After you have paid off your consumer debt, meaning all debt outside of your mortgage, cars, and student loans, it’s time to begin investing for retirement. Up to this point, you may have already been contributing 3-5% of your income into your retirement account in order to get your employer's match. If that’s you, fantastic! I actually recommend getting 100% of your employer’s match, even from step one on your Fuel Gauge. Though pausing your 3-5% contribution could speed up

This week’s conversation is going to be a little different because I want to spark something in you that was sparked in me several years ago. We are just coming out of talking about debt. A heavy and somewhat burdensome conversation. I hope that you got a lot of value from what we discussed, but I also want to put life back into perspective really quickly and circle around to a conversation we had in our last session. If you have a balanced budget (step 1), I want to inspire

Think back to the hole and the dirt. Using your credit card makes a big hole with no dirt in sight to fill it back in. Using store credit, taking out a personal loan for Christmas gifts, and taking on any other debt that doesn’t have an asset larger than the debt has ruined our country’s financial prosperity. If I walk through neighborhoods in America, there are countless holes in yards with no dirt in sight. This leads to financial ruin. Any extra money you make just goes to

When college students dig the hole of student loans, where is the dirt? Is the degree they are getting a solid asset that could easily fill in the hole that debt creates? The answer is kind of. Fewer than half of the people who earn a degree work in the field they studied. I have a degree in Bible and another degree in Worship Arts. I started using these degrees, but for the past decade, I have been in the insurance industry. I fit into the category of half the population who

There is no substitute for consistent, hard work. I had a business coach who taught me an incredible principle. She said, “Zach, you need to know when to take the stairs, know when to take the escalator, and know when to take the elevator.” It is very tempting to take the elevator as often as possible, but often, when you are quick to jump on the elevator and get to the next level, you lack the muscle you would have built had you taken the stairs. There are certainly times i

Homes are among the most secure assets to purchase, though, as anyone who lived through 2008 will tell you, they are not bulletproof. When purchasing a home, you have already learned that your goal is to keep your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, at or below 25% of your take-home pay. Most people are not there today. However, if you are considering a new purchase, your target is to be as close to this number as possible. If you purchase a home that is

When you look at your gas tank, and it's on empty, what feeling does that elicit? If you’re anything like me, you can’t stop thinking about how many miles you have left until you are going to be on the side of the road. There’s a feeling of anxiety, and if nothing else, it is on my mind every mile I drive. When it comes to our money, too many people are running on empty. The path I am leading you down is one that establishes a full tank! Once you have completed all 8 steps a

Over the past several weeks, we have walked through the first four steps on the Fuel Gauge: spending less than you make, giving 10%, building your New Zero in checking, and getting adequate insurance. If you have been doing that work, you have built something real. A foundation. And now it is time to talk about what it takes to finish the job. Welcome to halftime. The last four steps on the Fuel Gauge require serious cash. Paying off consumer debt, investing 15%, saving five

Last week, we began to outline the sorts of insurance policies you need in order to complete Step 4 of our 8 steps towards financial health. Everyone needs four basic insurance policies: Home, Auto, Health, and Life. Last week, we discussed Homeowners Insurance and today we are going to complete this step by discussing the final three types of policies: Auto, Health and Life. Auto Insurance Just like the homeowner’s policy, there is property and casualty insurance on the aut