Financial Advice for those wanting to be an O/O

Depends on your goals.

 

But wait, I thought you just said buying a new car was silly?????
Perhaps you need a Dave Ramsey refresher.
For the low, low price of $19.99....plus shipping.

Just LOL

 

Ramsey has a good system for those who need help and are clueless but there is something I have learned a long time that goes along with it, building a solid discipline.

This is where habits come into play.

As I have mentioned here many times, it takes time to build habits and in business you need solid positively reinforced habits to succeed in anything.

The people who fail Ramsey's program (for every success story there are ten failures) seem to all point to the inability to follow the plan in a timely manner and have what used to be called scope creep from the intent of the venture.

Building good habits take a long time, the monthly thing with money takes a couple years of effort to get it all together to keep moving forward. Taking his advice like learning anything takes a lot of effort, and most people don't get that, then the scope creep comes in and it all falls apart.

YES!!

The good habits I talk about include something really really hard to learn - how to open your eyes and learn from failures.

The successes that we all read here are meaningless for many who don't understand they can fail. Many have this idea being an owner operator is really easy but don't see the signs of when trouble is around the corner, so the failures are important.

TO LEARN how not to repeat the same issues others have is a skill that has to be found in business, most get it, some don't and they don't last.

 

Cash flow has zero to do with cars, savings, real estate, etc... The calculation is so simple that folks get caught up with details that do not matter. Buy a used car or a new one...if you have excess cash flow each month, spend it on whatever the F you want. You get one life and you could be gone tomorrow.

You make a certain amount of cash each month. You spend a certain amount. It really doesn't matter how you save or how you spend as every single person on this planet gets to decide that for themselves. Some people need folks like Dave to tell them what to do. Ok, good for Dave...he's made a fortune telling people what to do...as pointed out earlier...which is spend less than you make. Sure, he offers options for investing, but those are his opinions alone. They may not work for you, in your situation.

I think most people, from the ones I've spoken to, don't take the time and effort to analyze their cash flow. Cash in - cash out = cash flow. It's so simple that it gets complicated.

You make $5k a month? You rent? You own a new car? You eat out at restaurants every night? You order uber eats? You go boating every weekend? You like traveling once a quarter? You like playing video games while you money sits in the bank? Whatever you want to do, do that...as long as whatever it is, you aren't spending more than you make. When you're old and can't work anymore, you'll have social security to rely on. Is that what you want? Do you need to purchase insurance to afford an assisted living facility? Do you want to save all your money and give it to your kids? Everyone has different plans and as such, your individual needs are yours alone.

Who cares who buys used versus new? That's not the point at all. Cash flow is and that takes honesty and significant reflection of your past choices and your future plans...but don't forget to spend some on your daily life. After all, isn't that why you work so hard? To enjoy what little time we have?

 

That’s funny! He is a salesman and can help some out of debt. Good, Look, each of us has their own path. I bought a new John Deere, ran it for 7 years and sold it for more than I paid new. If you got a battle plan and it isn’t buried too much risk, go for it. Nothing wrong with loans, if you pay cash with everything it would be hard to build a trucking empire in a lifetime. Said that, if you don’t have a large bank account you may be doomed before you make your move.

 

I get what your saying. It’s simple. I do however am not focused on my little time for enjoyment. I can enjoy my life in heaven. I got work to do, Live to work!

 

Sir, cars, savings, and real estate impact cash flow often for both personal and professional sides of the ledger.

Yes the general premise is simple, applying that premise in the real world requires attention to a lot of details. It's accounting. The devil is in the details. The details determine profit or loss.

Yes everyone makes their own decisions but we live in a rules based society and there are optimal strategies for maneuvering through this world to reach your individual goals. Sharing information makes for more informed decision making leading to better personal results. Accounting, finance, and tax systems get tricky fairly quick.

The person who does the accounting cares. The person who has to decide where, when, and what to invest in cares.

 

Yes, but what is your point in making the choices that you make? Why are you investing, buying, saving? How does your choice impact others?

There are as many who live by the rules as there are who live by the loopholes. In the end, your “optimal” investment/accounting strategies will have zero effect on your mental wellbeing and only have affected your physical quality of life (which is, of course, subjective).

Money is a resource, just like a truck. If you burn more in fuel than you make on a load, you’re in a negative cash flow situation. If you buy a new truck, you’ll have to work hard to keep the cash flow balance each month…because that’s what most people are trying to do…pay their bills.

I know it’s hard to think of anything else when you’re doing all you can just to make ends meet, but that’s a mental issue, not a financial one. If everyone had their mental stuff straight, the cash flow stuff would be easy. That’s where the coaching comes in. Financial security isn’t about an amount in a bank or investment account, or real estate portfolio, it’s about understanding cash flow and your wants vs needs. You could have 50 businesses, real estate, stocks, lawyers, and be completely financially independent and that doesn’t ensure you are healthy from a mental health standpoint.

So, yes, the devil is in the details, but it’s the approach that determines success…imagine a lowboy crossing a railroad…approach determines success. Else you could get caught up, spinning your wheels, until disaster strikes. Studying details won’t amount to much when you’re already stuck on the tracks.

 

Cash is still king if you ask me.
I've seen too many people go under due to debt.
If I cannot pay for it, then I don't need it, or buy it.
Wife now does payroll, and accounts payable.

If she questions for me i find bills sitting on my desk with red pen marks.

 

Mr. rch10007,

As a general statement, you seem more focused on the philosophical aspect of business and accounting and personally I'm more interested in the applied side.

Loopholes are a loaded term. The overwhelming majority of decisions in accounting either fall into the legal or illegal category. So if you are living within the rules everything permitted by the rules is just that, legal, no matter if you call it a loophole. Tax evasion and tax avoidance are distinctly separate in theory and in practice with clear legal lines between both.

This statement is clearly false, the decisions I make in life, including investment/accounting strategies, have a direct effect on both my mental and physical well being. Actions have consequences, singing kumbaya and making accounting decisions willy nilly is not a strategy. Making bad decisions with money can lead to people not having a roof over their head and food on the table.

With all of that being said, mental health needs to be taken very seriously and prioritized, no exceptions. However, this is a topic about financial advice so the meat of the conversation will stick to the numbers side.