Each of us lives only now, in this brief instant. The rest has been lived already. So make the most thoughtful choices you can today that will lead to a better future.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Stop drifting and hoping a magic solution will appear. Instead, you can participate in rescuing yourself. Find peace by pursuing facts through trusted advisers and research rather than the blind trust of salespeople trying to sell you something by almost any means necessary.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Make decisions to deal with your debt with logic and facts, not assumptions, and worry about what other people will think. People who judge you will soon be forgotten. Nobody thinks about anyone that much.
Steve's Thought of the Day
The world is nothing but constant change. Your life is only a perception. Choose a way out of debt based on facts, not assumptions. Do what is best for your future because those that judge you will not feed you.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Do you have a greater responsibility to repair your financial past or your financial present and future? Make good choices that allow you to tackle your debt and immediately start building your emergency fund and saving for retirement. Tomorrow will be here before you know it. Lost time is a sin.
Steve's Thought of the Day
There is no sense in wasting a perfectly good financial mistake. Instead, learn from it and do better moving forward. The past is gone. Turn and face the future now.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Those who judge you for past financial mistakes are not your friends. So don't make choices about your future out of fear of what they may think. Instead, make choices based on truth, fact, and what is best for you moving forward from today.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Don't believe everything you think. Challenge your assumptions about getting out of debt. Do what is best for you, not others.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Is it less moral to file bankruptcy or to not take action that leaves you old, broke, hungry, and dependent on others?
Steve's Thought of the Day
If bankruptcy is so bad, why did our Founding Fathers specifically include it in the U.S. Constitution as protection for financial difficulties?
Steve's Thought of the Day
Maybe it is time to read what the Bible really says about bankruptcy instead of listening to the assumptions of others. Throw out your misperceptions and you'll be fine. (And who is stopping you from throwing them out?) - Marcus Aurelius
Stop listening to people that say bankruptcy is a last resort. It is neither first nor last. It is a tool like credit counseling, debt settlement, and others. For the best result, you need to use the right tool for the job.
Steve's Thought of the Day
People that tell you to avoid bankruptcy want to sell you something else are repeating something they heard or do not know what they are talking about. Get the facts and then make your own decision. Don't let an unskilled script-reading commissioned salesperson make life decisions for you.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Debt problems are like fingerprints. No two are alike. A one-size-fits-all solution will give you a one-size-fits-all result. You deserve better.
Steve's Thought of the Day
You are not your debt. Your value, self-esteem, and existence should not be defined by the money troubles you may be facing right now. Debt problems are solved with proper action, not guilt, self-hatred, and disgust.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Debt is nothing more than math wrapped in emotion. The math is easy, the emotional part leads us to do impulsive things. Not the right thing.
Steve's Thought of the Day
What type of money personality do you have? It is important to know. Take my online test now and discover how you unconsciously deal with money, credit, and debt.
Steve's Thought of the Day
How much retirement savings are you willing to throw away by dealing with your old debt instead of preparing for your financial future? Find how much you will lose by making the wrong choice. Use my online debt repayment calculator now.
Steve's Thought of the Day
Does it make more sense to ask for life-altering debt advice from an unskilled and untrained commissioned salesperson in a call center or an experienced debt coach like Damon Day that provides a customized solution for money troubles?
Steve's Thought of the Day
Throw out your misperceptions and you'll be fine. (And who is stopping you from throwing them out?) - Marcus Aurelius
Suzy Wants to Know If She’s Done Enough to Protect Herself
Suzy wrote me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you for free.
“Dear Steve,
Recently I paid off all credit cards and am debt free with exception of my car payment.
I work a Sate job, have health coverage, a 401k, and I put approximatly 300.00 per month (from my paycheck)_into my retirment fund.
I am a single parent, but, now I’m close to retirement age and do rent (at a very reasonable rent).
My question have I done enough to protect myself?
Suzy”
Dear Suzy,
The bad news is that all your years of previously carrying debt may have not allowed you to save as much as you needed to. We can’t turn back those hands of time. But the good news is that you are currently in an excellent position to save moving forward.
It certainly sounds like you’ve done a good job to prepare yourself now for retirement. You’ve eliminated your debt, your housing expenses are reasonable and if the state is matching part of your contributions into your 401k, then you are doing all you can.
With the stock market in such turmoil right now it would probably be a good idea to speak to an adviser at the 401k company and ask for advice in how to protect your retirement fund from more market drops. This might mean moving a big chunk of your investments into something less risky right now.
Call and ask your 401(k) plan administrator for some specific advice and guidance for the money you’ve already saved.
Finally, one consideration is to not fully retire right now. Maybe cut back to part time? You’ve got a state job which is typically more secure than others. You might want to hold on to it right now until the economy gets over its downturn. It would be a lot easier to retain your job now than find out latter you need to add income and have to look for a new job.
Sincerely,
You are not alone. I'm here to help. There is no need to suffer in silence. We can get through this. Tomorrow can be better than today. Don't give up.
Do you have a question you'd like to ask me for free? Go ahead and click here.
