Follow Me Out Of Debt | Get Out Of Debt And Get Into Prosperity!

Have you tried shopping at Dollar Tree yet? If not, you may be spending a lot more money on many of the same items that you could be picking up at Dollar Tree for just a buck.   Whether that's holiday decorations, snacks, cleaning supplies, office supplies, back-to-school items, party supplies, or more - you won't be able to beat the price of $1.00 per item. The money savings alone makes this store one that you do not want to ignore. Clipping coupons won't save you nearly as much if you do this to shop at other stores, and what's more, Dollar Tree accepts coupons on many items, so the deals are even more exceptional!   If you live near a Dollar Tree or another dollar store, give it a shot and see how much shopping at this particular type of store can save you. Frugality is truly important not only when you're getting out of debt but also when you're getting into prosperity. God bless.

Does it seem like your budget is failing you sometimes? When it comes to budgeting, it can be easy for some and more difficult for others. There is a wide spectrum as far as that is concerned, and we've all likely experienced a month or two when the numbers don't calculate the way that we would like.   It's true. We've all been frustrated with our budgets at one time or another. What's important to note here is that our budgets play a crucial role and have the power to force us to face what's truly wrong. We simply can't bury our heads in the sand because the math doesn't lie, and that's the beauty of the budget.   The budget allows us to see when we have failed, and this isn't a bad thing. It's actually an opportunity for us to be able to improve our budgets for the following month. We can see when we've spent more than we had originally planned. If we never change our behaviors to correct this, our budgets will always reflect these bad habits.   The question is, how do we correct these bad habits? For one,

Adopting these top ten frugal habits can save you up to $1,000.00 in any given month (sometimes more). Now, this list isn’t in any particular order of importance. I believe that they are all equally important, and the more that you are able to implement on this list, the more money you will save.   The first habit has to do with your morning routine. If you find yourself stopping by your local Starbucks on the way to work (or any other expensive coffee bistro, for that matter), simply stop. To be honest, even when I was a coffee drinker, I didn’t care much for Starbucks, anyway. I know a lot of Starbucks fans out there aren’t going to like hearing this, but I think that their coffee tastes way too strong. I recall ordering Starbucks coffee only on a handful of occasions, and I had determined that I simply don’t like the taste. For the purposes of this show, it’s less about taste preferences and more about the money that you’ll save from avoiding expensive orders of coffee altogether. Your approximate total sa

Today you'll learn how you can actually become a better saver while you are in the process of paying off debt. It's not as difficult as you may think, but with that said, it will still take some focus and a little determination on your part to get this thing off of the ground.   Most of the time, when many of us come across a month where we're short on financial resources, we'll reach for the credit card in order to make up for the difference. Of course, this isn't a good thing if we're trying to get out of debt. Doing this repeatedly can easily get us into a bad habit where we're constantly taking two steps forward and five steps back. Understandably, we simply don't want this.   Instead, I started thinking about ways that I could somehow prevent this from happening by using a type of sinking fund (for lack of a better term). I decided to save up enough money to provide wiggle room from month to month for added expenses that didn't qualify as an emergency but still needed addressed. The emergency fund is sti

A support system is incredibly important when you are in the process of getting out of debt. Getting out of debt is a lofty goal, and it's difficult to go at it alone. Having other like-minded folks on your side to have your back when times get tough or to celebrate the wins with you is paramount.   What's amazing is when you are not doing this alone and have a support system in place, you will actually see yourself accomplishing your goals more quickly. A support person or team will not only cheer you on but also hold you accountable. You'll receive feedback that will help you to correct course if you're on the wrong path.    If you do not have a support system in place, take a few minutes and think of some friends or family members who will truly help you with achieving your goals. You'll be amazed at the sheer power of collaboration. God bless.

There is true freedom to experience in minimalism. Minimalism isn't exactly a new topic, but it is one that I prefer to revisit from time to time on this show because I do feel that it is an important lifestyle to consider. This is especially true if you are in the process of fixing your current financial situation. Truth be told, minimalism and getting out of debt and getting into prosperity highly compliment one another and help to make either journey that much easier.   The less that we feel that we need to surround ourselves with, the easier it will be to target our debt with our available financial resources. What's more, once we put a few dents in our debt (or get rid of it entirely), we will no longer desire the things that likely helped to get us into that horrible spot in the first place. Your continuing journey of getting into prosperity once the debt is gone forever will be more of a downhill path when you're paving the road beneath you with wisdom and minimalism.   If you haven't considered minima

Out of all of the budget line items that exist in your standard budget, the grocery budget line item is typically the most frustrating at times. We start out the month with the best intentions of sticking to our grocery budget, but for one reason or another, this particular category in our budget seems to have a way of getting out of line. We find ourselves either changing our budgeted amount for this category mid-month or simply going over budget.   Why is this? In most situations where you have a family to feed and several schedules to balance, grocery shopping may lack essential planning from the start. Unless we're sticking to a list and not deviating from that list except in very few circumstances, we run the risk of going over our allotted budget. What's more, if we have busy schedules and find ourselves eating out more frequently because we lack the time to prepare meals, certain food items that we have purchased may spoil or rot and end up in the trash.   While I do spend some time today discussing so

