Comments on: Joseph Sangl: I Was Broke, Now I’m Not

By: BillyBob

BillyBob — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:14:27 +0000

As one who has had one on one counseling by Joe Sangle, I can say his advise is good. I was one who didn’t manage money well and racked up over 30g in debt not including my house. I always listened to all the c.c ads and thought by managing my debt a would keep a good credit score and all would be well. But as years passed and debt built up to over 30g, I just saw all the money I was dishing out to those c.c. companies and was feeling like I was in no situation to get out. But Joe’s advise and budgetting has helped me to overcome my debt. It’s been over a year and a half since I started my budgetting and the plan was to be out of debt by 2 years. I can say with confidence that I’ll be out of debt by Nov. not including the house. I’ve found by budgetting that I still have plenty of money to put to entertainment and vacations while still knocking debt away. The feeling is great. As far as the responses above, Joe is the financial pastor at the church I belong to and I would say that he is no longer in any debt except for his house. He pays by cash or debit card and has no c.c.’s by all the talks I’ve had with him. He does do many speaking engagements on financial counseling and goes just about anywhere. The church i belong to is NewSpring Community Church in Anderson, SC at http://www.newspring.cc and Joe’s teaching are right inline with the Bible for God wants us to manage what he has given us.

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:36:31 +0000

As with anything you read, it’s best to judge yourself. If someone with a lot of debt says to save more than you spend, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily wrong.

I don’t know Mr. Sangl’s financial situation, but his income might be only from giving talks and teaching people about finances. As one might imagine, it might not pay well to get one out of debt. Sometimes it’s worth taking a job because it helps other people avoid the mistakes you made.

By: Dividendgrowth

Dividendgrowth — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:24:28 +0000

I looked over this guys blog, and it seemed to me that he is still drownin in debt. I would not take his book too seriously though. Some of his ideas might not work for people who know to not spend frivolously..

By: pfodyssey

pfodyssey — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:00:56 +0000

I’ve had several e-mail exchanges with Joe and:

1) He is very passionate about personal finance
2) He is equally enthusiastic about helping people
3) He is absolutely committed to an entirely debt free existence…particularly his mortgage.

Although I have more fun disagreeing with JD (heh), I support just about every point made. Generally, there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to personal finance.

By: bobita

bobita — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:46:26 +0000

I’m not sure I agree about the vending machine. The VM’s where I’ve worked have been more than reasonably priced – a 20 oz. soda is currently 50 cents and snacks cost 75 cents, in Manhattan. If I brought these items in from home at a slightly better unit price, I know I would definitely eat more, which would increase my daily costs (plus my waistline). Having to whip out cash keeps me in check vs having them sitting in my desk. Like the debt snowball, the pickle jar method is not mathematically sound but psychologically it can help debt reduction feel less like deprivation.

By: Moneymonk

Moneymonk — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:17:05 +0000

Way to go Joe !!!!

By: East Side Food Geek

East Side Food Geek — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:59:36 +0000

I’ve got to agree with you. I’ve never used a budget, and I have never been in debt beyond my mortgage. I’ve got good investments, though I have a low income. (What I am is stingy.)

The one place I do disagree with you is on the debt snowball. Yes, for those of us who have control of our spending (which generally means people who aren’t in debt) going with the numbers is right. However, the snowball method of handling any overwhelming task is a great one for people who need to deal with the psychological issues. If you have a huge To Do List, for instance, and you know you aren’t going to get through it, very often it is best to winnow the list down by doing the easy tasks first. This is really a YMMV issue.

The other thing I REALLY agree with you on is the vending machine thing. For goodness sakes, put the whole five dollar bill in the change jar and put that all on the debt. If you must, buy better snacks out of it at the store, for a better price.