Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.
- Henry Ford
As I have walked with thousands of families through hope-robbing financial problems, I have realized there are reasons we lose our hope. Our mind and spirit have believed lies in order to lose the most precious item called HOPE.
| One big hairy lie that we allow to steal our hope is: Failure is permanent. If we see failure in our past as an indicator of our future, it will rob our hope. Winston Churchill, the great British prime minister, said, "Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." When we believe failure is here to stay, we lose enthusiasm and the ability to head back toward success.
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Hope is stolen when we misunderstand failure. Failure is natural, normal, and is going to happen. If we take all the lessons learned from failure and stack them, we can easily get the breathtaking view that hope gives. The trick is to avoid making short-term decisions, based on loss of hope, that have worse long-term effects.
When people are in financial difficulty, they often make stupid short-thinking financial decisions. If you really believe you can never save enough money to pay cash for a car, you lose hope and borrow the money. If you got laid off from a job or your small business went under, you may think the rest of your life is doomed. Debt, which robs your ability to build wealth, is usually the result of lost hope. We have been sold debt so thoroughly that it has stolen our hope. People who have hope, grown from vision based in values, are savers and investors; they think long term. Where there is a lack of hope, we cripple our ability to build wealth and long-term relationships of value.
When past failure sneaks up and steals our hope, we must have been asleep at the wheel because we know better, realizing that failure is part of the process. The great author C.S. Lewis agrees. He said, "Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement."
Failure is definitely a part of my story. Starting from nothing, by the time I was 26 I had a net worth of a little over a million dollars and was having fun! However, then debt caused Sharon and I over the course of two and a half years of fighting it to lose everything. After losing it all, we didn't let failure keep us down for long. I went on a quest to find out how money really works, how I could get control of it, and how I could have confidence in handling it. I formed our company in 1988 to counsel folks hurting from the results of financial stress. To this day, our mission statement isn't just lip service; it's our mantra:
The Lampo Group, Inc. is providing biblically based, common sense education and empowerment which gives HOPE to everyone from the financially secure to the financially distressed.
Now's the time to learn from your failures and regain HOPE. Make it happen in 2007!
Get on your way to success:
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Investing money takes time and patience, but the rewards are tremendous and long-lasting. By saving money long-term and preparing for life after your career is over, you'll really put the "golden" in golden years. There are some things that you must know about investing if you want to make the most of your money and time.
Save or Invest?
Five years is the benchmark to use to determine whether to save or invest. There is a difference. Saving is more short-term, while investing is long-term. For example, if you are planning to buy a car soon, you'll want to save a pre-planned amount each month in a basic savings account. You're just looking for a safe place to put the money, so don't worry about earning interest. After several months, you can go buy the car (look for a good bargain and use the power of cash to get a discount).
On the other hand, if you have a 5-year-old child and want to start saving for his or her college fund, then you want to invest. If you are planning to retire in 25 or 30 years, you would invest money, rather than just save it. In terms of investing, put your money in good growth-stock mutual funds with at least 10-year track records. Put 25% of your money each in growth, growth and income, aggressive growth and international funds.
Why Invest Now?
The reason that you invest your money when you have a lot of time is just that: time. Over any given five-year period, 97% of the mutual funds on the market make money. Not only that, but the stock market has averaged a growth rate of 12% per year over the last 70+ years. Not only is time on your side when it comes to investing, but solid performance by the market is as well.
That doesn't mean a solid growth curve of 12% each year is guaranteed. It means one year the market might grow 7%, the next year 10%, and the next year 19%. That comes out to 12% per year, and since you leave money in an investment for several years or even decades, then you come out a winner there.
Let's look at an example. If you want to retire at age 65 and start investing just $200 a month at age 45, you'll end up with about $193,000. That won't cut it if you're going to spend 20 or 30 years in retirement and expect to live off the interest. If you begin investing that same amount at age 35, you'll have almost $649,000. Better, but probably not good enough. If you start at 25, though, you'll finish with over $2 MILLION! You'll be able to retire with dignity, give money like you've never given before, have serious fun, and leave a huge blessing to your spouse and children.
You get out of investing what you put into it. The sooner you complete the first three Baby Steps, the more time you have to grow your money, and the bigger the payoff will be. When you get to Baby Step 4 and start investing 15% of your income, over time the interest you earn just goes nuts! Use that as motivation to drill through your Baby Steps and get to investing and serious wealth-building!
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On Their Way to Becoming Future Millionaires!
