Been contacted by the IRS yet?

Be on the lookout in your email inbox form anything that says its from the IRS. There are several email and even telephone scams using the IRS name as a lure.

The scam is to trick you int revealing personal and financial information such as:

1. Social Security Number
2. Bank Account Information
   
3. Credit Card Information

They will use this info to commit identity theft.

Here are a few of the most recent scams:

1. Email notifying you that your tax return has been selected for an audit. (The IRS does NOT contact taxpayers via email.)
   
2. Early filer rebate. You get a phone call from a so called IRS agent saying that because you filed your taxes early, you qualify for a special rebate.
   
3. Status of IRS check. Phone call or email from the "IRS" saying your rebate hasn't cleared the bank yet and they want to verify your banking information to follow-up on your refund check.
   

If you receive anything like this, the IRS is asking you to notify them via email at phishing@irs.gov. (Now I think it's kind of funny that the IRS is warning taxpayer about email scams and then the IRS is asking you to report it to them via email)

Cool Financial Site & I'm published there

I'm always on the lookout for tools, articles and tips that give me "financial nuggets". Recently, I was introduced to "Your Money Now" by Amanda Ransburg. She's the Deputy Director of Communition Technology for the Ohio Treasurer of State's office.

Your Money Now is a web site dedicated to helping you make heads and tails out of your finances. I'm very proud to say that an article I submitted to the is currently featured on the home page.

If you've ever wondered how to respond to a cashier when you have handed over your debit card as payment for a transaction and the cashier asks, "debit or credit" then you'll want to follow this link to read my advise.

Spring Cleaning to Debt Freedom!

Well I think I can say that Spring is finally arriving here in Ohio. Temps in the 50's and low 60's all this week. This weekend, while I was hosing and blowing out all the salt from my garage I noticed all the "Stuff" (thinks I don't use or want anymore) that just seems to accumulate over the winter.

Spring cleaning is a great time to identify the stuff you no longer use or could do without. Resolve to get that stuff out of your house via Ebay or an upcoming garage sale. You'd be surprised at how much other people are willing to pay for you so called junk.

Selling stuff you have around your house is one of the best ways to eliminate your consumer debt and begin to build wealth. Just this week, I had a conversation with my neighbor and he sold his "off-road" motorcycle that he hasn't ridden in two years. (Way to go Ben build some wealth.)

I'm guessing if you'd spend 10 minutes in your basement or garage, you could find 10 things worth selling. Give it a try. Let me know what you come up with.

Money Advise

Money. It's not a dirty word. Money by itself is not good or bad. It's what you do with what you have that makes the difference. Ah but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Have you given thought as to why you do what you do with money? Where or who has taught you how to handle it? We all know that you have to spend less than you make or you'll never get ahead. Yet we as American's have a negative savings rate.

Where's a good place to start to get your financial life going in the right direction? I'd like to suggest a book. Hey, books are low to no investment dollars and a great return on your time.

By far one of the best books you could ever read is Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. If you're looking for a financial game plan, this book is for you. If your wondering, "am I doing this financial thing the best way I can, then read the book. Go get it at the library and read it for FREE.

If you're like most, handling money in your household has been hit and miss at best. You'll never get control of your finances this way. Make the decision today to win financially.

Did you see one yet?

In getting the cash register door ready for Aqua tonight. (Aqua is our Singles ministry every other Tuesday night.) For the first time I came across one of the new $5 bills.

My first reaction was, wow, this is pretty cool. My second reaction was this looks like monopoly money. Have you come across one of these new $5 bill yet? When you do, please post a comment on where you first saw it.

Things I did on a Snowy Spring Saturday

Well, this weather stinks. I woke up to snow flurries and it's been that way all day. I didn't let the weather get me down. My day has been very enjoyable so far. Here's some highlights.

1. Coffee and the local paper.
2. Walked the dogs. Twice so far today.
   
3. Catch up on the blogs I follow.
4. Read a few chapters of the book "Margin". Thanks Kevin.
5. Off to the library and read the following magazines: Bicycling (5 issues), Fortune, Forbes, Men's Health, Money, Real Simple & Smart Money. I love the library.
   
6. Check-out the following books: Lance Armstrong Performance Program; Becoming a Millionaire God's way,The Millionaire Maker, and Not-for-Profit Accounting.
7. Detailed my Felt Bicycle and put on two brand new tires. (Can't wait to put miles on them.)

The rest of my day? I'm trying to get the grease off my hands from detailing my bike. After that, I'm cook'en fish for supper then I'm diving into the books I checked out of the library today.

Have a great Easter Sunday.

Is the sky falling?

Even if you don't follow the stock market on a consistent basis, I'm sure you've heard all the gloom and doom about your investment or retirement dollars. We'll I'm one more voice that here to tell you, don't panic.

First of all, investing is considered to be savings for a period of greater than 5 years. I'm 41 years old so retirement for me is still 25 years away. So, that means I'm an investor when it comes to saving for retirement. At this stage of the game for me, I look at the down turns in the market as "everything" is on sale. So using the principal of dollar-cost-averaging, I'm getting more shares for my investment dollars right now.

Why and I calm when the market is down so much already this year? Great question. Take a look a the chart below. There are some major "bad news" events listed here. Look at where the market ended up 5 years after the "bad news". The worst return was over 8%. So take heart, keep funding your retirement plan and ignore all the "financial experts" on TV.

I love a bargin

I'm always on the look out for getting the most for my money. I get really excited when I get a great deal on something that I've been looking for.

Last fall, my sandles finally bit the dust. (pun intended). So I've been casually looking for a new pair ever since. I now own a new pair. Check this out.


Original price was $45.00. The price I paid was $9.97. That's a whopping 78% savings. I must admit, I'm more excited about getting a pair of $45 shoes for $9.97 than the actual shoes themselves. Although I must say I look very stylish in them.

Anyway, always be on the lookout for getting the most out of your hard earned dollars. Here's to your financial peace.

5 cool "Free" softwares

I'm always on the look out for useful and free software. Here's 5 that you should check out for your own use.

1. Abiword
www.abisource.com
Replaces Microsoft Word
Want a good word processor but find Microsoft Word too expensive? AbiWord is my favorite replacement for Word. It’s lightweight (meaning it runs quickly) and includes pretty much every feature that I use regularly in a word processor, plus it can save files in formats that you can exchange with Word and WordPerfect users, plus open any of their files, too.

2. OpenOffice
www.openoffice.org
Replaces Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint
If you want to replace the rest of the Office suite, your best bet is OpenOffice. It includes very nice replacements for Excel and PowerPoint (and workable replacements for Access and other Office elements).

3. KeePass
keepass.sourceforge.net
KeePass is a program that securely stores and manages the abundance of passwords we all use on a daily basis.

4. GnuCash
www.gnucash.org
Replaces Microsoft Money or Quicken
GnuCash is a slimmed-down version of the bloated Microsoft Money and Quicken packages, but it contains all of the features I want for managing my money. The interfaces are incredibly simple - it functions much like a checkbook ledger on your computer - but there’s a lot of meat hidden throughout the software.

5. Firefox
www.getfirefox.com
Replaces Internet Explorer
If you haven’t switched to Firefox for your web browsing needs, do it now. It stops annoying popups and it has lost of plugins that can make surfing the web even better.

