If you want to skip all these icky words and just sign up for the webinar, click here.
Now, onto the show notes!
MotorCop (@motorcop1), or “MC,”, is the first active-duty officer to have a podcast before me (at least that I’m aware of). He and his friend Happy Medic run The Crossover Show about all things related to EMS, Fire and Police. It’s a fun show and you should listen (after you’re caught up with The Squad Room of course). Now, even if you haven’t been promoted to detectives yet, you can probably figure out that he’s a motor officer – having traded his heart for those shiny boots.
MC reached out a few months ago and we started chatting, using the universal cop languages of snark and sarcasm to find our common interests (mostly beer). While we chatted, exchanged emails, sexted, texted and such I learned that he had a pretty great story about digging out of a mountain of financial debt and how his new mission in life is to help other first responders get ahold of their finances. MC (real life Jason Hoschouer) even wrote a book about it – “Badges and Budgets.”
When he asked me how my financial health was, I wheezed and coughed, because frankly, it wasn’t very healthy. Not disastrous but enough to be uncomfortable. I grew up in a house where my dad preached that credit was the devil’s work and you didn’t buy anything you couldn’t afford in cash. Somehow I’d let that lesson slowly slip as school tuition, enticing vacations and a few toys needed to be paid off – so they went on the credit cards.
My wife and I have never really fought about money – the biggest topic for marital conflict. But really, I think it was just denial and a preference not to deal with it that kept us from arguing. If either of us had been more disciplined, it would have created a lot of friction.
How do you create a budget?
Seriously, I’m asking.
We tried Mint.com and found it useful as an after-action type of debrief but we really didn’t have an idea of how to plan, and how to adjust for unforeseen events, car repairs, or occasional expenses that didn’t happen every month.
MC jumped in to help us clean up the mess we’d been leaving in our wake. We spent several hours with him going through spreadsheets he’d created and then tweaking (and in some cases eviscerating) our current spending habits to create a functioning, workable budget.
But the tough part was yet to come. We had to actually do it!
Ugh.
Actually no, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, as MC promised, as we saw momentum begin to move in our favor it became easier and easier and we started feeling successful. We aren’t clear of debt yet – not close – but we have a path forward and a plan.
Implementing that plan hasn’t been seemless but like everything else we talk about in this show, better is better and after 8 weeks since we implemented this budget, we’ve made gains that have taken years in the past (seriously).
Hey, he’s pretty good at this stuff!
So we had an idea. MC is spreading his financial planning wings and heading out into the big scary world and teaching others how to do this. So, why not hold a free, no strings attached, webinar exclusively for Squad Room listeners who are interested in getting their finances in order.
WHAT’S A WEBINAR?
Pretty simple. Its pretty much like having a skype conversation. When you register, you’ll be sent a link to the web address. A few minutes begore 1900 hours (pacific) on July 12th, just click that link and you’re in. You won’t be on camera so relax in your tiger-stripped speedo and let your freak flag fly. MC and I will be on camera (freak flags appropriately folded and put away).
To be clear. This is free. I’m not getting any sort of commission or kick back.
Here’s the thing: your financial health is important. When I started to really think about finances as a health issue, it really became clear how much influence that financial stress can have over other aspects of our lives, our relationships, etc. We work OT to pay bills, which affects our sleep, our ability to train, our stress levels…
It’s not hard to see how it can spin out of control and become overwhelming.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THIS FREE TRAINING SESSION: “Discover Four Steps to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck and Start Living with Intentionality.”
https://themotorcopmindset.webinarninja.co/my/wnwebinarlist/index?webinar_id=7531
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Dave Ramsey: The Total Money Makeover
The Financial Peace Planner by Dave Ramsey
Jason’s Book: Badges and Budgets: Personal Finance from a Law Enforcement Perspective
YNAB.Com (You Need a Budget) Budget Software. There’s a 34 day free trial and I liked the software BUT for the fact that the mobile app wasn’t very useful and never seemed to sync with the desktop version. I’ve been told numerous times that seems to be unique to me but still blah.
Mint.com: Another online budget software that easily integrates with your bank and credit accounts. The interface is a little more confusing sometimes than YNAB. For example, if you transfer money between accounts a lot, it can get confusing to see what is actually income versus bills. It also doesn’t seem to have a feature to help set aside money and allocate it within your accounts – something I really liked about YNAB.com.
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