Do You Like Pie As Much As I Like Pie?

Over at Enemy of Debt, I am constantly going on and on about how debt freedom is this and debt freedom is that, but I thought it was about time I created an official manifesto to reveal the true source of my passion.

As soon as we paid off our very first debt we felt a sense of what becoming debt free was going to be like. It was just a small bite, but isn’t it true—even if you have just a small piece of any pie, you know exactly how the rest of the pie will taste?

When we paid off each debt, each bite that was taken reminded us of the next. You get to a point where you crave the next bite, so you do all you can to get to the table again. Just knowing that it will be heavenly, your mouth starts to water and before long—you have eaten the whole pie! Mmm, mmm, mmm! So delicious there’s no need for another.

Becoming debt free is like eating the pie of all pies.

Now go have some pie, and when you’re debt free—have some ice cream too!!

THE DEBT FREE MANIFESTO

1. You can spend more quality time with your family, instead of on the job trying to pay off things you enjoyed yesterday.
2. Your marriage is less likely to be marred by the destructive nature of stress and money fights, directly related to spending more than you make, month after month.
3. Through your wonderful example, your ability to teach your children a more responsible and sustainable way to manage money.
4. It frees up your paychecks to do other more important things like: saving, building wealth, and my personal favorite—GIVING!
5. It’s never cool when someone else owns the fruit of your labor before you even labor.
6. You can enjoy the additional freedom of not having to worship at the altar of the “supposedly” all powerful FICO.
7. It feels WAY BETTER to sleep in a paid for home, walk on paid for grass, drive a paid for car, and eat already paid for food.
8. Being debt free gives you more options in life, and opens up doors that society has told you couldn’t be opened. (Psst…don’t listen to them)
9. The act of becoming debt free neutralizes your natural attraction and desire to “need” more STUFF, or at least provides some restraint—until you actually have the money to buy something.
10. A survey done by Forbes magazine states, 75% of the Forbes 400 (the richest 400 people in America) said the best way to build wealth is to become and stay debt-free.

Since becoming debt free (except for the house—FOR NOW!), my family and I have already experienced why becoming debt free was one of the smartest things we have ever done. You should find out for yourself!

What are you waiting for? ACT NOW, and taste debt freedom for yourself!

Brad Chaffee is the author of Enemy of Debt, and a regular contributor at the Self Reliance Exchange. Brad has become debt free by paying off $26,076.75 in just 20 months!! Learn more about Brad and his mission to rid the world of debt, one post at a time, by subscribing here.

Photo by Kirti Poddar

We often drive ourselves crazy pursuing more. In fact, constantly wanting more is what has pushed America into a recession. Greed, envy and an obsession for more has taken it’s toll. Let us now pursue contentment!

Three fantastic articles about contentment and having enough

There is no better time to become content with what you have. We are richly blessed! When was the last time that you even had to concern yourself with the basic necessities of life? Many struggle every day just to survive. We need to remind ourselves of this more often!

1. Accept that your paycheck is enough!

I really enjoyed David’s article this week over at MoneyNing. He wrote 5 Surefire Ways to Stop Thinking Your Paycheck is Never Enough. I’ve been guilty of this. Again, we make plenty. We simply get caught up in thinking we need more. Raises will probably be conservative in 2009 for most people. David’s advice to stop comparing yourself to others and to avoid jumping your lifestyle ahead of where it should be is very timely.

2. Material possessions do not make us happy!

David at My Two Dollars wrote Finding Contentment While Others Around You Want More. He warns us not to fall into the trap of believing that a new possession will make us happy. I’ve made this mistake a ton of times in the past. I, like David, have experienced the rush of making a new purchase only to be let down in a few weeks or a few days. David shares some great ways to help us avoid repeating this mistake.

3. Start enjoying today right where you’re at!

Rather than continually seeking happiness elsewhere, become content right where you’re at! Sara at On Simplicity shares some Simple Ways You Can Start Enjoying Today. I like her suggestion to stop saying, “I’ll be happy when…”. Again, been there, done that! We are in control of our lives so, why do we continually make ourselves so miserable by always wanting more? Why not just enjoy what we have? If we don’t, life will be over and we’ll have wasted it.

Happiness is a choice!

We have the power to be content with our lives and savor the good things in it. It is a choice that we make every waking moment. What will you choose today?

Here are a few other articles I enjoyed reading this week:

• 10 Businesses You Can Start For Peanuts (or less!)
• 6 Reasons Why I Joined Toastmasters
• As Long As You Can Make The Payments – You’re Fine

Photo by exfordy

Around the end of the year is a good time to analyze your paycheck to determine whether or not such an adjustment could benefit you.  Tax withholdings subtract a big chunk out of your take-home pay so why not spend a few minutes and verify they are still correct?  You might be able to adjust your withholdings to increase the amount of your check.

I am not an accountant or tax attorney.  This is simply what I do to adjust my tax withholdings.  You should check with a competent professional to be sure before making any changes.

Tax refund indicates too high of withholdings

Did you get a tax refund this year?  If so, then it is quite likely that you can decrease the amount of taxes being withheld from your paycheck to increase your take-home pay.  This is very easy to do, but I’ll get to that in a minute.  Let me explain why you need to adjust your tax withholdings.

Tax withholdings are simply prepayments you have to make on your annual income taxes.  If you are getting a refund every year, then the amount of your withholdings is too much.  You are essentially loaning the government your money at zero interest!

How to check your tax withholdings on your paycheck

Another thing that you can do is to compare your year-to-date tax withholdings to the actual amount of taxes you paid last year.  This is not nearly as hard as it might sound and it will give you a pretty good idea about the accuracy of your withholdings.

On your paycheck stub, it will tell you the year-to-date amount of federal income tax that has been withheld from your check.  It will also show you how much is being withheld every pay period.  How many pay periods are left this year? 

You can use this information to estimate your total withholdings for the year as shown below.

Now look back on your most recent income tax return.  Find the actual amount of your total tax.  On the 2007 Form 1040, this can be found on Line 63.

Compare your estimated withholdings for this year to your total tax from your last return.  If your withholdings are higher than your total tax, then you should probably reduce the amount of your withholdings thereby increasing your take-home pay!

How to adjust your tax withholdings

You use a W-4 form to adjust the amount of Federal Income Tax being withheld from your paycheck.  You should be able to get one from your HR or payroll department.  You can also click here to obtain a W-4 from the IRS web site.

The higher the number of allowances you claim on your W-4, the less tax that is withheld from your paycheck.

The IRS also offers a handy withholdings calculator that you can use to determine the correct entries to make on the W-4.  This calculator will walk you through the steps to ensure that you don’t have too much or too little withheld from your check.

Checking your tax withholdings might get you a raise!

Lowering your tax withholdings will increase your take-home pay.  It has the same effect as getting a raise!  Now is a good time to spend just a few minutes to determine where you stand.  You might be pleasantly surprised and wouldn’t a few extra dollars on your check be nice?

A few other articles that might interest you:
50+ Resources to Legitimately Raise Your Income
What’s Your Financial IQ? Here’s A Test
Back To Basics: Establish A Personal Finance Emergency Fund
Where Do You Live?-The Most Tax Friendly Cities In The United States
10 Ways To Improve Your Life Starting Today

Photo by The Consumerist