OutOfDebtBlog.com

From time to time I go and take a good look at my server stats here on OutOfDebtBlog. Not only is it interesting to see how many visitors I’ve had, where they entered the site, how long they stayed etc., but also how they got here.

One very interesting stat is: What keywords/search terms were my visitors using when coming from the search engines? This is really interesting for two reasons. First of all - any webmaster wants search engine traffic, and lots of it, because it’s valuable visitors who are visiting your site out of genuine interest rather than being sent there through an ad.

Secondly - it’s nice to know what brings people to your site! First of all because you want to strengthen your site content around what your visitors want, but also because it’s food for thought.

One search term that brought me a visitor last week really made me think! This visitor was searching on the term: How to sow your way out of debt. Makes you wonder doesn’t it? My first question was “What on earth made Google send this visitor to my site?” And then “Can you really sow your way out of debt?”

The first question remains unanswered. Very few people knows the exact way Google works - though many will have a guess - and they are not about to reveal it either. It’s about as secret as the recipe for Coca Cola.

But I’ll have a go at answering the second question! Can you sow your way out of debt? The answer is yes! And no! It depends on what your mind can see.

In the physical - money is paper and pieces of metal. Anyone knows that putting paper and metal in the soil isn’t going to produce a crop - though I wish it would - so how can you sow money? There’s two ways you can do this:

1. Use your money to buy seeds. Being a gardener you can take my word for it: You will get a crop worth more than what you paid for the seeds.
2. Give money to someone in need. Being able to part with money that you seemingly need more yourself is actually sowing money - and doing it with a right attitude will bring you a great reward.

So - how can the answer be no? Well - if your eyes are not open to the principles of sowing and harvesting - you’re not going to try. Doing nothing takes you no-where. Buying seeds, and failing to put them in the soil, will not produce a crop!

Try to think about ways you can sow a seed - and start to take action. Train your mind to sow good seed into good soil (ie. give money to a worthy cause or put actual seed in some rich compost) - and start reaping the rewards.

Remember that it takes time for your seed to grow. You will not get to harvest your crop the next day - and your crop may need looking after - but eventually, sowing a seed will reap a reward.

Technorati Tags: Debts, Sowing, Seed

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I know! Judging from the last post here on OutOfDebtBlog.com - and the length of time since it was made - one could be forgiven for thinking that everything went pear-shaped during the server move.

Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact it went as smooth as it possibly could have.

I had to take some time out due to illness in my family - but thank God - everything is OK now, and things are getting better than they ever were!

Also - I had to take a bit of time setting up another website - something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time, and since that website is coming into season fast, I had to get something done. This was another reason for the server move!

The new site is my second in a series of sites I plan to set up on things I’m passionate about. I have a passion for seing people set free from financial bondage, and I love to grow plants, fruit and vegetables, so I set up a site about that.

I believe you have to be passionate about the things you write about. If you’re not people can tell - because you’re not writing like a “real person” - and people will loose interest.

Having two sites up and running obviously means that I’ll have to spend my time on both, and that posting may be less frequent, but rest assured that I’m still going to maintain both sites the best I can.

I’m still striving to keep OutOfDebtBlog.com relevant to my readers, and serve high quality content on the subject. If you have any suggestions on issues you’d like me to have a look at - please post a commment to let me know.

Technorati Tags: Debts, Passion, Freedom

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As part of my long term plans for OutOfDebtBlog.com, and other online projects that I’m going to run in the future, I have upgraded the server package with my host.

This means that OutOfDebtBlog.com might disappear for a short spell of time, while the move takes place, and our new IP address is updated across the internet.

I hope that the disruption will be as little as possible, and thank you for your patience while the server move takes place.

Technorati Tags: Debts, Server move, host

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A couple of weeks ago I received a phonecall from one of my credit card companies - asking me if I’d heard about ID theft in the news lately - and if I’d be interested in buying “protection” in the form of a subscribtion to my credit record.

