How to Set New Year’s Financial Resolutions You Can Keep
Each year we do the same thing...making the same resolutions...and every year it’s the same old thing. No matter how much you start with the best of intentions, you never manage to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat to fulfill your New Year’s Resolutions. Maybe you just don't know what kind of resolutions to set...or how to get started. Certainly as it pertains to your finances, especially in this economy, it is important to set the right resolutions to get your financial house in order! Even more so, it is important that you start now, so that you can meet specific deadlines that occur throughout the year. I've put together a plan for myself that I wanted to share for others in case you too are in need of keeping a resolution or two. You might find you can actually keep a New Year’s Financial Resolution this year.
Common sense tells you that your goals need to be specific with details and timelines to their fulfillment. For example, if you put on a few pounds in '08, you can't just buy a gym membership and say you want to get back in shape. You should instead set a weekly workout regime, sign up with a personal trainer, and decide to lose x pounds by x date...working out a set number of days each week.
As it pertains to your personal finances something more than a generic plan about your money and where is goes is an absolute necessity. You should set a simple, realistic budget that reflects what you have spent in previous months.
In this shaky financial market, credit is king! Maintaining good credit is an important foundation for achieving the rest of your financial goals. So start by finding out where you currently stand with a credit report from Get your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com (completely free) or www.myfico.com (charges a fee, but includes the same FICO scores that your mortgage lender will use). Any other “free credit scores” are NOT true Fair, Isaac, & Co. (FICO) scores, which are the only scores that matter. If your credit score is lower than 680 due to some outstanding debt, see if you can get those bills paid off as early in the year as possible. Pay the credit cards with the highest interest rate first and then move on to the ones that can be paid off in full so you can start with as clean a slate as possible. NEVER CLOSE AN ACCOUNT IF YOU CAN HELP IT! Keeping an account with no balance open will help with your credit history. About once ever 6 months, take the card out, charge something small on it, then pay it off in full when the bill comes.
Experts in “getting things done,” agree that it is best to list small, attainable goals rather than go for a lifestyle change overnight. By giving yourself simple tasks that you can even complete in five minutes, once a day, you will make headway over the course of a month. Each time you complete a task you should celebrate! Get up and do a little "end zone" dance or gig. Pat yourself on the back. Send an email to yourself congratulating your accomplishment. This will go far to helping you stay motivated to reach the next task.
Below are some questions to aid in getting you to hone in on what specific, measurable goals, within different aspects of your finances, you need to be working on. Feel free to call or email me for a free consultation to help you on the right path, or for direction to gain insights into your spending patterns and come up with answers to these questions. If you have ideas that have worked for you, feel free to share them in an email or comment as well as sharing links to appropriate articles or sites that have helped you.
What is the category of spending that concerns you the most?
How much did you average spending in this category last year?
What was the highest month within this category?
What was the lowest month?
What are your spending goals for this year compared to last year. In which categories and months can you lower your spending?
Who is going to hold you accountable? Email or call them now. (let it be me!)
What are you going to do with the amount you save within this category (make it automatic thru electronic debit) – save or give?
How much money did you have in emergency savings at the beginning of 2008?
How much money do you have in emergency savings now?
What is your goal for the end of January for your emergency savings account?
By the end of February?
By the end of the 2009?
Have you seen a recent credit report? If applicable, list the most annoying and/or severe derogatory item on the report (i.e. collection, judgment, late credit card, car that was reported late but was actually on time).
What is one action step that you can take TODAY towards resolving this (i.e. Make an initial phone call, draft a letter to the credit bureaus, calling me to review your credit with you)?
Do you currently own a home? If so, do you have someone managing your mortgage for you? (feel free to ask me about this) If you do not, now is the time to plan to buy. Ask me about helping you set up a plan.
Write down the next action step and the date that you are going to do this by. Write out a simple agreement with yourself such as, " I, Darren Orshoff, will immediately take 10% of every one of my paychecks and put it in a savings account not associated with my other accounts. Once the account reaches x dollars, I will transfer that money to my eTrade.com account and buy more of OEHY stock. I will reach x dollars by February 21st, 2009. I will continue to save 10% in the same manner after this date and from then on." Then sign and date it, and give a copy of it to someone you trust who can give you reminders. Do the same for them as well.
