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Throughout the coaching process you will see me stress a number of behaviors such as 1) being realistic, disciplined, and responsible about your financial matters 2) creating and following your personal money management system 3) removing yourself from being forced to REACT to financial setbacks but rather putting yourself in a position to TAKE ADVANTAGE of cash saving purchasing opportunities. I discuss these behaviors in detail in the Top Three Things section. Real Life Story: One of my favorite pieces of advice is from Louie Simmons, a very successful weightlifting coach. I believe I read this quote of his from a weightlifting magazine once. He was talking about athletes who were training and getting prepared for competition. He was asked about what kind of mental stimulation or "psyching up" needs to be done in order to get the big lift accomplished during a meet. The interviewer was referring to the crazy antics that some athletes would do to get psyched up for their biggest lift, including slapping each other in the face! His response was that you shouldn’t even have to think about that. His point was that during the many months prior to that final moment you should have been preparing every single day. You have already done all the homework, repetitions, and practice needed to be adequately prepared to do exactly what you showed up to do. Like cramming for a test the night before in the wild hope that will get you by the big test you would have been so much better off just taking the smaller steps of studying the weeks prior to the test. No final dramatic prep should be needed. When it is time to do the job you are confident and ready because you have done all the preparation needed to be successful. Simmons’ point was that the task at hand is simply the final step in the plan you have been following. It is automatic. The three behaviors I listed are great examples of the anticlimactic completion Louie Simmons was talking about. If you have made these three behaviors part of your life then personal financial success becomes automatic. I have read countless how to guides and financial planning strategies. There are so many wonderful ideas out there and very smart planners. However, sometimes, you still need a helping hand in organizing all the information into a workable plan and getting started. That is what I do. In addition to the information presented on the website I make myself available to students to work with them one on one in managing their personal financial situation. The advice I offer is even for those who truly have no money left over after paying for their essentials. I offer advice on how to get more value from your must haves for less money.
One last thing, as a coach I define personal financial success as being free from consumer debt, having money set aside for emergencies and cash saving purchasing opportunities, contributing regularly to a retirement account, and not having to worry about "what is going to happen" because you are unprepared. Having a financial coach is not different than if you are playing football and have a football coach. On your first day on the football field as a new quarterback you may know what a touchdown is (football success), but you don’t know exactly how to make that happen considering the number of obstacles (11 angry defensive players) coming your way. The same is true for finances. We just defined what success is but, like the football analogy, you will run into many obstacles such as: fees, unexpected price increases, home repairs and emergencies, and deductibles. A coach will teach you how to negotiate through these obstacles and achieve financial success.
STRESSING RESPONSIBILITY. While the program I provide to students focuses on different ways to budget, manage and stretch your money I also have to first stress personal responsibility. There is a concerning trend that I see in our county where so many people put off dealing with realities and waiting for their own bailouts. You are not going to find any bailouts or insider tips here. All the ideas presented here must be used with responsibility and discipline or they are no good. We can write realistic budgets and plans but if they are not managed responsibly they wont work. Responsibility for your personal financial situation also means taking control of your expenses and yourself. You have to control your spending. The budget is a guide for how to spend your money but you are ultimately the one that decides where your money goes. Taking control means you manage your circumstances, they don't manage you. I am sure you have heard “if life hands you a lemon make lemonade”. There are going to be times when you do not control a situation. For example, the electric rates go up. You have no say in the matter of the rate. However, you do of course, have a say in how much electricity you use and how you use it. You would not just throw your hands up and give up. Instead you roll your sleeves up and get to work on finding ways to reduce your electricity usage. That is taking control of the circumstances. One of the examples, that gets to me sometimes, are people who tell me they have more children than they had planned on. Don't get me wrong, I love children and I love my daughter, but how can someone tell you they have more kids then they had planned on? Children are expensive! I know. I am one of the parents paying daycare, clothing, and entertainment. However, we all know how children get here. It is a real easy formula to follow. According to my former health instructor in school it is just as easy to prevent more kids from showing up. Even this is a situation we can control. I may really want another child, but can I really pull that off? Did I ask all the right questions before creating another life or did I just give in to my desire for a larger family and let it happen? Responsibility requires that you ask tough questions and answer honestly. Another example is your health. Here is what I see, sometimes. Living a healthy lifestyle comes with costs. There is a time cost. You have to perform some kind of physical activity and you have to take time to watch your diet and supplementation. There is also a financial cost. You want to take the right supplements, see the right doctors, and use the right preventative measures to stay healthy. However, that just seems like too much work for some people. They let it go. They lose control and if you are not living a healthy lifestyle you are much more susceptible to illness or injury. Those are even more expensive. That person’s lack of control over their health results in a much more expensive problem.
Talk about a sense of responsibility! Watching over your budget is not as urgent as rescuing others after a natural disaster but the point is the same. It is your responsibility. You are the budget overseer and there are people depending on you (starting with yourself!). Taking control and responsibility for your finances is critical. It doesn't matter what you learn here if you can not apply it and follow it. That is why I think it is important to have a coach or partner to help keep you on task, sometimes.