By Mike in Mississippi
My story is a little different than most you may hear.
I got turned on to Dave's teachings by my father and my youth pastor when I was about 15 years old. I took the things I learned to heart and began saving the very little money that I was making each year.
I am now 20 years old. I got married 8 months ago to my beautiful wife who's 22. She graduated from college last year with $0 in loans (via scholarships). I will graduate from college in 4 months with $0 in loans (via scholarships). We are debt free because God blessed us with loving parents who told us the importance of saving. We both have paid cash for our vehicles. We have our 3-6 months worth of expenses as well as a $1,000 quick emergency fund. That leaves us with $6,000 in our savings toward our first home.
All of this could not have been possible without God using folks like you and my father and youth pastor to teach folks how to make wiser decisions. Thanks!
Related:
Read other We did It! stories
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I Lost Money While Trying to Save Some
By Mike in Texas
While using the self-service scanner at the grocery store recently, I noticed that an air freshener I got on clearance for $1.99 scanned the regular $3.99. I asked the attendant to check on it, so she scanned the item at her station and called for a price check.
The shelf-check came back with $1.99, so I got the item for FREE! (If it doesn't scan correctly, it is free). The attendant stated she had already deleted the item from my total. I swiped my debit card and requested $20 change. While it was processing, I noticed the total bill was the same as before the price check.
I immediately grabbed the receipt and re-approached the attendant when I noticed her test scan of the item had appeared on the bill in addition to the original scan. She did delete, but only once and the item was there twice. She directed me to the customer service desk.
I immediately corralled my groceries and headed to customer service desk to make sure that $3.99 was put back on the card.
About 30 minutes after returning home, I realized that in all the hustle and bustle of getting back that $3.99, I left the $20 sitting in the cash tray of the self-service scanning station!
Read other Stupid Tax stories
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Helpful Articles and Company Updates |
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Death Couldn't Stop Her |
She's faced death and lived to talk about it.
Martie Gauthier, of Berwick, LA, was trapped in an abusive marriage and decided she had had enough. When she told her then-husband that she was leaving, he put a gun in her face and threatened to pull the trigger.
Thankfully, Martie convinced him to put the gun down.
Several months later, Martie found out that her ex-husband had created financial disaster for both of them by filing bankruptcy prior to the final divorce decree.
Martie got a part-time job and decided to finish her last year of college. "I went from having a beautiful home on the bayou with two Jaguars in the driveway to a small, roach-infested house and having to pray for my next meal," she said.
Martie's Life Now
Because of her past, she has a burning desire to help others struggling with money problems. Martie recently attended Dave Ramsey's Certified Counselor Training (CCT) with the hopes of helping others in her community. She has a passion for numbers. Her new husband refers to her as a nonprofit organization because she teaches children's church, is a church accountant for free for two churches, manages the money and fundraisers for the local food bank, and is involved with a lot of charity work. Whew, that's enough to make anyone tired - but not Martie. She has a desire to learn and do more.
She worked as a corporate accountant for several years before becoming pregnant with her first child. Once her son was born, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom since the long hours her job demanded would not be conducive for motherhood. Now, with her son heading off to college, Martie is ready to jump back into a career. "This time around I don't want to sit at a desk for 12 to 14 hours a day," she said. "I know I was born to teach. I love teaching the word of God, and I understand finances."
Spreading the Debt-Free Message
For the past three years she's been teaching a financial management class that she created. She also does individual counseling on how to get out of debt and is hired on occasion by a corporation to help with various accounting assignments. Her desire is to counsel people and help them incorporate Dave's plan into their lives. On her CCT application, Martie wrote, "I am hoping to acquire information that will help me convince people to get out of debt, stay out of debt, and plan for the future."
"I know some people in the school system," Martie said. "And I want to get the Financial Peace program into the schools." As a member in a small community, she believes she can make it happen. "The key is to get this to the teens before they get into financial trouble...It will change the way they live. It will change the way they look at money!" she stated.
Well Martie, we couldn't agree with you more!
Learn more about the Certified Counselor Training or Financial Peace University.
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The Best Way to File Taxes |
TV commercials try to convince us that buying $20 tax software is as good as or better than getting a professional accountant to file your taxes. I'm here to tell you it's not! In fact, I recommend that you get a certified public accountant (CPA) to help file your taxes.
You're probably thinking, "Dave, why should I spend more money on an accountant when I could save money by buying cheap tax software?" That's a fair enough question. I'll give you three good reasons:
- CPAs can save you more money!
