Financial Freedom

National Financial Freedom Day 1085 Words

Financial Freedom

For thirteen years, I spent eight hours a day, five days a week, helping people become debt-free. Nearly all debt was unsecured, namely credit cards. The complexities of varieties of debt, what is “good” debt, for example, would fill a traditional business binder six times over. Online are myriads of sites giving a piece of what it is and how to get there. In my expert opinion, having one card to charge on is all. To take it one step further it is most advantageous if it is a rewards card to earn some of your money back.

For those who qualify, an American Express card is ideal. One of their products is a card which is linked to Delta Airlines which gives you a maximum bang for your buck. You earn advantages by using it for rewards or discounts on Delta Airlines earning free miles to trade in for tickets and is profitable if you travel often. A major purchase, like a car, has financing available. Although movie stars and tycoons have charged Cadillacs and corporate jets to their American Express Card, which for those in the know is NOT a credit card, my rule is if you don’t have one, get one. For any card, look at what benefits apply to your lifestyle. What nets you the most advantages is that it starts with a card that has no annual fee, a low interest rate, and perks for buying things you would normally buy anyway, like groceries and gasoline.

Informational speaking, American Express cards have since the start of card issuance in 1958, required full payment every month. It is, then, a card you charge merchandise and services on during a month and repay in full. Why not pay in cash? A charge or credit card most of the time, gives benefits for using the charge card. Those benefits are, but are not limited to, taking on the risk of being satisfied with the merchandise, or if not, having customer service support to handle a dispute on your behalf with the creditor. On airline tickets, there is a certain amount of life insurance coverage for free. All your monthly charges are itemized and documented for home financial tracking or business expense reports.

My favorite interactions were with clients who were beginning on a plan where there was a path to becoming debt-free. Understanding the process was critical. The huge benefit was having a counselor to monitor every aspect of your relationship with your creditors. Helping them write out and keep a monthly budget was eye-opening to so many people that I felt like a huge sense of accomplishment when my clients would “graduate” to a maintenance status. I helped set them on the correct road to freedom. In return, a simple thank you was what kept me motivated. Most people would agree that using their lives to make a difference provides direction and meaning. Empowering people with realistic expectations and counseling them on what they must do to be successful was what I did best.

When I started college, my goal was to be an elementary school teacher like many in my family before me. As a student teacher, seeing a student have a lightbulb moment gave me such a rush of satisfaction that what I did made a difference. Reading was a great source of joy. Opening a young person’s world to books as a source of building knowledge, and learning about other places, cultures, and ways of living was a huge gift. Instilling in them the tremendous favor they were doing themselves to practice reading, exploring what resonated with them, and the peace and tranquility you gain from reading were goals I loved to give. The best part was teaching life skills. I felt secure in the knowledge that down the road, in a town I would never know the name of, one of my students would be standing in their kitchen, and understand how to make a recipe, or read a food label and be able to take that knowledge and calculate how they would gather ingredients or compute how much salt intake they had in a food they would serve.

My clients made their first payment, their creditors were notified when I would be in charge. It was a pleasure educating, showing, and following up on every detail about their plan with them. After a time, when their habits were in place and no issues were left unturned, I would release them from my care to a general counselor for monitoring.
How does one pay off credit card debt on a program, within sixty months or less, when they have not been able to do it on their own? The two main contributors are minimum payments and annual percentage rates. On a debt management program, minimum payments were set at two percent of the balance. The debt management company has worked out ongoing concessions with creditors. Interest rates were lowered or, in some cases, eliminated. Credit card companies would rather receive full payments with less interest than no payment or interest at all. It was beneficial for them, from a financial perspective, but also demonstrated compassion for customers who had unexpected circumstances or just needed help managing. People are attracted to a company that shows they care about them.

Financial Freedom Day is on a larger scale than being debt free. The intent is for people to reach a point where their assets are sufficient to pay their living expenses without needing to work. This applies toward retirement. Social security was instituted during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt as part of his New Deal. After the stock market crash in 1929 it was evident that an economic collapse of such a magnitude was a possibility. The devastation caused to families, particularly their invested savings, was overwhelming. To protect against that in addition to protecting women and children in the event the male breadwinner was no longer able to provide or had passed away with a monthly income to live on. This, in most cases, is supposed to do what was intended. That is quickly becoming the minority of cases as inflation compromises people’s ability to sustain a semblance of healthy living.

I look at the Financial Freedom Act as an opportunity to become aware of one’s efforts to handle their finances. Spending less than they earn is a reasonable goal with planning, having a realistic budget, and getting as much out of life as possible.