Emergency Fund. . . . Thank you God

What's the first step in a sound financial plan? Answer: An emergency fund. I sure am glad my family has one. Unfortunately, today I got to use it.

I took my beloved 1998 VW turbo diesel Beetle into the shop today because it was sounding funny and not running the best. It has 101,000 miles on it. I dropped off the keys in the night drop, my wife picked me up and off to work we went. (We both work at NewPointe.)

The first call from the shop wasn't to bad. New glow plugs $275 parts and labor. I thought doable. About a 1/2 hour later, ten the other shoe dropped. The second call came, I need to replace the catalytic converter. Ouch! I'm looking at a total bill of $1,400. (Other than normal oil changes and the deer that hit me, this repair is all I've put into my car in more than 2 years.) Much cheaper than a car payment.

Anyway, I told the shop, no problems with the repair bill. Let's get my car running good. I thanked them for their work and asked them to give me a call when they are finished.

Do I like pulling $1,400 out of my families emergency fund? No way. But I'm very thankful that I have it to pull out. Because in the past, a car emergency also meant we had a financial emergency. Now I get to just fix the car then work on putting the dollars back into my emergency fund over time.

Take back your money for FREE

Ok, I'm assuming by now you have completed and filed your 2007 tax return or you are very close to doing so. I'm also assuming you received a refund. I'm sure you've heard that by getting a refund you are allowing Uncle Sam to use your money all year long without paying you any interest on your money. (This is true.)

With that being said, I know people are deathly afraid of owing money at tax time. So where's the balance? Hey, I even like getting a little refund. I found a tool that will help with this. Here's the link. It's Kiplinger's tax withholding calculator. You'll have to have your 2007 tax return in hand to use this tool.

When I ran the calculation for myself, it told me I should be claiming 2 extra withholdings. This would add another 87.50 per month to my take home pay. This sure will help when $4 a gallon gas comes this summer.

21 more. . .

Things keep getting better and better on Tuesday nights. Yep, Tuesday is Financial Peace University night at NewPointe and that pumps me up.

We began class again by cutting up more credit cards.

21 destroyed last night. That brings our class total to 54

I can't describe the feeling I have for days when people destroy their credit cards. Not because credit card by themselves are evil but because of the bondage people end up living in because of what they use them for.

Newsflash, credit cards are not an emergency fund and should never be used as such. A starter emergency fund is $1,000 in the bank. You need to get there ASAP.

Renewal & Reflections

Larry, a good friend of mine, and I meet on Wednesday morning for coffee and growth. Currently Larry and I are reading "The Life you've always wanted" by John Ortberg.

Chapter 5 deals with a hurried life. I suffer from that! I can't wait to get with Larry to talk about this chapter. Anyway, I'm trying to change in this area and will need help doing so. One thing I intentionally did today was to reflect on my day as it went on. Doing so brought about renewal and relaxations.

Here's a list of what caught my attention today:

1. The warmth of the sun coming through the drives side window.
2. The Robins in my front yard.
3. Chaz, my son trying for the first time to drive my 5 speed VW Beetle.
4. My 18 mile bike ride. Oh how it refreshed me today!
5. NPCC Check-in Team Members for jumping in today.
6. My small group. We are growing closer together.
7. The melting snow. I hope this is the last of it.
8. A fellow NewPointer asking me for some financial advice. Word to the wise, stay away from ALOC loans (Advanced Lines of Credit)
9. My Wife, she is great.
10. My dogs. (I'll aways have at least one.)
    

How are your taxes coming?

Well, have you filed your tax returns yet? I've efiled my federal return and have also received my refund. I direct deposited it into my checking account. I'm holding off filing my State and City returns as I owe. I'm earning interest in my savings account from my federal refund until April 15th. At that time, I'll pull the funds out to send in with my State and City return.

If you are not one of the do-it-yourself people when it comes to you taxes, that's ok. However, I did come across an interesting story on Yahoo Finance titled "10-Things your tax preparer wont tell you". Its an interesting read. Check it out.

Happy filing.

How much will my Rebate be?

President Bush receintly signed the economic stimulas package into law. This means that sometime this summer, you'll be getting a rebate check in the mail from the IRS. This is an advance on the reduced taxes for 2008.

According to the IRS, the vast majority of Americans who qualify for the payment will not have to do anything other than file their 2007 individual income tax return to receive their payment this year. The IRS will use information on the tax return to determine eligibility and calculate the amount of the stimulus payments.

Please be aware that there are identity theft scams involving the proposed advance payment checks.

So exactly how much will your rebate be? Flexo at Consumerism Commentary recently shared a handy little tax rebate calculator. Check it out.

Never give up.

Today at church I had the opportunity to talk with some people who recently graduated from one of NewPointe's Financial Peace University classes.

One lady is a widower and she shared with my how much FPU has helped her and made a positive difference in her life. She is passing along what she learned to her adult children.

A married couple, who moved away last year were back for a visit today. It was great to see them and catch up with them. They shared with me how the principals they learned in FPU are giving them as she said, "Peace".

My heart was leaping for joy as I got to listen to the positive life change taking place. Although both stories were different, they both said it's hard work but it's worth it. I've come to realize anything in life that's worth having takes hard work and discipline.

Getting to financial peace is so worth it. Don't let anything get in the way.

More free Money

As you know, I'm a big, big fan of online savings accounts. AmTrust Direct is my favorite. They are paying 4.10%. If that's not enough of an incentive for you, here's one more reason to consider saving at AmTrust. Free money.

I received and email from them letting me know all I have to do is set up an automatic transfer from my checking account to AmTrust with a minimum of $100 a month for 3 months and they will deposit $50 into my savings account.

So, that's $50 in interest on $300 in 3 months. That's a 16.67% return in just 3 months. Now that's a serious return. I'm off to set up the automatic savings transfer.

Financial Lesson Learned by my 12 year old

My two kids have had a family share cell phone plan for about 4 months now. I must admit I was a little apprehensive in saying yes to a 12 & 14 year old having cell phones. The deal was $10 per week out of their commission goes toward paying their monthly bill. The are also responsible for any "Texting" overage.

This past month, I noticed my daughter, the 12 year old was texting a lot. About every other day, I'd ask her if she was getting close to her 1,000 text messages. She kept telling me "no dad". It's ok. Long story short, she is about 1,000 texts over this month. Roughly $150 dollars over.

I stayed calm and cool, asked her to hand over her phone and that she was grounded from the phone until she repaid the overages. Based on her "spendable" weekly commission, it was going to take her about 7 weeks before she would have her phone back or any spendable money.

My daughter is very, very opportunistic. She rounded up her Nintendo DS and 8 games. She told me she doesn't play with it anymore and asked if I'd help her list it on Ebay. I said sure and it was truly a fun father, daughter and son, (he did most of the work) evening.

We put a "buy it now price" of $140 and in less than 5 minutes after it was listed, it was sold and she has her cell phone back.

Lesson Learned. . .

