She's NOT smarter than a 5th Grader

Watch this story about a woman who recently won $1,000,000 on a gameshow called "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"  She may have proved to be smarter on the show but now she's filed for bankruptcy because she co-signed on her husband's business loans that are now defaulting to the tune of $3.5 million.  She sites the tough housing market for her husband's "small business" having so much debt.  That's a mighty LARGE debt for a "small" business.

Lessons to be learned:
1. Don't ever co-sign for a loan outside of your own home. (Biblical reference)
2. Seek to become free from debt in your personal as well as business life (reference)
3. Wisdom is better than money...and it will help you keep your money too. (reference)

How your checkbook can lead to your divorce...

"After all, "Money is THE great source of stress in relationships," says Rabin, one of five partners in a Manhattan matrimonial firm." You think it might be sex, or the kids. But no, it really comes down to money."

This quote originates from this story about the state of divorce in a struggling economy. I understand divorce on a personal level because I'm married to a victim of divorce. Children are the victims of divorce and my wife is a child of divorce. I have seen first hand the LONG lasting pain that comes from seeing your family foundation split in two.


So here's the question; how do we remove money as an obstacle in marriage? How do we avoid money becoming a source for arguments, frustrations and division in marriages? Frustrations about money are a SYMPTOM of a larger problem in marriage. How we use our money is a picture of the condition and the priorities of our heart. When we don't trust our spouse with how they use money what we're really saying is, "The priorities of my heart is different than the priorities of your heart."

SOLUTION: When couples can first agree on what is important in their lives then their money gets in line with those agreed upon standards. A vast majority of couples never discuss what they are going to base their family spending on so they just spend and the problems build. If you're struggling in your marriage and money seems to be a source of that frustration then remember these two things.

REMEMBER THIS:
1. It's not about the money, it's about your feelings about how the money is being used. Find out why you feel the way you do about how the money is being used. That's the important thing, not the receipts.
2. Divorce costs A LOT. It costs include emotional trauma to your children, lawyer and court fees, alimony payments and separate living spaces.

There are certainly situations where divorce is the only option because of an unrepentant or abuse spouse, but divorce often times does not relieve pain, it actually prolongs it for your lifetime and passes onto the next generation. If you want help on resolving issue about money in your marriage then contact me today.

Aren't consumers already suffering?

The bailout of our auto industry is a great example of how government and business should not work together.  Government should encourage business to grow, to compete, to improve the products they sell.  So the headlines of a recent CNN.com story found here was laughable.  The headline reads, "Consumers to suffer if GM goes under" Isn't the fact that GM can't compete with other car makers because their labor agreements are strangling them and their product is inferior the real issues?  Furthermore, aren't consumers suffering already if they buy a product that is less efficient, needs more maintenance and doesn't even look as appealing as the competitor's offerings?  

Consumers won't suffer if they have to pay 20% more for a car that's 50% better than a GM car.  Businesses fail and they succeed.  It would be a MAJOR blow to the economy if we lost any of our car makers but it isn't healthy for us to support businesses that aren't succeeding.  Bailing out unprofitable companies is like buying an extra ticket on the Titanic.  Even if you get a great price on the ticket, you're never going to get where you want to go riding on that ship.

Mommy at Home?...research has started

The next workshop I am working on is going to focus on moms staying at home to be the primary caregivers for their children.  There has been a monumentous cultural shift that has encouraged women to enter the workforce in numbers never seen before in history.  Two questions come to mind though...

1. Are working women happier now that they have found more equal footing in the workplace?
2. What effect has this had on the children of those women?

Thus far in my surveys of working mothers I have found a tremendous interest in how they might be able to forgo their work weeks and replace them with staying at home with their children.  This is obviously not a universal feeling amongst working women but it is certainly one worth exploring.  If you have any comments on the subject then click the "comment" link below.  I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on the topic.  Guys, you can comment too.  The role of the husband in this topic is one that I will also be exploring in depth in this workshop.

Blessings,

Andy Traub
Financial Coach

Welcome to Traub Financial Coaching

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Hiding Spending From Your Spouse?

Listen to why it's a really bad idea.

Read a story from CNN about hiding spending from your spouse - HERE.

To request more information on Traub Financial Coaching click here

Marriage and Money Workshop This Week!!

You can register by sending an e-mail with the subject "Registration" and the day you'd like to attend the workshop to andy@traubfinancialcoaching.com.

