It’s this system that gave birth to (along with the men and women in uniform we honor this Memorial Day) the freest, most prosperous land in the world.  As we’ve helplessly watched an unthinkably endless flow of oil 5,000 feet underwater spread and cover the beautiful waters of the Gulf, prevent free birds from spreading their wings and halt the busiest season for the sea food industry, we are once again reminded of what can happen when the privileges of Capitalism are abused.

This is one moment in history in which some will choose to sail towards freedom, while others continue to feel stuck at bay, held hostage by fear.  Without a doubt, the significance of understanding how to make Capitalism work for us instead of against us has never been more important and it begins with the power of confidence through education.

The late Pulitzer Prize winning author (and former New York City high school teacher of 30 years), Frank McCourt explained the ultimate purpose of education as he saw it.  In his final book, “Teacher Man” McCourt shared a simple equation to answer the common question asked often by teachers and students, “what am I doing in the classroom?”; McCourt’s equation: “On the left side of the black board I print a capital F, on the right side another capital F.  I draw an arrow from left to right, from FEAR to FREEDOM.”

McCourt’s principle is so simple that it’s always applicable: at the end of the day, have we taken a step towards freedom or inched closer to fear?  Just as the bravest sons, daughters, mothers and fathers of America decide to sign up for a duty certain to put he or she in harm’s way, the reward to do something most people won’t do outweighs the risks of doing nothing: to defend a precious freedom and provide a more secure future for the generations yet to come. 

As we continue to learn with amazement, some of  the richest, smartest, most highly educated scientists and businesspeople in the world are having an extraordinary level of difficulty finding a way to make up for an oil company’s lack of a game plan.  It’s a pattern we’ve seen lately; from profit clouded decisions on Wall Street to the corporate oil leak fumble in the Gulf.  Time and time again big businesses and corporations have proven it’s common practice to put profits over the interests of clients, customers and consumers. 

With more and more signs pointing in the direction of personal accountability as the only true solution, we’ve reached a tipping point which requires us to be brave with trust.  That man or woman you see in the mirror is undoubtedly capable of making well informed decisions for today on the path to a promising tomorrow.

Choose to take the trip away from the limits of Fear into the unlimited possibilities of Freedom.

DW

A recent story in the Sunday edition of the New York Times discusses  the nearly 30 year long financial fog (which, we’ve become very accustomed to) of cheap credit, low savings and a historically high dependence on banks.  As Wall Street recovers from the most economically shocking financial crisis since The Great Depression, it’s safe to say the days of  record low interest rates, easy underwriting and care free personal finance on Main Street are coming to an end.  

Restoring a less stressful quality of life and more efficient ways of doing business mean having a trusting relationship with the local bank around the corner from home versus financing a home online or through the mail; it means the concept of save and own instead of charge and be owned provides a sense of clear financial control with the confidence that was missing as millions of home buyers made the shakiest of choices for the biggest financial decisions of a lifetime.  Decades of working and paying isn’t worth it because you are worth it. 

Test your money management IQ with the quick exercise at the bottom of this post.

Here’s the New York Times article discussing our recent history of higher personal debt and minimal savings: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/business/economy/11rates.html?scp=10&sq=sunday%20april%2011%202010&st=cse

Below are the top 5 causes of bankruptcy according to investopedia.com, list each cause in order from most common to the least common cause of bankruptcy (without searching the net for answers)

A. Divorce/Separation

B. Unexpected Expenses

C. Poor/Excessive Use of Credit

D. Job Loss

E. Medical Expenses

Answers: #1: E  #2: D  #3: C  #4: A  #5: B

DW

As the strongest motive for the most regrettable of actions, this question must be asked of fear: are you even real? or are you just an illusion that works tirelessly to convince as many living and breathing people as possible that things are always as bad as they seem?

Fear defined: to be afraid of: expect with alarm <fear the worst> (merriam-webster.com)

Negative energy loves to feed and nourish fear, which gives birth to stress, health concerns and financial worries naturally passed on from generation to generation.  Positive energy is in the business of building people up; away from the dark clouds of negativity in a place of clear and bright confidence. 

The well-being of today’s parents and the promise of future generations depend greatly on the choice between living as consumers of negative energy spread by fear or creators of positive energy burning with the flames of confidence.  Just because fear is always selling, doesn’t mean anyone has to keep on buying.