1. She said she won't go over he 1,000 texts anymore. No DS to sell next time.
   
2. She didn't like owing me money.
3. She was depressed she wasn't going to be able to go to the skating this Friday because she wouldn't have money to get in.
4. She sold something she didn't use anymore to get out of debt fast. (Great principle)
5. She's practicing Financial Peace! (Ya Baby!)

I'm off to pack and ship the DS to California.

Morning Coach. . . .

I'm always on the lookout for ways to continue to improve myself and to grow. I recently came across a website and podcast that is helping me do both.

MorningCoach.com is a 15 minute a day pick-me-up and it's the second best way to start my day. (The first is prayer) Morning Coach covers a variety of topics that range from motivation to health to tips and tricks to improve your day. I get my 15 minutes via their podcast. You can register on their web site for Free and be part of their daily conference call at 7:45 in the morning 365 days a year.

Morning Coach has a 4 1/2 star rating on Itunes and they are located under the self-help category. So check it out, learn and grow.

Life Change! (14 Credit Cards destroyed)

Tuesday night at our Financial Peace University class we had three couples say good-bye to a total of 14 credit cards. Four of them were cut up right there in class and 10 were cut up at home.

I get so excited when families say so long, no more to credit cards. Credit card debt is destroying lives. The number one way to start on the road to Financial Peace is to stop borrowing money.

I'm very humbled to be part of the life change that goes on here at NewPointe. Financial Peace University plays a big roll in that.

Opt Out - for (5 years)

Are you still getting unsolicited credit card offers in your mailbox? Do you ever wonder how and why you keep getting these?

Credit Card companies take a look at your credit report and based on what they see, decided to send you offers for their credit card. This blows my mind that any company can look at a credit report to determine if they want to market to you.

You can say good-bye to unsolicited credit card offers. All you have to do is go to OptOutPrescreen.com. If you complete the form online, you opt out for 5 years. Opt out via mail and you are out for life. Either way you need to Opt Out.

Money for Free?

What I'm referring to in my title is the soon to be passed tax rebate the government will be sending most of us to stimulate the economy. The typical family of 4 is looking at a $1,800 rebate. That's some serious cash.

If you are like most people, you are already dreaming of ways to spend the money. Here's what the readers of Kiplinger's web site are saying they would do with it.



I'm in the 19.5% number.

I want to strongly suggest to you that whatever you decide to do with the rebate, make the decision well before the check hit's your mailbox. If you are married, sit down with your spouse and put on paper where and what you are going to do with the money. This way when it arrives, you already have a plan and there is no $1,800 impulse purchase.

Cindy and I have already decided what we are going to do.

1. $200 giving to NewPointe
2. $300 invested in Chaz & Katie's Educational Savings Account
3. Balance into our emergency fund.

What's your plan?

10% on my Savings

Currently I have my checking account with JPMorgan Chase. Why? Because some time ago, they gave me $25 to open a checking account and with direct deposit, the checking account was free and so is their bill pay. I do like their bill pay. It works well.

I do not have my savings account with Chase. I have use two internet only banks for that. One is Emigrant Direct (They are paying 4.3%) and the other bank is Amtrust Direct (They are paying 5.11% on new accounts) These are both great rates.

I'm about to open a third savings account. This one at Chase. In todays mail, the sent me an offer. If I open up a saving account with $500, they will give me $25. The only catch is I have to leave $500 in the account for 6 months. Well, $25 on $500 is 5%. That is if I leave the money there for one year. Leaving in there for just 6 months turns that $25 into 10% return on my $500.

After the 6 months is up, I'll most likely roll the funds back to Emigrant or Amtrust. I love putting money to work.

Tax Refund Loans

Tax season is in full swing. I'm getting my usual phone calls asking if I'm ready to do a said relative or friends tax return. Believe it or not, I like doing a tax return or two.

Millions of people look froward to their tax refund and have spent that refund 20 times or more before they even get it. Well the marketers or "sharks" have in recent years come up with the brilliant idea of the "Refund anticipation loan". I say brilliant, because it is from the loaners stand point and very very stupid for those taking out the loan. Here's why.

The average effective interest rate on one of these loans is in the triple digits. That is simple outrageous. Here's the best idea related to your tax refund. Fill out a new W-4 at work so there is less taken out of your paycheck. This give you access to your refund every single paycheck. You don't have to wait to get it. Why continue to give the government use of your money for an entire year. Then have them return it to you once a year and they pay you zero percent interest.

Dollars for Body Fat

I hear lots of grumblings from business owners about the rising cost of health care insurance. This cost is always on my radar as the Director of Business Operations here at NewPointe. Coming up with creative ways to lower premiums is a priority for most every employer.

We have developed an employee wellness program that is working wonderfully in getting our staff to think and act healthier. According to an story I read in Work Force Management, The Wall Street Journal reported that an Indiana bank will give their employees up to a $500 bonus if certain health screenings show good numbers. One screening is for Body Fat percentage.

Is this going to far?

Money back Guarantee

NewPointe has put a challenge out to our church body. We want everyone to put fist things first. If you weren't with us last week, you missed a very challenging message from Dwight.

Dwight's challenge was for those not tithing to do so for Feb, March, and April and if this challenge is accepted and you do not see God moving in your life, then NewPointe will give you your money back that you tithed during the 90-day challenge.

Have you ever heard of a "money back guarantee" at church? Is this cool or what. I'm confident those who take the challenge will be amazed as to what God will do in their lives as they put first things first and honor God with their finances.

At NewPointe, we know God doesn't need your money. It's all God's anyway. Tithing is one very important indicator that God is first in your life.

By the way, we have had over 250 people sign up for the challenge already. Way cool!

Better than 411

I came across this cool tool some back in June at the Dynamic Church Conference. I was having lunch with Tony M when he pulled out his cell phone and dialed up Google 411.

Google 411 is a way cool tool and it's free unlike dialing 411 from your home phone. by calling 1-800-GOOG-411 to get a street address or phone number. If you haven’t tried it, here’s a YouTube clip (courtesy of Google) on how to give it a try.

And we are off

Last night was the fist night of 2008 Financial Peace University class at NewPointe. It was wonderful. We broke the seal of the newly produced Dave Ramsey DVD's for the class and I must say I'm very impressed by the improvements they have made.

The first class session was super savors. This class covers the need for an emergency fund.

1. $1,000 as a starter fund.
2. 3 to 6 months as a fully funded emergency fund.

An emergency fund is Murphy repellent.

The other major topic covered in super savers was the importance of actually saving money. The USA has a negative savings rate. We are spending more money than we make. Unbelievable. Don't be a negative saver. Come up with a plan.

I'll leave this post with a suggestion, set up and automatic savings withdraw from your checking account into a savings account. Make it automatic and make it happen every month. Your on your way to an emergency fund.

I'm still here

I usually try and post about every two to three days. As of late, I have been working feverishly on getting NewPointe's 2007 year closed. (We have an Accounting firm coming soon to review our books.)

In addition to that, I'm trying to get the month-by-month, expenses-by-expense, Ministry-by-Ministry budgets into QuickBooks.

These two things are keeping me very busy and I love it.

1/6/08 and 1,984 left to go. . . .

We'll it's only the 6th day of the new year and I got to put 16 miles on my bike today. I took advantage of the 52 degree weather after church and hopped on my road bike.