Put some focus on the real estate market. If you are not a homeowner, then ask yourself why not. Create a plan like the above to get there. Set up a time to meet with me to dicuss this. If you are a homeowner, make sure you have the right loan on your primary residence. This is SO important in this market when home prices have been in, and will likely continue to, decline.
If you have an adjustable loan that is going to adjust in the next two years and you have equity YOU MUST REFINANCE IN TO A FIXED RATE LOAN IMMEDIATELY!!! Do not delay - do not pass go -- do not collect $200 -- CALL ME NOW! If you do not have equity, then you should immediately consider doing a Loan Modification. Be careful of the advertisments you get in the mail. Loan Mod companies are popping up right and left. ONLY deal with one who is approved by the Department of Real Estate and has a money back guarantee! The attorney-based loan mods I am associated with have both of these! I can let you know if you qualify within 48 hours.
If you are looking to purchase a house you MUST get preapproved BEFORE you start looking for a home! Call or email me to find out why.
Call me today at (888) 823-2261 for your no obligation, free consultation.
Print out goals/resolutions and put it where you will see it every day. Read (aloud) the agreement with yourself daily. This will keep you focused on it and embed its success in your subconscious.
This should hopefully get you started, and help you to consider other areas of your finances (or other aspects of your life) that you want to transform in 2009. I look forward to hearing from you, about your resolutions and goals, what your plan of attack is, and how I can help you get there!
Have you ever had days, weeks, or even months go by when you were frustrated in your work activities because you failed to implement the things that you know you need to do in order to be more successful? Perhaps you've taken pages and pages of great notes at seminars on the subject of how to improve your business, only to return to the office the next day and implement none of it. The reason this happens to people is because they lack a plan. More importantly, it happens because they are not practicing ON-Time.
ON-Time is a time you set aside to work on your business instead of in your business. The simple fact is that in our daily routine, we are typically in a reactive state. The phones are ringing, the emails are coming in, there are voice mails to check, clients to meet with, staff members to assist. On and on it goes. During all this reactive behavior, we have very little time to work on the things that we need to put into place to take our business to the next level.
Get into a good habit by practicing ON-Time!
Leaving the office on a regularly scheduled basis to work on your business in a totally quiet, serene, and proactive environment is critical to your success in the long run. All successful business people practice some form of ON-Time.
Here's a suggestion on how to construct your own ON-Time schedule. Take out a folder and put it in your briefcase. Call this your ON-Time Folder. Every time during your normal work week you come up with an idea, hear about something or see something that could increase your business, throw it into your ON-Time Folder.
At least one full day per month, schedule time to leave the office and spend that entire business day somewhere outside the office. Make sure it is a serene place, or a meditative place, where you can practice ON-Time with a clear head. That means no cell phones and no interruptions! Take out your ON-Time Folder and work on the things you need to address to take your business to the next level. If you discipline yourself to doing this 12 times per year, the difference will be profound. Your level of success and your ability to take your business further will increase, hand in hand.
Email me for more tips to handle yourself or your business. Darren Orshoff at darren@tadaco.com
It’s pretty crazy how in the last 3 weeks the following has taken place:
• Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac were seized by the government • Leman Brothers files for bankruptcy • Bank of America bails out Merrill Lynch before they have to file for bankruptcy • AIG bailout by the Federal Reserve in the amount of a $85 billion loan • President Bush seeks a $700 billion Bailout and it fails to pass • Goldman Sachs & Morgan Stanley turn into regulated commercial banks • Warren Buffet buys $5 billion of Goldman Sachs stock • Washington Mutual is seized by the government & sold to JP Morgan Chase • Wachovia is bailed out and purchased by Citigroup
The next question is, what’s next?
