http://financialexcellence.net Normal is Broke and in Debt. Choose to be WEIRD. Be DEBT FREE! Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:54:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://feeds.feedburner.com/financialexcellence/XEgm Embracing Debt Free Living and Building Wealth the old fashioned way - by working hard and saving money! Tips and Tools for L.I.F.E. - Living In Financial Excellence Matt Wegner clean Matt Wegner matt@mattwegnercoaching.com matt@mattwegnercoaching.com (Matt Wegner) Copyright © 2011 Financial Excellence, all rights reserved Where L.I.F.E. and Money Come Together money, financial freedom, career, small business, investing, budget, debt, free, credit, budgeting, business, finance http://financialexcellence.net/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/Podcast_Cover_Art-217.jpg http://financialexcellence.net TV-G Financial Excellence Studios, Sheboygan, WI Weekly http://financialexcellence.net/087-financial-excellence-developing-an-attitude-of-gratitude/ http://financialexcellence.net/087-financial-excellence-developing-an-attitude-of-gratitude/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:17:35 +0000 Matt Wegner http://financialexcellence.net/?p=44209 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/087-financial-excellence-developing-an-attitude-of-gratitude/feed/ 3 budgeting,gift giving,giving thanks,thankful,Thanksgiving Episode 87: Developing an Attitude of Gratitude, Dec 2, 2011. Last week I made a guest appearance on the "Intelligent Investing with Pamela Otten" radio show. Since it was around Thanksgiving time, we talked about having gratitude and being thankful f... Episode 87: Developing an Attitude of Gratitude, Dec 2, 2011. Last week I made a guest appearance on the "Intelligent Investing with Pamela Otten" radio show. Since it was around Thanksgiving time, we talked about having gratitude and being thankful for things. I thought it was a pretty good topic and I was swamped when I came back from traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend, so I figured I would just share the recording of Pam's show. The only trouble was, I ended up procrastinating and I didn't get this episode released until later in the week! My apologies to all, and I hope you enjoy the show as much as I enjoyed being on the show. Oh, and sorry for the commercials. I was too lazy to edit them out! Don't forget: Living In Financial Excellence airs LIVE every Tuesday at 10 a.m. CST. You can watch live and join the chat at financialexcellence.net/live-show Show notes: Pam asked what I'm grateful for. I'm not grateful for Black Friday, but I am very thankful for the blessings in my life. Take time out to thank those around you for the difference they make in your life. Wouldn't you appreciate it if they thanked you on a regular basis? Christmas is coming, and it's about a lot more than how much you spend on presents. If you've ever gone through tough times, you've learned to live without. Too many of us are unwilling to give up some of those creature comforts until we're forced to give them up. When we're forced into the situation, we often find it's not as hard as we thought it would be. Never confuse happiness with gratitude. Happiness is a concept many of us never reach, but it can often be found by first finding gratitude. Should you tithe on your gross income or net? Matt's answer may surprise you (it's kind of an irrelevant discussion). Are you giving as much as you would like? Matt and Pam discuss how to make sure you can give 10% or more of your income. You can influence what we talk about in future shows. Simply fill out this three-minute survey. Like what you hear? Visit the iTunes store and leave a review or leave a comment below. Or call our listener feedback line and leave a voice message that we can share on the air. As always, we appreciate your feedback!   Matt Wegner clean 1:04:23 Join the forum discussion on this post Episode 87: Developing an Attitude of Gratitude, Dec 2, 2011. Last week I made a guest appearance on the “Intelligent Investing with Pamela Otten” radio show. Since it was around Thanksgiving time, we … Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/why-budgets-fail-and-how-to-create-a-successful-budget/ http://financialexcellence.net/why-budgets-fail-and-how-to-create-a-successful-budget/#comments Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:33:13 +0000 Matt Wegner http://financialexcellence.net/?p=44008 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/why-budgets-fail-and-how-to-create-a-successful-budget/feed/ 4 budgeting,budgeting techniques,Creating a Budget,make a budget,Why Budgets Don't Work Episode 81: Common Budgeting Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them Oct. 11, 2011. Many people attempt to do a budget and fail