It's always bitter sweet for me when I reset my bike odometer. The bitter, theres' no more miles added to the total and I say good by to another year. This past year I road just over 2,200. The sweet, the odometer reads 0000 and its a fresh start.

The mileage goal for 2008 is 2,000. Will I reach it? I sure hope so but, the most important thing about goals is not really reaching them it's who you are becoming as a person as you reach for them.

W2's. . . . Done. . . . Income Taxes next

Do you have your W2 yet? We'll those who work at NewPointe have theirs waiting in the office mailbox. I invested this rainy Saturday morning in my office cranking out W2's for our staff. I love this time of year.

As you await your W2, how or what do you do to get organized to do your taxes. I label a folder "Taxes 2007" and as each tax form arrives in the mail, I put it in the folder with all the other forms.

Once they have all arrived, it's like a second Christmas for me as i fire up my copy of turbo tax and start inputting information. Come to think of it, I'm going to copy over my 2006 information to turbo tax right now.

Start 2008 off right

Happy New Year to you and welcome to my first post of 2008. You'll be glad you stopped by as I'm going to lead you to two days of FREE Financial Advice.

Kiplinger's has again partnered with NAPFA (National Association of Personal Financial Advisers) to bring you Kiplinger's Jump-Start your retirement plan days. On Tuesday Jan 15th & Friday Jan 25th, NAPFA members across the US will be standing by to answer your financial questions.

Normally, these fee-only planners charge clients between $100 to $250 an hour but on Jump-Start day you pay nothing. So if you have questions in any of the following areas, don't miss this FREE planning session.

1. Investments
2. Taxes
3. Insurance
4. Retirement
5. College funding
6. Estate Planning

Ok, here you go. Here's the phone number 888-919-2345.

Last year, over 12,000 people participated.

Three "Simple" New Years Financial Resolutions

2008 is almost here. Most people will make at least on New Years Resolution and like most people the resolution will not be kept very long. I want to suggest a few Financial Resolutions that will be easy to keep and will bring you closer to Financial Freedom by this time next year.

1. Save something each paycheck. You have to make savings a priority and do it consistently. The hardest thing about saving money is getting into the habit. This year, try saving just $10 or $20 from each paycheck in a high yield savings account. I use Amtrust Direct. It's currently paying 5.11% To make this easier, have the money automatically deducted from your paycheck so you never see it. Most people can easily come up with a small amount to save each pay period just by sacrificing one lunch or dinner out.
   
   
2. Learn something about finance. It doesn’t matter what you choose to learn, but take the time to learn one new thing about personal finance. One of the best ways to learn is to take Financial Peace University. (This Sunday is the last day to sign up for Jan 15th class at NewPointe.) If you can't take the FPU class right now, you can get books from the library, read personal finance or business magazines and newspapers, or read finance articles on the web. (Yahoo finance)
   
   
3. Attack one debt. Just one. Whether it’s a student loan, a credit card, or a car loan, vow to pay off just one debt this year (and then don’t replace it with another debt). The satisfaction you’ll get from paying off that one thing will probably push you to pay off more. But even if it doesn’t, you’ve still kept your resolution because you paid off one debt. That’s one more debt you won’t be carrying next year.
   

All three of these Resolutions are easy to do and I hope you will do them all. Happy New Year and heres to your Financial Freedom!

Get Ready for Next Christmas

Merry Christmas to you. I hope your's was memorable and you spent a little bit of time reflecting on God's goodness.

As i sit here typing the day after Christmas with the rest of my family still sleeping, my thoughts turn to the new year that's just around the corner and Christmas 2008. I must admit, this Christmas was pretty stress free and I want next Christmas to be the same.

One of the best ways to make Christmas stress free is to have cash set back to pay for all those gifts you are going to buy. One of the biggest stress causers at Christmas time is anticipating January's credit card bill. (You know what I'm talking about.)

Here's a great plan for next Christmas.

1. Sit down and figure out how much you spent on this Christmas. Let's say it was $800
2. Add 15% to this number. $120 ($800+$120 = $920)
3. Take this number and divide it by the number of paychecks you get in 2008 less 2. I get paid every other week (26) less (2) is 24. $920/24 = $38.34 per pay.
4. Open up a separate savings account an put this amount in it every pay. At the end of November, you'll have the $920 to do you Christmas shopping.
   

One other great plan is do steps 1 & 2. Then take this amount from your tax refund and put it in savings. Not only will you have the $920 right away, you'll be receiving interest on it all year long.

Merry Chrismas

Credit Card compaines were sued and lost? $$ for you.

If you did any foreign traveling between 1996 and 2006 and used a credit card while on that trip, you have some money coming from your credit card company.

The U.S. District Court reached a $336 million dollar settlement with Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club for foreign based transaction fees charged to credit card users.

You have three refund options and the majority of those claiming a refund will select option #1 which is worth $25. The simplest way to claim the refund is to go to www.ccfsettlement.com or dial 1-800-945-9890.

Be watching your mailbox for a letter from the U.S. District Court. It's worth at least $25 to you.

There here.

Yesterday, UPS brought me my first Christmas present. Well it wasn't really a Christmas present but I was as excited as a 8 year old kid at Christmas.

The new Financial Peace University Kits arrived.


In looking through the information, FPU has changed some things up a little bit and I'm excited about it.

Why do I get so "jacked" about FPU? Because I believe until your finances are in order and your are doing finances God's way, you will never reach your full God given potential. (No ifs, ands, or buts)


I can't wait to get started with this round of classes. We kick off January 15th. You still have time to sign-up. Leave me a comment if you are ready to get on the road to financial freedom

One Pig. . . .

Christmas time is in the air at our house. We have had a fire burning all day long and Cindy is busy baking Christmas cookies. We have the Musacchia (my mom's side of the family) family Christmas party tomorrow in my home town. I've played Burl Ives's "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" CD three times today.

With the snow and now rain falling outside, I took the opportunity for some good old "Griswald" (Christmas Vacation) family fun. My family sat down in the kitchen for a few games of UNO (One) and Pig (a dice like game where you role two pigs to score points) "Get the post title now? "One Pig"? I thought it was funny.

It was great just sitting around with the entire family spending some on TV time together. We laughed, poked fun of each other and smiled a lot. Most of all we enjoyed each other. Sure sounds like the Christmas spirit to me.

Merry Christmas.

Office Christmas gift or not?

Well do you or don't you? Why does the topic of office Christmas gifts cause stress? We all want to show appreciation for those we work with as we spend more time with our co-workers then some family members. But who do you buy for and where do you cut it off?

A general rule of thumb is you don't need to buy for your boss. If you feel compelled to do so, make it a small gift from the entire department or staff. That usually works best.

It's ok to purchase a gift for your assistant or someone who reports to you. But be careful, you don't want to give anything that's too personal. Anything that touches the person's skin is a "no no". (Lotions, jewelry, etc)

If you are going to purchase a gift for a co-worker, do it when no one else is around. This will prevent hurt feelings for those who you didn't get a gift.


Finally, just in case you are wondering, no need to get me anything.

Are you ready?

Yesterday was the first day to sign up for our next round of Financial Peace University (FPU) classes here at NewPointe. I'm very excited to get started as Dave Ramsey has redone / updated the FPU kits.

