Oliver, my husband, laughed when I told him I was reading this book and said, "you're not going to like what it has to say."  We all know that we may not like what we're hearing, but we still need to hear it.
 
So with an open mind, I "read" Total Money Makeover, and obviously I liked it since I'm sharing this story with you.

Now, I'm not going to bore you with all the details, but I want to share a few key points and quotes with you because there are few people out there in this current economy that are "financially sound" by Dave's definition.
 
Dave's main mantra is "live like noone else so you can live like noone else".....i.e. you have to make sacrafices (major sacrifices) now so that you can put yourself into a financial position to live the way you want to live without having to worry about it.  It's all about "the face in the mirror"...no blame game!

Below are some quotes from the book.  If any of these strike a cord, I'd encourage you to read Dave's book, visit his website, and/or take one of his classes:
 
"Winning at money is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge."

"Debt consolidation is dangerous because you treat only the symptom."

"90% of people in our culture buy things they can't afford"

"90% of solving a problem is realizing there is one."

"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have in order to impress people we don't like."

"Staying away from car payments by driving reliable used cars is what the average millionarie does; that is how he or she became a millionaire."

"You are not teaching your sixteen-year-old child to spend responsibly when you give him/her a credit card."

"70% of Americans die without a will.  You are going to die, so do it with a will."

"75% of airline miles rewarded are never redeemed."

"You can get anywhere if you simply go one step at a time."

"You have to tell money what to do or it leaves."

"49% of Americans could cover less than one month's expenses if they lost their income."

"Know where you are weak, and take action to make sure you don't fall prey to the weakness."

"19% of the people who filed for bankruptcy in 2002 were college students."

Like most things in life, this book is about taking action.  There's no magic secret....it's all stuff we know, however, Dave presents it in a logical, common sense manner with step-by-step instructions on how to get out of debt so you can "live like noone else."

I would like to send the first 10 people that contact me a complimentary copy of this book.  I'm helping you with step one of action....."get the book"!  Call me, text me, email me....I'll send you the book.

And now for your Monday Coffee Break..."A budget is people telling their money where to go instead of wondering where it went."   ~ John Maxwell

Still need another dose of reality?  Read one of Dave's follower's stories below:

"Two years ago, my wife and I were just an average family making the typical financial mistakes most 'normal' families do.  We believed all the money myths people kept telling us.  However, once our mistakes started adding up, they began to really take their toll on us.
 
Years ago, we were not handling our finances well at all.  At one point we were married with no kids, making more than $80,000 a year and we did not have the cash to buy a washing machine.  We went along with too many 'buy now, pay later' deals.  'Ninety days same as cash' sounded like a good idea at the time.  WRONG!  We ended up paying much more than the items were worth.  When we make purchases today, we 'buy now, pay now' with $1,800 buying $2,000 worth of furniture.
 
Another big mistake we made was our life-insurance plan.  People warned us that we needed to have whole life insurance before we turn thrity 'or else'.  They talked about how amzaing the cash value savings feature was.  WRONG!  We were ignorant about how overpriced the coverage was, how high the fees were, and how long it really took to build cash value.  We now know better.  We plan to save, invest, and become self-insured.
 
In 2006, we were still making minimum payments on student loans that we had for more than a decade.  We bought into what all the 'normal' people were telling us:  'Student loans are good debt.  Everyone has them.'  WRONG!  We knew we needed to kick Sallie Mae to the curb once and for all.  Now, instead of writing her a check every month, we are able to save in advance for our children's college fund.
 
Fast forward through the Financial Peace University Home-study Kit, and fifteen months of complete sacrifice - we've paid off $27,000 in debt, saved an emergency fund, dumped the whole life insurance and purchased term life, created wills, and saved cash for a 2-week beach vacation to celebrate.  After a lot of hard work and gazelle intensity, we are finally living like no one else!"   ~  Travis (age 33) and Merry (age 35)
 
 
Make it a great day.....Debbie 

So, if you've been to these types of conferences, you know how it is.  You sit in different topical sessions....you hear a lot of the same things, but you always learn SOMETHING.  You get motivated.  You gain clarity.  You feel energized!  That's me right now as I write this.  I am PUMPED!
 
I taught a session on Team Building, a topic near and dear to my heart because I'm a huge fan of having a team and continually strive to make my team better.  After the session was over, a gal came up to me with tears in her eyes...literally tears in her eyes....and as she held my hand, she told me that I was "a nice person and represented my generation well."  My day was made!
 
I thoroughly enjoy speaking and helping people.  My motto on facebook is that "I want everyone to have a good day".  So to know I made a difference in her day was all I needed to know my day was successful.

 
The theme of the opening session for this conference was "BELIEF" and a great quote was shared:  "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right"  ~ Henry Ford. 
 
Those few words say a lot.  You have to have the right belief systems to make changes.  You have to believe that you can do whatever you put your mind to.  When you're ready to make a change, there are four key steps to identify:
 
    1.  Clarity of purpose
    2.  Vision of the possible
    3.  Creating a plan
    4.  Taking action
 

Believe that you can do something and then put the steps into action.  Take baby steps if you need to, but just take action.  We are creatures that are meant to excel!
 
 
And now for your Monday Coffee Break..."Action is the real measure of intelligence."   ~ Napoleon Hill 

Now, do it.  Get up and do something you've been wanting to or sit down and actually write a goal along with the things that need to happen for you to achieve that goal!

 
Make it a great day.....Debbie

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.