“I’m Mad As Hell – About The Price of College”

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore,” is the famous quote from the 1976 movie "Network" starring Peter Finch. That phrase incited audiences to take action! Boy, do we need action now!!

Here's my question: What is it going to take for people to get angry enough to keep the pressure on our legislators about the ever increasing and inflationary price of college?

The New York Times had an article last weekend about college grads who have over $100,000 of debt, can’t find a job in their field and are working for $8.00 an hour with payments of $800.00 a month.  Do you know how long it will take that young person to pay off $100,000 debt? Right - basically forever.

And, of course, unlike working adults who get into too much debt, student loans can’t be defaulted on without serious consequences. So the trap has been set.  Are we as a nation deliberately handicapping our college students with overwhelming debt just like their parents were set up by credit card companies? We see how well the super consumerism backed of the 90s created bankruptcies in the millions, homes lost, savings devastated and lifestyles changed irrevocably. And, yes, being a Certified Money Coach and a therapist, I think personal responsibility is a must, but there's a responsibility that needs to be borne by the banking and financial institutions as well!

In order to maintain a middle class we have to keep public education available at reasonable rates. Pay particular attention to the privatizing of colleges which have astromonically escalated the cost of a college education!!  Enough – Get Angry and Take Constructive Action for your children and grandchildren now!! I'm curious what you think - how is the rising cost of a college education affecting your ability to send your children to college?

Women in Business: Fear & Worry Like Monsters Under the Bed

I’m talking to women in business every week that are barely getting by and they’re scared. I understand. These women have lost their corporate jobs, many have started part-time Direct Sales or MLM type businesses and are struggling to get them producing enough income. After all, many start-ups are undercapitalized and it still takes 3-5 years to get a business off the ground.

Fear and worry are like monsters under the bed. They get bigger and scarier if we focus on them. What to do when fear or worry takes you down the slippery path of depression and non-productivity?

First thing, BREATHE. I know, it sounds like nothing, but believe me taking 10 breaths deep into your belly and exhaling fully reduces the STRESS response. As the body relaxes, the mind relaxes.  Then you can strategize.

Second:  Take stock – Don’t stick your head in the sand – analyze your finances – what cash is coming in and what is going out? Ask the question:  What’s the worse that can happen?  Now you know. Sometimes it’s not as bad as your worry has made the situation seem. Sometimes it’s worse. But you’re facing reality. 

Third: Create a Plan:  What can I do to generate money quickly? What does my business have that others need? How can I get in front of those people? Do I need financial help? If so, from whom might I get a short – term loan? (Friends, family, credit union?)  If you don’t have a business plan, get one – lots of on-line help available or SCORE exists in most cities.

Fourth:  Support – We all need at least one person who we can tell the truth to. Who will support us to look beyond our fears into our positive future. This Great Recession has knocked around the financial hearts and souls of women (& men) but we have to stay positive and proactive and focus on where we want to go and how we’ll get there.  Check out upcoming FREE Teleseminar: Strategies for Staying Positive May 24^th http://lynntelfordsahl.com/strategies-for-staying-pos/?SSScrollPosition=0

Poor Money Attitudes: How to Retrain Your Money Brain

My Money Attitude for much of my adult life was avoidance. Except for paying the bills and talking to our financial advisor once a year, I didn’t think about money much. I worked as an addiction specialist for over 20 years and was more focused on helping than how much money was coming in. Then I started a coaching practice, my husband will be retiring, and last year I became Certified as a Money Coach. Now, I’m VERY interested to know more about money and how I and others, think about, manage and especially mismanage their money. 

Here's a Quick Money Assessment:

Is your current attitude about your money more based on fear or peaceful?

