“It takes as much imagination to create debt as to create income” quote attributed to Leonard Orr; if this is the case, then why is it that we create debts more easily than an income? well, most of us do, I know I do…I work so hard to create my income but on the contrary I easily get into debts.
In the last 5 years I have found myself getting into more and more debts, the more debts I get, the easier it gets for me to get to the next one and the next. My bank does not help either, the more debts I have, the higher the borrowing rates I am banded in, I guess it is because I am considered as a high risk to the bank.
Then there is overdraft charges, bounced direct debit charges, checks, late payments on my loans, utilities, mortgages all compounding into increasing my debt thus lowering my credit score and consequently increasing my APR…my debts feels like snow ball, free falling from a hill getting bigger by second, getting more and more out of control.
I took upon myself to look back at how I got into debts in the first instance; I knew if I have any chance of regaining control of my finance, I will have to know how I got in. It pays to understand how one gets into debt, and to do so, understanding income and expenditure is important.
Income is any earning that lands at your disposal, it may be money earned through paid employment, as business profit, or from investments. Expenditure (or sometimes known as expenses) is any transaction that takes away your earnings, for instance paying bills, mortgage, loans etc.
Income and expenditure chart, table or write up, (also known as cash flow) is a snap-shot of your earnings versus expenses. It is in essence looking at what you earnings (income), usually monthly against expenses (outgoing). An average person would not bother writing down his/her cash flow.
Using cash flow, it is easy to see how one gets into debt. When income is lower than expenses (also known as negative cash flow), the shortfall (deficit) has to be covered somehow from somewhere and for most of us it is covered by borrowing (loan, credit cards, store cards).
I began to learn that, if I am to avoid getting into debt, I will have to “live within my means”, i.e. at least break even between my income and my outgoing. To do this, I needed to master my will, guts and learn not to be ashamed of where I was, financially.
Most of the time, the pressure of conforming to other people’s expectations (keeping up with Joneses) is the one that gets us to live beyond our means, thus getting into debts. What we don’t understand is, debts have crippling effects and they are addictive in nature.
Robert Kiyosaki in his book cash flow quadrant (2000, p205) rightly said, “people who cannot control their cash flow work for those who can”; if we are to become free, we have to learn to control our cash flow and this begins by WRITING DOWN monthly cash flow account (personal income and expenses account)…it is surprising how those unplanned £5 expenses quickly adds up to £100′s plunging one down into ‘negative cash flow’.
The aim is to take control of the personal cash flow with the objective of creating income higher than expenses, positive cash flow (surplus) and use the surplus to get out of debt, invest to create more surplus and of course to ‘spend’ on pleasure. My personal motto is: “live within my means, then increase my means”, for pleasure, use surplus only…thus, no surplus, no pleasure.
Personal Finance – Understanding Personal Income and Expenditure
Edward Bass as a Producer, Writer, and Director of the Upcoming Film, “Belle”
In an interview regarding the upcoming movie “Belle”, Producer Edward Bass stated that he had a great time in forming the plot of movie. It is based on the life story of Belle Gunness, one of the most famous serial killers in the history. This film is his debut project as a writer, director, and producer at the same time. Bass admitted this project challenged him so much that needed to get a closer look at the dark side of the main character.
Belle Gunness was actually a lady who became famous for killing and torturing more than 100 men in her farm without any accomplice. She even raped most of her victims who happened to be her suitors. She was also known to be addicted with illegal substances like cocaine, and she was reported to abuse her children and murdered them eventually. These facts explain why Bass aimed to highlight the movie with the scene that features Belle’s pain and suffering in the end.
According to Edward Bass, he wants to produce the movies in an old fashioned way, which is to give focus on both quality material and good characters. He does not prefer to rely on storyboards. Rather, he wants to improvise on every turn of the plot. He also pointed out that when it comes to the selection of actors, it is more important to consider the relativity of the actor to the character’s physical appearance rather than the popularity. He also considers the capability of the actor to effectively portray the image of the assigned character. Since the character of Belle Gunness is very unusual, Bass found a hard time to choose the best candidate that will bring out convincing portrayal of the lead role. He further stated that the movie’s special effects will be the exceptional acting performances of the lead stars.
In a more recent interview, it was found out that actress Angelina Jolie is the top choice for the character of Belle Gunness. Other actresses considered as ideal candidates for this role are Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, and Kate Winslet. Currently, Edward Bass joins efforts with Eva Meyer in completing the plot and script of the movie. He and the rest of the Edward Bass Films employees are also making the preparations for the technical aspect of the movie production. This film will surely become a great hit as many movie lovers around the country are now excited to see it in the widescreen.
Information on Ukraine Energy
Ukraine is the largest country in Europe and is also one of the countries where energy has become a very important issue. All over the world, people are trying to find alternative means of energy in order for them to enjoy a more secure future that has a stable source of energy without being harmful to the environment. Ukraine is also one of the countries that believes in that dream and that is why there is a constant need to implement the use of alternative energy in the country. One particular writer who has been very close to the energy industry in Ukraine is Jon Queen.
This writer has literally written a lot of articles about the Ukrainian government and the various plans that are underway to make the country more dependents on alternative energy. One example of an alternative energy source that has been discussed by Jon Queen DC is chicken waste. Indeed chicken waste can be used to develop electricity and heat and that is an area where the man goes into and tells exactly how that is possible especially in Ukraine where there is a very huge population of poultry which in turn produce a lot of wastes and thus they present a very good opportunity for energy production.
Jon Queen has also published some articles about the government of Ukraine and how it intends to create awareness on the investment opportunities that are available in the country especially with regard to energy production and distribution. One particular article talks about a road-show that would take place in the United States of America; and that is aimed at creating awareness to potential foreign investors. This man is no doubt one of the most important people in the energy industry as he takes his time to create the necessary awareness and thus he makes people move to invest.
If you therefore want to get clear information on just what may be going on in Ukraine with regard to the energy sector, then you should definitely tale a look at some of the work that he has published. He has produced articles that can be helpful to producers of energy or investors and also other stake holders including the consumers and the government. Most of the articles that have been written by Jon M Queen are available for all to see through the internet.