Page 26 - LDBD Magazine - Issue 23 - Apr May Jun 2018

LDBD in every issue ◊ Financial Management

Break The Vicious Living Paycheck To Paycheck Cycle

by Antonio Eubanks

rent, eating out to savings. There was no room for a dollar to
tell me what to do, I had to give the orders. I cut back where
needed, but more importantly, I prioritized and made con-
scious spending decisions.
2. I Got Comfortable Saying No
I realized that by saying yes to impulse buys or peer pressure,
I was actually saying no to my financial goals. I had to look at
my values—being debt free, having financial security and be-
coming a homeowner one day—and avoid anything that didn’t
align with them. At times, that meant saying no to short term
“fun” so that I could have long term financial peace. I realized
that finances were 80% mindset and 20% facts and figures.

THE CHALLENGE
A FINANCIAL WAKE UP CALL These two things are a simple foundation to building financial
peace, however, they are vital. For 30 days track what you spend,
An overwhelming number of Americans are stuck living paycheck then create a spending plan allocating every dollar. Determine your
to paycheck these days— surveys show nearly half can’t even af- financial goals and be willing to say “NO” to anything contrary to
ford an unexpected $400 expense. I know first-hand how scary and them. The best part? You will no longer have to utter the words,
limiting that can feel. “Let me see if I can do that when I get paid” again.
I can remember having my first “real” job, making decent money,
and by all accounts was enough to live pretty well as a single man.
However, getting ready to leave for work one morning, my com-
mute was abruptly put to an end when I found my car missing. ____________________________________________________________
WHEN MAKING MORE MONEY ISN’T ENOUGH 360FinancED is a passion established by Antonio Eubanks, who admi edly is
not a financial guru, however, mo vated by life experiences, a lifelong dedica-
It would have been good if it was stolen, because at least the insur- on to learning, and a passion to teach and help others succeed, managed to
ance would have helped, however, they don’t pay claims for repos- turn around a life of late payments, repossessions, no savings, and no financial
sessions. I hadn’t made a $300 payment for three months, and now plan. What he learned studying best prac ces, as well as good old fashion trial
my inadvertent (or deliberate) faux pas had created this event. I and error, he now shares with the masses. Having worked for over 20 years in
could list several reasons this happened, but truth be told, they the IT field, Antonio is a s ckler for systems and processes and applies that
would all point back to my decisions. same mindset to finances. Going by the adage that a SYSTEM Saves You Stress,
Time, Energy, Money, he founded 360FinancED, a financial educa on and
Again, I had a decent salary at the time of about $40 thousand a coaching pla orm designed for people to learn to manage their money so that
year, so this car note was only 10% of my monthly gross, and some- it doesn’t manage them.
how I was not able, or willing to keep it current. On top of that, I
was constantly broke, which was even crazier, because I should Using the principles of personal finance,
have at least had the $300, right? I was making more money than I he helps people to establish, increase,
ever had, and it still wasn’t enough. and share their wealth. He has the in-
sight needed to help people walk
through the financial change that they
SHORT TERM PAIN LONG TERM GAIN want for their lives. He is a husband,
I had to better. I needed to do better. I realized I was living what I father, grandfather, pastor and a self-
knew. For my entire life, my mom lived paycheck to paycheck and professed informa on junkie.
many other people I knew did also. There had to be a change to
break this cycle, and it had to be drastic, no matter how painful. I
could no longer live like this, so this is what I did:
1. I Set A Spending Plan (Budget)
I’d never seriously budgeted before because I felt it was too
constraining, like a diet. But I had to do it, so I called it a
spending plan, because we all like to spend money. I got honest
about what I spent my money on in the past and how I was
going to spend it in the future. I gave every dollar a job, from

LIVING Day By Day •Net
26 | Apr May Jun 2018 LIVING Day By Day •Net
26 | Apr May Jun 2018