1) You have to have the courage to take on something challenging.Fighting my way through the debt heap has taken a good bit of courage to keep going. It has also taught me to "defend" my wealth. I hate confrontation. I hate fighting. I have come to respect that sometimes you have to stand your ground in order to not be taken advantage of. Currently I have to appeal to my health insurance some extenuating circumstances that my dd had an urgent situation and needed to get care. If I do not appeal then the health care company denies my claims for around $2000.00 Its my money. She needed the health care its why we have insurance. I have learned to be brave and take the fight to the vendors because typically I get my money back. Another example is getting a lower interest rate. See my blog entry here... http://travelfarandwide.blogspot.com/2008/11/ask-dont-forget-to-ask.html
Be brave ask for what you want.
2) Know your limits and what your good at.
I am good at dreaming. I can daydream all day long. Typically, I have to stop myself from dreaming and put my nose to the grindstone to get myself to focus on my work. It is okay to run away from the big boulders when they are flying at you but it is also necessary to know when to get to work.
3) Simplicity is often the best option. (Gun vs Sword)
Isn't this one of the favorite scenes where the swashbuckler is waving his sword and Indy just shoots him. I think this is parallel to online banking. It was a lot of fuss to pay lots of bills over the phone on cards. I love online bill pay. I just hop on my bank's web site and off I go, electric paid, rent paid, cable paid. Done. And because time is such an issue in my life now that I have a 1 year old. It takes me about 30 minutes to check all my balances and pay the bills. Once per month 30 minutes is very effective. Keep it simple. Bam just knock it out.
4) You need to know your stuff and be ready to learn.
Indy Jones always pops in with some little tid bit of history that solves the puzzle. He knows a lot of stuff and it gives him that little competitive edge over the Nazis among others. I read tons of blogs. I have learned a lot about how to do things as well as been inspired by others who struggle in the same journey.
Places to learn:
No credit needed
Dave Ramsey
WiseBread
Boston gal's Open wallet
Places where I feel inspired:
I've paid for this twice
GRACEful Retirement
5) You don’t have to be a superhero.
Indiana Jones was a geeky history professor who liked fancy vacations. I am a geeky Technology buff who likes mellow vacations. I believe if we follow the map to the treasure we can achieve our goals. And I follow Dave Ramsey's baby steps road map. you should too http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/
6) Some things never change.
Indiana Jones uses old fashioned common sense and logic to solve his conflicts. He seems to choose the best way to get out a of a fix. There is no way to stop life from becoming complicated. BUT we can keep an emergency fund in order to keep our debt from growing.
7) Know what your are afraid of, or bad at and let other people help.
Snakes why does it have to be snakes??? I love that moment. When the great hero admits to being human. But he pushes through his fears and escapes anyway. I have mounting fears that my debt is mounting. But I keep on the plan because its to only solution to escaping debt.
8) You can’t do it alone.
Jones used lots of resources on his journey. He took advantage when help was offered and so should all of us. When my mom offered to help me with some extra cash I paid it toward my debt. I am going to start cashing in my bonds (I only have 2 so its not big bucks) to pay off some if the debt. I am also going to look into selling off some stock I own to try and get the debt down further. Again we arent talking big bucks maybe a couple of hundred dollars. Any help is good.
9) You have to believe in yourself and it doesn’t hurt to be unique or have your own image.
When Indiana Jones was on an adventure he wore his unique hat. It helped to get him into the roles he had defined for himself as an adventurer. He was super confident when he came into a new situation. He believed in himself.
It turns out to be different then average is to have no debt. So my goal is to be unique. I am going to get out of debt and then build up savings. I have fantasies about how fast it will happen. But mostly I am planning to follow the steps and save for retirement. There are no get rich quick schemes.
10) You have to see things through and stay focused.
Indiana upon his return from the opening adventure in the movie said "Marcus, I had it it in my hand, Marcus. I can get it." He was completely focused on obtaining an artifact for the museum even if it took more then one adventure to get it. He was then changed to follow the arc of course, but the idea is persistence and diligence despite setbacks won him the treasure every time.
We all need to be like Indy.
This was a light and fun Holiday way to help one enjoy getting back into the grind of debt reduction. Sometimes when you look at something in a new way it gives you a different perspective. I want to be a bit more like Indiana Jones. I want to crack my whip and have my credit cards sit up and take notice. Because I am coming for you...
I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......