Tax software has come a long way, but it's still only software. It's very limited in the options and advice it provides. Tax software can't tell you how much money you'll save by filing your taxes one way over another way. It can't tell you if you qualify for certain deductions. A professional accountant can!
- CPAs can help you fight the IRS!
It's a sad reality, but you can be audited. An accountant can walk into an audit meeting with you and help you defend yourself. Tax software doesn't come close to offering this type of service!
- CPAs give you peace of mind.
When you use a CPA you'll have the peace of mind that your taxes were done right the first time. Most people who use tax software walk away from the computer hoping they haven't done anything that will land them in prison.
If you listen to my show, you'll usually hear callers complain about their tax troubles and the IRS. Avoid their mistakes. Do everything you can now to save yourself from any future hassles. Use one of my CPA Endorsed Local Providers. Check out one person's experience with one of my ELPs:
"I was very pleased with the experience. Within 10 minutes of my arriving at his office, your ELP had called the state comptroller's office to get some critical information for me. From there he reviewed step by step everything I would need to have in place to begin my business, educated me thoroughly in self-employment taxes, and had gone through each individual category of expenses so I would be properly prepared to file my 2007 taxes. I was told the initial free consultation would be about an hour. Your ELP generously gave me two hours of his time and never made me feel rushed. I will not hesitate to use an ELP again!"
Save time and money this tax season! Use the CPA I endorse in your area to make sure you have your taxes done right!
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DEBTective - Case of the Colossal Car Payment |
"There's a problem with your car, bub. You need to pull over quick!" I yelled out of my window.
He got a worried look on his mug. "What's wrong with it? Do you see something wrong?"
"Just pull over," I shot back.
The light turned, and his tires burned. He pulled in front of me and headed into a parking lot on the right. I pulled in after him and parked alongside. He jumped out of the bucket of bolts and started doing a walk-around. I got out and leaned against the side of the Debt-no-bile, watching him run himself silly.
He was trying to find the problem - checking the tires, the windows, the engine. I could tell him what the problem was. It was the tires, the windows, the engine and everything else. He didn't own this set of wheels; it owned him, baby.
After a minute, he stopped and looked at me. "I don't see anything wrong with the truck. What's the matter with it?"
"Jack, this thing's got accident written all over it. How much did a boiler like this cost?"
Usually, this is where people get all defensive, like I'm nosing around in their business. This kid really pulled off a shocker; he smiled from ear to ear and started bragging.
How will DEBTective solve this case? Click here to find out!
Add DEBTective to your blog!
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Magazines, websites, LIVE events, TV - Dave's everywhere! Get all the up-to-date info!
National Appearances
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
"The Atlanta Journal Constitution" compares Dave and Clark Howard to see "Who's talk radio's biggest cheapskate?" - More Information
Regional Appearances
Total Money Makeover LIVE - Jackson, MS
See Dave LIVE Thursday, April 26 in Jackson. More information.
Total Money Makeover LIVE - Kansas City, MO
See Dave LIVE Saturday, May 5 in Kansas City. More information.
Total Money Makeover LIVE - Birmingham, Ala.
See Dave LIVE Thursday, May 10 in Birmingham. More information.
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We are curious about what part technology is playing in your debt-free life. Please take a moment to complete this short survey.
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Check out our newest stations!
There are over 300 affiliates nationwide
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WCTT AM 680 |
2-5pm EST |
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Exclusive eNewsletter Deal! |
Dave and all of us on his team really do value your free subscription to the monthly eNewsletter. We strive to give you quality information and useful tools each month, and hope they are making a difference in your daily life.
This month we would like to offer you an exclusive eNewsletter deal! Our Starter Special is retailed at $109, but you can get it for $39.99 until April 16! That comes out to each item in the Starter Special being less than $8 each - something you won't find anywhere else! Use this coupon code in the checkout process: NLSP307
What's included in the Starter Special:
- The Total Money Makeover book
- Financial Peace Revistited book
- Dumping Debt DVD
- Cash Flow Planning DVD
- Deluxe Envelope System
What to do:
- Click on the "add to cart" button on the Starter Special store page.
- On the Contents of Shopping Cart page, select the correct quantity and enter the coupon code.
- Proceed to the checkout.
Offer Ends April 16! Order Now!
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The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you. -Kendall Hailey
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6
Our grandparents were too busy earning a living to read books about how to stop worrying.
Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts.
Will power is the ability to make your heirs behave by threatening to cut them out of it.
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. - 1 Peter 3:8
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