Can I Swing It is proud to announce the start of our “Pay It Forward” membership drive initiative. We have setup 35 membership milestones, as each milestone is achieved Can I Swing It will award the members that have helped others see the value in the tools that we offer. The first Milestone having a prize purse of $5000.00 progressively growing to $44,000,000.00. This initiative will never stop, as membership grows so will the prize purses. Download a PDF with a list of the milestones and prizes.
As days and years go by, we constantly go back in time to revisit our accomplishments and sometime our failures. Likely say things like, “I wish I could have done better with that situation” or “That was one of the best things I have ever done”. After looking back you say, “I wish there was a tool that could have helped me along the way”.
This is where Can I Swing It comes into the picture. We have the tools that will help you and others become personally and financially successful. The tools will help you understand how to get what you want in life. They will help keep you from making the mistakes that will affect you personally and financially. You will document your life as you see it, for future reference. You will create a record of how you live your life financially. Once this information is all visible, getting what you want is easier. You will know how and when you will achieve you goals.
Whenever we can help to change a person’s life, we are “Paying It Forward”.
We not only want to help our members accomplish their goals in life but also reward our biggest advocates financially. If you are ready to keep track of your life personally and financially and “Pay It Forward”, Can I Swing It is ready to help you.
Click here for more information about Pay It Forward!
People say experiencing the American Dream is owning a home. A statement most of us would agree with. Buying a home is a very emotional event in a persons life. Once the hunt start for the perfect place, to hang one’s hat, the emotions intensifies. Husband and Wife start buying real estate book and start looking at pictures of their future home. It takes minutes to find the one they want. The husband tells the wife to call the agent and setup an appointment to see the property. The wife makes the call and sets up an appointment with the realtor for the weekend to see the home of their dreams.
The weekend comes and they meet with the realtor. The house is even more than expected. It has a beautiful kitchen and the neighborhood is perfect for them to start a family. They let the realtor know that this is the house. The realtor ask which bank are they working with for financing. They reply that it will be their local bank. The realtor then tells them that an offer on the house would be the next step. The couple sit with the realtor and they start to complete an offer form. The offer is delivered to the present home owner and it is accepted.
Now the couple go to the bank for the necessary financing to close the deal. It take a few days to get an appointment with the person they want to speak to at the bank. In the meanwhile the couple show family and friends pictures of the house they are planning on buying. Everyone, especially the couple are excited. They finally go to the bank and fill out the loan application and submit it. the banker tells the couple that this home is at the very top of their price range. The couple look at each other an both agree that this is the one they want.
A week goes by before the banker calls back and tells the couple they are all set. It takes about another month before they close on the property and move in. (more…)
We are blessed with the age of technology that surpasses just about everything that was available to us even 5 years ago. We have Twitter, Facebook, Xbox, Wii and much more. And in 5 years we will have even more.
One of the greatest things is the evolution of the cell phone. We are now in the age of the smart phone allowing the ability to download applications, take pictures, send and receive emails. If we were to ask anyone that has a smart phone, how much better is your life today compared to 5 years ago, I wonder what the answer would be. I think that if you really sat down and thought about it, you would probably say, I don’t really know if my life is any better. Personally, the fact is that there are days I wish I’d left it home.
I need to ask this question. With all the technology we have at our finger tips, why does society seem so disorganized? My opinion is that all these things have become Unorganized Distractions. They are easy to use, fun and allow us to do things we like to do. In turn, keeping us from staying focused on the things or issues we should be concentrating on.
We have the tools to become super productive, if we learn how to Organize the Distractions. This is actually very easy to do. With a common sense approach we can get things done quicker and more efficiently if the tools were put to work properly. That’s right the tools, not you. For hundreds of years we have been creating tools to help us be more productive. Most of us have taken this for granted. When most business owners evaluate their company’s productivity, most will say that their businesses productivity is at 50%. That means that the company should be 100% more productive. So for the last 25 years engineers have been put to work creating processes (automated phone attendants) and tools (robots) to eliminate us in the work place. Up to this point that technology has been super expensive, but like the first computer and the cell phone, it’s getting cheaper and better. Remember the first statement in this article, in five years we will have even more, it’s true in five years you will see more automation and less of a need for us. We need to slow this process by Organizing our Distractions.
