Habits

I’ve always heard that habits are hard to break. In my life, that has generally proven to be true.

I’ve also heard that research has proven that it takes 21 days of repeated repetition to form a new habit.

Why then do people who do something repetitively for five or six months always find it so easy to break the habit they have maintained for that period of time? Should it not be ingrained and hard to break? I mean if it only takes 21 days to create the habit, shouldn't it be unbreakable in 6 months?

If we can find why something that needs changed is so hard to do, yet something so right is so easy to walk away from, even after the habit is formed, we will be able to break the chains of bondage for so many people.

Town Hall for Hope

In April, radio host and financial commentator Dave Ramsey hosted the Town Hall for Hope. The program was streamed to many churches and was carried by Fox Business Channel. Many people did not have the opportunity to view the event due to conflicts, lack or a church in their area or the somewhat limited availability of Fox Business to us frugal penny watching folks.

The video is now available. Please watch.

Dave Ramsey - Town Hall for Hope 2009 from Central FPU on Vimeo.

Money Connection

As time goes by, I've found links to resources that have been helpful to me in learning more about money.


WE DID IT!!! Actual Stories of People Just Like You and Me who Followed Dave's Plan and DID IT!

Ruturn to Chris Johnston Life Coaching


Use the Links below to learn along with me. Please note, these are for refernce purposes only and do not imply explicit endorsement.


Useful Links

Yahoo Calculators

IRS Withholding Calculator

Kiplinger’s Tools

Debt Elimination Calculator

Savings Calculator

Free Annual Credit Report

Identity Theft Information

College Grants, Scholarships, and more!

Stop the Junk Mail for Credit & Insurance

Return to Chris Johnston Life and Financial Coaching

How Neat It Is To Deal with a Classy Person

Nothing could have be worse than to have to take two weekends and apply it toward Continuing Education. But it wasn't.

First, the class was relevant for the world today. The instructor was entertaining and informational.

And second, I got to meet one of the most unique people I've ever met.

Seriously.

Have you ever met someone who just seems to have a nice aura?

The backdrop of where this is going is I'm not the first person most people tend to seek out for a conversation. But as my wife and I settled into the classroom last weekend, a young lady sat at the table in front of us.

Let's say that this lady is striking. Very striking.

During breaks and lunch we would chat with her. But she was the one initiating the conversation. As I noted above, in general, I'm usually the last person someone people look to in creating a conversation. (No, I'm not being negative. But I am working on being more approachable.)

Did I say she was striking? So striking that she for several years was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad known as the Ben-Gals. Having retired from active duty, she is now one of the coaches of the squad.

Did I mention her professional background is engineering and she is a computer programmer, systems analyst and information systems manager? Not your typical stereotype for a cheerleader.

On the way home from class last week, my wife and I both commented what a genuinely nice person she was. In a single word, classy. So nice that we've exchanged information and will stay in touch. (Frankly no one in the world would believe I have the personal number of a former pro sports cheerleader.)

What makes this so unusual is despite her great looks, her avocational success and her vocational success and savvy, we never once noticed her doing or saying anything rooted in ego.

That was refreshing.

How much better would the world be if more people..... successful people....... the beautiful people......... were as down to earth and simply as nice as she was?

So what does this have to do with the theme of this blog? Everything. Think of how many people we could touch if we had the class and humbleness of this young lady. Whether in a business sense, spreading what we are doing with our financial and spiritual lives or simply creating friends for good times, adding a classy person to your friends list is always an accomplishment.

Screw It

I was scanning the New York Times this morning and came across an advertisement that contained a picture of a corkscrew similar to this one with a headline that said............Screw It.

How many times when trouble has come our way have we looked at it and have given that same reply. Screw It.

Now that was not the intent of the advertisment. It was for something entirely different, but when my eye first saw the corkscrew and the headline together, my first thought was how many times have I worked on a problem only to get frustrated and said........... Screw It!

Screw It for some reason in gives our minds the mental detour that if we give up on the problem it's no longer ours. And sometimes the perception leads us to believe it. For a short period of time. Because in reality it isn't and reality always returns.

I guess that's why I like the corkscrew. For while Screw It if part of the corkscrew equation, the next step is to stop and take the effort to uncork the contents. And those contents generally represent something good.

Maybe that's what we need to do with our problems. Not only just Screw It but stop and take the time to uncork the possibilities the problem presents. Maybe those contents will be just as satisfying as the contents of a fine bottle of wine.

Job Hunting

Over three thousand people turned out at the Columbus Zoo the other day for a job fair. Looking at a picture, there was one thing that stood out. I can't find one example where someone while networking seems to be exchanging personal information. A card, a piece of paper, a handshake....anything.