Monday showed a 777 loss in the Stock Market...Tuesday showed over a 400 point gain back...will the adjusted $700 Billion "Bailout Plan" (or better termed and Economic Stabilization Plan) pass this week now that some changes have been made to gain bipartisan support?
What does this all mean to the average homeowner? In the midst of this country wide "crisis", remember that most banks are doing just fine. Most people are paying their mortgages on time. Most of your neighborhood will go on in the days to come like they always have. And everyone in every neighborhood needs a place to call home.
Some people say that any government "bailout" will lead to more people walking away from their homes. Bruce Norris, a well renowned real estate investor and California market statistician (and one of my personal mentors), has numbers and a viewpoint (of which I agree) that basically states that homeowners who are paying their mortgage on time every month, who are just as upside down as their defaulting neighbors, will be more apt to default themselves if they can get access to government funds or loans to cut their mortgage in half.
Furthermore, if they are not eligible for government assistance because they actually qualified for a real loan with their real financial picture, rather than an adjustable "liars" loan at 100% financing, they might just walk away from their upside down home throwing their hands up in disgust at what is happening next door.
I believe that anything the government does, while it may help the problem, will only prolong the market recovery. This "bailout" plan will eventually be profitable for the government (read this) it will take years for the effects to be realized. What do we do in the meantime?
The short answer: INVEST IN REAL ESTATE!
It will not be the government who will make the biggest dent in this crisis. It will be the real estate investor. It will be the savvy investor. It will be the novice investor. It will the be the entrepreneur who will look at the opportunities to not only make money, but put people back in to homes and home ownership who are already coming out of the woodwork bringing their cash and business savvy to create solutions.
I am doing it. Many of my clients and listeners of The Home Ownership Roundtable are doing it. I am even pooling funds from friends, family and associates to leverage our smaller individual dollars in to larger collective powerful bucks to buy more and provide profits to all.
Yes, this is a pretty crazy time right now...scary, even for me, and I know for you...but do not let your fear prevent you from taking action! This is the time to do it!
If you would like to talk about what action is right for your fee free to contact me through this site or via email at darren@971roundtable.com. I look forward to hearing about the action you are taking, want to take, or if you want to take some action with me!
Maximize Your Drive Time Tips & Tricks to Ease Your Commute
As the population continues to grow, more and more people will be clogging the highways during your commute. Rather than becoming increasingly frustrated and discouraged, why not use this time to do something productive? There are many ways you can achieve this, and here are some technologies to help you do it.
Have you ever been traveling along and suddenly had a great idea? Since it's generally not safe to jot down notes while driving, make sure you have a digital mini recorder to get those ideas down. Another solution is to put your office voicemail on auto dial and leave messages for yourself.
A great way to utilize your drive time to the fullest is to listen to audio books or enhance your professional development with informational CDs. There's a wide range of options available for download or purchase.
I have a wonderful series of Gift of Knowledge Interviews which cover a variety of topics. Please contact me if you would like to learn more and obtain some editions on CD! I also can help you with your Short Sales...I can process them through the system like nobody's business! Just call to find out how I can get you PAID! Call Darren @ 909-856-6878
Ok! Here is one that I am sure will cause some controversy.
I am a die hard APPLE fan! I have been ever since my first MAC SE in 1987. Actually before that using a girlfriend's Apple in 1984.
Since then I have had an Apple II, the first PowerBook, the PowerComputing Apple Clone (short lived), a G3, G4, Clamshell Mac Laptop, PowerBook G4, Desktop G5, and now a 17" MacBook Pro running both Windows XP and MacOSX Leopard effortlessly at the same time.
Now I do graphic work and wouldn't dream of doing it on a WinTel PC, and I do have to use Windows for things like Point, but everything else is just better on a Mac. 2 Computers in one & more powerful than both combined! Well worth the price.
iLove my iPhone too! My only complaint is the battery life. So I have slightly adjusted my use and have it plugged in to my laptop when ever I am on it. It is always synced, and always charged. And it integrates with my Gmail, Mac Mail (MeMail), Yahoo, MS Messenger Live, Outlook, online and hardline syncing with all calendars, and it has the best browser any phone could ask for...and, for that matter, many computers could ask for.