Would you like to communicate better with your spouse about money? Yeah, I thought so. Whether you make $20,000 or $200,000 a year, talking about money with your spouse can be a difficult issue. That's way you need to attending my upcoming workshop "One Heart, Two Wallets: How to make your marriage and your money work together"

This FREE workshop will be held three separate times and it will teach you as a couple to: create shared non-negotiable standards for your family, learn how communicate using language and emotions you both understand, learn why your spouse sees money the way they do, and much, much more!

You can get all the details by watching the video above.

If you have specific questions you can e-mail me at andy@traubfinancialcoaching.com.

SPACE IS LIMITED TO SIX COUPLES PER SESSION.

A good time to buy a home?

I was recently featured in a story on KELO-TV here in Sioux Falls about the topic of buying a home in this economy. You can read the story by clicking the link below:

Money Matters: Time to buy a house?

Traub Financial Coaching Services

Click on the chart below to help you decide which TFC service will help you the most.



Contact me at: andy@traubfinancialcoaching.com

Welcome To Traub Financial Coaching

Click the play button to hear a welcome message...

How you can make more money!

How To Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rate

Traub Financial Coaching Featured on KELO

Check out KELO TV's interview of Andy Traub

To see the whole interview click on the image below.


If you need help balancing your family's finances or your employees need someone to coach them on how to win with their money then contact me today by e-mail at traubfinancialcoaching@gmail.com.

To read my thoughts on gas prices click on the following links:
Gas Prices - The Real Numbers
Why Gas Prices Aren't That Bad

Stop taking those benefits for granted!

We Americans have a knack for taking things for granted and that's the subject of this audio message. Do you have health or dental insurance through your employer? Does your employer offer short or long term disability coverage in case you can't work? Do you have a 401k retirement plan where your employer matches part of your contributions to that plan? Do you have paid vacations, days off in case of a death in the family? If you have any of these benefits then you should first, be grateful and second, be sure you understand them completely so you can take full advantage of them. If you're an employer who does offer these services let me pose this question...do your employees REALLY appreciate and understand the benefits you provide? Do they pay attention at those yearly meetings where whoever your provider is explains them and adds their own little sales pitch? If you're an employee searching to understand your benefits or an employer wishing your employees appreciated their benefits more then contact me today and we can set up a meeting to do just that.

I guarantee after I meet with you or with your employees that no one will be taking their benefits for granted anymore. This has been Andy Traub of Traub Financial Coaching wishing you joy on your journey towards financial freedom.

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How Can I Buy Quality And Avoid Debt?

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Andy... My family believes in avoiding debt if at all possible. We are also committed to buying items that are of high quality because we see every purchase we make as an investment in something. So how can we avoid debt and still buy quality items such as automobiles, furniture and electronics?

Great parents, investors and shoppers have one thing in common; they all exercise more than normal amounts of patience. The key to buying large items but not sacrificing quality is to accumulate cash through a disciplined savings plan and then hold on to that cash until opportunity comes knocking. Here's some crazy advice that illustrates my point. Right now is a great time to buy a...pick-up truck! But the gas mileage is horrible Andy! Of course it is, that's why they're begging people to buy them. Maybe you and your family aren't interested in a pick-up but the point is simple. If you are patient and have the cash in hand you can get some great deals.

If you'd like to purchase a new bed you could buy one today at full price. My advice is to go buy a $100 mattress topper for now. It will add some comfort to your currently sleepless nights while you wait for a deal. Maybe it'll help so much you won't need a new mattress at all (like it did for my wife and I). While you sleep on your $100 topper you continue to wait for that deal to come along. Visit your favorite mattress stores every few months, inquiring with your loyal salesperson when they will be getting next year's models in. Inform her that when they're ready to sell the display model that you will guarantee them a sale if you call them first. Flashing a wad of $100 bills will show her you're serious. Guess what, she'll probably call you! You just have to be patient.

The same goes for buying a car. What if you had to spend $100 to save $3000 on a car. Would you do it? You bet you would. So don't just look for cars in your town, look for cars with in 250 miles. If you find a steal then you can take the bus (for $100 or less) and go pick up your car that you saved $3000 on because you were patient. You can buy quality and still avoid debt, you just have to exercise self-control and when the opportunity comes up - have the cash on hand to buy!

Gas Prices – The Real Numbers

I used to subscribe to Mad Magazine with Alfred E. Neuman on the cover who would always say the same thing, "What, me worry?" Well, that's the word I have for you today friends. I don't worry about gas prices and neither should you. Don't believe me? Keep reading…

If the average American drives 12,000 miles a year and their car gets an average of 25 miles a gallon (click for story) then they're using around 480 gallons of gasoline a year. So let's do some math to see what that really costs in today's market.

