I had a great experience last Friday night and the more I thought about it, the more it applied to money too. 

My son, Drew is about to turn 16.  He has been driving for a few months now and honestly, I feel really safe when he is driving.  He’s learned the rules of the road.  How to drive in traffic and how to handle the vehicle.  I expect him to pass his final driving test with flying colors. 

Learning the rules of the road is a lot like learning the rules of money.  learning to drive in traffic is a lot like learning how to spend your money without letting someone else’s actions cause you pain.  Handling the vehicle is like paying bills or managing a credit card. 

On Friday night we added another factor to the equation.  We started the process of learning to drive a stick shift.  Up to this point all he had driven were automatics.  Being the type of person who is good at most anything he takes on, he expected this to be easy.   

If you know how to drive a stick, think back to the time when you were learning.  You killed it a bunch of times wound the car out and suffered lot’s of embarrassment learning the balancing act of the brake, the clutch and the gas pedal.  If you were like me, you didn’t have much confidence turning across traffic and more than anything, you hoped nobody was looking when you goofed up.   

Well, Drew got a bit frustrated.  He intellectually knew how it all worked but the actual application of it required some practice.  Not only did he have all of the previous things to think about, rules of the road and other drivers, now we have added a whole new level that command of the vehicle thing. In terms of your money, we hope that The Money Thing show has helped you with the understanding of how money works.  If you have an understanding of how to negotiate the traffic.  You know that everyone out there wants your money and some will do anything to get it.   But what if you have too many credit cards or too many debts?  Are you able to safely and comfortably navigate through the world?  It is certainly harder. 

The message here is that you have to make sure that you are not adding too many extra things to the control of your financial vehicle.  If you do, there are too many things to think about and too many things that can go wrong.  Slow down and simplify.  With a simpler system and some practice you will get where you are going safer and faster.   

Oh and by the way.  Drew got it.  He can drive a stick.  He still has lots to work on, but we will keep practicing and blend these new skills into the ones he already has.  After the lesson, we still like each other and I still like driving with him.

On this weeks show Gary and I discuss the $700 Billion bailout presented to congress this week by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. 

• Should the government be using tax payer money to bailout companies that made what turned out to be bad loans?
• What happens if we don’t bail them out?
• How did we get into this situation?
• What do our listeners think about the whole mess?

These questions and more are answered on the show.  If you have any comments or would like to suggest an idea for a show, email me at Howard@TheMoneyThing.com. 

There is a lot to know about money and you don’t need to know everything.  Each week, we break down complex issues to help you better understand how to handle your own money in this increasingly complicated world.

 

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With all of the news out about the failures of companies and strikes at others, we need to have a talk about what people should do financially.  What people should be doing is to make sure they are prepared to withstand whatever the economy or politicians throw at us.  In this show we talk about the Boeing strike and what are the overlying issues that affect this strike and other large companies.  The companies and employees are at odds as to what they are trying to accomplish.  I will give you my take on the show.

We also talk about the preparedness factor and we discuss some of the things we are doing at The Money Thing to get you the information you need to make better financial choices.

 Nobody is going to do this for you.  I am committed to making it easier by giving you the step-by-step guidance you need to change your financial future. 

 

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I don’t tend to quote bible verses on the show and have never done it on Turtle Time but today I am going to break with tradition.  Turtle time and for that matter, the rest of the show is going to focus on preparation.   

Proverbs 21 verse 5:  The King James version says The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.The new living translation says:  Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. 

The issue here is not how long it takes a person to do a job, but how thoroughly he or she is willing to prepare and plan for it.  A wise person makes careful plans before building, investing, hiring, lending or jumping onto other ventures.  This verse is saying that the way of the turtle leads to prosperity and the way of the rabbit leads to poverty. 

What are you experiencing in your life right now?                   In order to operate in the way of the turtle, we have to make sure that we are looking ahead so that we can continue to move in the proper direction.   

Where you are today is where you are.  Where you are 2 years or 5 years or 10 or 20 years from now depend on the planning, preparation and prosperity consciousness you adopt today.

We have a very special guest this week.  Garrett Gunderson, author of the best selling book, Killing Sacred Cows, Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying your Prosperity visits with me.  Garrett became a millionaire by 30 and shares with us the 5 things you must do to handle your money well.  I met Garrett a few months ago and got a pre-released copy of his book.  After I read it, I had to get him on the show to share this new way of thinking about traditional money strategies.  Garrett developed the idea of “Soul Purpose” which I am a huge fan of.   This is a show you should listen to.

For more information about Garrett and his message go to www.killingsacredcows.com

 

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