest opening up a joint checking account so you both have access to the funds for the wedding. Both of you can deposit the money you have decided to spend on the wedding. If your parents decide to give money towards the wedding then that money can go into your wedding budget checking account fund.

Here are some ways people I know have kept the costs low when getting married. Like I said before if you want to have a really low-cost wedding just go to the courthouse and skip the reception and honeymoon.

Keep the Wedding Costs Low Ideas are on the Wedding Budget Podcast. Listen to it today!

Let me know your thoughts about this blog and let me know of others you would like me to do in the future. I feel we can all learn from each other. That is why I am in the helping people retire early, enjoy life more and be more successful. Also, please see my Disclaimer page.

Don’t give up on your dreams; don’t let others talk you out of your dreams. Make your dreams happen. Make it happen today.

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Thanks, and Have a great night.  Please Support or Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/millsway  for access to all my blogs.

Millsway.com and Live4.Club

We have the Mills Way to Financial Freedom rules that we teach our boys. Today let’s talk about the main Action Steps that we teach our boys so they can work towards reaching Financial Freedom.

They could have your own action steps on their journey to Financial Freedom or if they choose to go in different order than that is their choice. They could also go at different speeds and that is their choice. They just have to be able to live with the possible consequences good or bad. A lot I would say would start with what their goals are.

Action Steps

Let’s dive in on what the Mills Way to Financial Freedom Action Steps are that we taught our boys; (On Podcast Listen to)

Our Mills Way to Financial Freedom rules help tie into the above 10 Action Steps to Financial Freedom. We have to remind them that if they are in debt that they won’t get out of debt overnight. There is no magic wand to help them with it. Normally people get in debt overtime and enjoyed spending the money so now they need to pay for the fun they had.

It is such a better feeling being debt free then it is when you are in debt. Or even worse drowning in debt and trying to figure out what bills to pay next month. I have been they’re and that is what drives me to help our kids and others not to be in that debt black hole. If you know anyone that needs help to reach Financial Freedom please pass on my contact information to them.

Positive Quotes

Here are two positive quotes I like; “There is no way to happiness; happiness is the Path.” By Buddha

“Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life” by Wayne W. Dyer

Let me know your thoughts about this blog and let me know of others you would like me to do in the future. I feel we can all learn from each other. That is why I am in the helping people retire early, enjoy life more and be more successful. Also, please see my Disclaimer page.

Don’t give up on your dreams; don’t let others talk you out of your dreams. Make your dreams happen. Make it happen today.

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Thanks, and Have a great night.  Please Support or Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/millsway  for access to all my blogs.

Millsway.com and Live4.Club

It would be really hard or impossible to know everything about everything even though my teenagers think they do. LOL Building a Financial team is one of the Mills Family Financial Freedom rules we cover with our kids.

Since it is hard to be an expert at everything that is why I feel it is so important to build your own Financial Team. A team that can help protect you financially and legally so can retire with Financial Freedom.

Of course, depending on how much your Financial Nest Egg is depending on how much you will need to have your team around. I would guess a billionaire would almost have some of the below team members be working full time for them.

Darlene and myself aren’t at Financial Freedom yet but we are on our last step towards achieving it. So, for now we don’t need our team very often but we have a team that we know we can count on them. We trust them and know that we can call them and they can help us out.

Our Financial Team may not be the same as you need or want. This is just what we have for our Financial Freedom goals. Here is what our team looks like: See MillsWay.com for the full list if you don't listen to it in full.

Here are two positive quotes I like; “There is no way to happiness; happiness is the Path.” By Buddha

“Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life” by Wayne W. Dyer

Let me know your thoughts about this blog and let me know of others you would like me to do in the future. I feel we can all learn from each other. That is why I am in the helping people retire early, enjoy life more and be more successful. Also, please see my Disclaimer page.

Don’t give up on your dreams; don’t let others talk you out of your dreams. Make your dreams happen. Make it happen today.

Visit my Podcast at www.Live4.Clubon Anchor.fm, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Breaker Audio, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, i-tunes, Apple Podcast and more. If you would like to be a guest on my Podcast drop me an email at [email protected]

Support me at Anchor.fm/Live4, Patreon.com/Millsway or Paypal.me/Millsway

Thanks, and Have a great night.  Please Support or Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/millsway  for access to all my blogs.

Millsway.com and Live4.Club