HELPING PEOPLE CREATE AND FOLLOW A BUDGET OR MAKING THEIR CURRENT BUDGET BETTER.
There are various ways of keeping track of your money. Creating and following a
budget is a basic must of a useful financial system. There are different ways Every expenditure is important. You will need to record them all no matter how small. It is important that you know what your actual income and expenses end up being; not just what you expected them to be. It will be next to impossible to create a realistic plan if you are guessing about the numbers. Some people are surprised when they finally sit down and look at actual numbers. They cant believe how much they have been spending on things they didn't even know about. Once you have a very thorough knowledge of where you stand it is time to set the groundwork for a clean restart. Yes, part of getting caught up and starting over is greatly reducing the amount of money you are spending on non essentials. Yes, that will take some adjusting. Even on the essentials you must be ready to find ways to get the same or more value for less money. The catching up / getting started part of my program is the hardest for some people. They just don’t know where to start or what to do. This website is a good starting point and I provide counseling for each step of the way.
NOT ONLY DO I HELP MY STUDENTS CREATE BUDGETS BUT I HELP THEM FIND WAYS TO GET MUCH MORE FOR LESS. We will work within an easy to follow and understand money management system. The system you follow will first allow you to track where every single one of your dollars is going and where they are coming from. This system will take the guessing out of budgeting. Of course, guessing leads to waste and overspending. Once the budget is set up and you know where you stand you will learn how to arrange your income and expenses so that you are maximizing your purchasing power. One of our goals will be to get you much more for far fewer dollars while always building your credit rating.
I TEACH PEOPLE TO LOOK AT RUNNING THEIR HOUSEHOLD LIKE YOU WOULD RUN A BUSINESS AND TO PERFORM COST / BENEFIT ANALYSIS ON EVERY EXPENDITURE. Analyzing financial reports is not just for CEOs. Your personal money management system may not be as complex as a billion dollar business's accounting records but you will learn how easy it is to manage your income and expenses when you have a structured system in place. Following the system you create will put you in a position to look for and be ready to move on cash saving opportunities.
I AM AVAILABLE TO MY STUDENTS TO HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR INCOME AND EXPENSES MORE EFFICIENTLY. This website is here to provide you resources that can assist you in creating the personal money management system that works best for you. You can follow any of the examples you will find here or simply use the theories behind the examples and create your own version of a money management system. Either way the goal is to make your money and your personal situation work for you not against you. My goal is to be available to my students to walk with them through the preparation of their own personal money management program. SPECIALIZING IN CREATING BUDGETS THAT ARE EASY TO FOLLOW. Too many people think that creating and following a budget is going to be hard. It doesn’t have to be. There are a number of ways to write a budget. One of the easier ways is included on this website. Following a written budget is one of the most important things you can do to ensure you are on the right track. Of course, if you still run into difficulties just email me. I am more than willing to share some advice and give you help.
PROVIDING ASSISTANCE IN FOLLOWING A BUDGET. I encourage users of the website to email me their comments. Tell me about your personal situation and let me know how I can help you. I am always happy to share my experience and help troubleshoot your financial issues with you. THIS WEBSITE IS HERE TO HELP YOU MAKE BETTER FINANCIAL DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR INCOME AND THEIR HOUSEHOLD.
It is so important that we all get our personal finances right. What happens if
we don’t? You run out of money and month but not the problems and bills. On a more serious note however, you need to consider what losing quality of life really means to you and your family. As a father, two of my favorite examples that demonstrate this are preventative health care and nutrition. I am a strong proponent of providing the best of both for my child. The reason is that both of those are foundations for a better life. Good preventative and rehabilitative medicine and nutrition will save you and your children from illness that rob you of emotional and physical health. Without those you are not going to be in the right frame of mind to learn, adapt, respond to difficult life situations and changes, and make the best forward thinking decisions about life situations. If you are tired, sick, stressed, or hurt you will focus on those things rather than dealing with other pressing life matters. The same is true about financial matters. If you don't take preventative measures against money problems by minding your budget you are going to be too distracted trying to take care of the problems that come up to enjoy other areas of life. You will lose quality of life. You will start to feel like you are moving backwards instead of forward. As time goes on things are supposed to get easier not harder. If you don’t have control of your money now life is not going to get any easier tomorrow. Every job I have ever had there has been many people who decided not to purchase health insurance through the company because they felt it was too expensive. Health insurance purchases are preventative measure and a necessity in my opinion. I don't care how healthy you are; accidents happen. Sure enough at each of these jobs there is always someone who because the poster child for buying health insurance. That person comes down with some serious illness and is hospitalized or is in some bad accident. They always come back but are now saddled with a giant medical bill which starts a financial problem domino effect.