Have you ever caught yourself dreaming of becoming an author of a best-selling book or a director of an award-winning movie?    Maybe you have or maybe you haven’t, but in today’s episode, I’m going to be talking about how each and every one of us is able to write our own story.   We all come from different walks of life, and all of us have our own personal struggles. They’re not always financial struggles, either. Sometimes we have health, relationship, or other struggles that coincide with our financial difficulties. Some of us may even find that by looking more closely, we can trace many of our current troubles back to financial difficulties. This makes us beg the question: What can we do?   The answer to this question is definitely not to sit and let life pass us by. What we need is a solid script, or a plan, to guide us to where we need to be. We have this unique opportunity here to write our own story, and we get to play the leading role. While we may not have control of where the story goes, we do have

I'm not a gambling man, but this is almost a sure thing. If we're in the process of getting out of debt and getting into prosperity, we're essentially betting against broke. Going down this road can be a bit scary at times, and we are likely going to come across road blocks, hurdles, and other problems. There's not much that we can do to avoid these things, but we can still persevere.    There are an almost unlimited amount of ways for us to go broke and very few ways for us to gain wealth. The odds are stacked against us in this journey of getting out of debt and getting into prosperity, but we have a unique weapon in all of this: our innate ability and desire to do what it takes to accomplish our goals. We're ready for the challenges. We're ready to meet and exceed our own expectations. We're ready to change our lives for the better from here on out.   This is why I say that this is a comfortable bet, even for someone like me who's not a gambling man. Betting against broke in a situation where we do have so

What are the things that are stopping you from earning more income? While the answers may vary for each of us, the majority of folks will find that they will come across some of the same roadblocks along the journey of getting out of debt and getting into prosperity.   First, you'll likely hear advice from well-meaning friends or family members on the subject of personal finance. Some of the advice is good, but a majority of it is questionable at best. You truly have to filter the advice given, but at the same time, you don't necessarily want to be rude. Simply listen to what they have to say but discern whether or not you should act on the advice given.    I also believe that buying stuff instead of investing in yourself is a definite way to prevent yourself from earning more income. We tend to place great importance on consuming and very little importance on self-improvement. If this sounds like you, do what you can to change this behavior as soon as possible so that you are spending dollars on that which w

Saving money on groceries doesn't need to be difficult. As a matter of fact, you can learn how to save money on groceries right now. We're not talking about clipping coupons, either (although this could save you even more money when you combine clipping coupons with this advice). We're going to walk through some truly simple steps that will likely save you a hundred dollars or more each and every month.   Somewhere in the last month and a half or so, we stumbled on this method that allowed us to truly save some money on groceries. If you're like us, you'll find that the grocery budget line item is one of the largest in your monthly budget. Any savings that we can bring to reduce this line item in the budget will be helpful.   Briefly stated, we have started to plan our grocery shopping trips before heading out the door. We now have our grocery list with us when we go shopping rather than looking at the shelves to give us ideas of what to buy. By only browsing the shelves to figure out what to buy at the groce

Here are five ways that you can implement immediately to improve your life. While everyone is different, these five methods should work for most folks who are looking for more energy, less stress, and the ability to accomplish more tasks and goals.   First off, we need to make our health a priority. Proper sleep, diet, and exercise are incredibly important. You can't enjoy your wealth without your health, so keep this mantra in mind as you make your way through the course of paying off debt in order to get to the point where you are finally able to get into prosperity. Take care of yourself throughout the entire process. You'll be happy that you did.   Next, do a little something that is related to your goals each and every day. The point is to move forward with your goals just a little more every 24 hours. Taking these small steps and actions will actually compound over time and lead to massive results.   Third, keep a journal. It will help you to empty the contents of your mind into a more tangible black-an

Are you looking to claim more time for yourself? Do you need to spend more time with your family and friends? It's time to change the way that you approach work in of itself and in all of its forms.   We've all heard this little saying that tells us to work smarter, not harder. It has appeared in books, magazine articles, and even other podcasts. I've said before that I prefer working smart and hard, and I truly do believe in this, but today I'm exploring this concept a little more thoroughly so that we can really gain some effective time management skills when it comes to how we earn our living and spend our time.   To start out with, we need to keep away from what I call decision fatigue. Simply put, we have too many choices that we have to make in our day-to-day lives, and we find ourselves spinning our wheels and spending more time making those choices than actually taking any real action. For example, many of us have a monstrous to-do list that includes tons of separate actions to take. In reality, we ju

