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A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with A Single Step

07.22.2009 by Matt Jabs //

In our Wealth Pilgrim Radio interview yesterday evening Neal Frankle & I talked a lot about passion.  What my passions are, how I discovered them, etc.  In an email to Friends of The Simple Dollar Trent Hamm recently asked for “a key piece of advice that really changed the way you saw the world and helped bring about real change in your life.”

The combination of these two events inspired me to write this post.

How I lacked the ability to set goals…

Historically I had always been a man of no specifically set goals.  I was never sure exactly why or how I developed & maintained this aversion to process oriented accomplishment.  Whatever the problem was — whether I just couldn’t find the time, didn’t place enough value in achievement, or maybe just didn’t want to be bothered — I had the problem.

Setting goals was not something I regularly purposed to avoid, but rather I had always been a “fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants” type of guy who just didn’t find it commonly necessary to assimilate goals into my life.

I may have grown tired of this character flaw at different times, but never had the proper set of circumstances materialize to spur me into actually implementing change.  I suppose I always found goal setting to be overwhelming, rendering me frustrated and unable to formulate a personal achievement plan.  Looking back now, I can see how the truth of that last statement may have embodied my goal paralysis.

What finally woke me up…

In January of 2009 the stars finally aligned so to speak when I found a desperately simple piece of advice that would finally remove the scales from my eyes allowing me to understand the incredible value process oriented achievement could bring, and just how I could implement a goal setting strategy that worked for me into my life.  This lucid quote brought it all together for me:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”  – Lao Tzu

Glancing over the quote after typing it I suppose the key could lie in the way the quote combines the wonder and excitement of travel & discovery with accomplishing established tasks in life.  Whatever brought me clarity — whether it was the element of adventure, the lack of desired achievement, or the hope of future accomplishment — I have that clarity.

How setting goals has helped me achieve…

Since first reading that quote early this year, I have established life achievement goals and worked to break those down into smaller, more achievable and tangible short-term goals.  I have also been able to successfully implement goals into every aspect of my life, including my personal finance.  The understanding gained also goes beyond goal setting and helps me better work toward achieving anything I set my mind to because I am no longer overwhelmed with the entire process.  I have been able to set up a working, living, family budget.  I have been able to increase my ability to read and finish books.  I have been able to lose nearly 40 pounds.  I have been able to grow more and more self-reliant.  I have been able to change my eating habits to include predominately healthy, local, organic foods.  I am closer with my wife and I am closer with my God.

There are other examples of implementation but I think you understand the power this simple quote has allowed me to find within myself.

What about you?

Are you naturally a goal-oriented person or did you need a similar eye opening piece of information to help you finally adopt a goal centered, and purpose driven life?

Categories // Counsel, Featured, General Tags // goals

Localvore – Eat Local Foods and Save Money

07.20.2009 by Matt Jabs //

A localvore is any individual who prefers to eat healthy, locally grown/produced food.

The following post is just one example of how my wife & I are becoming increasingly focused on eating healthy, organic, fresh, local, in season foods, and how this transformation has benefited both our pocketbook and our health!

Buying fresh, organic food DOES NOT have to equate to spending more money!

While I was laboring away in the air conditioned office today, my wife headed to a local organic farm to pick part of our yearly supply of fresh blueberries!  Beginning this year we have committed to purchasing fresh organic foods in bulk (whenever possible) and preserving them for use throughout the year.  This is the story of our yearly blueberry trip.

How many frozen organic store bought blueberries does $10 buy?

The following photo shows that $10 (plus tax totalling $10.60) will purchase 3 pounds of frozen wild blueberries.

Okay, looks like a decent deal for 3 pounds of frozen blueberries, but what about fresh picked, organic blueberries…

How many fresh picked organic blueberries does $10 buy?

I’m glad you asked.  You may not believe this, but $10 will buy you 10 pounds worth or fresh picked blueberries in Lansing, MI.

As you can see… you can purchase more than 3x as many fresh, local, hand-selected, organic blueberries as you can their frozen, store bought counterpart.

Just one more example to show us that purchasing healthy, nutrient dense, organic foods does not have to be more expensive, as the food marketing giants would initially have us believe.  Sure, if you do all your shopping in a health food store, you will pay more.  But if you focus on a few key concepts, you can easily start eating much healthier and more local.

Other specific ways to become a localvore…

  • get creative & think outside the box
  • buying local (shop local farmers markets & develop relationships with local farmers)
  • pick your own fruit if possible
  • start your own garden
  • buy organics in bulk (like these berries, flour to bake your own breads, or tomatoes to can for winter)
  • learn how to preserve food (by freezing, canning, etc.)

