#2 Make sure you don't make these mistakes

So in Monday's email (1 of 3 of this mini-course) I told you a bit about my journey to discover how my debt was taking over my life. It was no fun.  You may know exactly what I mean. I knew I had to make a change and told myself I could at any point, but if I were being honest I would have admitted that I was moving in the opposite direction of that goal. And it wasn't that it was that hard, but that I didn't have a plan to follow and I wasn't clear on why I wanted to do it in the first place. Nailing down the WHY On Monday, I asked you to tell me WHY you just had to pay off your debt, and at the time of this writing 843 of you have responded with really good reasons. I still haven't been able to respond to all of them yet - but I'll get there! It's obvious that people are excited about the possibility of becoming debt-free and having not only more money and freedom, but also the opportunity to be able to give more generously. Here are just a few of the "why's" that came in... "So I can have less stress"  "I want to be a good example for my children."  "I want to be able to live the life the Bible says, that we shall be lenders and NOT borrowers." "Because I'm heading in a bad direction" "I'm within a few years of retirement". "I want peace of mind that comes with not being in debt." "I want to buy a house" "I want to give more generously to charities" Any of these sound familiar? If you didn't write down your WHY the other day, take 2 minutes and do that now. I'll wait for you. Seriously. ;) Long story short, so many of us are in the same boat dealing with the same struggle and the same grind. The good news is if you're super clear on WHY you want to get your debt paid off, you can make this happen. And the best part is it doesn't have to take you as long as it took me. I'm here to come alongside you and show you a better way. A faster way. I've made all the stupid mistakes so you don't have to! Allow me to humiliate myself… Mistake #1: Spending more than you earn This one is so important, I will never stop shouting it from the rooftops!   Even though in high school when I was making TERRIBLE spending decisions, I was still OK because I wasn't making this mistake. Then I got a credit card and became way too good at spending more than I made (credit cards make it really easy). The truth is if you make this mistake, you can NEVER get ahead financially. It is the one mistake to rule them all. And I spent many years making it over and over and over again. Somehow expecting things to change, but yet they were only getting worse. Key Takeaway: Do whatever you have to do to make sure you don't make this mistake. Mistake #2: Waiting for the perfect time I spent years fooling myself that one day there would be a perfect time when I wasn't busy that I could dedicate the necessary time to attending to the goal, but let's be real - Life is busy. And it is just getting busier. Even the Bible has something to say about this: "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." Ecc 11:4 NLT That is pretty clear and to the point! Additionally when it comes to our money we are either: GOING FORWARD or GOING BACKWARDS There isn't any middle ground. And once I got a hold of that I couldn't help but set a plan in motion to stop my backwards cycle. Key Takeaway: There never is a perfect time, so just commit now! Mistake #3: Trying to figure it all out on your own I have always been a pretty skinny guy, but in college I decided I wanted to get ripped. I had tried lifting weights and working out before, but had no idea what I was doing - a little like this guy... But I quickly discovered that just going to the gym wasn't going to get me there. It would only take me so far. I needed accountability and a plan from someone who had been where I was trying to go. Thankfully, I had a meat-head buddy (named Simon) who made it his personal mission to remove my scrawniness. This worked out perfect because that was what I wanted too. He was already huge and in great shape and all I needed to do was just show up 3 times a week with him at the gym and do what he told me to do. His plan had clearly worked. Each day I got there, Simon had a plan for me to follow.  I didn't have to think about it.  I didn't have to research it. I just had to follow his plan. And you know what? I got big results, so much quicker than I thought possible. Within a year he took me from bench-pressing about 75 lbs to 200 lbs because I had followed his plan. Now, had I not taken action I wouldn't have gotten the results, but without having a proven plan to follow, I would have been nowhere close to where I ended up. Key Takeaway: Don't go at it alone! Learn from people who have reached the goals that you are trying to reach. Ever make any of these mistakes? Don't worry most of us have.  But spend a little time today thinking or chatting (not fighting!) with your spouse about how you can avoid them going forward! On Friday, I'm going to show one simple trick that has helped me in paying off my debt. Stay tuned! You're awesome, Bob

Rendren LLC aka SeedTime, 625 Bakers Bridge Ave. Suite 105, Box 134, Franklin, TN 37067, United States You may unsubscribe or change your contact details at any time.