Onward I Go Despite the Potholes

The past two weeks have been aggravating as far as making money goes.  I’ve been working, working, working, but it has brought in very little additional income.  The work I’ve been doing has essentially been, for the most part, either volunteer work or necessary work that I’ve had to do at home.  And, on top of all that, due to slow work, my husband has been laid off temporarily.  While I was sitting here a couple of days ago feeling sorry for myself, however, a thought occurred to me.  I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason, and that God works in mysterious ways. 

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:3

The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.  Isaiah 58:11

The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.  Proverbs 11:3

Scripture says to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).  I believe that God has been at work here.  Even though I haven’t made a lot of money (so far, I believe I’ve managed to make an additional $7.00 from my penny millions), I have been learning a lot.  I’ve been reading a great deal and have been making notes about new ways to make money.  I’ve come up with several ideas (that I’ll share as I work to implement them) that I hadn’t had before.  Though things look a bit more bleak than I had hoped at this point, I am certain that this is just for a “season” (Ecclesiates 3:1)  Remarkably, I now have a great deal of peace.

I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendents begging bread.  Psalm 37:25

And my god shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added until you.  Matthew 6:33

I do believe, whole heartedly, that God is leading my husband and I.  When I started this I never thought it would be easy.  I knew that when I started this blog that I would be opening up myself for ridicule and certainly disappointment.  I realize that I’ve made a big claim.  But, you know what?  No matter what my family and I are facing right now, God’s Word will always remain true.  I’m not giving up.

and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”  Exodus 15:26

You have commanded usTo keep Your precepts diligently.  Psalm 119:4

I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.  Proverbs 18:7

He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.  Proverbs 10:4

The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.  Proverbs 12:24

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.  Proverbs 13:4

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5

Yesterday I put my nose to the grindstone and wrote several articles for Associated Content. I don’t expect to make a lot of money from this, but it helps. And, like I said earlier, I have several ideas for making money in the future. It’s really all a matter of time. I have to iron all the kinks out before I can begin implementing them… and I need to educate myself on a few things before I can move forward with them. I apologize for the secrecy, but I don’t want to throw it out in the world just yet.

A prudent man forsees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Proverbs 22:3

Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts. Proverbs 24:3-4

But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills? Luke 14:28

I’m reading as much as I possibly can right now. Educating myself, I believe, is the key to success here. I’ve made a lot of mistakes with money in the past and I believe that a lot of that was because I was naive about it. I am taking this step by step, however. I am not at the point where I can invest in stocks, so I’m not educating myself on that just yet. I’m still just a novice when it comes to money, so I am learning and implementing information about keeping up with my spending, cutting down on spending (see my previous post), and new ways to bring in income.

Cutting Spending

Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:14

How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.  Proverbs 16:16

I wasn’t able to try my new schedule today for writing. I had to do some emergency work for a family member, which took all of my time. For all the planning I’ve been doing, it was aggravating that I couldn’t apply my new ideas today. But, it brought my thinking back around to where it should be. I was reminded today that no matter how much I plan for my future, if I’m not living in the present then it won’t amount to anything. With that in mind I stopped by the library and checked out some books on money, finances, etc. The book I’m reading right now, Live Well on Less Than You Think by Fred Brock, got my attention on some things that I can do today. Chapter 3 spoke of ending spending in areas that isn’t necessary, like cutting down on going to the movies… or eating out.

For at least 11 years now I’ve had a checking account with my bank that charged me $7.00 a month. They have a free checking alternative, so I stopped by today and signed up for the free checking. That alone will save me $84.00 a year. So, for the last 11 years, I have spent an extra (and unnecessary) $924.00.  Oof!

We have cable television.  We have Netflix.  I’ve decided that at this present moment we don’t need both.  I can get almost any movie I want through the library for free, so I’ve decided to lose the Netflix… at least for a while.  Movie night is a big deal at my house, so at least until we run out of movies via the library, I can save some money this way.  It will save me approximately $144.00 a year.  Dropping cable really isn’t an option because I love to watch documentaries while I sew, and we share the programming with my family that lives upstairs. 

To be honest, I’m not certain exactly what other areas of our lives I can cut costs in, but I intend to find out.  I am going to start keeping up with what we are spending our money on and try to make changes that will help us save money. 

I am also going to read The Tightwad Gazette and get some ideas that I may not have considered. 

I consider these changes I’m making as income.  Though it does not necessarily qualify as funds for my Penny Millions, I am still going to add it to it.  In short, I am adding an additional $19.00 to my savings to go toward paying off the bills.  I will add this amount next week because that’s typically when the money would normally be taken from my account.

