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Posts Tagged ‘debt reduction’

Debt: How Much Does Yours Cost

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Matt at the Five Cent Nickle has a great post today on determining how much your debt is costing you in real money this year.

The idea here is to add up your interest costs on your credit cards, your mortgage, your car payment, and any other loans you may have. You will need a little time, a calculator, and your statements or bills. If your statement doesn’t separate your interest from principle, then you may have to call the holder of that debt to get the information.

When you add up the numbers and see the amount of interest you are paying during a year, it can open up your eyes to the true cost of debt.

I had a patient this week, a long time smoker, who decided she was ready to quit. Why, after thirty plus years ,did she make up her mind this week? She had in a sense “looked at her debt”. In this case, she was watching her older sister, on a ventilator from COPD, (a chronic lung condition common in smokers for you non-nurses) suffering and unable to breathe on her own. In her case it allowed her to look into her own future- so to speak. She was seeing herself, 10 years down the road, if she didn’t quit the cigarettes.

So, after years of encouraging her to stop smoking-she finally was ready to talk about it.

So let this weekend be the time you find out what you are spending on your debt-how much the interest on your debt is costing you-and vow to make changes in how you manage your finances.

If you think you don’t know how, go to www.themillionairenurse.com, sign up for my free ebook, “Emergency Money Resucitation”. An additional freebie will be an emailed mini-course on managing your finances.

Let me know here how much interest is costing you on your debt this year, and did it open your eyes on why you need to eliminate it as fast as possible.

And again, please send our blog link to your friends and family, who you think may benefit from our advice or who you think may just enjoy our writing….

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Have a great weekend.

Tags: debt reduction
Posted in debt reduction, personal finance | 1 Comment »

Starting your own business: How to finance it

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

I frequently advise people who have debt and are having trouble making progress on paying it down to raise their income. Starting your own business is one way of doing that.

Now nursing is generally a good field for getting extra work. Overtime shifts are frequently available even in this time of budget cuts. If they are not available, then a part-time job using your nursing skills, such as doing insurance physicals, or working in weight loss clinics may be an option.

Another option is adjusting your shift so that you can work regular hours in another facility-such as working 2 twelves on the weekend twice a month-that can bring in almost 1,000 bucks a month. A great way to make progress paying off student loans or other debts.

Another option, if you have an urge to be your own boss is to start your own business. The types of businesses nurses have started are limitless. You can start a home health or elder care business, and hire nurse assistants to sit with elders. You can get into multi-level marketing if you have a salesman’s personality. You can even start a franchise.

The secret to starting your own business is starting slow, making sure you understand the business completely. As you have probably heard 4 of 5 new business’s fail-you don’t want to be one of them. So do your due diligence, study the competition. Volunteer to work for someone already int the business to learn the ropes. Check with your local small business organization, or chamber of commerce to see if they have a mentor program for new start-ups.

The other precaution is not to go into debt to fund a business. Save your pennies, start slow, and use part of the proceeds to grow. Your uncle may have money he is willing to lend, but your holiday meal may be ruined having to look at his suspicious eyes if your business is failing that he “invested” in.

The public library has many resources and books to read on writing a business plan, marketing, managing personnel, so do your homework.

The advantages of being your own boss are numerous, but so are the responsibilities. If you have started your own part-time business as a nurse, please send us your comments and suggestions for others.