So, without further delay the first ever interview on jinij.com with Karol Gajda.

Jay: Hello Karol!  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview.  How are you today and where are you today?

Karol: I’m awesome, thanks! I’m at my Parents’ house in Michigan before I depart on a one way ticket to India in 12 days.

Jay: Some of the readers on jinij do not know who you are, so please give them a brief history and a little on how you spend your time these days.

Karol: I am a lifelong entrepreneur and have worked for myself for almost 10 years. Last year I sold almost all of my possessions, packed everything up into a 32L backpack, and started traveling. I work while on the road, which is the beauty of having a Freedom business.

Jay: Please tell us a about Ridiculouslyextraordinary.com.

Karol: My goal with my Web site is to help 100 people achieve Ridiculously Extraordinary Freedom. That involves not just the specifics of how to run a business, but also mindset and motivation.

Jay: On Ridiculously Extraordinary you encourage people to live their dreams now and stop putting it off.  What was your encouragement to start living  your dreams?

Karol: I achieved a level of success I thought I wanted (money, expensive car, house, etc) and then I got bored and depressed. I needed to make what I call a Drastic Life Change. And it’s more than just living your
dreams. It’s figuring out which dreams are the right dreams. That means figuring out what you truly want vs what you think you need.

Jay: You are on the move a lot, how do you keep track of your expenses?

Karol: My budgeting system has always been very simple. I don’t budget and I don’t track. The way I was raised we were naturally mindful of expenses. I got a checking account at a very young age (I think I was 10 or 11) and have always had an easy grasp of inflow vs outflow. I don’t spend recklessly and I travel using frequent flier miles, CouchSurfing, and hostels.

Jay: What do you think about mint.com an all the praise it has received?

Karol: Although I joined when it first came out I canceled my account a short time later. I’m a fan of technology and it seemed like a useful site for most people. But like I said, since I don’t need to budget, it was useless to me.

Jay: Many people find it hard to make sacrifices to build the lives they want, what are some of the sacrifices you made to build your business  and were they worth it?

Karol: That’s a great question and a little bit difficult to answer because I sacrificed a lot in the early years of my business. I failed a lot and I basically went to school and worked. I had a girlfriend and went out with friends occasionally, but my social life was very inactive. In retrospect I know I overdid it.

Jay: Do you think you would have reached your goals without making those sacrifices?

Karol: That’s very difficult to speculate. Based on my confidence in myself I know I can do anything so I think I still would have reached my goals. The path to success would probably have been a little different.

Jay: Do you have any financial advice for travelers like yourself?

Karol: Yes, if you do have a budget, tack on an extra 30%. Everything seems to end up being a little bit more expensive than we first think it’s going to be.

Jay: Well, thank you again Karol and have a great time in India. We wish you save travels.

Karol: Thanks Jay! I appreciate you taking the time to e-mail me.

Follow Karol on Twitter and on his blog Ridiculously Extraordinary.

It is a part of our genetic make-up to feel a sense of urgency when we get motivated. When most people realize the need to do something to fix their financial situation, they usually want to take action immediately. Since most of us are not educated about managing personal finance, we seek to get educated when the motivation hits us. They usually head to Google, the book store or find a financial manager if we can still afford one. It does not take long for motivation to fade and by the time they finish reading the book and doing research, they tend to be less motivate than when they started. I have put together a small quick start list to get you moving when your motivation is peaking.

1. Go and get a book on managing personal finance. I was not saying not to read or do research. This is just a list of things you can do to get the ball rolling now, you will need to learn as much as you can about managing your personal finance and as the saying goes… education is fundamental.
2. Gather all the information you can. How much debt you have, your monthly and yearly income, investments, bills, credit debts, Church tides and offerings and especially the money you spend on miscellaneous things. List them by category and be honest. You will only be cheating yourself.
3. Make a list of everything you buy for at least a month (three months is better). It will surprise you what you spend you hard earned money on. This will confirm where every cent of your money goes and where you can start to cut back.
4. Start saving now. Make positive that you put at least %10 of your income in a saving account of some kind. This might seems impossible, but think of the alternative. Not having anything saved at all leaves you wide open to falling right back down. If you get sick, you will have something to fall back on until you are well. Live for today an plan for the future!
5. Saving sooner rather than later is extremely important. Say you just had a child or are planning on having one soon; you’ll want to start putting money away for their education as soon as possible. Open an account like an RESP (a Canadian tax-free savings account that can be used to contribute funds for a child’s post-secondary education) as soon as possible – you’ll definitely thank yourself later.