The best of all...I can blog right from my phone with a simple one touch process. Check my iPhone blog at www.tadaco.com.
I am so excited about remodeled homes like this one! When you look at the other homes that are available in the same area nothing compares!
Price : $171,000.00
Property Number : 147 County: Riverside
Address:
Moreno Valley , CA 92553
Type: Single Family Home Building Type: Other
Year Built: 1986 Square Footage: 1526 Central Heat/Air (CHA): Yes Beds: 3 Baths: 2.5 Garage: 2 Car Pool: No
Move-In Ready!
This newly remodeled home features 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, one half bath, and a 2 car garage. The recent renovation includes new cut berber carpet, two-tone paint, new stainless steel appliances, granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, new electrical and lighting, new paint inside and out, and new lanscaping in the front and back yard. Best value in the neighborhood.
The property sits close to schools, shopping, movie theaters, numerous restaurant choices, and several recreational locations in Moreno Valley.
This is the kind of remodel every house should have!
This is a part of a newsletter and tips that I send out regularly to clients and referral partners. Time management is so important to me as I am often faced with a mountain of work. I thought some of you might find it interesting as well. Let me know your thoughts.
Managing Your Tasks Simple Steps to Improve Your Productivity
Have you ever noticed that some of your most innovative thoughts have happened at the oddest times? The reason for this is that your brain wasn't occupied with your ongoing "to do" list, so it was finally free to explore new ideas.
If you want to do more creative thinking, then you need to establish a system for organizing your tasks. Begin by collecting them in an in box. What should you do with the items once you've accumulated them? According to David Allen, the best-selling author of Getting Things Done, the first step is to ask, what is it? Is it actionable? If you can't act on it, then put it into one of three categories: reference, such as a noteworthy article; somedaymaybe, which is a task that you might do later; and trash. The filing principles we're discussing here work equally well with manila folders and a circular file, but in our example we'll be using Microsoft Outlook.
Many of us use Outlook's tasks function, but for some the list has degenerated into an "amorphous blob of undoability", according to Allen. He suggests organizing Outlook tasks using categories. For tasks that require no immediate action, but might happen eventually, produce a category called someday-maybe. Create each task in this category with a potential start date and a scheduled reminder. If there are items that should be referenced, you can file them in an appropriate folder on your hard drive or in a file cabinet. Remove trash as soon as you can.
If the item is actionable, you will have to decide on the next step. This step will either be to do it, delegate it, or defer it. If a task can be handled in 2 minutes or less, Allen says simply do it. It will take longer to file and retrieve it later.
If you can delegate a task, do so. Outlook gives you the option of assigning a task to somebody else, setting due dates and priority, and sending the task to a recipient in your contacts list. It will also notify you when the task is reported done. You can file this task in your new Outlook category, waiting for.
If you can't handle a task immediately, Allen suggests deferring it to a category where it can be done. Examples include: @phone, if you have to call a client; @home, if you need to mow the lawn; @office, if you need to prepare a presentation, etc. If a task has to be done at a specific time on a specific day, put it in the Outlook calendar. Don't forget to set reminders.
Of course you will have projects that can't be handled as simply. Any task that involves more than one step should be filed in the task manager under projects. David Allen suggests that on a weekly basis, you should review all tasks listed under projects and ask yourself, "What is the next action?" This will ensure that you continue to make forward progress.
If you would like to learn more about task management, please call me at 909-856-6878. I would be happy to send you a Gift of Knowledge Interview with productivity expert, David Allen. In the moment for the moment...Darren Orshoff
Another Saturday on the radio! I have been hosting The Roundtable (www.971roundtable.com) with my 3 partners for over two years. It is always a pleasure to be on the air talking to people about solutions to problems and ways to make money through real estate.
Okay...while that is true...I get very frustrated when I hear people talk about their problems that could have been avoided if they had only taken action sooner.
