We joined the Finish Rich Program because we wanted to create financial intimacy in our relationship. I attended a David Bach seminar in December 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, and signed up to be interviewed for the coaching program.
Our desire to be coached was our way to create and educate ourselves so we could move forward together with short and long term goals accomplished and a positive understanding on how to become debt-free, create cash flow management, create additional investments in multiple ways, and build our retirement within the next 10-15 years.
We’ve learned to pay ourselves first consistently, pay for our purchases with cash only, not credit, because of that, we’ve created more cash flow, added to our investments, expanded our business ventures, and overall created a better understanding as a couple how to communicate together for our greater financial goals.
We took our credit card debt, assessed how much debt we had, stopped using our credit cards all together, consolidated some of our credit and changed the overall APR from 30% interest rates to 8.99% interest rates and transferred other cards from 9.99-12.99% APR interest rates to 0% APR interest rates. We have paid off most of our credit cards within the last 4-5 months. We have tracked all of expenses since the end of January and for the first time know exactly how much money we spend a month, need to make ends meet, and how much goes out vs. how much we create, save, and invest.
We have begun to meet our goals by getting a hold of our debt. We have learned how to assess the difference between want and need when it comes to our purchases and pause and discuss whether it is an impulse or planned purchase, and whether we have the money or not already put aside to actually be able to afford it without going against our overall plan which is to be completely debt free. It has definitely made a difference in our spending patterns. We still have leaks to plug, but feel confident with the tools we have been given that we are on the same page and can openly discuss together which naturally creates a positive cash flow management for our present and future.
We loved working with our Financial Coach. He really helped us get real with our spending practices, helped us to recognize our patterns, and shared with us what we would need to do if we really wanted to achieve our goals. It wasn’t always easy listening to what he had to say, but the truth of the matter is that these lessons repeatedly mentioned in David Bach’s series of books have proven to work. Our coach mentored us weekly and managed successfully to always make us accountable and realize how our little shifts in our minds and our actions added up to many positive results.
Felicia & Randy
Los Angeles, Calif.