In the world we live in today, networking is the key to finding opportunity.

Many in that line probably drilled a dry hole with companies they interviewed with.

But how many people in that line might get hired in the future and remembered talking to a really neat person who could fill a role in a company but they have no idea that person was or how to contact them.

Or what if someone in the that line comes up with their own business idea and needs the talent of the person they just spent two hours in line with and have no idea who they are.

Always, always, always exchange information and stay in touch. That chance meeting could turn out to be the opportunity of a lifetime.

The Most Dangerous Baby Step

For those following the Dave Ramsey program let me tell you about what I believe is the most dangerous step in the plan.

Baby Step 3 aka BS3.

BS3 is like that gangly stage between being a child and an adolescent. It just isn't pretty and easy for most people to do.

There is so much focus in Dave's program to get debt free and experience the freedom that allows. And yes, that is a huge part of it. But so many think when you finish BS2 the money suddenly starts becoming available again and a return to an earlier life.

IT DOESN'T.

And to a point, Dave does not strongly address this stage of the program. And while I'm not in Dave's head, I think it's rooted in him being so thrilled you've made it this far.

And intuitively, you'll know the score.

I disagree with him on that. I've read too many times on his forum and others from so many expressing that they've experienced a let down, a loss of intensity and the loss of a focal point. And honestly, I experienced it too.

Again, BS3 is a very dangerous step for many people.

For it is also during this step that you realize that the snowball you've been sending to creditors now will be sent to savings or sinking funds or retirement or extra house payments or college funding. In other words, most people will find that money used to pay off the snakes will be used for other purposes other than fun type freedom.

Even though you're paying you and your family now, they aren't this evil being that needs eradicated from your life like the credit cards and car loans were. That represents a huge paradigm shift that many need to be aware of and need to learn how to address so they can shift their focus.

So it's not time for freedom yet, because at this point, you've only laid a foundation for freedom to be built upon.

But your mind begins saying, I made it, I'm debt free, so why not go back to the old ways. The old temptation virus.

But let's face facts. Budgeting and sticking with it is just as if not more important than when you were in BS1 and BS2. Because as the intensity on getting BS2 debt free abates, the temptation sirens begin to show up and start singing their songs.

I so agree with others who have developed a thermometer or some other chart to keep track of BS3 progress. And to have mini celebrations when you make it to a milestone. Intensity, goals, milestones and celebrations. All very critical and import.

One note of caution. If you were in BS2 for any period of time and were very intense, BS3 is where Murphy shows up to be paid for all those things you put off while being intense. So it may be two steps forward, one step back for a while.

Stay the course and find creative ways to stay intense. And win!

Getting to the Starting Line

It's been too long since I've added anything to this blog.

As I sat in church this morning, I was thumbing through one of the weekly magazines found at our welcome desk. An article, while not related to money, got me to thinking about why some people never seem to get ahead or really begin working on their financial journey.

Writer Mark Atteberry tells the story in the 1/18/09 issue of "Christian Standard" about going to a professional football game. Four young guys were seated in front of him. One struck up a conversation and related he had never been to a professional football game in person.

Atteberry writes that the young man still hasn't.

Why?

Throughout the game the gentleman was caught up in everything around him but the game. The concessions, the beer, the women, the wave and numerous trips to the restroom to part with the previous session with the beer. So caught up in all the things going on around him he missed what happened during an important and exciting play. Simply put, while in attendance, he missed the game.

How many people have you met working on a financial plan that are the same way?

Caught up in the details of living on an envelope system and how many and what categories need created. Caught up in the details of couponing and making sure you double, triple or even get a refund on every purchase. Caught up in the details of reading the latest guru and their spin on the age old process of living wisely, on less than what you make, on not getting caught up in debt and trying to impress people you don't even know or may not even like.

Sometimes the best plan of action is to get to the starting line. In one simple word...........start.

Sure, it won't be perfect. It may not even be pretty. But it's a start. A beginning.

Instead of worrying about all the stuff going on around you, like envelopes, coupons, spending plans and debt payments, get to the starting line and being to take control. Control of the situation begins the process of hope. And hope can make great things happen.

Let that start reveal where the changes and tweaks need made and what to leave alone since it is working like a well oiled machine.

Don't be like that young man who may have gone to his only professional football game in his lifetime......and missed it by watching and being concerned with everything going on around the game but the game.

Don't worry about all the peripheral details. Get to the starting line. And start.

Experience and wisdom will take care of the details.