Jimmy Lou, Incorporated

Where to Start In Hard Times

Levi Gwaltney — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:03:50 +0000

Don’t lose your head when the frenzied, frantic fear starts to creep in. We’re in this thing together, so we will be here to help you through it; however, before we can start to help you get back on track, you need to do a little ground work on your own. Let’s start with some basics. Your entire financial picture can be broken down into three categories. Money you’ve got coming in. Money you’ve got going out. Money you’ve got saved away for a later use.

ON MONEY COMING IN: If you have a job… don’t lose it. (If you don’t have a job… get one.)
ON MONEY GOING OUT: Spend less than you have coming in, and don’t forget to pay yourself first. (If you are awash in debt, and don’t know what to do, start here.)
ON MONEY SAVED: Hold on to what you’ve got with both hands. (If you don’t have any, then see #1, above… and call us to get some.)

Those are the basics, as painful as they might appear.

Let’s just call it Hard Times

Levi Gwaltney — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:00:18 +0000

It appears as if we are in for another economic downturn. We have grown so accustomed to sterile terms describing hardships that we can’t even find the right words to describe situations in which we find ourselves. We hear terms like “financial crisis”, “double-dip recession”, “credit crunch” and “economic downturn” on a daily basis. Although the terminology can seem to be remote and academic, the actuality is that the problems associated with these new buzz phrases are very close, indeed. Let’s dispense with all of the high fallutin’ terminology and call our predicament what it is… plain old hard times. Sometimes, when we get a label on something that fits, it is a whole heckofalot easier to get past the terminology… and get on with the problem solving.

A New Feature Has Been Added…

Levi Gwaltney — Fri, 21 May 2010 04:08:01 +0000

We have done some remodeling. If you will take a look at the sidebar (to the right), you will notice a new feature. This “Mortgage and Loan Calculator” can help you as you make the most important of financial decisions. We hope that you find utility in this service, and ask that you contact us with any recommendations on how we might better serve you.

The Newlyweds

Levi Gwaltney — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:29:30 +0000

When Jim, a young teacher and coach, was first married, he sat down at the kitchen table with his new wife. “We need to have a budget,” he said. Not knowing how his first marital negotiation would turn out, he was pleasantly surprised when she whole-heartedly agreed. As the bread winner for the family, Jim proposed a plan: “We will pay all of our bills, buy groceries and put gas in the cars. When we have done all that we need to do, whatever money is left over, we will put it into savings.” His wife agreed. Approaching their first anniversary, Jim found that they had saved no money–not one plug nickel. “What happened?” Jim asked his wife. She responded, “I don’t know. Every month we run out of money before we can put any in savings. Sometimes, we run out before the end of the month.” Jim thought long and hard about this, and he observed his fellow teachers. It appeared that almost everyone ran out of money every single month. Custodians did. Principals did. Master and First-Year Teachers alike. Jim thought about the phone company. They got their money. The morgtage company, electric company and credit card companies all got their money; and yet, what was most important of all of these was left at the end of his first year of marriage without one solitary dime–savings for Jim’s family and future. It was at this point that Jim realized that it didn’t matter what he did or how much money he made, by the end of the month, all of the money would find a way to be spent before it could be placed into savings. So, Jim decided to turn change that scenario. For once he would let the electric company, the mortgage company and the credit card company worry about getting their money. His family and future were the most important things in his life, and his budget should reflect that. So, Jim started doing what has become the primary tenet of the Jimmy Lou Philosophy: He paid himself first. Every month, the first thing he would do is put money into savings. Later, he learned about savings plans that would take the money directly out of his check, and this made his decision much easier because, instead of having to make the same decision every month, he only made the decision once. Did Jim still run out of money before the end of the month? Yes. Did he miss the money going directly into savings? No.

Welcome to Jimmy Lou!

Levi Gwaltney — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:22:32 +0000

Jimmy Lou, Incorporated is the corporate extension of the life’s work of Jim Gwaltney. Jim started in the insurance business in 1973. For more than 35 years, Jimmy Lou has been providing personal service to our clients in Southern New Mexico and beyond.