If you are thinking about taking FPU, don't wait to sign up. You have two more weekends to do so. Class begins Jan15th @ 7 pm and runs for 13 weeks.

I get so pumped being part of life change. Obtaining financial freedom opens the door to fulling following Christ. FPU gives your the tools and skills to become financially free. So, are you ready? I know I am.

Credit Card Interest . . . . Well Duh

As I was getting ready to leave the house today for work, I caught out of the corner of my eye some lady on the news testifying about her interest rate on her credit card. I didn't pay much attention to it and went out into the snow.

I looked at the business section of our local paper online and the lead story's title is Card rate changes catch many unaware. The story goes on to tell how this same lady from the news thinks it's unfair that her credit card company raised her rate from 18% to 24.4%.

I'm not going to get into is this fair or why she has a balance on her credit card. My thoughts in all of this is as Dave Ramsey says, Credit Cards Reek. You will never experience financial freedom using credit cards as your emergency fund. 18% or 24.4% it doesn't matter. You have to come up with a financial game plan that excludes the use of credit cards.

By the way, here at NewPointe, we start sign-ups this weekend for Financial Peace University. The next round of classes start Jan. 15th. This class is life changing. I can't wait to get started.

Is it just me or is food costing more?

Over the last month or two, I've noticed in doing our cash flow plan that the amount of money Cindy and I allocate for groceries isn't going as far as it once did. I had heard that food prices were rising and the story I read in Kiplingers Personal Finance magazine confirmed it.

1. Food and beverage prices are rising at a 4.4% annual rate
2. Dairy prices are up 13% overall and up 26% for a gallon of milk. (That really hurts as my family goes through 3 gallons a week.)
3. Meat prices are up 6%
4. Bakery products are up 4.6%
   

Other than confirming the reason our food budget isn't affording us what it use to I'm sharing this to point out how important it is to have financial margin in your life. I know there's great financial pressure on people today and when costs rise on necessities it either cuts into your margin or it stress you out.

For me, having no debt except for my mortgage means rising food costs reduces my margin a little bit. The key is to eliminate your consumer debt ASAP!

,

Outstanding

Yesterdays service was outstanding. The Christmas spirit was flowing here at NewPointe. In addition to the dozen first time families that were here this weekend, NewPointers adopted 50+ in need families to support this Christmas. Way cool! (Outstanding.)

In my last post, I gave you a preview of the stage. Thanks to Paul Rothel, our wonderful volunteer photographer, I can share this picture taken yesterday. Paul does great work and consistently captures feeling with his pictures.


Two cool facts about the stage. The tallest tree is 20ft high. the two stockings are 9ft tall.

Sneak Peak

This Sunday is the first service of our new series titled, "All I want for Christmas." It's going to be very cool. A lot of volunteers have been working really hard to get our building looking the part for Christmas. Word has it that some were here until 2 a.m. last night. Unbelievable.

I think everyone will be amazed at how good the stage looks. Your going to get your sneak peak here from me. I snuck into the auditorium and snapped this picture while the team was working on the lights. You'll want to come Sunday to get the "true" feeling of the room. I got kicked out before I could get a better picture.

What's your financial Plan?

With only one month left in 2007, I've started gathering financial information from the year to do some planning for next year.

The week between Christmas and New Years, I sit down with my wife and we set some financial goals for the coming year. I believe very strongly that you have to have a financial plan and financial goals.

We look at the following areas in our financial goals:

1. In addition to tithing to NewPointe, how much are we going to give and to who are we going to give. God gave everything for and two us. He owns it all. By giving I'm showing God is first in our lives.
2. What are we saving for and how much.
   *Retirement plans at work
   *Roth IRA
   *Vacation fund
   *Christmas 2008
   *New to us (Used) car fund
3. Do we have any major appliance or home improvement projects in 2008?
4. Is it time to get our 15 year old his own checking account? (More on this topic later.)
5. We recently reviewed and I changed my life insurance so this is already checked off the list.

What other things should we include in our financial goal setting? Have any suggestions? Please share them with me.

Thanks

Speech, Speech,

Last month, I was asked to give a speech on financial stress to the employees of Union Hospital. Without hesitation I agreed. Why, because I love the topic of personal finance and this time of year financial stress it at the personal financial list.

In the first part of my talk, I'm going to share 7 practical ways to lesson financial anxiety during the Christmas season. Here are those tips.

1. Make a list of everyone you will be buying for this Christmas and put a dollar amount beside their name. Total the list. Is the total within your budget? If not, you must adjust the amount down.
2. Consider a gift exchange and remember to set a dollar limit.
3. Be creative. Make up certificates that say "This certificate is good for . . . ." Giving the gift of your time is worth way more than something purchased.
4. When you go shopping, go alone. A tired spouse or child may encourage you to impulsively buy so you can get home sooner.
5. Don't wait until the last minute to do all your shopping. This puts stain on your wallet. Spread your shopping out over weeks if not months.
6. Don't use a credit card. You'll be paying for Christmas for months to come and doing so could mean that gift ends up costing you 2 to 3 times as much as the original purchase price.
7. Jan 1, start planning/saving for next Christmas. If you spent $1,5oo this year then you need to save $136 a month from Jan thru Nov in 2008.

If you have read this post down to here, please say a pray for me for todays speech. I'm hoping that a door will be open and a life will be touched by what I share today.

Ever eat a Pomegranate?

If you ask my wife about my eating habits, she'd say I'm a health nut. I wouldn't go that far but I do prefer a banana over candy and I'm always on the look out for the fruit or vegetable of the season.

With Cindy's last grocery store run, She grocery shops once a week with a list and having a list will save you money, she purchased a Pomegranate. Pomegranate's even have their own web site. Www.Pomegranates.org. Who would have thought.

The fruit is really cool looking. It's bright red, has a great smell and the one I have is about the size of a softball. My son Chaz just walked by as I'm typing this and saw the Pomegranate and said "What the heck is that thing?" I told him and he still didn't know what it is.

Ok, confession time for me on this..... I had to go to the above linked web site to figure our how to get to the fruit. I must say it was very easy and I'll be purchasing Pomegranates on a regular basis from now on. Try one yourself and let me know what you think.

Always on the lookout. . . .

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and gave thanks for all the blessing in your life. I did.

I like to take some time over this long weekend to do some financial planning for the upcoming year. In doing that, I came across a good web site sponsored by the state of Ohio to help with personal finance. You should take note whenever the government gets involved in trying to educate people.

The web site is www.yourmoneynowonline.org. It is an educational financial site for all ages. Financial education is one of the main ways to help overcome financial stress that a lot of people are facing this time of year.

How about you. Do you have financial goals? If so please share one with me here. Here's one of mine for 2008. I want to save $50 per pay for / into our vacation fund.

Down Time

Every once in a while in my "Down Times", I like to play puzzles. I came across a great one thats called Kakuro.

Kakuro puzzles resemble cross-words with numbers; you have 'across' and 'down' clues, but instead of filling in letters, you must use the numbers 1-9

The aim of the game is to fill each blank square with a number from 1 to 9 to sum up to the clue associated with it. However, no number can be duplicated in an entry. For example a clue of 8 (over 2 squares) could be 1&7, 3&5, but not 4&4.