Here is 2 basic tips that I find to be the most useful:
- One tool that should be used is a calendar that shows your daily schedule that can be shared with family and friends. On this calendar you share information about daily routines and special events. Also include available call times in the calendar. The most distracting thing for some one at work or even someone trying to get a special project done is a phone call about something that was not urgent. Use the calendar to post occasions that open to all your family and friend. You can get as creative as you want.
- Another calendar is your professional calendar that you share with coworkers and management. This calendar is your weeks Itinerary. It shows what the tasks are, when you are available for phone conversations, meetings and the time of day that you will be checking emails. I also suggest that you have a personal and professional email. This will eliminate the need of going over personal mail at work.
Organize all your Distractions on the calendars and you will see your productivity increase by 50% in a matter of minutes. The results will be noticeably quick to family, friends, your coworkers and management. You will notice that the stress level at home and work is much lower when you put these controls in place. There is much more to discuss about this topic. Watch for future articles.
Financial and Personal Success
Parents always preach to us as we are growing up that if we want something in life we have to work for it. We have all been told at least once in our lives to get up and start looking for a job. After we get a job we start buying the things we always wanted until we reach a comfort zone. As we get a little older the things we want get a little bigger, these purchases require loans. So our evolution in the first 10 years of our adult live is totally material and attached is DEBT.
There are no written plans of what we really want in life. 90% of people are going with the flow. We establish a comfort zone that we are willing to be content with. Until the day we are told that the job we have had is being eliminated. We are now on the unemployment line and our comfort zone has been taken away. We start looking for another job and can’t seem to find what we are looking for. At this point it is natural for depression to start setting in which just makes things more difficult. We have been in a comfort zone for so long that this is like totally starting over.
The only way to be prepared for a situation like this is to take Action. Take Action in your life on a daily basis. Not until you reach a comfort zone, because that comfort zone can be destroyed in seconds. By taking Action on a daily basis will keep you motivated with what you are passionate about and will give your life a purpose. Imagine all the Einsteins, Henry Fords, Michael Jordans, Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, that are not living their full potential out there. What a waste. If you want to be the status quo that is your choice. If you want to see how much better life really is Take Action and get out of that Comfort Zone.
What if we were prepared for this mentally and financially.
What if we had a plan in place for this before it happened.
What if our goals were defined properly and set in stone.
What if we had the skills required to better ourselves.
What if we challenged ourselves on a daily basis.
Taking one step at a time and writing down your short and long term goals is your First Action step. Maintaining a budget is your Second Action step. Being accountable on a daily basis is the Third Action step. The Fourth Action step is to keep a Journal of your progress. Dreams will always be dreams without a plan. A well defined plan will turns dreams to reality. Be very careful with being in a comfort zone for its a dream with no plan.
This is not easy to do on your own. This is what motivated me to create Can I Swing It. I researched the available sites that had to do with the challenges we had in life and found that the user would have to subscribe to four different sites to accomplish their goals. Storing information and keeping a Journal on different sites, simply would not work. Can I Swing It brings everything that a user would need to be personally and financially successful to one place.
The site is interactive and makes the user think step by step to each success they will accomplish in their lives. What is even better is that their life’s Journey will also be stored forever on the Can I Swing It Secured Servers, ensuring them a record of where they came from and how they got to where they are. Sign Up today and get out of your comfort zone.
Teamwork
On a recent 25 day trip to Florida with relatives I started thinking about peoples attitudes. Let me set the stage. The relatives that my wife and I went with were my parents and my mom’s brother and sister. We rented a 4 bedroom condo and all enjoyed a great time. Yea I know the 45 year old kids vacationing with their parents, it was great, play a lot of golf, cards and can’t leave out the shopping.