miserably. There are so many different ideas out there about how to do a budget and very little guidance on how to make them work in... Episode 81: Common Budgeting Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them Oct. 11, 2011. Many people attempt to do a budget and fail miserably. There are so many different ideas out there about how to do a budget and very little guidance on how to make them work in your life. In today 's show Matt discusses the common pitfalls that prevent you from being successful in the budgeting process, and how to overcome them to create a budget that works. Don't forget: Living In Financial Excellence airs LIVE every Tuesday at 10 a.m. CST. You can watch live and join the chat at financialexcellence.net/live-show Show notes: Budgeting is such a negative term to many people. It shouldn't be a restrictive experience. Rather, it allows you to plan your expenses and spend with confidence, if done correctly. Lots of people mistake tracking expenses as having a budget. That's like driving a car while looking behind you. Tracking expenses is only a piece of a successful budget. Many budgets fail because they try to create an average monthly scenario that never plays out in real life. Matt covers how to fix this in your monthly budgeting process. Successful budgets are all about being proactive, making a plan, and sticking to that plan. Credit cards can derail the plan, but the cash envelope system can help stick to the budget. You can influence what we talk about in future shows. Simply fill out this three-minute survey. Like what you hear? Visit the iTunes store and leave a review or leave a comment below. Or call our listener feedback line and leave a voice message that we can share on the air. As always, we appreciate your feedback!   Matt Wegner clean 55:27 Join the forum discussion on this post Episode 81: Common Budgeting Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them Oct. 11, 2011. Many people attempt to do a budget and fail miserably. There are so many different ideas out there about how … Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/068-financial-excellence-handling-a-drop-in-your-income/ http://financialexcellence.net/068-financial-excellence-handling-a-drop-in-your-income/#comments Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:50:54 +0000 Matt Wegner http://financialexcellence.net/?p=43240 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/068-financial-excellence-handling-a-drop-in-your-income/feed/ 0 budgeting,job loss,reduced income Episode 68: What to do when your income drops, July 12, 2011. Today Kevin Suddick joins me again to discuss how to handle a reduction in your monthly income. This can come from loss of overtime hours, a change in jobs, layoffs and more. Episode 68: What to do when your income drops, July 12, 2011. Today Kevin Suddick joins me again to discuss how to handle a reduction in your monthly income. This can come from loss of overtime hours, a change in jobs, layoffs and more. Here in Wisconsin, the new state budget signed by governor Scott Walker will cause state employees to contribute to their own retirement and benefits plans instead of the state paying for all of it. That means state employees will see their net income drop by roughly 6%. We wanted to talk about how to deal with a financial change like this to help people in similar situations turn a mountain into a molehill. Don't forget: Living In Financial Excellence airs LIVE every Tuesday at 10 a.m. CST. You can watch live and join the chat at financialexcellence.net/live-show Show notes: Kevin explains the steps he walks his clients through when they're in this situation. The first step is writing your situation out on paper. Identify where you are and establish a baseline. Next, kevin recommends putting some control mechanisms in place to prevent overspending. Third, it's helpful to identify some areas where you can cut back as a family in your spending. We then shared some thoughts on saving money in your everyday spending before getting back on task. If you have a variable interest rate on your mortgage, now is the time to lock in a fixed rate! It's also very important to have an emergency fund in place to protect you from long term unexpected expenses. You can influence what we talk about in future shows. Simply fill out this three-minute survey. Like what you hear? Visit the iTunes store and leave a review or leave a comment below. Or call our listener feedback line and leave a voice message that we can share on the air. As always, we appreciate your feedback! Matt Wegner clean 46:16 Join the forum discussion on this postEpisode 68: What to do when your income drops, July 12, 2011. Today Kevin Suddick joins me again to discuss how to handle a reduction in your monthly income. This can come from