Give it a try next time you have "Down Time" the game is a lot of fun.

Off we go . . . .

It's 36 degrees outside and the white stuff is falling. What a great day to load up the bikes (5 of them) and hit the road. Myself, Bill G, Bud K, Scott W and Kevin B are heading down to Holly Springs NC to ride bicycle with our buddy Scott.

I'm really looking forward to getting away for a few days and riding hard. Last time we went down to ride with Scott, it was the beginning of the bike season in Ohio and I had to work hard to keep up with those NC bikers who had been riding for months. Now that I have 2,100 miles on my bike this year, I'm ready to ride up front with the "big dogs".

So, have a great weekend. I sure will.

Another FPU class in the Books

Last night was our last FPU class for 2007. These classes always go by fast. On one hand, it's sad when they end because members of the class form bonds through relationships of growing and sharing together and now we no longer meet on Tuesday nights. On the other hand, its exciting the life change that has taken place and the future these members have with financial tools at their disposal.

Here are some way cool results of this round of FPU.

1. Total debt paid off - $20,571
2. Total put into savings - $8,301
3. # of "Cash" envelopes being used - 103
4. # of financial success stories shared - dozens

A very big thanks to Larry & Mike for their time and leadership in co-leading this round of classes. You guys are great!

If you want to take control of your financial life, our next round of FPU classes will begin Jan 15th. Contact me via a comment if you are interested.

How much longer will we need "Cash"?

Looks cool, but is it going to replace your visa card?

Visa recently began promoting the Visa Micro Tag, a new key fob payment device embedded with Visa payWave, the company’s contactless technology feature. The Visa Micro Tag is designed to easily attach to a key ring, and allows cardholders to pay by simply waving their Visa Micro Tag in front of a contactless payment terminal.

Those with Visa payWave cards have the option of not having to sign for payments under $25. Just "wave and go".

There are two issues that may stop this form of payment before it even gets off the ground.

1. The RFID platform has been hacked a number of times already, proving that your key chain might be easier to access (wirelessly) than your back pocket.

2. The use of a PIN number is also not needed for smaller purchases, meaning that your keys may now become an easy target for thieves to score some quick cash.

Is technology going to far with something like this? What do you think?

Is it time for Holiday shopping?

This past weekend while watching college football, I saw my first Christmas commercial. It was advertising garmin gps systems. I remember the days when Holiday shopping didn't start until the day after Thanksgiving. Those days are long gone.

Today, nearly 40% of Holiday shoppers buy online. I do 99% of my shopping online. For those of you who still love "Black Friday", that's the day after Thanksgiving, I found a way to get a leg up on the crowds.

There is a web site called Black-Friday.net. It alerts you in advance to the ads printed in Thanksgiving Day newspaper circulars plus you'll find links to the products online so you don't have to wait outside a store in the dark.

Freeze those ID Theives

Almost 10 million people have their identity stolen and that wreaks havoc with their finances. We as consumers now have a new tool to block access to our credit report and score. This prevents anyone from granting credit to a identity thieves. What's that new tool? It's a credit freeze. A credit freeze gives consumers the choice to “freeze” or lock access to their credit file against anyone trying to open up a new account or to get new credit in their name.

When a credit freeze is in place at all three major credit bureaus, an identity thief cannot open a new account because the potential creditor or seller of services will not be able to check the credit file. When the consumer is applying for credit, he or she can lift the freeze temporarily using a PIN so legitimate applications for credit or services can be processed.

For more information on how to "freeze your credit" click on this link. www.consumberunion.org/securityfreeze.htm

Are Mutual Funds a bad buy?

This is a good question. Jason, left me a comment and asked me my opinion regarding an article he recently read on Bankrate.com from Phil Town and mutual funds.

The short version of the article is Phil Town doesn't like mutual funds. Keep in mind, Phil makes his living by selling books and "advising" people on how to make money in the stock market. One area I agree with Phil on is in most cases, you are much better off investing in an index fund than in a managed mutual fund.

Index funds beat 80% of managed funds each year. My investments, all mutual funds, include a number of index funds as they provide great diversification. (Diversification - to spread around)

In my opinion, Mutual Funds are the best investment vehicle for 99% of the people who invest.

IRS Web Scam

Be on the lookout for an email from the IRS. . . .

If you receive an email in your inbox saying the IRS has calculated your "fiscal activity" and that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of a certain amount, delete this email.

If you click on the link, you or type in the web address, you are sent to a website named "Get Your Tax Refund!" This site mimics the appearance of the genuine "Where's My Refund!"

Like the real site, taxpayers are asked to enter their Social Security Number and filing status. However, the phony site then asks for you credit card account number instead of the amount of the refund as shown on your tax return.

Always remember, the IRS doesn't contact taxpayers via email to advise them of refunds or to request financial Informaiton

All in good fun

This past Saturday, our family went to my cousins annual Halloween party. It's always lots of fun. Lots of family, laughs and good food. (Thanks Jackie & Tim)

Here's a picture of what Cindy and I went dressed as. What do you think?

Publish Post

Thinking about 2008 yet?

Have you given any thought to 2008 yet? The IRS has and they have made more than three dozen changes that will effect most all taxpayers.

For 2008, personal exemptions and standard deductions will rise, tax brackets will widen and workers will be able to save more for retirement, thanks to inflation adjustments announced last week by the IRS.

Here are a few changes worth noting.

• The value of each personal and dependency exemption, available to most taxpayers, is $3,500, up $100 from 2007.

• The new standard deduction is $10,900 for married couples filing a joint return (up $200), $5,450 for singles and married individuals filing separately (up $100) and $8,000 for heads of household (up $150). Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes.
  
  
• The maximum Hope credit, available for the first two years of post-secondary education, is $1,800, up from $1,650 in 2007.

Take advantage of the changes to make adjustments to your withholding on your paycheck. Remember when you get a refund from your tax return, you have given the government a interest free loan for 15 - 18 months.

Financial Stress

I've been invited to speak to a local group next month on Financial Stress. My talk will focus a lot on the holiday season and it's effect on our financial lives.

There are lots of ways I could go with this talk. I've got 20 minutes to convey a message and give some tips and tools that will help ease this stress.

I'm interested in your thoughts, tips and suggestions on this topic. I'm asking for your help in what with my presentation.

Please comment with your suggestions.

Thanks

Goal Reached! - 2,000 miles!

If you live near me, you know the weather was unbelievable this past weekend. Sunday was sunny and in the upper 70's. I took full advantage of this.

I'm very excited to report that I've exceeded 2,000 miles on my bicycle this year. This is a mile stone for me as this farther than I've ever ridden by bike in a single season.

One of the important lessons I've learned in reaching this goal is. You have to set your goals a little out of reach. I really never thought I'd hit 2,000 miles. By setting your goals a little out of reach and then telling someone what your goal is, you work harder to achieve it.

The most important thing about goal setting is not actually reaching the goal but it is who you are becoming as you work toward reaching your goal.

29 More!

Another Tuesday night, another Financial Peace class here at NewPointe. I know I blog a lot on FPU. That's because this is where and how God is using me in the ministries of NewPointe. That gets me pumped.