While I believe that knowing what is on your credit report is a very good thing - and will be running a series of articles in the next few weeks on how you can work to improve it - I kindly turned down the offer.

Why? Well - they were offering me the subscribtion at a rate much higher than what I can get it for elsewhere - and I am trying to get out of debt…. so needless to say I’ll take the cheaper option ;o)

Yes - I have heard about ID theft. After all I’m not living under a rock! ID theft is the fastest growing crime here in the UK, and in the US about 1 in 12 have experienced some kind of attempt. Today shredding up all your personal papers before putting them in the bin isn’t even enough anymore. In recent news here in the UK people have had their personal details “stolen” by news crews going through binbags outside their bank! Yes - you got that right! Outside their BANK!

So should you worry abou ID theft? Well - I’m not a great believer in worrying - since it doesn’t make things better. In fact - it makes things worse! But I do think that taking preventive measures is the sensible thing to do - for two reasons:

• By subscribing to your credit report you’ll be notified if a search has been made on it (which happens when you apply for credit). If you didn’t request any credit, chances are that someone else have - using your details!
• You get to know what information is stored on your credit file - and can work to correct any errors - and improve your credit score.

So how can you go ahead and set up a subscription to get your credit report? There’s multiple ways to go - but I recommend you go straight to one of the two major credit agencies, Experian and Equifax.

In the next couple of days I will be setting up a page here on OutOfDebtBlog.com with the relevant links, and advice on what services to go for, so you can sign up for their services.

Watch this space…..

Technorati Tags: Debts, ID Theft, Credit Report

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Everyone who is in debt knows that debt can make you feel sick. You think about your debts, make plans around your debt, and it makes you worry.

Many people suffering from stress can trace their illness back to their level of debt. Scientific studies has confirmed this, and shows that people with high stress levels due to their financial worries also has higher levels of physical complaints than their less troubled counterparts.

Not only does debts have an impact on your physical and mental health. They also break down relationships - so it’s not much of a surprice really that financial trouble is reported to be the number one reason for married couples splitting up. The divorce rate is well over 50 percent - and couples argue more over money than any other relationship issue.

For people finding themselves with uncomfortable levels of debts - feelings of guilt, shame and failure often leads to low self-esteem - which combined with stress and anxiety can cause depression. In some cases people try to compensate for this by spending - making their situation significantly worse.

The pressure suffered by some people in debt even makes them take their own lives!

The good news is that you can make a decision today to change your life for the better. You don’t have to add to the statistics or even make the ultimate sacrifice to get rid of your debts. You can take control!

OutOfDebtBlog.com is determined to aid you in making that decision - and provide tools and resources for you to turn things around.

Technorati Tags: Debts, Stress, Anxiety

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What do you feel when you’re thinking about debts? Does it fill you with fear of not being able to pay your bills? Does it make you angry, wanting to get out of debt?

I hope it’s the latter - but don’t worry if it isn’t! Things can be turned around. Living in fear isn’t going to help you, just like ignoring the problem won’t. But you can develop a passion to get out of debt, through your way of thinking.

Open your mind - get ready to learn new things - and put them into practice.

The main ingredients in true learning are energy, passion and a burning desire. If you have a desire to become financially free, and get out of debt, it’s time to begin finding out how you can do it. Start by studying and applying our 7 steps to freedom from debts, and learn how you can make your money work for you.

Getting out of debts is not all about saving money. If you can take some of the money you have - use them to buy something that you can add value to - and sell that on for a profit, you have money working for you!

Find something you are passionate about - add a bit of creativity - and off you go!

In stead of letting your life being directed by fear of not being able to pay your bills, fear of loosing your job and fear of the knocks that life will give you - take control of your life. Let your passion conquer your fear - and join me on a journey to a debt free life.

Technorati Tags: Debts, Fear, Passion

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Did you know that your mindset, the way you think about everything, has a massive impact on the way your life goes?

