Survive, Transform, Soar! – Issue #9

Recover from Financial Disaster
Secrets of a Former Banker

Article by: WenFang Bruchett, in SurviveTransformSoar.com | Friday, May 5, 2017

If you emerged from a toxic relationship much worse off financially than when you entered, you are not alone. Many trusting people have businesses run into the ground, personal assets stolen, credit ruined and even become unable to hold a job or operate a professional practice due to the stress.

It can feel impossible to recover and overwhelming to try, but I am here to tell you that it can be fixed and to give you some tips on how to make the process as quick as possible.

I am a former banker and have spent over 25 years in the financial services industry. I know the system.

How Did I Get Here?

It’s important that you realize this didn’t happen to you because you are stupid or irresponsible; it happened because someone took advantage of you. And it isn’t only your former partner.

The credit card companies are ripping us off. We are making the banks richer by the day with their nasty overdraft fees. The government is eating a huge chunk of our hard earned sweat before we even get our hands on our own paycheck. Our beloved grocery stores just keep surprising us with price increases.

We all are scared. We have to smile at our bosses (who might also be abusive) and continue to pretend. We have to fight to get to work on time. We are miserable but we have to bring the bacon home. We try to stay, try to concentrate, continue to work, often for low wages, and can’t seem to save any money by month end.

Have Faith in Your Dreams – You Can Recover

But, there is a fire inside of us. WE HAVE A DREAM. We want to start that business but we can’t because we don’t have the money. We want to take our little ones to Disney World but not now because we can’t afford it. We want to share special gifts with our loved ones but we must delay until our finances are in a better situation.

As a banker for the past 25 years, I have been on the journey with clients who have had every bit of financial turmoil you can imagine. Through it all, I have found that every money problem lies with one single solution: Know the Banker Secrets.

With a little information and guidance, it is possible for you to have the lifestyle of your dreams. Imagine going to bed every night feeling satisfied and happy with your finances. Picture yourself on your dream vacation, spending without counting. See your business running smoothly without you while you are relaxing and having fun.

How To Begin?

How would you feel if that was your lifestyle? I understand how overwhelming it can be, especially when you are experiencing the confusion, self-doubt and possibly anxiety and depression in the aftermath of a toxic relationship. It is important to break information into small chunks and implementation into small steps. Here is an overview of what you need to do and how to begin:

Start by reducing financial stress and worry. There are 5 steps:

1. Have a conversation with yourself about how you got to this financial place. Once you understand it, accept that there is nothing you can do about that now and believe that tomorrow is going to be better than today.
2. Make sure you have the right protection, including documenting the assets you have left and preparing paperwork to prevent further stress in the future.
3. Eliminate personal debt starting today, including your mortgage. This is the way to freedom.
4. Add to your funds – do things every single day to build cash reserves, no matter how small.
5. Appreciate yourself and who you are. It’s OK to give little ‘splurges’ to yourself. Most importantly, realize that you deserve to live in abundance, free from worry.

Here is a self-paced online course ($) about how to eliminate financial stress and create a new relationship with your money that offers true freedom.

AN OVERVIEW OF BANKERS’ SECRETS

How to Clean Out Debt

1. Prioritize paying off revolving credit debt (with this kind of debt, the balance can grow)
2. Focus on the highest interest rate debt first (but keep paying the minimum balance on all debt)
3. If possible, convert revolving debt into fixed debt so you know how much is going to interest and principle and when it will be paid off.
4. Whatever debt you cannot fix, move into 0% balance transfer accounts (Pay attention to the rules—they are all different and they will try to trick you!)
5. Focus on paying off small accounts (anything under $1000)

See this YouTube video for more details and learn how to access training about working with lenders.

How to improve credit

1. Understand how credit scores are determined – 35% is made up from payment history. You can’t control that because it happened in the past.
2. Another 30% is determined by balances. Try to achieve lower balances compared to your credit limits.
3. Any time your credit report reflects that you paid a partial amount or received help from a credit counseling company or other agencies that help with settling debt, you are seen as a red flag by a future lender. So carefully consider whether to do this or whether you can avoid the red flag by doing it yourself.

This YouTube video will show you how to improve your credit yourself, increase your score and work with lenders so you get what you want, including a great rate. And this online course ($) will guide you through how to successfully get business and personal loans approved.

How to Budget

This is the key to living fully in abundance and joy!

1. Take an inventory, initially and again once each quarter, that quantifies your:
   • Mandatory expenses
   • Infrequent bills – annually or semi-annually
   • Debt payments
   • Reserves (Rainy day funds for emergencies or other unexpected expenses)
2. Learn how to save. Create the habit, even if it is very small amounts.
3. Think of it as ‘bucketing’ (which feels more like ‘adding to’ or allocating) rather than budgeting (which feels like restriction) so that you can enjoy your money. So, what is bucketing?
   • Don’t keep all of your funds in one account
   • Have an account where you put your net income
   • Allocate that account into 3 separate accounts
   • Bucket even further so that each of those three accounts is broken into three more.
   • This results in nine accounts which are allocated to specific purposes.

This not only helps you keep track of your spending, it keeps you from overspending in one category and not having enough to pay for things in a different category…unless you do this in a very conscious way.

Here is another video with more information about how to do bucketing.

While these ‘banker secrets’ can be applied to everyone, as a person who has experienced financial rape by a toxic partner, you have a unique hurdle to overcome. In addition to the financial devastation that you need to find your way out of, you have the emotional hit of surprise, unfairness and probably lack of fault on your part. I know that this can make you feel drained, resentful and hopeless.

However, this also provides you with an opportunity to learn things you may not have otherwise, enabling you to put your financial house in order again in a way that catapults you into more wealth than most Americans ever achieve. Take one step at a time and let me know if you would like additional support as you dig your way out of the hole into financial freedom.