Without fear, what one crisis do you believe can improve the most?

DW

Moraga, California (Near Oakland) is home to college basketball’s surprise team which dug deep enough to not only win the school’s first big national tournament game since 1959 on Thursday, but topped it off with a trip to the “Sweet 16″. (ESPN.com)  The underdog beat the perennial powerhouse on Saturday giving the basketball nation a free lesson on the endless possibilities in life through the excitement of “March Madness”.

Sports have always been a thrilling way to experience the awesome potential of humanity: what seems to be impossible becomes possible on courts, fields and race tracks all over the world.  There must be more going on than talent and hard work, maybe it’s simply the ability of teams and people to overcome the biggest challenge: themselves.

The game was tied with less than two minutes remaining.  The powerhouse, recovering from a near devastating loss in the first round was emotionally drained and discouraged going into the second round game with the underdog; game one became an obstacle in game two.  Since the powerhouse is a “powerhouse”, the team felt some level of entitlement to win, whereas the underdog came in just happy to be there and fully aware that anything can happen in “March Madness”.  The underdog won the game by seven points extending their life in the tournament for at least another week by finding “March Gladness” in “March Madness”. 

With the “powerhouse effect”, minor past setbacks tend to trigger the downward spiral leading to “Bad Games” or “Bad Days”.  When expectations of perfect outcomes fall short in reality, more of the same become the new expectation.  Since the powerhouse almost lost game one or didn’t play perfect, game two was emotionally lost before the team even took the court.  The names of these teams are irrelevant because this is a scenario played out in sports and life every day.

For years, Mondays have been labeled as the least desirable day of the week; the expectation is that Mondays are always awful.  In the basketball game, the underdog got more focused as the game got tighter and time expired; good days and good games seem to happen when for that moment, nothing else matters.

The powerhouse was picked by many to go far in the tournament and it wasn’t their ability, work ethic or preparation that stopped them on Saturday; the powerhouse stopped the powerhouse.  The “powerhouse effect” is always caused by expectations of perfection without the acceptance of anything less.  After all, is it possible to win a championship without really being in each game?

How do you think the classic story of the underdog and the powerhouse relate to daily experiences like having a bad day versus having a good day?

DW

Surviving an earthquake must be the closest experience to living through the world’s end. Haiti’s unpredictable disaster happened without notice; it wasn’t penciled in on the calender.  A recent story in the New York Times discusses the hardship in Haiti before the devastating earthquake, “One of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, Haiti in recent years has struggled with problems ranging from near-constant political upheaval, health crises, severe environmental degradation and an annual barrage of hurricanes.” (nytimes.com)

One week, two weeks, twenty seven days passed after the earthquake when Evan Muncie was found alive under the rubble. (aolnews.com)   Did he survive because he was fully consumed by worries and unknowns of tomorrow or did he need to accept and embrace his present moment to stay alive?

Natural disasters, unforeseen health complications and all freak accidents aside, this remains true: 100 years from now everyone here will be as good as gone. 

In recent U.S. news, an endless stream of athletes, politicians, clergymen and entertainers have publicly displayed the root cause of poor financial health and real quality of life through scandals, addiction and uncovered secrets.  There’s always more money, a better experience, more attractive partner or stonger drug, but do any of these things ever lead to defining who a person is? 

Before tackling life and money at the core, what advice would you give the graduating class of 2010 to experience a well-rounded life at the highest level? 

Match the 3 tenses of time listed below with one of 3 levels of importance and share why you chose each rating.

A = Most Important  B = Pretty Important  C = Least Important

1. Full acceptance and embrace of the present 

2. Setbacks and good times of the past 

3. Unknown outcomes and hopes of the future

Feel free to comment with any related discussion.

DW

#1 Go Natural:  Over the counter cold medicine isn’t cheap and doesn’t always give the relief we need.  WebMD offers “9 Tips To Treat Colds And Flu The Natural Way” here: http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/9-tips-to-treat-colds-and-flu-the-natural-way

#2 Free Fun Learning:  http://pbskids.org/ is a great site to keep the kids busy with a little learning and bunch of fun.  Everything from games and videos to Curious George and Mister Rogers Neighborhood can be found there.   

#3 Laser Sharp Paycheck Management:  Is payday this week?  Try creating a laser sharp budget for your next paycheck.   Start with priorities, then be sure to do something good for yourself because you’ve earned it.  Make a plan for each dollar you earned and experience the power of financial control. 