Fear  ___ Peaceful  ___

Do you feel in control of your money? Y  N

Or out of control, overwhelmed?  Y N 

Do you actively manage your money on a daily or frequent basis  ? Y N

Do you avoid checking your balance? Y N  

If you’re 35 or older, are you actively saving towards retirement?  Y N

What I hear when I talk with clients is that our attitudes about money are all over the board – from total avoidance to obsessive worry.  Neither effective strategies for feeling good about our money or helping it grow.

I also notice that people are rather clueless about how to manage the money available. I was and who can blame us? What money management practices did your parents teach you? There are folks may look really good from the outside – nice house, car, pretty clothes, upscale lifestyle. But because I’m a Money Coach I see what goes on behind their financial doors – not so functional.  No judgment or blame – they’re doing what they believe they need to do to feel good about themselves.

Steve Repak’s new book: “Dollars & Uncommon Sense: Basic Training for Your Money,” suggests that retraining the mind is essential to changing your money habits and that it’s never too late. First he says you have to commit to wanting things to change, to be different.  So true, as the addiction author Ernie Larsen said, “If nothing changes, nothing changes.” Repak suggests starting with small changes –  instead of going out to lunch every day (can save 150.00 a month easy there) pack a lunch. Commit to reducing debt one card at a time. (Nothing new there.) And, this is my encouragement – stay focused on your financial goals, which means you need to have some to begin with. A good first step is to know where you’re at – income, expenses, bills, needs and wants.

Budgets and Diets: Restriction or Freedom?

Women spend $25,000 on shoes and in Britain L 133,000 on beauty products in their lifetime.*  Saving for retirement or saving period gets pushed aside with the “I want what I want and I want it now” pattern we consumers are so good at.

One of the biggest mistakes women say they make with their money is not saving enough for the future because they’re caught up in survival today. This is an interesting dilemma because by spending today and not saving for the future, the struggle is likely to be the same in ten or thirty years. Contrast this with one young woman, Kari, who considers herself a “money hoarder.” She started saving half her paycheck as a teenager. She finds it hard to spend money on herself, but she’ll be fine in retirement. There aren’t many Kari’s out there.

Putting ourselves on a savings plan feels the same as being on a diet. Yuk. We feel restricted, limited – it’s NO FUN. Or we feel we’re in jail waiting for a chance to bust out – shoe sale anyone?  According to Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy in “A Theory of Rational Addiction*” when you're struggling economically you’re unlikely to focus on long-term activities. The immediate is much more compelling.  

There’s a mind-set change that needs to happen to be able to have some shopping fun, while keeping in mind the long term goal of having financial peace in your later years. Just think about how good those shoes might taste if you’re trying to make it at 75 on social security alone.

*Daily Express Study quoted: http://tinyurl.com/2a2cvjw  Mail Online  http://tinyurl.com/67z36fd

* The Awesome Column, Joel Stein, The Times May 2012

Women in Business & Retiree's: Become A “Boomerpreneur”

Women in Business - are you bored with your current job or career? Have you been downsized or let go? Are you trying to figure out your next step and aren't sure how to capitalize on your skills, talents and abilities?

Or are you in or near retirement and looking to increase retirement income or start a new chapter as a “boomerpreneur." “Americans 55-64 have launched more businesses than any other age group during the past decade, closely followed by those 45 to 54, reports the Kauffman Foundation.”*

The great thing about starting your own business is that you won’t get fired or downsized. But you must have the focus, discipline and persistence to make it through the first couple of vulnerable years. (More than 50% of businesses don’t and usually because of poor planning or under capitalization.)

Here are key questions to ask yourself and elements to keep in mind when starting your own business:

* Are you a risk taker?

* Do you enjoy uncertainty?

* Are you competitive?

* Really important: Have you maintained your drive as you age?

Other questions to answer:  How will you fund your business – get a loan, borrow money from your home, obtain a partner?   

