It is Super Tough early on in the FREEDOM BATTLE

I sent the blog out to my coworkers who are currently working through Financial Peace University with me. I asked them to comment back to me with any suggestions on things I should write about. There were a couple of key themes.
1. Instant Gratification is something not easily overcame.
2. How hard it is to discipline yourself to keep yourself on track.
I think both of these go hand in hand. One being that if you want instant gratification, it is going to be hard to DISCIPLINE yourself.

In most cases, you see something and you want to have it. Take for instance the new pair of shoes you have been staring at for about 20 minutes deciding if they are the right color and size you WANT (notice how I did not say need). Instant gratification says, "Buy them, it does not matter what the price tag is on them. You NEED these shoes."

Or how about the flat screen TV you have been drooling over for the past hour. Instant gratifications says, "You would be the coolest guy in town. You could have all your buddies over to watch all the big games. You need this TV to stay on top of the game."

In most cases you will see instant gratification win out and put yourself into some sort of debt in order to obtain these "things" that you really do not NEED, but you WANTED.

This is why discipline and having a plan is so important on battling to become FREE from debt! You also need an accountability partner. If you are married, you and your spouse need to be on the same page. If you are single, find someone who is not afraid to slap you in the face when you are envying that new big screen TV. You need someone to say, "Look Stupid! Do you want to be debt free or not. Stick with the game plan!"

Most of the time in a marriage, you will have a Nerd and a Free Spirit. The nerd is the planner and saver normally and the Free Spirit is the shopper and spender. Build a game plan, also known as a budget. There are budget sheets all over out on the Internet. I personally use Dave Ramsey's set of forms. You can find those on www.daveramsey.com. You have to sign up to be a member or go through one of his FPU courses to have free access, but it will be money well spent. I personally like using the Allocated Spending plan. You spend every dollar on paper before you even get the money. If you tell your money where to go, you have won HALF the Battle!

My wife is a free spirit and I am a nerd. She has a free spirit savings account in the bottom of her purse (loose change) I want to take my loose change and put it into a jar. When the jar gets full, take it to the bank and apply it towards a debt. See the differences. You should be able to determine which one you are fairly easily.

If you are single and you are a Free Spirit, you need to find a Nerd who will help keep you on track.

Remember, this is a BATTLE! Only you can will yourself to be VICTORIOUS! Is it hard? You bet! Is it possible? YES! Are you going to have mini battles here and there with yourself or your spouse? You can count on it. What does it take to be VICTORIOUS? Having a plan and spending every dollar on paper on purpose and then sticking to that game plan.

A football analogy if you will. I am a HUGE Colts fan. If you ever watch a Colts game, you will see that Peyton Manning, in most cases has a very good idea of what the defense is going to do on any given play. Because he studies the other team so much, he is able to come up with a game plan on how to defeat them. It works like that with money. If you study what is coming in (blitzes or your payroll) and going out (your receivers or your bills), you can develop a game plan and defeat the defense like Peyton does on any given Sunday. Take some time today to look over your finances. It will be the best Investment YOU will ever make because it is investing in YOURself, YOUR family and YOUR future. As Nike says and Peyton Manning does....Just do it!

I leave you with one closing thought. If you were a gazelle running from a cheetah, would you not run as hard and as fast as you could to get out of reach of the cheetah? Well, as Dave Ramsey says, You have to be Gazelle Intense when getting out of debt. Gazelle intense means running as fast and as far as you can away from debt. RUN INTO FREEEEEEEEDOOOMMMMMMM! It will be well worth the run. Just ask any gazelle that escapes its cheetah!