Learning to manage money the hard way.

My Story

Mike Bowman from Bowman's Money College located in Penn Hills. My name is Mike Bowman. Since the beginning of 2008 I have heard an increasing number of conversations about money problems. By the end of the year people were literally panicking about money. I want to help handle this fear of money issues. For years I have been concerned about friends and family who had money problems. They are making money but managing it seems to be the problem. I hate to see the stress they suffer through because of money. Sometimes, it was hard to tell their problems were about money because they were buying things to give the appearance of affluence when in reality their personal economic situation was crumbling. They needed someone to show them how to first budget and then manage their money. They weren't sure where to go. That is where this website comes in.

What makes me qualified to help you? I have experience turning bad financial situations around in both business and personal arenas. I have a lot of experience to share that comes from my evolution of being extremely poor to becoming financially secure with no debt. Yes, the guy who is posting all this advice on the Internet was very poor once! I have a friend that was reminiscing about childhood with me the other day and when comparing her current living standard to that of her childhood she stated "we were poor but didn’t know it". Well I knew how poor I was! My friend made that statement because her basic needs were taken care even though there was no money for "extras". I literally had next to nothing, not even basics, sometimes, and had to ask for charitable help. Thinking about those days is embarrassing to me, actually. I made very bad choices and paid the price. I am lucky though that I was able to get out of that situation and do better. It didn't happen overnight and I believe it was education that gave me the ability to start making much better choices with my income. I took the time to study hard and was open to new ways of thinking about my money. Education was key.

Since those days I have run several businesses on my own as well as worked in senior management for other companies. I had the Mike Bowman of Penn Hills is an experienced counselor in writing a budget and saving tax money. Learn more at our Penn Hills school or online. opportunity to work with a small business that was bleeding cash due to lower quality products and unresponsive service. The management was unable to dig down to core reasons why they were not making the money they should. Problem free product delivery was rare and the company often spent their small profit or more trying to correct the problems. Together we identified cost savings that would come from quality improvements and faster, more reliable service. The principles employed there are just like the ones you will learn here: making a plan, documenting everything, and using the information to identify areas of opportunity. While I have learned a lot from managing other people's businesses the best education comes from doing it own your own. There is no safety net but so much more satisfaction in the work you do, not to mention the great tax incentives given to small business owners. In each of the businesses I have run I applied the lessons you will learn here. Using responsible and realistic budgeting and planning allowed me to make a good living on extremely small investments.

Over the years I have created a personal finance management system that has worked very well for me. I am excited to share my insights with you. My friends that have used it will tell you it has worked for them as well. I am not afraid to tell you that some of the ideas I use to manage my own money are not just mine. I have studied many different theories from people much smarter than me and taken some of their ideas and tailored it to fit me. You are encouraged to do the same. Whenever possible I will be sure to list where you can learn more about a specific idea. If some or all of my system works for you that is great. You are more than welcome to use any of it for your own personal use.

I see so many people struggle with money situations. They are so stressed about it and then it affects other areas of their life. People need help sometimes just getting started on the right track and that is why this website is here. Management of money really is a problem in so many areas of our country. If this website can provide any useful insight for you in managing your personal finances then please use it.

We live in the strongest country in the world. You would think that all of us would be financially secure, but we are not. It is not because we don’t have the means it is because we haven't been given the knowledge. That knowledge is critical as it ultimately means quality of life. My mission is to provide everyone with personal financial management knowledge that will help them achieve higher levels of quality in their lives.

I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO STRUGGLE FINANCIALLY.

I am sure you will benefit from taking class at Bowman's Money College. The ideas and insights that are shared here have personally saved me from many otherwise stressful situations. There is security in having and following a financial plan. Sometimes I think that the reason I have been so successful at managing my money was the motivation to get out of poverty and have more options in my life. Some people tell me that money isn't everything. I will somewhat agree, but tell you that without money there sure was a lot more problems. No one taught me how to manage my money. I got a job when I finished high school, however, there was no instruction manual with my first paycheck detailing for me how to manage the money. It was up to me to figure that out and I can tell you it ended up pretty bad. Mike Bowman was very poor! Learn more about building wealth at our Penn Hills school or online.

