Financial Survival Guide: Helping You Put the Pieces Together

By J.R. Norfleet

This financial guide will transform the way you view debt. It will help retrain your mind and how you view spending as well as how you pay your debts. It will guide you through many types of situations and help you develop budgeting strategies that will work best for you. You will find tips on making smarter purchases and ways you can find savings in your everyday life. I will also help you to attack your credit score instead of letting it attack you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490884349

J.R. Norfleet

J.R. Norfleet grew up on a family farm in rural North Carolina. A High School diploma was as high an education needed in the area. There was not a need to seek higher education unless you were willing to move. Prior to finding job security, there were many temporary, fruitless jobs. J.R. started at the bottom like so many must do in order to find something more. Debt became inevitable and sometimes unbearable. Going without became as much of a normal thing as hitting the clock and cashing the paycheck. Over time, a management position in a retail grocery store is where J.R. landed. That job only came through a lot of hard work and over-achieving. With blood, sweat and tears came financial relief. It is here J.R. began to make financial mistakes. With money comes the desire to spend it. For J.R. it was cars that did the most financial damage. With age came the desire to straighten up for future home ownership. This is where the most lessons were learned and the most blessing came. J.R. has been at the bottom and rose up to the middle. The top may not be in the future, but for all the average Joe’s out there, the top will never be in our future. This is my first book as an author. If I am blessed, it may not be the last.

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Copyright © 2015 J.R. Norfleet.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-8435-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-8434-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015909700

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/24/2015

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

What can this book do for you?

What this book cannot do for you

1. Credit Scores and building credit

2. Avoiding debt

3. What if you are already in debt?

4. The Joneses’ mentality

5. Major purchases

6. Credit Cards

7. Income and disbursement of funds

8. Buying traps, bartering, price comparison and coupons

9. Digging deep for unexpected savings

10. Why are insurances so important?

11. My thoughts on saving money and debt

Summary

Final Notes

Author Biography

Dedication

This book is dedicated first and foremost to God. Without His blessings and mercies this book would never have been possible. It is also dedicated to my mother, whose support helped me to realize my dreams and goals. She has always wanted nothing less for me than complete success in all that I do. Also to Cynthia who believed in me enough to encourage me in my efforts and suggest that I write this book to bless others as my advice had blessed her.

I want to dedicate this book to all of you that take the time to read it and follow all advice that may be useful in your daily life. You will be the one that works so hard to achieve all your dreams through financial freedom. I wish you success and happiness in your journey.

Introduction

This book is for people like me. Those that wish that someone would keep it simple and tell me how to do things to help my financial situation that I can actually understand and do. People that have lived or are living paycheck to paycheck and want to find the light at the end of the tunnel. This book is for teaching you how to get more out of what you make at absolutely any income level. I will admit straight off that all my values and principles are based on my faith and Christian belief system. I fully believe that every lesson I learned, every trial I experienced, those I won and those I lost, enlisted me to a place of higher purpose. Now I’m not going to Bible thump you all through this book, but my faith and divine assistance has blessed me with what I know. I now feel compelled to share all that I have experienced and all the battle scars so that you do not have to experience the same fate. If you are already deep in the financial waters, at least I can offer a life raft, while you steer your way from disaster to shore. Let’s get those feet on solid ground.

We all want our children to take our word for it and just do as we say and not as they please. The reality is we will all test our limits and finances are not beyond that realm of experimentation as to how far we can take things. Some will muddle their way through life by the skin of their teeth never really enjoying anything, some will do better and some will do worse. While education certainly plays a part, some of the richest people in the world didn’t finish school or take a single college course. They simply had a great idea or just had a way with money. While I never foresee myself living beyond the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle, nothing can stop me from continuing to try. As long as I continue to pay debt and not create anymore of it, I will see an end to it. One thing I will do is still find ways within my