Here's how you can get hired at DaDa at the highest pay possible.    I have received lots of questions on episode 290, where I discussed getting hired to teach English to kids online through a company called DaDa. To learn more about the company and to apply, give episode 290 a listen if you haven’t done so already or simply visit http://followmeoutofdebt.com/dada to go right to DaDa’s hiring page.   Many of the questions that I have received have been from listeners who wanted to know the step-by-step process to apply, get interviewed, and get hired at the highest pay possible at DaDa. I decided to do a separate episode to answer all of these questions as well as provide you guys with a roadmap to help you along the way if you are interested in applying for part-time work from home teaching Chinese kids English online at DaDa. Once again, the American English version of the website that contains all of the info that you need, including the link to apply, can be found at http://followmeoutofdebt.com/dada.   L

Get ready to learn about the best online part-time job! This truly is going to be a great opportunity for you if you are someone who loves to teach. The pay is realistically between $13 to $22 per hour, and you can work as little as four hours per week.   Does this sound too good to be true? It's not. This is tried, true, and tested by yours truly. I've researched tons of opportunities, and I will only discuss the opportunities on this show that benefit most of my listeners. What's unique about this particular job is that you don't need to be a certified teacher, but if you have some teaching experience, you can become an online English language teacher for students (ages 4 to 16).   The company's called DaDa, and it's based in Shanghai, China. You'll want to follow along while you listen to this particular episode by going to http://followmeoutofdebt.com/dada (this link will take you to the American English version of the company website).    Working for DaDa will not only provide you with an opportunity to

Let's get a little nostalgic today. We're going to look back to the good ol' days before we had debt. Regardless of how long ago that may have been for you, I would like you to try to remember what it was like when you weren't bogged down with medical bills, credit card statements, auto loans, student loans, and other forms of debt. Think about how it felt to have zero debt. Remember how great that was?   I know that I do. It was a fantastic time. For my wife and I, we were out of debt once but got back into again. Yes, we made the same mistake twice. However, I remember what it was like when we had zero debt except for our mortgage. It was much less chaotic financially. It was a time when we felt that we were on the right track. And I'll tell you what, I really miss those days.   That's precisely why we are taking some time to think back to those good ol' days. We're going to let those memories help motivate us to make our way back to what we had before (or didn't have, if we're referring to consumer debt).

Are you looking for a way to no longer be overwhelmed when it comes to accomplishing your larger goals? Have you ever found yourself trying to take on too much at the same time? I certainly know that I have.   Sometimes when you learn something about yourself, it gives you the unique opportunity to be able to make a change that will benefit you in ways that you never thought imaginable. I noticed that one of the things that I used to do quite frequently was taking on too much all at once. I would get frustrated or give up on some tasks or goals simply because I was overwhelmed. I may have had great ideas and plans in mind, but I was simply preventing myself from accomplishing any goals associated with those plans because I was frozen in place. I couldn't figure out the best way to tackle what needed to be done, and this was detrimental to my overall accomplishments.   One day I realized my problem. I needed to do a brain dump, so to speak. I needed to jot everything down on a piece of paper, gather my thought

Recently, there was a request that came through on the show's iTunes reviews to cover some items on the topic of saving and investing. While I'm not personally at this point yet as we're still in the process of paying off debt, I have begun researching this topic because I want to be ready to hit the ground running when the time is right. I highly recommend that you do the same so that you're ready to go once that last amount of consumer debt has been paid off completely.   I feel that it's important to note that we shouldn't attempt to try getting out of debt and begin to save and invest simultaneously. For many of us, the total amount of our monthly debt obligations makes it way too difficult to try to carve out some additional resources to start saving and investing. Instead, I think that we need to hit our debt hard with any financial resources that we can get our hands on. The sooner that we pay off our debt, the better. Once we've paid off our debt, then we can naturally move forward with the second par

Outgo is just as important as income, and sometimes we may forget about that. It's easy for us to simply focus on what we have coming in and not pay as much attention to what's going out. Thankfully, there is a better way for us to manage our finances.   As many of us may already know, there are lean times that come upon us at some point in time. Knowing how to manage those leaner times by controlling the money going out of our budgets will help us to navigate those choppy waters without sinking the financial ship. This will typically require intense focus. It's natural for us to want to jump the gun and start thinking of ways to increase our income, but many times, we should be sharing that focus with our outgoing expenses and improving things on that side of the scale as well.   Consider this. What happens when we get a raise? When we get a raise in our paychecks, we're excited to have this newfound money coming in. That's a typical initial response to good fortune, right? Well, we can experience close to t

Today you'll learn how to channel anger into fuel for accomplishing your goals. It's possible to do this, but first you'll need to focus.   When we get angry, a lot of times we may try to stifle that anger or lessen it by getting into some bad habits. Some of us turn to alcohol, some of us turn to cigarettes, and some of us turn to lashing out at others because of our anger. None of these are healthy ways to deal with our problems.   Instead, what we need to do is realize that we are still in control to be able to change our lives. Even up against some incredible odds, there's always a way to accomplish something as long as we take the time necessary to come up with a plan. Anger is an emotion, and it's good to feel emotions. It benefits us by letting us know that something is wrong, and it helps us to realize that we are unhappy about that which is causing us to be angry in the first place.    When we channel those negative emotional responses to various situations into something positive, it will benefit us