This may be “news” to you - but actually this has been known right the way back to ancient philosophers - which can be confirmed by researching their teachings.

The reason for this is that your actions is based on your thoughts. Before doing something you’re more than likely to have thought about it, and made a decision whether to do it or not.

This also means that if you’re not where you want to be in life, you may have to change the way you’re thinking. If you’re in debt and want to get out of debt - there’s a good chance you’ll have to stop doing what you’re doing - and do things differently. You may have to open your mind to new ways of thinking about finances.

Through the years you may have been “programmed” to think in a certain way about finances. Have you ever stopped for a minute and thought about who makes the most of the way you think about money? Is it you or your bank? You or your credit card company?

Try and read the articles in the managing money category. The things they teach you may challenge you, and the way you think about money, just like they did for me. What I try to bring across in these articles is meant to give you the upper hand - and turn things to your advantage.

Think about the way you think about money. Could you possibly change things for the better?

Technorati Tags: Thinking, Money, Managing Money

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Today sees the opening of a new store at OutOfDebtBlog.com - powered by Amazon - where I will list books, software and other media that can assist you on your journey towards a debt free life.

For now the store is only featuring a number of books that I have found helpful on my own journey - but I will expand it as time goes by.

If you know of any items that you feel might be helpful to me or your fellow readers, please leave a comment, and I will have a look at it.

Links to the store can be found in the sidebar to the right.

Technorati Tags: Store, Shop, Amazon

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Previously we have been looking at the basics of managing money, by establishing the difference between credit (money coming in) and debit (money going out), seen from your perspective.

The problem is that most people don’t know the difference, which in some way is understandable, since only very few has been taught during their time in school.

Today we’re going to dig a little bit deeper - and look at another two important financial terms that you need to know the difference between - so you can start to implement them in your everyday life.

The two words are: Assets and Liabilities - and again they are contrary to each other. This is what they mean:

Assets: Something in your posession that will put money into your pocket.

Liabilities: Something in your posession that will take money out of your pocket.

As it’s printed there on the screen in front of you - it looks quite simple - doesn’t it? But again, a lot of people struggle to tell the difference between these two terms, which is why they end up in financial turmoil.

If you want to successfully get rid of your debts - it is paramount that you know the difference - and act accordingly. Next time you’re faced with the choice whether to buy something or not - when you’re asking yourself whether to go ahead or not - ask yourself “Am I buying an asset - or a liability?”

If the answer to your question is “an asset” - then by all means go ahead and buy! If the answer is “a liability” - leave it behind - and walk away!

When you do this you will find your way out of debt a lot faster - and it will be a lot easier for you!

Technorati Tags: Assets, Liabilities, Managing Money

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We’re now 3 days into 2007 - and already articles about peoples overspending over the Christmas/sales period is starting to hit the news. I find this a bit disturbing.

Where as my family managed to get through Christmas without sinking deeper into financial trouble, it would seem that a lot of families in the UK are in for a tough start to the new year.

According to the BBC, over the next 3 months 30,000 people will be forced to declare themselves insolvent. Put in another way, that’s 333 people who daily comes to realise that they are not making enough money to pay their bills, and will have to declare themselves bankrupt or enter into an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement), which is a formal alternative to bankruptcy.

The year 2006 has seen more than 100,000 personal insolvencies. This number is set to rise in 2007. This is mainly due to the increasing tren of increased borrowing and spending, higher interest rates and bigger utility bills.

Grant Thornton, Accountants

Knowing what pressure I find myself under, with being able to pay my monthly bills, the thought of what those people going through these processes must be feeling makes me sick.

Granted - in 90-something percent of these cases people landed themselves in situations like this - but still, it’s a bad situation to be in.

I hope they will learn from their experiences, and start educating themselves financially. If the school system would have done that in the first place, cances are that most of them wouldn’t have found themselves in such a mess.

Technorati Tags: Overspending, Bankruptcy, Debts

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