Time Management and Planning

A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. Proverbs 21:5

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18

I am a scheduler.  I like making schedules.  I enjoy knowing what is on my agenda for the day and being able to mark things off as I do them.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment.  I found out a few years ago that this is actually a good thing… despite the massive amount of teasing I’ve received from doing this.  I don’t mind the teasing, though.  I’ve come to realize that this is just a part of who I am.

At any rate, as you can tell from my last post, I’ve found a way to make some money with Associated Content. That’s gotten me somewhere, but I’m going to need a lot more than that to meet my ultimate goals. Three to four dollars a day isn’t going to cut it.

I have a new goal. I noticed that with Associated Content my pay increased with the amount of articles I wrote. The way AC works, also, is that you are also paid based on the amount of links your work receives. Essentially, the more articles I write, the more clicks I will receive, which will bring me in more income. I think the no brainer here is to simply write more stuff. After I’ve written enough articles to bring in an income based on clicks alone, I can step back and work on other things to make money.

Initially I had set myself up to write a certain number of articles per day, but taking a look at the big picture, I don’t think that will work well. For one, I have a level of integrity I’d like to maintain. I don’t want to just write anything, put my name on it, and throw it out to the world. Instead, I want the things that I write to have a flavor, a richness, a body. If my name is going to be on it, then I want it to represent quality. So, to meet my standards, and make more money, I have decided to set aside a certain amount of time each day just for writing.

This is going to take some adjusting. I already have a relatively full plate. I homeschool my daughter, which takes about 4 to 5 hours a day. I spend about an hour in travel/waiting time for my son for school. And, because my husband and I have chosen for me to stay at home with kiddos, then it is also my responsibility to have meals planned and cooked, housework done, laundry washed and put away, etc. Then there are a myriad of other daily activities I have to do that I won’t even bring up. What I’m looking at here is time management.

For the sake of my readers I am going to give a rough idea of how I intend to adjust my daily routine to make room for writing. I’m not particularly keen on everyone knowing what my typical day is like, but I realize that if I am going to be of any help that I need to give an account of how I am making adjustments so that anyone else who is attempting this can follow along. So, here goes:

06:00 am — quiet time (this is time for Bible study, prayer, and writing in my journal)
06:45 am — get myself and the kids ready for the day, make and eat breakfast, feed the animals, make the beds
08:15 am — begin homeschooling, do chores (laundry, sweeping/vacuuming, picking up, dusting, getting the crock pot started for dinner)
09:00 am — continue homeschooling, writing time (this is both for Associated Content and for this blog.
10:00am — break (everyone needs a recess, after all) –This is a good time for a snack and some exercise.
10:30 am — send my little lady back to the books, continue writing (at this point I am writing strictly for AC – with breaks here and there for laundry)
12:00 pm — lunch (I will always have this prepared as you’ll see below)
12:30pm — finish up homeschool, get back to writing
02:30 pm — Run errands
03:30 pm — break and snack for the kids, work on dinner
04:00 pm — study time for kiddos, writing time for me
05:00 pm — dinner time, family time, finish up homework, feed the animals
08:00 pm — prepare lunches for the next day, kids get ready for bed, time for me to do research for articles I’d like to write.
09:00 pm — bedtime

I will probably have to make a few adjustments here and there as I go along, but this is the basic schedule that I plan on trying out. Later on I will have to make time for another idea I am planning that I’m only currently working with on weekends. I am not accustomed to using a schedule based on a time frame, so this is going to take some getting used to.

You may or may not have noticed that I mentioned that I had some other ideas for future money making.  I will share information on that in another post.  The reason I bring it up now is to make a point.

The scriptures at the top of this all talk about planning/vision.  Planning is making a series of goals in order to meet a bigger objective.  I’ve already stated my BIG goal: to get out of debt and have money set aside for the things I need down the road.  I need smaller goals to achieve along the way so that I can reach my ultimate destination.  I have made a “rough draft” plan on how to get myself out of debt, at least, for my smaller debts like credit cards.  I don’t feel comfortable enough yet to even attempt to plan beyond that yet.  I’m still in unchartered territory.

My point is that I need something to do “next.”  I need motivation.  I need to be able to mark something off of my “to do” list, so to speak.  That next step is to make $400 to pay off my smallest debt first.  I have a credit card whose payoff is roughly $200 (I know it sounds puny, but combined with the other debt, it adds up… remember the penny millions concept — pennies add up?  Debt does the same thing.)  My goal is to have double the amount in my Penny Millions fund to pay off a debt.  In short, $400 saved for a $200 payoff.  That way, I don’t have to start from a 0 balance everytimeI pay off a debt.  I am moving forward with my money, and paying off debt at the same time. 