Real Life Story: I was dirt poor. I am sure I didn't realize at the time how deep of a hole the many poor money decisions I made were getting me into. I didn't have very many things. I was making $3.75 per hour working part time in the produce department of a local grocery store. I spent my paychecks and had nothing to show for them. The frivolous spending I did finally caught up with me. I made enough money to pay my half of the rent and utilities and have some food money left over. Instead of telling you what I didn't have it is much quicker to list the things I did have: a 13" TV, 2 blankets and pillow, 2 pairs of shoes, some shirts and pants, a folding chair, a pot, a few towels and very basic toiletries and household items. I am really not sure how I got that poor except that I had moved out of my parents' house when I was 17, had low paying jobs, and made bad decisions with money.

I slept on the floor in a bare, two bedroom apartment I shared with my brother. I had no bed and boxes served as furniture. I sat on the floor to watch our small TV. Cardboard boxes I carried home from the grocery store were stacked up in front of windows and served as curtains. Old garbage cans and bags served as storage for the few things I had.

My diet typically consisted of ramen noodle packs or macaroni and cheese. Both were much cheaper back then! This will give you an idea of how little there was to eat at one point: I remember getting excited when I found TWO seasoning packs in one pack of ramen noodles. Winter did have one advantage. In winter I could have cereal with milk. You see, I would bring home a pint of milk from the grocery store I worked at. I would leave it outside overnight and it would freeze. I would bring it in during the early morning and let it thaw and then I would have some milk to pour into my pot of cereal. Yes, the pot I owned served as both cooking pot and bowl. I remember a very rare treat was when I stood in line for 2 hours at the new pizza shop and was customer number 384. (They were giving away pizzas to the first 500 customers)! When the local radio guy walked up to me in line with his microphone and asked me what I thought about the free pizza you would have thought I won a golden ticket giving me access to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and not just a 10" pizza!

My job at the grocery store was 2 miles from my apartment and I walked to work since I didn't own a car. The days it snowed were the absolute worst. I had to cross a bridge. The snow plows would push the snow off the road and onto the sidewalk of the bridge. In order to get across I had to push through snow that was at least up to my knees if not higher some days. Walking on the slick road of the bridge was the same as asking to die. It was bad enough that I had to swim through snow to get to work but the shoes I had all had various sizes of holes in the bottoms. That was a wet, chilling experience!

Those walks really made me think. I was determined that once I started earning money I could live on I was going to be careful to never end up in that situation again. In a sense I was scared straight.

Since then I have had many ups and down but always kept my finances in order. I know that bad financial choices will cause disaster in your life. Having a plan, adjusting it when appropriate and sticking to it has made a tremendous difference for me. It can for you too. There are so many resources out there to help you and I hope that this site helps make a difference for you too.

WHAT DO I DO?

My goal is simply to help others learn how to manage their money. Managing money is a skill that many people need some direction with. I believe everyone is capable of managing their income and assets better. They just haven't had the right help in developing those skills. I sure wasn't born with that skill. I simply forced myself to study and learn new ways to get more out of my paycheck. If you already have a plan in place, that is great, and maybe you will still find some new ideas here that can help save you some more money.

I meet with students and customize a personal financial program for them through one on one coaching . However, here at Bowman’s Money College website anyone can participate in the class material and gain knowledge about managing their own financial situation.

How many people do you know that studied personal money management in school? I was required to study science, English, history and math every year I was in school, but never how to balance my checkbook, start a small business, negotiate better prices, or write a budget.

I have met so many people that have so much stress in their lives because of money. Yes, unfortunate, and sometimes disastrous, circumstances happen to people and they have no control over that. However, my experience is that the vast majority of the time we can be our own worst enemy when it comes to managing our money. Some people tell you that managing your money is easy and don't understand why others just can't seem to get it.

Managing money is a skill; just like throwing a 40 yard touch down pass is a skill. There are many quarterbacks playing football who have varying degrees of skills. Some of them can throw a ball extremely well; some others can do it ok, and there are those who might drop the ball while handing it to the player beside them. Remember that the majority of quarterbacks throwing the touch down passes didn't develop that skill all on their own. In addition to natural ability they had coaches to help them develop and hone that skill.

Everyone has the ability to manage their money effectively at a basic level. It is just a matter of finding the right coach to help you develop that skill to the point where you are financially comfortable, gradually increasing your quality of life, and regularly reducing your expenses while watching your income increase.

I help people get more out of their money with a personal finance management system. The theories and ideas in my system are for everyone. It is not something that only investors, business people, or entrepreneurs would use. It is easy to follow, but is a powerful money manager.

Developing the skill of managing money does not have to be a giant task. You have to 1) want to improve your quality of life 2) search for help and resources 3) study those ideas and then 4) apply what you have learned to your own financial plan. More about Bowman's Money College

Education is the very first step, so you are in the right place! Let's get started!