By following these simple steps… and by developing a “localvore” mentality you actually stand to save quite a bit of money, and increase your health in the process!  My wife & I are living proof…

Here are some great websites to help you find the healthy, sustainable, organic farms in your area:

  • LocalHarvest.org – real food, real farmers, real community
  • EatWild.com – #1 site for grass-fed food & facts
  • SustainableTable.org – serving up healthy food choices

Enjoy!  And just remember to take things one small step at a time...

DFA is passionately dedicated to helping people break the bondage of debt & work toward financial freedom using biblical principles.

Categories // Expenses, Featured, Money Management, Tips Tags // food, healthy, local, save

Pay off Credit Cards VS Build Emergency Fund Savings – Me VS Suze Orman

07.17.2009 by Matt Jabs //

Pay Off Credit Cards VS Build Emergency Fund SavingsRecently I had a bit of a “tweet off” with Suze Orman because of a slight breakdown in communication between Suze, my wife, and myself…

What Happened?

Now that we are a one car family — at least temporarily — my wife takes me to & picks me up from work when…  a). I stay up too late blogging.  OR  b). I’m too lazy to ride my bike.  One or the other happens most days!

On our way home the other day she mentioned how she had been watching Suze Orman on Oprah (via our free over-the-air HD digital TV signal since I refuse to pay for television anymore) and was wondering if we were following the specific financial advice Suze was offering that day.  Despite being swayed by the advice Miss Orman was offering, Mrs. Jabs was not able to accurately relay the information to me exactly as she had heard it from the boob tube — probably more my fault than hers since I have been know to be a bad listener from time to time.

Here’s what my wife was trying to tell me, based on advice from Suze:

We should be focusing on building our Emergency Fund savings (and other savings for that matter) before paying off all our credit card debt because…

  1. If you have an emergency, you will have money saved to take care of your needs and will not have to go further into credit card debt.
  2. Many banks are closing your credit cards if you pay them off and discontinue use; so if you pay them all off & have no Emergency Fund built up, then you have NO way to pay for your emergency… not even with a card.

Here’s the way I was interpreting what she was telling me, based on advice from Suze:

We should be retaining at least part of our credit card debt so that the banks don’t shut off our cards.

As you can see there was a miscommunication from the time the information left Suze’s mouth, came through the tube, entered into my wife’s ears, proceeded to be processed through her brain, marinated awhile, passed on to my ears, was processed through what I like to call “my ingenious mind”, then was finally realized as I sat there in the passenger seat on the way home shaking my head in disagreement.

What Did I Do?

I did what any self-respecting personal finance blogger would do… I tweeted Suze Orman!  Here’s how it went down:

As you can see, we were able to resolve our differences… which I’m sure left Suze very relieved!

So What’s The Answer

As you know there is never one right answer for everybody in every situation, however… I’m going to take a crack at it!  Although I do not agree with Suze Orman on all her teaching points, we do agree on the subject of building your emergency fund; but I am going to throw in one additional piece of advice…

In most situations reaching a healthy balance is the name of the game, and the subject of Emergency Funds and Credit Card Debt Reduction is no different.  Based on this precept of proper balance, my wife & I have committed to focus our financial efforts on both.

We attack our credit card debt by focusing 75% of our available funds toward it.  We also strike a balance that works for us by putting 25% into Emergency Fund savings. This way we are simultaneously, and comfortably reducing our high interest debt and building our savings safety net.

What Do You Think?

What works for you?  Do you put all your eggs in either basket… or do you balance your eggs by spreading them out in different baskets so if you drop your one basket you’ll still have another basketful eat for breakfast?

Categories // Debt, Featured, Investing, Money Management Tags // credit, credit cards, Debt, emergency fund

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Disclaimer

Content on Debt Free Adventure is for entertainment purposes only. Rates & offers from advertisers shown on this website may change without notice: please visit referenced sites for current information. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. We respect your privacy. Privacy policy.

Popular Posts

  • Lending Club - My Review of Social Lending
  • Understanding & Improving your Cash Flow
  • Credit Card Debt Reduction Handbook
  • Our Monthly Debt Reduction and Savings Statements
  • Pay off Credit Cards VS Build Emergency Fund Savings - Me VS Suze Orman
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  • More Reasons to Pay Off Credit Card Debt
  • Wise Use of Paid off Credit Cards? You Decide.
  • The Whole Armor of Personal Finance
  • One World Currency - New World Order
  • Debt Testimonials - Encouraging Success Stories!

Disclaimer

Content on Debt Free Adventure is for entertainment purposes only. Rates & offers from advertisers shown on this website may change without notice: please visit referenced sites for current information. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. We respect your privacy. Privacy policy.

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