My next payoff amount is roughly $500.  I will have $1000 in my Penny Millions fund before I pay that amount off.  It is much easier to make money when I have money to begin with… –I hope my plan makes sense to you.  If it doesn’t, let me know and I’ll try to clarify.

Dave Ramsey would have me put back $1000 in an emergency fund first.  I like this idea very much, but at the moment it is simply impossible for me to do that.  We don’t have the income for that.  My husband is already working above and beyond a forty hour work week, and it doesn’t make sense for me to work outside of the home.  After subtracting gas and babysitting from my paycheck I would be left with very little.  It would be more sensible for me to cut costs and make money doing what I’m already doing. 

I intend to begin my new schedule this Monday (October 6th).

Starting from Scratch — kind of

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.  1Timothy 6:6-8

I believe that everyone starts out the same way.  We all come into the world owning absolutely nothing. I know that some were born to parents who were better off than others, and that some were born in abusive situations, but God makes it clear here that we all start out AND end the same way… we own NOTHING.  It’s the area in between that we have control of. 

Using this same idea I’m utilizing something called Penny Millions.  The concept of Penny Millions is starting from nothing and ending up with a million dollars.  For my purposes, however, I’m not after that kind of money.  Instead, I am utilizing it to meet financial goals to pay off debt, making necessary (and some unnecessary) purchases, and eventually having money put back for the kids’ college, emergency funds, and retirement. 

To begin Penny Millions, you simply scan public parking lots and sidewalks for change.  You begin with whatever you find, and double it.  So, let’s say that I go to the grocery store and find a penny.  The next step is to double that amount from 1 cent to 2 cents.  There are steps to the “game” (I like thinking of it as a game because it helps keep me motivated to keep going).  For example, step 1 is one penny.  Step two is two pennies.  Step three is 4 pennies.  Every step doubles the amount from the step before.  For the first few steps, it is easier to double your money by just finding it on the ground. 

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. Proverbs 13:4

When most people drop change on the ground, they don’t bother to pick it up.  If we change the way we think about those pennies we drop on the ground, we begin to see other areas of our lives where we are wasting.  Those pennies do add up. 

There are a few rules to the “game.”  I’ve changed some of them to meet my personal goals.  For example, one of the rules is that you can’ t make money through Penny Millions doing something you’ve done before to make money.  If I have made money before selling baseball cards on Ebay, then I can’t, according to the rules, sell baseball cards on Ebay again.  I’ve changed that rule.  I don’t sell baseball cards, but I do intend to use methods I’ve utilized in the past to make money.  Because this is *my* personal game, I feel that I can play by *my* personal rules.  I have no guilt. 

Gas is expensive, so it would be counter-productive to go out of your way to find that change.  Look for change in places where you are already at or a quick stop on your way from point A to point B. 

If you want to see the rules for yourself go the Penny Millions website and click on “DIY Plan.” The owner asks that you read his terms and agreements section before proceding (it proves for interesting reading), then click on the link just below it entitled “Enter the DIY Plan Section.”

I actually started the Penny Millions game about 2 months ago. Even though I have a bit of a head start, this is still something you can implement in your strategy.  Anyway, this is a log of what I’ve done so far just to bring you up to date.  I have been a little slow at getting started due to a couple of urgent matters that has nothing to do with this.

August 17 – I found my first penny in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

August 23 – I found 71 cents at a car wash we stopped at on the way to a friend’s house.

August 25 – I wrote my first article for Associated Content entitled How to Use Organization to Take Control of Your Life. I received $3.24 for this submission.

August 26 – We stopped by the car wash again on the way to the grocery store and I found 32 cents. I also wrote another article for Associated Content entitled How to Celebrate Autumn on a Budget. That submission got me another $3.39 for my Penny Millions fund.

August 28 – I went to the pharmacy for my brother and he gave me 75 cents for my trouble. I also wrote my third article for Associated Content, Fast and Healthy Breakfasts on the Run. This article put $3.00 in my pocket.

August 29 – I wrote Using Color to Enhance Your Blog for Associated Content for $3.50.

August 30 – Article number 5 was written for an additional $4.03. It’s called How to Use Organization to Take Control of Your Life — Step 2

September 8 – Eating Disorders: Alternative Methods for Control was written for $4.50.

September 14 – I submitted an article to Associated Content for a submission for their partners. There was no upfront payment for this entry, and it has not been published yet. The title of it is Taming Feral Cats and Hearing From God.

September 22 – When I joined Associated Content, they promised an additional $10 to anyone who submitted 5 articles before a certain date. I met that criteria, and received my $10 today.

