Tag: Debt

YOU HAVE TO PAY ONE OF THESE BILLS ðŸ’µ

I want to share with you a lesson I learned and some examples that came to my mind when I heard it. I was listening to some motivational/inspirational videos while on my way to work. This is a practice I recommend for everyone. You never know when you will either hear something new, or a reminder of something powerful you already know. This one falls into the latter category. In this particular video, the speaker referenced a quote from Jim Rohn, who I enjoy anyway. I am going to share that quote with you below.

The pain of discipline verses the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs tons. We can all grasp what that means to a certain point, but I wanted to give us a few real life examples to drive the point home. The first one that came to mind was eating pizza. Why? Mostly because I am always thinking of eating pizza. It is my favorite food to eat. If I could, I would probably have it seven days a week. Here is the thing. Eating pizza tastes good in the moment. It gives a quick boost of the ‘feel good chemicals’ in the brain. Putting off the urge to stuff your face with a delicious slice of sauce pie in favor of something slightly more healthy is not as fun. It takes…you guessed it, discipline. That’s a little painful. Say, ounces. If we are constantly giving in to the urge to eat pizza, or just unhealthy for that matter, we may feel good in the moment. Fast forward a year or so down the road. Our clothes have to be in a larger size. When we get out of the shower and look in the mirror, our hearts sink. We don’t feel as confident out in public. That is merely the outside. Inside, our arteries are clogging. Our heart is being forced to pump harder and our liver is working overtime dealing with the processed food. We can find ourselves depressed about how we look daily, or in the emergency room dealing with a heart issue. Then we would feel…regret over our choices. That ways a ton.

There will be actually two more quick examples. This can help us grasp this concept better and see where we are paying tons instead of ounces. Working out is another great example. Going to the gym is not fun for most people. It is stressful on the body, you get exhausted (although you actually gain energy on the back end) and you get sweaty and gross. (except for my lady who manages to look amazing after a workout) Taking time to go to the gym and spending the effort to put in a workout takes discipline. Especially when you really don’t feel like it. A life devoted to sloth and binge watching Netflix sounds more appealing on the surface. That takes very little discipline. You don’t have to pay those ounces. What happens as you grow older? Your bone density weakens and you are more likely to fracture something should you fall. It takes you far longer, and for more breath, to simply climb a flight of stairs. You must sit out times with your children and grandchildren, letting those memories slip away. You regret not keeping yourself in better shape. That weighs tons.

Our last example hits home for many of you after the holidays. Credit cards. They are super dangerous because they allow us, temporarily, to live beyond our means. “You mean I can get this thing even if I do not have the money yet?” is the thought many have. It can remove the pain of being disciplined and waiting until you earn enough for it. Those who like to skip the ounces required when it comes to paying your bills can find their credit card debt climbing. What starts to happen is the interest and late fees take up most of your payment with very little going to the actual amount owed. You look regretfully at the new pink Stanley mug, or whatever you bought. Suddenly, you find yourself pondering taking advantage of some of the bankruptcy lawyer commercials you see on television. As you can see in the picture above, that regret can feel like a ton of weight on your back.

Think of examples in your own life where you chose the weight of regret over the weight of discipline. You may feel like you are escaping in the moment, but it seldom leads to a good outcome. It reminds me of a quote by another amazing speaker, Les Brown. When people first hear this quote, they may not understand it, or dismiss it, but the examples above prove it to be quite valid.

ARE YOU AN UMBRELLA?

I love this picture. Two innocent children sharing an umbrella in a storm. As an adult we have an opportunity to share an umbrella every day. To take that thought further, we have a chance to be an umbrella. At this point you may be wondering if I know exactly what an umbrella is for or if I even know what an umbrella is. Why would anyone share an umbrella if it wasn’t raining? Even more absurd, how can a human being turn into an umbrella? Fair questions if I were the one reading this post and not the one writing it.

In its simplest terms an umbrella is an instrument for protecting us in a storm. It is the definition not of umbrella that should concern us here, but that of storm. In life there are many storms. Yes, there are thunderstorms when the winds are blowing fierce and the rain can seem unrelenting. It can be scary to be out in it. We may not want to risk driving if we don’t have to. We may want to stay inside our homes where we are safe.