The balancing act of health, family and money can be a challenge, how do you do it?

DW

For many, 2009 was the year money started to make less or more sense.  As the nation continues grinding through a historical economic crisis, individuals and families  are making rapid changes by adjusting money’s role in life while others are feeling too overwhelmed to figure out where to start.  So what’s new? (Extreme circumstances always tend to overwhelm some and present opportunities for growth, improvement and success in others.)

With the recent tightening up of credit and a quickly changing financial world, lives have been impacted all over the globe.  In an effort to contribute towards coaching more people to live financially free, step up to the financial fitness plate and share what has or hasn’t worked for you and your loved ones.

Over the past year or so, how have changes related to credit, debt and money impacted you or the lives of people you know? (For better or worse.)

DW

For some earlier than others, a time comes when we sit down to reflect on life and realize the present is what creates the future and the choices we make today are crafting tomorrow’s picture.  While it’s great to be the best employee, nicest friend or best fantasy football player, we can’t  forget about number one. (few want to remembered simply as the “the one who always worked late and stayed busy”)   Where does the madness end?  It’s up to the person who’s reflection is in the mirror!  Whether bored, busy, both or neither, every person has the same needs.  We all need to grow in a variety of knowledge and feel like our finances are moving in the right direction.  We all need a sense of contentment with where life is at presently and where things are going.  Finally, everyone needs comfort in the relationships we all hold so dear.  

Dare to have hope in your dreams and run hard into a life of self generated fulfillment!

Find out where you score below:

Financial Fitness Assessment Guide

-1 Strong:  Either on the path to or at a destination of $0 “unwanted debt”, a minimum of 4 months living expenses in savings on a forward moving mission.  Complete knowledge of where things are going.

-2 Stuck:  Over 50% of working people fall into this category.  Good credit rating, but debt balances are moving down very slowly and savings could use a boost.  20 or 30 years can go by and the financial picture looks virtually the same.

-3 Scattered:  The “pay as you go” approach.  Busy and over extended people often fall into this group.  The lack of organization causes issues by stopping any meaningful progress.

-4 Stressed:  If there was a place called “Financial Hell” this would be it.  Bankruptcy is under consideration and any way to get out is an option.

-5 Sinking:  100% aware of financial issues, but chooses the “wait and see” approach by ignoring everything to do with money.  Many times it takes complete financial failure to see the light!

Where did you score?  For anyone falling into assessment levels 2-4, Financial Fitness Mini Camp will be under way this fall!  To volunteer as a group organizer call (405) 822-8995 or coach@dawitworks.com .

DW

Formula:

A. TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME TIMES # OF MONTHS DESIRED TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE DEBT EQUALS TOTAL INCOME OVER # OF MONTHS DESIRED TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE DEBT

B. TOTAL INCOME OVER # OF MONTHS DESIRED TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE DEBT MINUS TOTAL DEBT EQUALS TOTAL INCOME AVAILABLE AFTER DEBT PAYMENTS

C. TOTAL INCOME AVAILABLE AFTER DEBT PAYMENTS DIVIDED BY # OF MONTHS DESIRED TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE DEBT EQUALS MONTHLY INCOME AVAILABLE AFTER DEBT PAYMENTS (Available for purchases and non-debt payments including housing)

Example:

A. $5,000 X 18 Months  = $90,000 (18 Month Income)

B. $90,000 (18 Month Income) – $40,000 (Total Debt) = $50,000 (Income After Debt Payments)

C. $50,000 (Income After Debt Payments) / 18 Months = $2,778 (Available for purchases and non-debt payments including housing)

Every scenario is a bit different and it may take a little coaching, but this gives an overview of what’s possible.  So why pay student loans for 20 years and car notes for 6 years?  With a little perspective, it’s easy to realize financial health is less of a circumstance and more of a choice!

DW

This is how a family can go from “doing okay” to “total financial stress!”  It’s important to COMMUNICATE with your creditors in a civil manner to come up with the best solution.  Be sure to check monthly statements and if there is an increase, contact customer service ASAP!  The following link from ehow.com explains a good way to keep credit card payments down:    http://www.ehow.com/how_5160755_prevent-card-minimum-payment-increasing.html

Feel free to contact me with any questions, I’m here to help!

DW