Doug Stephens, MBA

Doug Stephens, financial coach in Dallas, Texas helps clients with financial survival plans. He urges: “Work on all your financial problems at the same time!”

Nearly every day new clients come to me that are virtually destitute. That’s right, they are flat broke, in debt, and many times have a negative net worth. Surprisingly, most of these people have good jobs with steady incomes. In addition, they tend to be reliable people that are raising families and want to pay their bills. So what went wrong?

The answer. most times, is that they battled financial problems on a piecemeal basis. Borrowing from 401K’s to pay down credit cards or moving balances to lower rate cards are prime examples. These people are, in essence, borrowing to pay debts. This doesn’t make any sense. Actions like this normally worsen your financial situation and are some of the first steps towards becoming penniless.

Short term “solutions” make people feel better but over a period of time can back them into a dangerous corner. Many times clients spend years moving their debts around and shopping for better interest rates. This activity distracts them from the reality that these debt must eventually be paid off or settled in some other fashion, like debt negotiation. Meanwhile their net worth sinks lower and lower and overall indebtedness grows. Remember, we are talking about people with good jobs and steady incomes !

OK, we see the problem, what’s the solution?

The answer is that everyone needs a Financial Survival Plan. Financial struggles need to fought on today’s battleground. Do not let yourself go broke an inch at a time ! Address all of your financial issues at the same time. Don’t take actions that delay the inevitable. Don’t borrow money to pay off debts. Deal with debts as they stand today.

People ask me all the time “How will this affect my credit score?” Often these are people that are facing foreclosure, car repos, bankruptcy or perhaps, all three. The honest answer is that it doesn’t matter. The truth is that borrowing or poor debt management got most of them into the mess that they are facing. A good FICO score with the ability to borrow is probably the last thing that they should be concerned with

Financial coaching is, first of all, about financial survival. Building wealth and financial freedom is the ultimate goal. I don’t want you to struggle every day and and up broke and without hope. If you are wondering if you need coaching -the answer is emphatically YES !  People that do not need coaching already know who they are.

For those of you that have already suffered a financial crash landing, there is life after FICO. Coaching can help anyone develop a financial survival plan.

Doug Stephens, MBA, is a financial counselor based in Dallas, Texas. He specializes in helping clients develop financial survival plans –both personal and small business. He has over 30 years experience in Fortune 500 finance, small business start-ups, career consulting and as a real estate investor.