The Worst Mistakes People Make Or Don’t Do With Their Money

1. You find yourself counting on a raise to break even.

2. You’re putting off saving or paying off debts until a “better day.”

3. You hope Mom and Dad leave you a nice inheritance.

4. You catch yourself thinking, if only I made more money.

5. You play Lotto or otherwise long for your ship to come in.

6. You find yourself thinking that, with all your monthly expenses, there just isn’t enough money left to save.

7. A family member has to undergo expensive tests or surgery and you can’t readily handle the deductible and co-payment without debt.

8. Your car suddenly goes plooey and you have to carry the $650 repair bill beyond the thirty-day grace period on your credit card.

9. You lose your job tomorrow and your present non-retirement savings will cover less than three months’ regular living expenses while you search for work.

10. In order to take a much-needed, well-deserved vacation, you have to borrow money or use credit cards to finance it.

11. You presently have no program in place that automatically shifts money from your paycheck or checking account to a savings plan.

12. An aging parent needs financial help and you don’t have the available cash to come through.

13. Your mortgage is more than three times your gross annual income.

14. You’re not saving or giving what you would like to save or give.

15. There’s just too much month at the end of your money.

16. Your garage isn’t big enough to hold your vehicles and motorized toys.

17. You’re paying for multiple phone lines, multiple cell phones, or multiple TV or computer hookups for your family.

18. You feel that you are not controlling your finances, but your finances are controlling you.

19. You own or lease more than one vehicle per adult family member.

20. You own a vehicle of any type that is not used at least twice each week for necessary transportation.

21. Your annual vehicle payments total more than 5 percent of your annual gross income.

22. You insist on buying or leasing a brand-new vehicle.

23. You step onto a car lot to browse without knowing the make, model, and year of the vehicle you want as well as its current Edmund’s or Kelly Blue Book price.

24. You carry more than one credit card in your wallet.

25. You pay by credit card for anything that’s perishable or depreciates in value.

26. You cannot pay each card’s balance in full at the end of this month and every month.

27. Your monthly debt service is keeping you from maxing your 401(k) or building your rainy-day fund.

28. You or your spouse feels a lack of inner peace about your debt load.

29. You allow the stresses of life to build up inside you.

30. You engage in concentrated exercise fewer than three days per week.

31. You haven’t had a physical exam in two years or more.

32. You smoke or hang around those who do.

33. You don’t take a multivitamin and mineral supplement.

34. Your broad mind and narrow waist are trading places.

35. You aren’t treating saving for the future as one of your top financial priorities.

36. You’re over age thirty-five and are not saving at least 10 percent of your gross annual income for retirement.

37. You have a 401(k) or 403(b) type plan but are not contributing the full percentage of your salary the plan allows.

38. You do not have at least a portion of your long-term savings invested for growth in stocks or stock mutual funds.

39. You’ve pulled money out of your long-term savings and investments to spend on more immediate things.

40. You’re allowing fear to keep you from investing your long-term savings for growth by means of equity investments.

41. More than 10 percent of your long-term savings is invested in a single stock or industry sector.

42. You’re under age sixty and have less than 50 percent of your nest egg at work in equity investments.

43. You’re over age forty and have 100 percent of your nest egg at work in equity investments.

44. You’re any age and don’t have a nest egg.

45. You’re investing in a mutual fund with a sales commission or high fees.

46. You’ve purchased life insurance on your children alone.

47. You’ve purchased credit life or mortgage life insurance.

48. You’re a key provider for your family and don’t insurance.

49. You’ve purchased permanent life insurance (a.k.a. “whole life”) instead of term life insurance.

50. You’re trying to cover every contingency with insurance.

51. You give in to your toddler’s demands in a grocery store checkout lane.

52. You tend to give your child money and things instead of your time.

53. You’d rather be your child’s friend than his parent.

54. You frequently give your child extra money after he’s spent his allowance.

55. You do not require your child to give and save a portion of every dollar he/she earns.

56. Your adult child is still living with you.

57. You tend to scrimp in your senior years in order to leave an inheritance.

58. Your loved ones would not know where to find your key accounts, records, and documents if you should become seriously injured or killed.

59. You frequently find yourself crawling among the dust bunnies under your bed in search of important legal and financial records.

60. You have not completed a home inventory or updated it within the past two years.

61. You do not have a written will or have not had your will reviewed and updated recently by an estate planning attorney.

62. You have not designated a durable power of attorney and health-care proxy.

63. You’ve tended to think that life’s too costly now and retirement will have to take care of itself.

64. You believe Social Security will meet your needs as you grow older.

65. You’ve never calculated how much you’ll need for your retirement years.

66. You’re thirty-five or older and are not regularly contributing to a tax-advantaged retirement savings plan.

67. You’re forty-five or older and are not making the maximum annual contributions to your 401(k), 403(b), and/or Individual Retirement Accounts.

68. You have few plans for how you want to spend your days in retirement.

The point is, almost everyone needs Debt Management. 90% of life is all maintenance. Restructuring and repairing those needed areas in life for perfection. So, if you once said “I don’t need debt management,” think again. The wealthiest man in the world is managing his debt every day.