I get very excited when members of our class come forward and give up their credit cards to be cutup and destroyed. As such, last night was a great night. Between two couples they turned over 29 credit cards. Check out this picture. That's a stack of cards.


If you come to NewPointe for worship over the next few weeks, you'll get to hear first hand stories of life change from some of the people who have taken FPU here. I can't wait for others to hear what I already know. You have to get your financial house in order before you can truly
worship God.

Who's helping you grow?

On the way into work this morning I was thinking about the guys I meet with or talk with on a regular basis that help me learn and grow. Each guy that came to mind influence me in a different area of my life.

Because we have spent time together, trust has grown, stories have been shared and in turn we have helped each other grow. Here are the areas I'm growing in because of them.

1. Spiritually
   
2. Accountability
   
3. Professionally
4. Relationally
5. Leadership
6. Husband
7. Father
8. Employee
9. Boss
10. Volunteer
    

I hope you have a few people in your life that you can look to for growth. I believe as you grow you are doing life the way it should be done.

Bill, Bill, and more Bills

I'm sitting at the bar in my kitchen as I've just finished paying my bills for the the next two weeks. Why the next two weeks? Thats a great question. I get payed every two weeks. Tomorrow is pay day.

I always sit down the night before I get paid and "spend" every dollar of my paycheck on paper. Some pays it goes better than others if you know what I mean. But hey, that's life.

I use an excel spreadsheet to do the number crunching. This makes it easier to go back and revise my allocations as i work through the bills. Believe it or not, I enjoy this process. Once your entire paycheck is spent on paper, it takes away managing your finances by crisis or impulse.

Here's a snapshot of the spreadsheet that I use.

1. I enter in my net pay and my wife's net pay along with any check book balance carryover and any miscellaneous deposits. This adds up to what is available to spend in the next two weeks.

2. Next, we start "spending" the money by entering amounts in column C. As I do this, the remaining dollars available to spend in column D get smaller and smaller. When I get to the bottom of the sheet, column D must equal zero.

3. As I spend money throughout this pay period, I enter these amounts in columns E - H and column I shows me how much I have left to spend in each category.

How about you? What method do you use to pay your bills?

Steps for Life

The staffers at NewPointe just completed an 11 week walking challenge. The goal for each participant was 10,000 steps a day.

The results are in and I'm quite happy with how things ended up. I came to find out that as a staff, we are a competitive bunch and each team (there were 3 teams of 7 people each)wanted to win. The winning team gets their car's washed by the loosing two team.

It was very close. Here are the total number of steps by team:

1st Place 7,229,860
2nd Place 7,150,349
3rd Place 7,079,567

On a personal note, I was very happy with how I did. Yes, I walked the most steps out of everyone.

I walked 1,667,772 steps in ll week or approximately 790 miles. That's way cool. On a side note, I only have 15 more miles to go pedaling my bicycle to reach my goal of 2,000 miles for the year.

bankrate.com and going green.

I love bankrate.com's web site. It's full of great financial information. The site focuses mostly on news, tips and advice to compare mortgage rates, home equity loans, CDs, car loans, credit cards and money market accounts.

Recently, They ran an article on living green. In fact, they list 153 ways to go green. You can link to the article here. I've been investigating how to go green around our house of late. Much to the chagrin of my wife, I'm replacing all of incandescent bulbs with Compact fluorescent bulbs.

Compact fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. They're more expensive than traditional light bulbs, but it only takes about 3 months to make up for the higher sticker price in energy savings.

You will save $85 over the life of the bulb for each 60-watt light bulb you replace with a 15-watt CFL. You'll also save 543 kWh of electricity and reduce your CO2 emissions by 833 pounds.

This is a simple and cool way to go green and save some green $$.

Fasting

I'm sharing something very personal here today. I'm doing so because after just finishing a fast, I believe it's something all Christ followers should do.

For some time now, I have sensed God wanting to deal with me regarding certain areas of my life. (God's good like that.) I knew this would be painful and I wanted to be "all in" and to be focused like a laser on God during this process.

In cooperating with God on this, I did a three day fast. The fast, along with many quiet times in prayer and reflection was life changing. I really focused on God and He did a work in my heart. I'm in awe at how I'm feeling right now. I wish I could stay here.

If you want to experience a breakthrough and let God do a work in your heart, consider fasting. It will rock your world.

IRS & Lesson Learned

Last week, here at work, I received a letter from the IRS. If you are anything like me, just seeing the envelope with "IRS Notice" gets your heart pumping a little faster.

Deep down, I had a feeling I knew what this notice was about. See during our reorganization time, I was late in filing our payroll deposit. I knew the IRS would come a knocking on this and rightfully so.

I opened the letter to see that NPCC was being assessed $381.30 in a penalty. Ouch. In reading through the letter and getting past the "warning" of additional penalties and interest if not paid by 9/17/2007, there's this section at the bottom of the letter stating "Removal of Penalties."

The IRS say's if you have reasonable cause the IRS would consider reducing or removing the penalties. That was my open door.

I wrote the IRS a letter laying out the reasons for my late filing and that I've never filed late in the past and I've taken steps to insure this doesn't happen again in the future.

I'm very pleased to say in the mail today was a letter from the IRS waving the $381.30 penalty.
If you've stayed with this post this long, thanks. The point of all this is to be proactive in all that you do. When you are wrong admit it. Don't try and hide it or make excuses. Take responsibility for your actions and learn.

Thanks IRS for the waived penalty and lessons learned.

RetailNeNot

I'm always looking for great ways to save money. Recently, I came across a web site called Retail MeNot. On this web site you enter a product you are looking at purchasing and if there's coupons or discounts on this product, RetailMeNot will provide you with printable coupons for it.

RetailMeNot provides a database of over 35,000 coupon codes, each of which is tagged according to its category, and rated by users according to its utility. The site offers discussion forums where members can swap shopping tips. You can also download a Firefox extension, a Mac Dashboard widget, or a quick-access bookmarklet to make finding coupon codes even simpler.

This weekend, I'll be using this site for a Papa John's pizza for a buy one get one for $0.99.

It keeps getting better

Last night was another great Financial Peace class. We began the night by cutting up 10 credit cards. That's 18 total for this class. Way cool!

After the credit card party, we started the DVD and learned all about investments. Here are a few key points when considering investing.

1. Savings would be defined as a period of 0 - 5 years.
2. Investing is anything over 5 years.
3. Playing individual stocks will on average get you a return of only 7%
4. Diversification (to spread around) is the most important part of your investment plan.
5. Pay off your consumer debt before you start investing.
6. The Roth IRA is a great investment choice.
   

Great Weather & Cool Pictures

This weekend was the best weather weekend of the year in my book. Low 80's no humidity and lots to sunshine. As such, I got to ride my bicycle both Saturday and Sunday. I rode a total of 68 miles. (By the way, I'm now over 1,800 miles ridden for the year. 2,000 miles is within reach.)

During my ride on Saturday, I came to find out that the Ohio Plein (Outdoor painting) Society was all over Tuscarawas county painting landscapes. So, After my ride, My wife and I borrowed my mother-in-law's convertible and headed out to take in the beauty of Tuscarawas county in the fall.

