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James Graham
James C. "Jim" Graham is president and owner of Graham Financial Consulting. A native Kansan and Wichita resident since 1954, Jim spent over 15 years in the Navy's technical training system as a technical instructor, curriculum writer, and technical school administrator. After retiring, Jim was an insurance agent and taught licensing courses in California. He returned to Wichita teaching advanced electronics and math at the W.A.T.C. Seeing a need, Jim began Graham Financial Consulting to provide personal money management education, as well as consulting on home-based business development, individual credit repair, and Life and Health insurance. Call Jim at (316)773-0831 or email jcg.debt@powwwer.net
Banking & Finance
2004-04-01 16:41:00
We are out of control financially
Question:  I think we are out of control financially.  How do we  regain it before it’s too late?
ANSWER:  This question is probably asked in every household in the country. The short answer; we need to be better educated in "How Money Works", to understand how to better manage our personal finances. Recently, I stopped by the Federal Courthouse to check on the number of bankruptcies. Within the last week, over 97 separate filings had been submitted. The unfortunate thing is, after reviewing the numbers, a large majority of these filings should not have been filed. It is obvious that individuals would rather take the easy way out instead of learning some very easy processes to resolve their financial problems.The problem concerns education and having the necessary facts concerning our personal financial situation in order to make good decisions. We live in a time where it's easier to pay someone else, such as a credit counselor or attorney, to fix the problem instead of taking time to educate ourselves. Personal debt is often the cause of high divorce rates, personal stress, and the ruin of the individuals' financial future. My question is why is someone so willing to jeopardize his or her entire financial future instead of obtaining some very simple financial rules that could save their financial life?We are a society where it is acceptable to "want it now" and worry about paying for it later often getting to a point where we are in a financial bind. We then resort to having someone else negotiate interest rates, or payments, or even refinance the home, freeing us to then go back out and charge up again. Just refinancing the home not only puts the home in jeopardy, but to keep the payment within our budget we finance for 30 years which results in us wasting our retirement money making interest payments, either on the mortgage or on credit cards. There's an old saying, "If you keep doing the same things that you have done in the past, and expecting different results, not only is it foolish, it does not solve the problem, but makes it worse." Once we are aware of "How Money Works" and implement a few easy procedures, we have total control over our finances, and the associated problems disappear.Another area of personal debt is the issue of credit repair. Individuals need to check their credit report at least quarterly and fully understand what that report is telling them. It is your report and your responsibility. Another important item is the matter of Identity Theft. By not being aware of your current credit status as outlined in your credit report, you put yourself and your family in a financially dangerous situation. The Federal Trade Commission Title 15 Chapter 41, "Consumer Protection Act" is written to protect you and provide the necessary guidelines to assist in dealing with consumer credit matters. The next item is taxation. The average individual pays approximately 43 cents on the dollar on every dollar in State, Federal, and local taxes. "Knowing the Rules", and understanding taxation, puts you at an advantage in dealing with your financial situation. Individuals will purposely have extra money taken out of their monthly checks so that they can receive a refund, which does not pay interest! That money could be going to savings, retirement, or debt elimination, which improves your financial net worth. I would recommend that people get familiar with IRS Publication 919, page 3, column 2, concerning W-4 withholding. It's FREE.As I have said in previous articles, "Get the facts before you make decisions concerning your financial situation." Your financial future is too important to allow someone else to control. It is great to have advisors, but know the rules, if for no other reason than to protect yourself. You do have options; keep doing what you've done in the past and get the same results, or you can get a free financial analysis, educate yourself, and have a better, less stressful life. I sincerely wish you the very best in your decision.
 
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