September 30 – I submitted the first page of this blog to Associated Content. I did this primarily for advertising reasons, and because I have published it already, there will be no upfront payment.  This is also the day I began this blog.

My total to date is $33.45.  I am on step 12 ($20.48), almost to step 13 ($40.96).  I know this doesn’t appear to be much money, but remember, please, that I started with absolutely nothing.  I am also in the beginning stages, and am building steam as I go.

Breaking Ground

The last couple of years have been a whirlwind of financial energy… With gas prices going up, thereby forcing prices in everything else to go up, the average person is having a hard time making ends meet. With the economy in such disorder, the facts are hard to ignore. The American people are in trouble. Life is hard now, and future predictions bring even more bad news. With banks going under, and high prices at every turn, hope is a hard thing to find. People are looking for answers. People are looking for someone to blame. Our budget has become weaker, and our debt stronger. I believe, however, that there is hope. I want to take my belief a step further and offer proof. I am going on a financial journey, and I expect my destination will be a lovely oasis of financial freedom. It is exactly times like these that God chooses to work. In the face of financial ruin and economic disaster I am choosing to stand on the principles that God has given. By changing my way of thinking, having faith, and following clear cut instructions in Scripture, I intend see something beautiful arise “from the ashes.” I invite you to join me in my adventure.

Estimations have been given that there will be 2 million homes foreclosed on by 2009. This is staggering. I can’t even begin to imagine the massive amount of credit card debt we Americans have incurred, and how much of that isn’t being paid. From a personal standpoint, I would be more likely to pay my house payment than I would my credit card bill(s). According to creditcards.com the 2007 statistics show an astronomical amount of debt from those credit cards. Almost everything the average American “owns” is through credit. Take a look at these numbers of credit card debt.

1. Bank of America — $106.03 billion
2. Wells Fargo — $54.67 billion
3. JP Morgan Chase — $37.26 billion
4. Wachovia — $37.16 billion
5. Washington Mutual — $35.03 billion
6. US Bank — $23.03 billion
7. Regions Bank — $15.29 billion
8. Fifth Third Bank — $12.19 billion
9. USAA Federal — $12.03 billion
10. RBS Citizens — $11.51 billion
(Source: creditcards.com from the Nilson Report, April 2008)

These numbers represent American credit card debt. They do not represent mortgage debt. Many of the same banks loan money for credit cards and mortgages, and the outcome has proven disastrous. Just in the past few days Wachovia has been bought out by Citigroup. The Bank of America bought out Merrill Lynch. Washington Mutual was bought out by J.P. Morgan Chase.

Most everyone knows that A.I.G., the biggest mortgage holder in the world, is going under. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac led the fray.

Think on the numbers. If in 2007 JP Morgan Chase issued out $37.26 billion of credit card debt, then combined with Washington Mutual’s debt of $35.03 billion, that’s almost double the amount Chase is groaning under in credit loans. Remember that these numbers are from 2007 and only involve credit cards. The New York Daily News reported that Chase bought Wamu for $1.9 billion dollars, along with its $307 billion of assets. That’s a lot of money. That represents a lot of bad choices.
With the economy in such a crunch, and with no concrete evidence of anything getting better anytime soon, how are these banks that have bought out the others going to make it? They’re going to get it from us! According to CNN, in fact, it has already begun. Mina Kines reported that a regular guy with a good credit rating and never late on any payments had his interest rate increase on his credit card from 7.99% to 26%. The explanation was due to a “continually changing business environment.”  

Economic hardship is quickly becoming the average man’s way of life. My family, like so many others, have been hit, and continue to feel the strain. I am a housewife, and my husband is a brick mason. Work for him has become almost non-existent. I have to admit that this crisis is a little scary. Since the time of our marriage my husband and I have made some seriously deficient financial choices. We have lived far above our means, and now we are paying the price. Even though we are feeling the consequences of that, I have hope. I believe that past mistakes can be overcome. I believe that faith can move mountains.

More than half of Jesus’ parables talked about money. There are more than 2350 verses about money throughout the whole Bible. There are at least 365 times in the Bible where we are told not to fear. To put it all together, God knows how to lead us with our money, and we don’t need to be afraid. That’s the bottom line.

Luke 12:22-31 says, “Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. “

This is just one scripture of so many that points us in the direction of getting back control of our finances, and essentially our lives. I have started this blog to document my process, and I invite you to join me as I work my way out of debt by using Biblical principles and creative thinking. I am certain that if I can do something to help my family to get on top of our finances during this money crisis, then you can too.

Sources:

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/26/news/economy/creditcards_kimes.fortune/index.htm