Here are a few pictures that I took. Enjoy.

One of the Ohio Plein Artists allowed me to take this picture.





One of the roads I ride down


I love Barns & there are lots of them in Tusc County

Minimum Payments. What is it costing you?

Let's face it. The interest you pay on your credit card debt is like throwing money away. This is a blanket statement but what is credit card debt really costing you?

If you are making the minimum payment on your credit card each month their's a free tool that shows you just how much this is costing you. Check-out this credit card calculator over at bankrate.com.

Here's an example: If you carry a balance on your credit card of $5,000 @ 12% interest and make the minimum payment each month of 2.5% $125. It will take you 219 months (just over 18 years) and cost you $3,180 in interest to pay off the $5,000. Ouch!

If you could bump up your payments to $200 per month, you would pay this same $5,000 off in 29 months (2 1/2 years) and pay only $782 in interest.

Two points in all of this. One, Stop using credit cards. Two do whatever you can to be able to pay more than the minimum monthly payment each month.

Nana Nana Na, Nana Nana Na, 8 Credit Cards Goodbye

I so excited. Last night during our Financial Peace dumping debt lesson, we cut up 8 credit cards. Way Cool!

I believe that the families who were bold enough to come up in front of our class and say no more to their credit cards are feeling a tremendous sense of freedom today.

Truth be told, I have no idea if these families have credit card debt but the fact they are saying goodbye Credit Cards is a step toward financial freedom.

I'm so very proud and blessed to be part of life change here at NewPointe.

Thank You!

Yesterday after services were over, the "paid" facilities staff transformed Studio 56, our 5th and 6th grade space, into a banquette hall. We thanked our "unpaid" facilities team with a lunch.

There were more than 75 people in attendance and many more who were unable to attend. The lunch was a thank you for the work that they do around NewPointe.

Truth be known, the weekend services wouldn't go off the way they do without the dedication of those on the facilities team. This group of dedicated individuals give countless hours each week and they are the ones that make this building shine.

Thanks guys for all you are doing and may God bless you richly for serving in this way!

How do you measure up?

The list of 12 items from my last on a Healthy Financial Plan included retirement funding. (That was item #5)

In doing some reading today, I came across this very interesting chart. Based on your age and retirement Savings Value, what percentage do you fall into?

To be truthful, it doesn't really matter. The important thing is that you are saving for retirement and that you are doing it consistently.

Retirement Savings

Reported total savings and investments not including value of defined-benefit plans or primary residence, active workers by age group, 2007

	Age group
	25-34	35-44	45-54	55+
Less than $10,000	50%	36%	24%	26%
$10,000-$24,999	18	16	10	5
$25,000-$49,999	9	10	11	9
$50,000-$99,999	10	14	15	11
$100,000-$149,999	7	7	9	11
$150,000-$249,999	1	9	10	9
$250,000-$499,999	1	4	12	11
$500,000 or more	4	4	9	17
Note: Survey of 1,001 active workers.
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute

Healthy Financial Plan

How do you know if you have a healthy financial plan? There is more to it than saving for retirement and your kids college.

Here a list of items you should have in place or be working on as part of your overall financial plan.

1. A per pay cash flow plan. (Tell each dollar where it's going before you get paid.)
2. A Will (This is a must have!)
3. A debt reduction plan.
4. An Emergency Fund
5. Retirement Funding
6. Life Insurance
7. Health Insurance
8. Disability Insurance (Most people ignore this one. Don't you ignore it.)
9. Adequate Auto & Home owners insurance. (When did you last review these?)
10. Charitable Giving
11. Teaching your children how to handle money.
12. College funding for your kids.

If you are addressing these 12 items you have a health financial plan. If you are missing some of these 12 things then set an action date right now and get it done.

18 wonderful years

Yesterday was my 18th wedding anniversary. I am very blessed to be married to a wonderful woman. Among many important milestones in our marriage, Cindy played a big role in me having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. For that, I am eternally grateful.

I must say our 18th anniversary day will be a memorable one. We spent 7 hours together in our own private room. . . . at Union Hospital. A blood test, chest x-ray, and 3 bags of I.V. solution we headed for home. Cindy started getting sick Friday night and continued to get worse. So Sunday it was off to the emergency room.

I just got off the phone with her and she's feeling a little better today. Say a get well prayer for her.

Thanks

1400 chairs in two minutes flat

Each week, teams of dedicated NPCCers come in on Saturday nights to transform our auditorium from sports space to worship space.

Thanks guys for your dedication and attention to detail. Take three minutes and enjoy their efforts.

Top 5 signs you may be in financail trouble

Getting into financial trouble can happen to anyone. There are some signs that are obvious but there are many more than are not. Spotting the signs that allude to underlying troubles can often be difficult. While we all know that we should get out of debt and spend less than we make there are plenty of more subtle clues out there that could signal pending financial problems in the future.

Here are 5 warning signs to look out for.

1. You have little or no savings. At a minimum, you should have $1,000 set aside for emergencies. (Ideally, you should have 3 - 6 months of living expenses in a savings account.)
2. No Budget. You have to have a game plan and tell your money where to go each pay.
3. Financing a vehicle for more than 5 years. (It is possible to pay cash for a vehicle.)
4. Money fights with your spouse. This is the number one reason for divorce.
   
5. Using Credit Cards to pay for necessities because you don't have the cash.

There's lots of help out there in getting your finances under control. One of the best resources I know of is Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University. I've got his best selling book, The Total Money makeover available here on my blog. (See below.) This book will change your life, if you apply it.

Mega Millions, Just another Tax

One of the articles on the front page of our local paper today was "Mega jackpot: Area residents lining up for chance to win". The jackpot is up to $330 million. That's a lot of money and people line up to buy tickets for a chance to be a millionaire.

Did you know that your odds of having the winning ticket is One in 175,711,536. Did you know a person who plays the lottery on a regular basis spends on average $30 per week. Let's see, $30 per week x 52 weeks a year = $1,560 with little if any winnings. (Looks a lot like a tax to me. . . )

How about this instead of purchasing tickets. $30 per week invested in a Roth IRA earning 10% from age 20 to age 65 (45 years) equals $1,233,641 TAX FREE every time.

This sure beats odds of 1 in 175million. So this weekend, skip the Mega Millions ticket line and open up a Roth IRA.

Do you have a Cash Flow Plan?

Well? What's your plan? One of the most valuable things I've learned in leading Financial Peace University is this: If you don't tell your money where to go, it will leave all by itself. Hang with me and I'll explain.

Before I had a paycheck by paycheck cash flow plan when I had money in my checkbook a day or two before I got paid, that money left. I found something to spend it on. I said, "Hey, I get paid tomorrow so what can I buy? This money's not doing any good just sitting in my checkbook." Have you been there?

Now with my cash flow plan, every dollar is "spent" on paper before I actually get paid. I even have a "blow" category in my cash flow plan. We all blow money and that's ok. Just plan for it.

So why do a cash flow plan before each paycheck?

1. You avoid managing finances by crisis.
2. Managed money goes farther. ( I don't know why but it does.)
3. It reduces money fights in your relationships.

Three great reasons to me. Try it. If it doesn't work, you can always go back to the way your doing it now.