Oh yea, almost forgot, the ground rules for the trip. The first rule is that the in house expenses such as groceries get divided equally. Any activities outside the condo such as restaurants, day trips and golf were each individuals responsibilities. The unwritten rule was that while in the condo everyone worked as a group.
Now back to peoples attitude, after being involved in different businesses in my professional life I have never seen a group of people that were able to plan and execute their days task with such ease. It was a team that any coach would be proud of. So, why did this work so well, Great ATTITUDES. Every one new the plan and each person helped the next to get things done. The weather was cold and windy on some days, warm on others, and the attitude remained the same, Great! What an unbelievable experience. Can’t wait till next year!
Now, I have been on trips with other relatives that I couldn’t wait to get home from and they were only a couple of days long. Why? Negative Attitudes. Even a negative attitude of one person can bring the whole team down. So think about it the next time your on a team, your objective should always be the same as the next person and that’s to have a good plan and as much fun as possible completing whatever it is your team sets out to do.
By Walter Anderson, White Plains, New York
Barry Williams was my best friend when I was growing up in White Plains.
In many ways, our lives were completely different. He lived in a two-story clapboard house with a backyard; my family occupied a railroad flat in a tenement building.
My home life was troubled; his seemed serene. He was black; I’m white. I dropped out of high school; he went on to Harvard. But what we had in common—what made all the difference in the world to me—was Barry’s mother, Mrs. Williams.
I didn’t even know her first name. She was always Mrs. Williams, the tall, dignified schoolteacher across the street who was rearing three sons on her own.
Sometimes Mrs. Williams told us stories. “A long time ago, in the marsh country of England, there lived an orphan boy named Pip,” she might say. “One bleak evening he was visiting the graves of his parents. The sky darkened, and the wind blew, and the boy, afraid, started crying. Suddenly a deep voice roared, ‘Keep still or I’ll cut your throat!’ and a terrible figure rose from among the tombstones.”
“Then what happened?” I asked, enthralled.
“If you’d like to know,” she answered, smiling, “read the book Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.” She made me want to go to the library.
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Grand Opening
We are proud to announce the arrival of Can I Swing It. After many months of planning, building, many meetings and a sound plan we have opened the doors to our budgeting, life skill and financial planning tool.
An excerpt from our Press Release.
In these hard economic times it’s become even more important to keep a close eye on your finances. Creating a budget and maintaining it has always been the sure fire way to staying afloat. Understanding money and having properly defined goals will only solidify your financial plan. These back to basics life skills are sometimes lost in a prosperous economy.
East Longmeadow, MA (PRWEB) March 31, 2010 — Can I Swing It, a subscription based website, offers the tools to help during these hard economic times. This web application brings spending and budgeting back to the forefront of living. With a back to basics approach to budgeting and financial planning, subscribers are given the tools and guidance to financial stability.
Read the rest of the press release>>
Personal Loans
I was visiting friends a couple of weeks ago and loaning money to family members became the topic of discussion. There seemed to be an issue between sisters about who owed who money. The first sister accused the second sister of not repaying a loan. The second sister said the first sister gave her the money for doing certain chores for her. The mother of the girls asked them to halt the argument until we had left. Interested and knowing a little about the process of loaning money, I interjected and said to the mother, I would like to hear the story if she didn’t mind. The mother of the girls complied with my request.
Jane was the name of the first girl, she loaned the money in question. Joan is the sister that received the money in question. I asked Jane how much the loan was for and she replied with, $40.00. What was the loan for, Jane said she needed the money for a new pair of shoes. Then I asked, when did you give Joan the money, she replies about a month ago. What were the terms I asked, she replies with, what are terms? I explain that the term of a loan lets the borrower know what is expected of them when it comes to repayment of the loan.