12,000 miles driven in a car that gets 25 miles a gallon means that car uses 480 gallons of gas a year.
480 gallons at $3.50 a gallon = $1,680 a year in gasoline
480 gallons at $4.00 a gallon = $1,920 a year in gasoline

$240 bucks! This debate is all about a few hundred dollars? Even if a family may has three drivers that's an increase of $720 a year for that family. Reality Check!!! That's still a measly increase of $60 a month for the year! Is the price of gas going up by 50 cents worth buying a different car with a payment of $350 a month? No way!

Mass transit might be a good idea if you live in a community where it's a long enough commute but I did the math in my town in South Dakota and it costs me less to drive my car to work than to take the bus!

The best gas mileage is shared gas mileage. If you really want to save money on gas and you HAVE to drive to work, to school, to the grocery store, then call your coworker, friend or neighbor and go together. Car pooling is coming back in style! (Click for story)

We panic about gas prices because every time we drive down the street in Your Town, USA we see the price. Gas prices are just like the weather, people talk about it because it's an obvious topic. If the price of coconuts was on every corner in your town every day then it would be a topic of conversation. So resist the whining about gas prices and instead look for ways to save money in your house so gas prices don't take such a bite out of your budget. You don't have a budget!? Contact me to find out more about getting financially healthy and someday wealthy! There's not trick, just good ol' fashion intelligence.

Check back soon for other gas saving tips.

Why Gas Prices Aren't That Bad

I'm just like you, I need gasoline for my car to go anywhere. I feel like I should be in a state of panic every time my car gets low on fuel. The media and everyone I talk to says that the cost of gas is such a huge problem (click for story) for them and the rest of America. They make it sound like people are going to actually start using public transportation!! Don't worry, that won't actually happen in my town anytime soon. I'm supposed to be worried, but I'm not worried at all. You shouldn't be either...let me explain.

I'm not worried about the cost of gas because I have already done the math and my family can easily afford gas at $6 a gallon. Gas is projected to be an average of $4.15 a gallon by the end of summer and that doesn't scare me in the least. Don't get me wrong, I wish gas was about $.08 a gallon, but I can afford to pay for higher gas prices and truthfully so can you. If a latte' costs almost $30 a gallon and we can get two a week from our local coffee stop then we can afford the liquid that helps us run our automobiles...even if it costs $5 a gallon.

Rising fuel costs are exposing America's addiction. Americans spend every penny they have, and then some. In fact Americans have a negative savings rate,(click for story). A negative savings rate simply means spending more money then you actually have. That reminds me of our government. We don't know how to stop buying stuff we don't need in order to afford the stuff we actually do need.

I need gasoline and you probably do too. What I don't need is a cell phone, high speed internet, 412 cable channels or even two cars for our family. I need is a roof over my head, food in my stomach and my wife by my side. If we only bought what we needed then the stuff we needed wouldn't seem so expensive.

TFC TIP:

If you're struggling with gas prices buy a gas gift card every time you get a paycheck for however much gas you think you'll need until your next paycheck. By using the card you'll learn how much gas you're using which means you'll watch your driving more closely and you'll be able to better budget (click for story) for your future gas usage.

Don't be dumb like this guy

CNN video of the dumb criminal - here.

Who you know saves you money!!

Good Riddance Starbucks

Perhaps the greatest key to wealth is...

Your spouse!

• 95% of millionaires in America are married
  

Remember the old saying "T.E.A.M. - Together Everyone Achieves More" ? That is never more true than in a marriage situation. The truly wealthy in this country most often have a partner in their success and perhaps they have success because of their partner! The other important factor is that the partner is a permanent one. The 95% of millionaires that are married suggest that staying married is better for your finances than getting divorced is.

• Millionaires usually have a spouse more frugal than the breadwinner.

Having a great defense is the key to victory in sports and in finances. People who are frugal are the defense. They keep their team from losing because the opposition can't get ahead of them. A great offense is accumulating money, and that's important if you want wealth. More important those is that you keep that money, and the only way to do that is to defend it through being frugal. A frugal spouse is key to accumulating wealth!

• In 70% of millionaire households the husband contributes at least 80% of the income.
  

The traditional model of the husband bringing home most of the money apparently isn't dead in households of great wealth. Those who build their wealth do so in a mostly traditional model where the male brings home much of the money. Remember the key to great wealth though, frugality. The key to wealth is that the money is handled well once it gets back home and that is often the job of the spouse who isn't working, which in this case is usually the wife. That means the wife is just as, and perhaps more responsible for the accumulation of wealth as the husband who brings home the paycheck is.

Who's REALLY wealthy and who's a fake?