Our mission at Cops Alive is “Saving the lives of the people who save lives.” I’ve shared many times about the many hidden dangers of law enforcement. We’re reminded of the 73 officers murdered each year, but we rarely acknowledge the 400 plus officers who take their own lives each year by suicide.
The list of stressors that lead cops to commit suicide is long, but one that certainly plagues a great number of us is stress and worry about money. Financial mismanagement does not always lead to suicide, but it’s definitely a contributor.
We train hard and allocate resources to shooting and unarmed tactics, yet ignore the more probable risk factors like alcohol abuse, marital problems and personal finance issues. Stress at home distracts cops from doing their job effectively, opening them up to greater risks on the streets.
We ought to use the same strategies to manage the hidden risks that we do to plan tactical situations. For example, imagine how… Continue reading
Many have searched for the pattern, or a model, to explain why the rich are rich. Thomas Stanley has made a living studying and writing about wealthy people. He found consistent behaviors among them and first wrote about it in the “
Personal finance is an area most people struggle with, but police officers face unique challenges. There are five distinct emotional cycles that most cops go through in their relationship with money. The first cycle is honeymoon.
If you’ve followed my writings for a while, you may have noticed my slant on financial planning for police officers is less about money and more about a rewarding and satisfying life. Money is a necessary part of life, but not the purpose of it. Sometimes as cops, we get so focused on earning money, that we forget what that money is for.
I had a chance to meet bestselling author Robert G. Allen on our law enforcement retreat at sea as part of our CopsAlive Cruise last January. At the time he was just another guest of our larger group of people who were interested in doing business on the internet. He was planning the internet promotions for his newest book which just came out two weeks ago, called: “Cash in a Flash: Fast Money in Slow Times” that he co-wrote with Mark Victor Hansen. I was honored to meet Robert because I have read a couple of his books: “Multiple Streams of Income”, “Nothing Down”, “Cracking the Millionaire Code” (also co-written with Mark Victor Hansen) and was very impressed by his books and ideas. I was also surprised that someone at his level of success was still learning about internet marketing at the same level that I was as the editor of CopsAlive.com.
