HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU KEEP?

I am excited to write about today’s financial topic. I looked at headlines on some of the internet provider’s websites this morning.  Of course, the stories are basically all the same except for maybe a slightly different perspective and angle from the news sources.

I was reminded of a story a few years back about Curt Schilling, one of the greatest pitchers of all-time in Major League Baseball. This was a story not about how great of a player he was, but one that he was holding “the MOTHER of all ESTATE SALES.” He was having the estate sale in order to try to satisfy a then current lawsuit against him. Schilling was being sued by the State of Rhode Island’s Economic Development Agency. Evidently, he had a startup video game company named 38 Studios and the state had approved a $75 million loan to get Schilling to move the company to Rhode Island. 38 Studios collapsed into bankruptcy in 2011 and the good old State of Rhode Island came a knocking and they want their money back.

According to the article I read on MSN, Schilling made $114 million in salary over the course of his 19-year career. This doesn’t include any money made from endorsement deals along the way.

You might remember the famous BLOODY SOCK that covered Curt’s injured foot while pitching in one of the 2004 ALCS games? He sold it in February of this year in an auction for $92,612 also, in order to pay some creditors.

So, we are really talking a lot of money here. Curt’s unfortunate situation begs the question. Where did all this money go?

The topic I want to discuss is the old adage, “IT IS NOT WHAT YOU MAKE THAT MATTERS, IT IS WHAT YOU KEEP THAT COUNTS!” I’m sure you have heard this saying. I heard this phrase from time to time while growing up, but I never really knew exactly what was meant by it until later when I was a student earning my degree at a university and worked as an orderly part time in an operating room at a local hospital.

I had the opportunity to interact with many medical doctors in the hospital. I remember many conversations with those I got to know and they would tell me how little money they actually had. Many of them had incredible amounts of debt, and not just from student loans, but from out of control spending and lifestyles. Others just basically spent everything that they made.

I come across SAVERS and SPENDERS in my practice all the time.

One of the BASIC questions that I need to know the answer to when completing an application for Term Life Insurance or designing a financial plan for someone is what their annual income is?

HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU MAKE?

Depending what their job and profession is, it can be a lot of money or very little. For instance, I have many clients that work as school teachers in public schools or nurses in medical profession. They don’t make as much as MONEY by a long ways as a physician or a dentist might make, but many of them have more DISPOSABLE INCOME than both the doctor and the dentist.

You see, those that have limited means they have figured out what it means to keep more income or money than the higher income earners.

HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU KEEP?

I’m not saying that all high income earners such as physicians, dentists and a guy like Curt Schilling don’t know how to manage their money, because there are many that can I’m just suggesting that a person that is committed to a BUDGET because of their fixed income usually does a better job saving in my experience.

The savers save more MONEY in proportion to their income as compared to somebody who doesn’t use a budget. They often have the mentality “they can work out of a financial problem with CASHFLOW, rather than save for one.

I believe everybody needs to live off a budget whether they make $20 million or $20 thousand a year.

Following a budget is one of the basic fundamentals of obtaining FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

I plan on having many posts in the future discussing budgets and what they are and how to make one work for you without causing major grief or feeling too restrictive.

I have done a lot of work helping my clients budget their personal finances. We can help you too.

Get your free no-obligation term life quote with www.termlifeIQ.com, the SMART way to get hold of some LIFE INSURANCE PROTECTION to help PAY for life’s unexpected surprises.