Women forty and above have the wisdom and life experience to be able to hone in on your passions, skills and talents. In most economic down cycles lots of new businesses emerge. There's lots of help available from business associations, the Chamber of Commerce and local colleges.  It's a great time to stretch into a new venture as a "Boomerpreneur."  Just make sure you ground your dreams with a business plan and action steps and strategies and realistic expectations.  (* Money Magazine, “How to be a Boomerpreneur”– May 2012)

Women in Business: Are you a Financial Innocent? April is Financial Literacy Month

April is Financial Literacy month – time to pull your head out of the sand and plunge into learning about your relationship with Money. Not just the numbers – how much you make or what you spend - butwhat goes on with your thinking and your feelings about money.

Inside you is the answer to why you keep repeating the same old money mistakes over and over again. Here are some money mistakes women make: Overspending, Not paying your bills on time even though you have the money, Financially enabling others and not taking care of yourself, or a big one for women in business; Not charging enough!!

You may be like I used to be: I hated thinking about money. But, I had an awakening when I went through the training to become a Certified Money Coach.*  I found out exactly why I had the challenges with money I’d had since young adulthood. Yes, it did have to do with the way my parents handled their money. Not their fault, their parents had influenced them as well, and I was still responsible for the choices I made. But once I connected the dots and became conscious, I was able to make better financial decisions and to create less stress and more financial peace. That’s huge!! .  (*Certified through Deborah Price & The Money Coaching Institute)  Next time: Find out What The Money Types Mean and how each type shows up in your Money Life.

Taxes & Fear Go Hand in Hand for Women in Business

Why do women in business make themselves so crazy with the fear, avoidance and resistance to paying taxes? We know they’re due a year ahead of time. Yet, we procrastinate up until the last day. A hundred years ago if you didn’t pay your taxes you could be hauled off to the poor house. While that’s not the case any longer, as April 17th approaches I notice a strong whiff of anxiety as I’m out networking and talking with women business owners. It’s hard to not get caught up in fear when it’s so prevalent. But, of course we don’t talk about that feeling of fear in the air. We put on a game smile, pretend as if everything is just FINE and struggle in silence because we think others know so much more or are doing so much better than we are.  Not the case.

As a life and business coach talking to women in business every day a couple of things are clear. One – when you’re self-employed the goal has to be to SAVE enough over the year to be able to pay your tax bill at the end of the year. But many don’t. They’re caught up in daily survival, often are just making ends meet and don’t know how to develop a longer-term perspective.  Others get caught in the vicious loop of paying BACK taxes, which makes it doubly hard to pay this years taxes. Ow! And then you have folks that earn plenty, but don’t save a thing because they just don’t manage their money well. As Robert Kiyosaki, of Rich Dad Poor Dad fame says, “It’s not how much money you make. It’s how much money you keep.”  That comes home to roost as we get older.

Second, the economy has wounded the heart and soul of many women (and men) in business. Losing a house, having to file for bankruptcy, downsizing your life and expectations takes its toll. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine things getting better. But imagine and work towards this, we must.

So then the question is – how do you deal with money fears that create avoidance and exaggerate money troubles? I know you’re not going to like this but the answer is to courageously look at the facts as they relate to your money situation and create a plan to deal with it. Get help if necessary. Women in business: we get past fear by confronting what makes us afraid and by taking the daily right action necessary to stay conscious of what’s happening with our money. As Suze Orman says: “Every money challenge can be solved by the person you see in the mirror.”

Women in Business: What’s Your Greatest Money Challenge?

What do women in business consider their biggest money challenge?  I conducted a survey last week to get feedback on that money question and others. In response to:  “What’s your greatest challenge with money” - not surprisingly the two highest responses by percentage were “not enough” and “not saving enough for the future.”  When women replied to what the reason was for the lack of money 55% said they were focused on surviving today, followed up by 23% “not saving or investing for the future.” 

I understand the whole focused on today reality. Been there. Especially when raising a family, working like a maniac and trying to squeeze a little fun out of life. When I talk with young women especially, too many aren’t saving ANYTHING for their future. But, they’ll take $40.00 and blow it on a meal out, a new purse, beauty products (look in your bathroom drawers and see how much money is sitting in there!!)