If they had only refinanced last November when we told them to. If they had sold when we said the market was coming down. If they had called us before their loan adjusted when they could still afford the payment. If they had invested in the rehab properties when the financing was still a slam dunk to get. If they had listened to our three rules of investing...especially rule number two that says that you have to stay positive while holding they would not have so much negative cash flow.
Now we are telling people who need to sell their home in California but can't that we have a solution for you. You can either rent for likely negative cash flow holding on to the property for years...you can short sell or go in to foreclosure...or you can sell it through us with our real estate assisted partnership. By are you? Not as many as there could be.
How about the people who's loans have adjusted or will adjust in the next year? We have told then about a solution that can save their loan and home...there is a cost , but it us nothing compared to losing their home. Are they acting? Not as many as should act!
We told people that they should call us to refinance if they still have equity and their loan will adjust in the next year! Rates will go up after the election and home prices will continue to fall! If they wait until their loan adjusts they will have a rude awakening when they are not able to get financing!
We have told people about the cash flow positive out of state investments for between $500 and $3500 out of pocket. Or how does 300% plus cash on cash returns sound? How about investing with us out of state and in California for only $12,500 secured by real estate with expected 460% cash on cash returns in 3 years with quarterly payouts beginning in 6 months. We even have gone as far as having people who have taken action and invested through and/or with us giving rave reviews of their experience and returns...some people act (actually many people)...but there are thousands of opportunities available and only hundreds of people are taking action!
I love doing the show and we always encourage people to take action whatever their situation might be.
Tune in every saturday or call me now at 909-856-6878 if you are ready to take action! Listen, Learn, and Take Action! tm
Have you visited your local public library lately? Long gone are the days of card catalogs and library marms telling you to hush! It is a wonderland of education and fun for youth and adults alike.
My wife has been telling me for months that things have changed...we started bringing the kids to storytime at our local library a few years ago. It was fun for the kids and we were able to check out books for the kids to read at home.
But did you know that the newer libraries (or the renovated ones) have rows and rows of computers to use for free (an hour at a time) and that they are connected to the Internet at smoking fast speeds?
How about the arts and crafts programs for kids that focus on reading and other important skills? There are even classes and meetings for adults. I am going to teach a few classes at the one in Riverside called the Woodcrest Community Library.
My son, Dane, is pictured above playing online at one of the educational websites the library has bookmarked.
Visit your local library today. You might just be surprised. Check out my local library online at www.riverside.lib.ca.us
Check out my classes and seminars at www.tadaco.com
PCs
are an integral part of our lives. We use them extensively at the office
and usually end up logging on in the evening as well, to read email and
catch up on the day's news.
Since we spend so much of our time in
front of the computer, it makes sense to find ways to improve our
efficiency. This is where shortcuts come in. By using combinations of
keystrokes, you can quickly access several tools without ever having to
use your mouse. Most Windows shortcuts may be used for any Microsoft
program (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.) as well as selected products from
other manufacturers.
If you would like to incorporate these
shortcuts into your repertoire, try keeping a copy of this list at work
and at home. Refer to it daily until the keystrokes become second nature.
You'll be surprised at how much time you'll save!
Look for
more Business Boosters about techniques I use to maximize my efficiency!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Have you ever had days, weeks, or even months go by when you were frustrated in your work activities because you failed to implement the things that you know you need to do in order to be more successful? Perhaps you've taken pages and pages of great notes at seminars on the subject of how to improve your business, only to return to the office the next day and implement none of it. The reason this happens to people is because they lack a plan. More importantly, it happens because they are not practicing ON-Time.
As the population continues to grow, more and more people will be clogging the highways during your commute. Rather than becoming increasingly frustrated and discouraged, why not use this time to do something productive? There are many ways you can achieve this, and here are some technologies to help you do it.
I am a die hard 
The best of all...I can blog right from my phone with a simple one touch process. Check my iPhone blog at 
Have you ever noticed that some of your most innovative thoughts have happened at the oddest times? The reason for this is that your brain wasn't occupied with your ongoing "to do" list, so it was finally free to explore new ideas.
;)
;)
