Happy Thanksgiving
November 25, 2010
November 25, 2010 – Happy Thanksgiving!
We all have a lot to be thankful for in life. Thanksgiving Day is a great time to recognize how fortunate we are and how blessed we are.
In fact every day is a great day to recognize and be thankful for all of our many blessings – even in life’s difficult times.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Copyright Kevin Drum 2010
Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to
Kevin Drum
Titan Solutions, LLC
Living Within Our Means
November 22, 2010
Most of us have heard the phrase “living within our means.” We hear that this is an important part of managing our money. Living within our means is a good idea.
Unfortunately, too many America don’t do this. Too many run up bills on credit to obtain and maintain a certain lifestyle. Eventually this catches up and has very negative consequences.
The people that are owed money expect to be paid back – and rightfully so. For those who don’t live within their means this creates a lot of stress. It stresses families and marriages.
Certainly there are those who end up in financial difficulties because of circumstances such as health problems or accidents. This isn’t what I am referring to here.
I am talking about those who choose to live beyond their means. And yes, for most, this is a choice. None of us are entitled to a lifestyle if we can’t afford it. We have to go out and earn it. It isn’t everyone else’s responsibility to bail out those who make bad choices and live beyond their means.
Each of us needs to accept personal responsibility in this area of life. And if we are the head of our household, we need to pass this along and be responsible to teach these values to those that we are responsible for.
Do you look at your lifestyle and standard of living as a choice? Do you accept personal responsibility for this area of your life? Can you live with the consequences of your choices?
Copyright Kevin Drum 2010
Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to
Kevin Drum
Titan Solutions, LLC
What Would You Give To Be Debt Free
November 15, 2010
Do you have debt? Does it cause stress? Would you like to be debt free? If so, what would you give to be debt free?
Human nature is such that most of us want lots of things – or at least we think that we do. For example, we may want to save money, pay down debt, make more money, lose weight, etc.
But the reality is that in order to do these things, we generally have to make a change or give something else up.
I spoke with someone who was struggling to pay down their debt. I asked them what they really wanted to accomplish. They indicated that what they really wanted to do was to “pay off all of their debt without making any changes to their standard of living.”
In other words, they wanted to pay off all of their debt but they didn’t want to work any extra to increase their income or make any cuts to their expenses. They wanted to get something without really working for it.
This is similar to saying that you want to lose weight without cutting back any on food intake or doing any exercise. For most of us this isn’t going to work.
Vince Lombard had a great quote for this – “the only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
Do you have any goals that you want to accomplish? Do you need to make any changes in your life?
If so, what would you give in order to achieve what you want?
Copyright Kevin Drum 2010
Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to
Kevin Drum
Titan Solutions, LLC
Bad Apple
November 10, 2010
There is an old story about how one bad apple can spoil a whole basket of good apples. No matter how many good apples are in the basket, they can’t make the bad apple good again.
The bad always spreads to the other apples. This principal can apply to many areas of life.
One person doing bad things can ruin good things for many people. Also, one good person making bad decisions can cause negative consequences to themselves and others. Often people sabotage themselves unintentionally with bad choices and decisions.
Consider the area of personal finance. When things are going well it’s easy to get caught up in the “spend-spend-spend!” mode. Unfortunately too many people get caught up in material goods and live beyond their means. This happens with houses and cars and other big purchases.
It also happens with smaller things such as electronic goods and gadgets that we really don’t need. Or maybe it is with travel sports teams for our kids.
Money troubles cause a lot of stress and worry. They take their toll on individuals and families. If you can’t afford something, why buy it anyway and hope that the problem goes away?
Life is about making choices. When you have others depending on you, your choices affect them as well as you.
Be careful not to let bad personal money decisions cause greater and greater problems. Just like one bad apple can ruin the whole basket, one bad decision can hurt you and the people that you care about – a lot!
Deciding to live within our means is an excellent choice!
Copyright Kevin Drum 2010
Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to
Kevin Drum
Titan Solutions, LLC
Leave A Trail
November 4, 2010
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
As the economy continues to struggle, I talk to more and more people who are already frustrated and are becoming more so each day.
Opportunities still exist even in adverse times. But many people aren’t finding them.
Some are even giving up. When someone gives up, they choose to accept whatever end result comes from their choice of giving up. Unfortunately this consequence is usually negative.
It is our responsibility to keep pushing forward. Sometimes we have to do this even when we aren’t seeing results. We have to keep doing the right things over and over until they do produce results.
All along the way we have to make choices. We have to ensure that we are on the right path and that we are going in the right direction.
If none of your available paths seem to be the right path for now, consider the quote above from Emerson. Can you make your own path and then let others follow you?
Copyright Kevin Drum 2010
Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to
Kevin Drum
Titan Solutions, LLC
We Came From
November 1, 2010
There is an old saying that we need to make sure that we “don’t forget where we came from.”
This is an important principle to remember. It is just as important during times of success and triumph as it is during periods of adversity.
We need to remember where we came from. We need to remember who we are. We need to remember all of the choices and decisions that we made to get where we are now. This helps to keep us from getting overconfident in good times.
It also helps to make us stronger in difficult times. Remembering where we came from also gives us strength to help keep us from taking the wrong short cuts and sacrificing ethics during adverse times.
Copyright Kevin Drum 2010
Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to
Kevin Drum
Titan Solutions, LLC