In order to change the “not enough money” piece we have to take Action – preferably NOW.  I’m not a financial advisor, I’m a Money Coach with a 20 years in the field of Psychology & Addiction.  I know it FEELS good in the moment to BUY something, but take a breath, think about whether that purchase is going to do anything for you when you’re 70 or 80 and right NOW start an investment account or a savings account with an automatic deduction of $20-50 a month. You won’t miss it and in ten years those beauty products will be dust and you’ll have money saved!!  

Resuscitate the American Dream with Hope, Change & Personal Responsibility

Resuscitate the American Dream with hope, change and personal responsibility says Suze Orman in her newest book, The Money Class. The American Dream our parents embraced was one of living BELOW their means. This is a lesson we lost track of in the obsession for MORE that advertisers promoted and we indebted ourselves to (in oh so many Visa and MasterCard ways).

We need to not only rescue the American Dream as Suze says, but resuscitate it with the old virtues of hard work and sacrifice. Boring, and so not exciting as the lifestyles of the Kardashian's or Jersey Shores, but realistic.

Suze says, and I agree, that we must move beyond materialism – an empty value if there ever was one – to authentic happiness. But we Americans are programmed to believe that more money equals happiness. This is an illusion that lottery winners, for example, often realize too late. (Most are bankrupt or broke within 5 years)

I have a two-part question I ask at Money Workshops and trainings that comes from David Krueger’s book The Secret Language of Money.

1)    My current annual income is $__________________.

2)    In order to insure happiness and contentment financially, with no more money problems and worries, my annual income would need to be ______________________.

Most people answer #2 as being about twice the amount of #1. For example if #1 = $50,000, then to insure happiness I’d need to make $100,000. But once a financial goal is reached, what do we do? Set another goal and it’s often about twice the size of the first. When do we get to be happy and have financial peace?  

Let's create a new American Dream by educating ourselves about money and prioritizing what is most important and what we value. And, by the way,  a 2010 survey Suze cites by Charles Schwab & Co. says 75% of respondents understand that to create a new American dream, it takes hope, change and personal responsibility!!  That's true financial peace.

Resuscitate the American Dream with Hope, Change & Personal Responsibility

"Resuscitate the American Dream with hope, change and personal responsibility," says Suze Orman in her newest book, The Money Class. The American Dream our parents embraced was one of living BELOW their means so their children's dreams were possible. This is a lesson we lost track of in the obsession for MORE that advertisers promoted and we indebted ourselves to (in oh so many Visa and MasterCard ways). 

We need to not only rescue the American Dream as Suze says, but breathe new life into it with the old virtues of hard work and sacrifice. Boring, and so unexciting compared to the lifetstyles of the Kardashian's or Jersey Shores, but much more realistic.

Suze says, and I agree, that we must move beyond materialism – an empty value if there ever was one – to authentic happiness. But we Americans are programmed to believe that more money equals happiness. This is an illusion that lottery winners, for example, often realize too late. (Most are bankrupt or broke within 5 years)

I have a two-part question I ask at Money Workshops and trainings that comes from David Krueger’s book The Secret Language of Money.

1)    My current annual income is $__________________.

2)    In order to insure happiness and contentment financially, with no more money problems and worries, my annual income would need to be ______________________.

Most people answer #2 as being about twice the amount of #1. For example if #1 = $50,000, then to insure happiness I’d need to make $100,000. But once a financial goal is reached, what do we do? Set another goal and it’s often about twice the size of the first. When do we get to be happy and have financial peace? Perhaps right now by educating ourselves about money and really thinking about what is most important and what we value. And, by the way,  a 2010 survey Suze cites by Charles Schwab & Co. says 75% of respondents understand that to create a new American dream, it takes hope, change and personal responsibility!!