loss … Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/financial-literacy-month-question-of-the-day-april-12-2011/ http://financialexcellence.net/financial-literacy-month-question-of-the-day-april-12-2011/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:53:39 +0000 Matt Wegner http://financialexcellence.net/?p=40089 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/financial-literacy-month-question-of-the-day-april-12-2011/feed/ 0 The question for the day is by Julia Gray-Lion from www.PromisesFC.com: If you are single you…. A) Don’t need a budget (you’re the only person responsible for you) B) Don’t have time to do a budget (time-poverty is real) C) … Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/think-long-term-during-short-term-planning/ http://financialexcellence.net/think-long-term-during-short-term-planning/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:00:45 +0000 Matt Wegner http://financialexcellence.net/?p=35838 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/think-long-term-during-short-term-planning/feed/ 1 Using Long-term Goals for Short-term Budgeting Creates a Solid Plan Many of us struggle to see farther than two weeks or a month ahead with our finances. When money is tight and you live paycheck to paycheck, it’s hard to … Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/its-called-a-balanced-budget-for-a-reason/ http://financialexcellence.net/its-called-a-balanced-budget-for-a-reason/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:00:24 +0000 Matt Wegner http://financialexcellence.net/?p=29678 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/its-called-a-balanced-budget-for-a-reason/feed/ 2 Why budgets fail (and what to do about it) Making a budget that works really isn’t that hard, once you get down to actually doing the budget. I could write tons of content on how important it is to get … Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/paying-yourself-first-how-to-make-it-work-part-2/ http://financialexcellence.net/paying-yourself-first-how-to-make-it-work-part-2/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:00:59 +0000 Matt Wegner http://mattwegnercoaching.com/?p=2902 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/paying-yourself-first-how-to-make-it-work-part-2/feed/ 0 In part one of this two part article I talked about the theoretical part of paying yourself first. Planning our the month’s income and expenses to spend every dollar on paper before the month begins, making sure you allocate the … Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/paying-yourself-first-how-to-make-it-work-part-1/ http://financialexcellence.net/paying-yourself-first-how-to-make-it-work-part-1/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:43:56 +0000 Matt Wegner http://mattwegnercoaching.com/?p=2898 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/paying-yourself-first-how-to-make-it-work-part-1/feed/ 0 There are hundreds, if not thousands of financial gurus out there, all spewing the same advice: live on less than you make, pay down debt, avoid credit, invest early and often, etc. It begins to sound like a broken record … Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/006-financial-excellence-saving-your-marriage-through-the-budgeting-process/ http://financialexcellence.net/006-financial-excellence-saving-your-marriage-through-the-budgeting-process/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 04:01:25 +0000 Matt Wegner http://mattwegnercoaching.com/?p=2258 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/006-financial-excellence-saving-your-marriage-through-the-budgeting-process/feed/ 0 budget,budgeting,Financial Excellence,marriage,marriage & money,money,Relationships & Money This week Matt and Janelle discuss how to stay committed to your spouse while working out a budget together. This week Matt and Janelle discuss how to stay committed to your spouse while working out a budget together. Matt Wegner clean 1:00:00 This week Matt and Janelle discuss how to stay committed to your spouse while working out a budget together. Continue reading → http://financialexcellence.net/yahoo-article-features-matt-wegner-of-financial-excellence-net/ http://financialexcellence.net/yahoo-article-features-matt-wegner-of-financial-excellence-net/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:00:45 +0000 Matt Wegner http://mattwegnercoaching.com/?p=1706 Continue reading →]]> http://financialexcellence.net/yahoo-article-features-matt-wegner-of-financial-excellence-net/feed/ 0 Our very own Matt Wegner was featured in a recent article on Yahoo Finance, discussing how he and his wife became debt-free and stayed that way. It's a pretty good article with some other good tips for staying away from debt and credit cards. Check it out by clicking here. Continue reading →