What we may forget is there are many storms we face every day. There are health storms where the thunder of pain is louder than anyone can imagine. There are financial storms where the debt continues to rain down on us no matter how hard we work. There are the painful emotional storms when the winds of struggle and strife blow us off our path. There are many storms my friends. Storms of addiction, storms of loneliness, storms of depression. They say in life you are either on your way into a storm, in the middle of a storm, or coming out of a storm. As Eric Thomas said, “Storms are a part of life, but storms are not life.” All of us face storms each and every day.

As you can imagine, the umbrella for all of these storms can be a little different. It can be an umbrella of compassion for someone who has just been hurt or defeated. It can be the umbrella of encouragement for someone who has lost their way. It can be the umbrella of motivation and inspiration for those lost in a storm of negativity and pessimism. There are some umbrellas like love, friendship and listening that seem to work in every storm.

Just like you can walk with a smile on your face through the most intense storm, so can others. Daily, there are those of us who wake up and put a smile on our faces even when we are in the middle of a storm. Just because someone is smiling does not mean the rain is still not falling. Offer everyone you know an umbrella. When given the chance, be the umbrella they do not have. We are all going through storms and we can all use an umbrella.

YOU MAY NEVER KNOW…

Yesterday marked the end of a very important issue in my life.  a few years ago I was all but forced to take out a loan for $11,000.  Yesterday I made the final payment to finish off that loan.  Although that is indeed reason to celebrate, and I shall, it is not the reason for this post.  No, what I wish to discuss today is how I came to have that debt in the first place.  The year was 2009, after several great years at the post office things began to unravel.  That year began the uneasiness that continues to this day.  One day you may have a job, one day you may not.  One week 40 hours, one week 4 hours.  So the stress of not knowing where the money may be coming from day-to-day really gives you an opportunity to test your faith in the universe.  Well, add to that a letter I received right before christmas.  Like many Americans I had credit card debt.  In relation to my income at the time is was incurred it was not much, but with my job situation shaky at best it became oppressive.  Just the same, I never missed a payment and at the very least managed to make the minimum payment.  So imagine my shock when I read in the fine print I believe they do not expect you to read, that my interest rate was going from 9% to 19.9%! Knowing that would raise my minimum payment to something I may not be able to afford, I called the company and asked why my interest was being more than doubled if I had never missed a payment in 7 years.  The answer took me by surprise “Not everyone pays like you” the lady on the other end said.  For clarification I inquired whether I was being asked to pay more to make up for the companies loss on those who didn’t pay. “If that’s the way you choose to see it” was her reply. I was dumb-founded. So I attempted to bargain with her “how about 12%? 13?” the answer was a firm ‘no’.  Then I had one of those moments where words come out of my mouth without traveling through the brain.  I swear it goes right from the vocal cords to someone else’s ears. In this case the words were “Then I shall take my business elsewhere”.  To which the helpful customer service rep said “Well do what you have to” I million thoughts raced through my mind ‘How can a company turn away business like that?’ ‘where is the other place I am going to take this debt?’ Who would give me a card with the limit to cover the debt and a lower interest rate?’ ‘What if I lose my job and can’t pay any of it?’ Looking back I realize i was focusing on the all the problems, and potential problems, and not on the solution. I felt life was being so unfair.   The company I worked so hard for the last 13 years seemed to care less about my well-being, the credit card company I faithfully paid for the last 7 was pretty much the same. While venting this to one of my favorite bankers, who also happens to be my mother, she simply said, “why not get a loan?” great idea except I had to collateral and a job that couldn’t be counted on. She said “let me sleep on it” The next day she agreed to put up some of her assets as collateral and we went to the bank and I signed for a loan for $11,000.  Now other than reminding me what an amazing mother I had, this brought a whole new set of worry.  If I had defaulted on the credit card it would reflect bad on me, now if I don’t make the loan payment it would reflect on my mother as well.  Not only did that spur me on to pay it off quickly, but my interest rate was far lower than the initial credit card rate.  So as I wrote the final check today, I realized something. Had that world not been so ‘unfair’ that year, had the post office not cut my hours, had the credit card company not raised my rate, or even settled for one of my offers, or if the customer service lady on the phone been nicer, I still would have that debt.  So it took 4 years, but I realized several blessings out of what seemed like one of the darkest periods. Remember, without the rain, we would not appreciate the sunshine so greatly!