Get started with this quick list, while you read and do research to gain knowledge. Learning to Manage personal finance will not happen over night. Stay consistent and apply what you learn when it fits your circumstances. Like I have said before, the best tip I can give is to stick with it and it will pay off.

I also subscribe to the financial section of the  New York Times, Financial Times, LA Times, CNN Money, and a few others to keep up on fresh credible financial information. The reason I’m telling you this, is to make a point about how what we don’t know can hurt us.  I have gathered some great information that has helped me make some very successful decisions with my money, some small, but helpful and some have saved me thousands.

Which brings me to the question. How much do you know about what is going on around you in terms of money? Yes, you might save some money on double coupon days or at the Macy’s one day sales, but how much do you really know about saving, investing, banking and the likes.

When large banks like Washington Mutual went bankrupt last year I knew the same day they filed chapter 11 papers in court, some people banked with them did not know for weeks and when they found out they did not know what to do. The point is, information is important and your money is also important, so why not take the time to keep up with the world and some very savvy financial experts.

I’m not saying you should learn how to decode the hieroglyphics of the New York Stock Exchange or the ins and outs of guaranteed unsecured loans, but to read a few news sites and blogs. Some of my friends spend hours on FaceBook and Twitter Tweeting the day away.  I know some of you are guilty of it too and there is nothing wrong with doing what you like but, I see a huge problem when you rely on Tweets to get news about your money (Not saying you do, but I know people that do). Take some of that time and do something that will benefit you and your future, read CNN Money, find a good credible blog that gives good advice and make it a part of your daily read.

One of the blogs I read is Money Saving Mom , this woman provides a great public service to anyone who is willing to read her posts. She shows you how she balances her life on as little as she can, where to find deals, and where and how she shops to save money.  Her blog might not fit your lifestyle, but there are hundreds of blogs that will, just Google “personal finance blog” and a million will pop up.

I’m not a financial expert in any way, I never went to school for it or even took a class about personal money management, but I do stay proactive and keep up with the world of finance to help me with my money and I believe everyone should, including you.

We are all in the same boat when it comes to our finances as of late. Even large companies like Wal-mart are strapped for cash and some others are going under.  This recession is proof that we never know what will happen tomorrow.  Being ready for the future is a major part of life, but most forget the number one way to prepare.  Saving a little of our monthly income is the best way to cushion ourselves for financial setbacks.

For many of us, saving is not simply depositing the money and forgetting about it.  We will dip into our accounts, skip on making deposits, and stray away from our budgets (If we have one to begin with).  This always hurt us financially in the future, but there is good news.  There are simple solution for these problems that you can implement with a few phone calls and a little paper work.

Direct deposit is a great way to help prevent unwarranted spending. Study shows that people are less likely to spend money if they have cash VS credit cards or debit cards. As the saying goes “Out of site out of mind”.  Another great resource we have at our disposal is automatic bill pay, which we can set up to pay recurring bills every month.  This is a valuable tool that most do not utilize or simply just don’t know about, ask your bank account manager to help you with the details.  Most bank offer this service free of charge.

Time Deposit Accounts (CD’s) are one of the best type of saving accounts for people that have problems saving.  The minimum amount for these accounts are higher than regular saving accounts, usually $1,000 , but if you look around you can find some that require a smaller deposit.  IRA CD’s are great for those looking to starting a retirement fund.  Make sure you do some research and find the best IRA CD rates available to you.

There are two great features that make CD’s a must for everyone…
1) You will have to leave your money in the account for a set period of time before you can make withdrawals without incurring a fee.
2) The interest rate on CD’s are usually much higher than normal savings accounts, this is a great way to make your money work for you. You will earn money just because you have money, if this is not motivation then I don’t know what is.

Now, if you Have direct deposit and automatic bill pay setup to put a small amount into your CD’s every month, you will not have to deal with it manually and are more likely to forget that you’r saving. This is a very powerful way to prepare financially for an uncertain future.  Money management is an important part of life and should be taken seriously, so take the steps and get started on the right track.

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