She looks at me again and says, she’s my sister I didn’t think I had to write things like that down. I reply by saying, well then what makes you think it was a loan. I gave her the money, she says, with a hint of desperation in her voice. Thinking for a minute, she says why don’t you ask her if it was a loan. I responded with, you have not proven that you have given her a loan. What do you mean; Jane exclaims in a stern voice, I told you I gave Joan the money. Where is the proof, show me the proof, with no proof you have no case, I said.
If you are in the practice of loaning money to Friends and Family, whether it is for a day or a year, write the terms of the loan down. If you give the money to family or friends without written terms it is not considered a loan in most courts of law. The information needed is easy; first you need the persons’ name, second is how much is the loan for, third is the date of the loan, fourth is date when you want your money back and fifth is the person’s signature. These five things is the basic information needed to create a simple IOU. Without any of this information you may as well consider the money a gift. Why? The lender (you) did not convey (in writing) how the loan was to be paid back.
Though this example might seem a bit over the top, especially because of the amount of money being loaned, it’s still a good example of why we must get into the practice of writing down the terms of the loan, even if it’s just a few lines on a scrap piece of paper.
Have you ever heard? “I worked as hard as I could to give you everything my parents couldn’t give me.” What does that statement really mean? Did your parents truly have it that bad when they were growing up? Did they really want to give you more than what was expected of them? In reality the only thing our parents had to do was give us a loving and nurturing environment where we could grow up, a place where we would be safe and happy, whether you lived in a two bedroom apartment or a ten room mansion.
So what has changed? Today’s society is fast paced, it’s changed a great deal even from just a few years ago. If you want to make a call you don’t even have to get up anymore, just pull out the cellphone and start talking. Back only 15 years ago you would have to go to the phone hanging on the wall, if you were lucky you had a cordless. The appreciation that our parents have of the cellphone is much greater than ours. They look at it as a luxury, we look at it as a must have. Think about it. How did our parents do it without cellphones? Easy! They communicated face to face with us, no need for cellphones. These face to face conversations were part of our daily routine in the pre-cellphone days. These days if you want something you call or text. Most families with children in there teens rarely even eat dinner together as a unit. What has happened? (more…)
Worst Economic Times
According to the media we are facing the “worst economic times ever”. Who is to blame? We shouldn’t care who is to blame. Each and everyone of us can individually fix our personal financial situations, if we are willing. It’s easy. Learn when, how and what to spend our money. Simple. We have been programmed to spend our hard earned dollar on non essential things to make our lives easier. Then we find out the things we bought to make our lives easy have buried us in mountains of debt.
The U.S. Department of Labors’ “Consumer Unit Expenditures Report” offers national statistics on what we spend our money on. Can I Swing It has used these statistics to create what is called a base line budget. This will help you to see what percentage of your income should be spent on rent, entertainment, restaurants, vehicle, utilities, etc. These expenses you should be within a national average.
On the average, Americans don’t save nearly the amount of their paychecks they should. Why? The answer is twofold. The first reason, which is a cop-out, is most people don’t think they make enough to save. The second is that many people don’t rationalize before spending, they justify the purchase afterwards. An example of this would be to say “I bought it cause it was on sale!” or “I had a coupon for it.” That is exactly what the big box stores want you to believe. As a matter of fact these conglomerates spend millions of your dollars, every year, programming you through print, radio and TV ads to spend on impulse.
That leads us to Zero-based Budgeting. Zero-based budgeting is balancing your budget to a zero balance, therefore not allowing for disposable income. We have integrated a calculator into our web application that shows you how to complete your Zero-base Budget. This budget calculator will show you how do two things. The first is that no matter what, the budget must balance. The second is that when there is a surplus, use it to pay down debt. Surplus income should never become disposable income. Pay the piper first (credit cards, loans, etc.) then pay yourself (savings), who wants to worry about finances for the rest of their lives? Not me, and certainly not your family.
Can I Swing It is in beta get a head start on financial freedom, Sign Up and get back on track!