LEARN HOW TO LOOK AT EACH OF YOUR EXPENDITURES DIFFERENTLY AND COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVES. Don’t be discouraged if you have a lot of debt. The worst thing you can do is just give up. I knew someone who thought "why bother" because they were in such debt they thought there was no way out. He feebly attempted humor at the situation with the sarcastic comment "take all I've had. I have had too much for too long"” As bad as you think you have it it can always get worse. Think about your living conditions and your health. Think about your children’s quality of life. You will find many resources are available to you to assist you in moving in the right direction. The fact that you are here tells me you believe that. That is a great first step! Having a reasonable plan will allow you to start taking more steps in the right direction. Once your budget is in place you will know exactly what you have been spending your money on. At that point you can start asking new questions. Do I really need this? How can I cut this in half? Can I get a better deal on this at the other place? It will also allow you to start looking for alternatives to the things you have been spending money on. Every thing listed on your budget should be up for your review. Set a goal once you have your budget completed. If you have been spending $500 a week on expenses set a goal for yourself to reduce that by 10% to $450 a week.
WHAT WON’T YOU FIND HERE? Investing for your future is important. It is part of my personal money management system. However, I leave how my money is invested through my 401k up to professional investors. Quite honestly there was a time when I tried investing in stocks on my own. I lost a lot of money. Picking stocks and investments is not my strength. Managing my income and expenses is, however. In my personal money management system I encourage everyone to save for emergencies, discount opportunities, and their retirement. You will not always find specifically what you should or should not buy. That really is up to you. The system just makes it easier to come to the right decisions.
I DO NOT REPRESENT YOU TO BANKS OR CREDIT CARD COMPANIES. I know there are companies out there that will act on your behalf to negotiate repayment options for you with the credit card companies. If you believe that would help your situation I encourage you to follow through on that. However, what you will find here are resources, ideas, and strategies to manage your day to day financial life. You will be able to create your own personal money management system that is customized to your particular situation and lifestyle.
IF YOU ARE ALREADY ON THE VERGE OF GOING BANKRUPTCY YOU SHOULD SEE AN ATTORNEY. However, that doesn't mean you will not find things here that can help you. This site is about making the most efficient use of your income and creating a positive financial environment in your home that makes the most of your resources. I will not advise you against bankruptcy. I know I will hear loud retorts on that and I may not even disagree with them in some cases, but you have to be realistic. If you are upside on your debt with no realistic way of turning it around you need to bite the bullet and get a fresh start. Yes, your credit rating will be shot. Guess what? I bet you are not getting loans now either. A fresh start will also demand that you have a plan in place to live within or even below your means.
EVEN IF YOU ARE FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY OR HAVE JUST GONE BANKRUPT REMEMBER THAT YOUR CREDITORS ARE NOT GONG TO TAKE YOUR PAYCHECK FROM YOU. YOU WILL STILL HAVE TO MANAGE YOUR DAY TO DAY AFFAIRS. That is why it is important, regardless of your current debt status, to create and follow a personal finance management system. You will learn more about doing that here. This is actually a great place to be if you did just file bankruptcy. While it is often the last resort for so many people the point of going through it is to get a fresh start. This is the best time to learn exactly how to do that.
MY STUDENTS LEARN TO NEGOTIATE, MAKE BETTER FINANCIAL CHOICES, AND MANAGE THEIR MONEY ON THEIR OWN. Having freedom and enjoying quality of life is really what Bowman's Money College is all about. Every time you make a less than ideal choice about your money you are losing a little bit of freedom and your quality of life is whittled away at. Only you can decide what is most important to you. How you decide to use your income ultimately is up to you. I know people who spend over $100 a month on cigarettes. Smoking is a turn off for me and I wouldn't spend one penny on it. The other person foregoes other things so they can afford to smoke as that is what makes them happy. That's ok. It becomes part of their budget which is a part of their financial planning. Another example may be saving for college. If saving for your children's college education is important to you then I encourage you to do it. However, I can tell you from personal experience that there are many ways to attend college without your parents' money, but it is your choice to make and to plan for. I know many people who found ways to get themselves through college without parental assistance. Encourage your children to be active in preparing themselves for college. That means doing activities that bring scholarship money. Also, remember that many lower priced colleges, particularly the community college, offer educational studies that are just as good as a university. The point is that saving for your kids' education is your choice to make. My money management system allows you to plan for it. I am excited that you are ready to learn more about managing your money. Once you have started applying the lessons you learn here you will start to feel more confident and in charge of your money. You will have less stress. You will start getting much more for your money. You will start to gain quality of life. SUMMARY Education is the very first step, so you are in the right place! Let's get started!
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That is
when you start to take financial hits and your quality of life starts to
diminish. That is the most concerning consequence in my opinion. Sometimes, we
start to lose quality so slowly we don’t realize what has happened to us. It is
like a guy who was a lean and strong athlete in high school but now he is older
and looks in the mirror and there are no muscles left! He started out strong but
every year he worked out a little less and took it easy a little more and slowly
but surely he went from a touchdown scoring football player to a pizza eating,
beer drinking TV watcher. Certainly not an athlete anymore!