In the prior post, we talked about debt being a four letter word. Before we get into the methods of eliminating debt, let’s find our about debt fatigue. Debt fatigue occurs when you have been debt for so long that you are simply worn-out.
The four-letter word is debt. Debt is killing Americans, not physically but emotionally. Debt causes stress and strife. It can cause couples to argue. Couples blame one another for the albatross of debt they have. It almost seems insurmountable.
The second goal for our emergency fund is to have it fully-funded. A fully-funded emergency fund has eight to twelve months of monthly living expenses saved. Some of you might have heard that you only need three to six months or six to eight months. Why am saying eight to 12 months?
If your checkbook is not balanced, you are living on the edge. Not knowing how much money you actually have in your checking account can and will cause you to go off the edge. You need to balance your checkbook.
Every month, you need to balance your checkbook. There might be some of you who do not know how to balance your checkbooks. There’s no shame in that. People are not taught how to balance their checkbooks.
Everything in life has priorities. You have Money Blueprint’s priorities, too. These priorities ensure that you are providing for your family.
“If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” – 1Timothy 5:8
In essence, what we want to do with our Money Blueprint is to cover essentials first. These essentials consist of food, transportation, housing (including utilities), and clothing. These are all top priorities.
You might not see the joys of a Money Blueprint right away. In fact, when you are first start to do your Money Blueprint, you can become quite frustrated with the whole process. However, once you have a Money Blueprint in place, you are going to see something very strange happen. You are going to stop living in crisis mode.
At the onset, let’s make something abundantly clear Money Blueprints work when they are made and used. On the other hand, if you make your Money Blueprint, but don’t adhere to it, then it will definitely and positively not work. Sometimes, you’ve make your Money Blueprint and it’s not working. This is not the Money Blueprint’s fault. It just means that you have to play with it. You need to make adjustments to it.
If you have irregular or variable income, you still need a spending plan. When you don’t have a fixed income coming in, you are either in feast or famine mode, depending on how much money you brought home that month. One month, your commission check or self-employment salary might be $2,000 and the next month it might be $7,000. You never know how much money you have each month.
To record your expenses, you need a Money Blueprint Binder. Get yourself a small spiral notebook that easily fits into your pocket or purse. At the top of the page, write down the Category Name, for example, let’s say it is “Food”. Next, write the amount of money you have allocated this month for food. For our example, the amount you’ve allocated is 10% of your take home income. If your take home pay is $3,000, you are going to write $300.
The idea behind using cash is that it hurts to hand over that hard-earned cash. Right? There’s very little pain to handing the cashier the credit or debit card
The Money Blueprint is comprised of nine categories (1) Tithe, (2) Savings, (3) Housing and Utilities, (4) Transportation, (5) Debt, (6) Food, (7) Life, (8) Clothing, and (9) Entertainment. The first three categories are Fixed Expenses. This means that you have to pay them every month and they are usually pretty regular amounts. If you have a car payment, then part of your Transportation expense is fixed.
We’ve dealt with the excuses people use for not doing and using budgets. You most likely are not a sheepherder. So why did I title this lesson, “The Condition of Your Flock”? The reason is that even though we don’t herd sheep or have flocks, we have to learn to h”herd”/manage the money God entrusted to us and learn to leave below our means.
Today, we’ll deal with the dreaded “B” Word – Budget. If you were to conduct a poll and asked people if they had a budget, the majority would say they do not. People are very reticent to make a budget, so much so that new names are now in place to replace the dread associated with the word budget. They are now called a cash flow plan, a spending plan, or a financial plan.
Somebody’s watching you does not mean that you are under surveillance by “Big Brother”. What it means is that when you have children, they are watching you. You are their primary teacher. Children will emulate their parents’ behavior, whether good or bad, including financial behavior.
Singles, I have not forgotten you. If you a single parent, a young adult just starting out, a recent college graduate, a divorcee, or just a single individual who never married, we will now address your situation. Singles have it tough. They don’t have someone to come home to. They don’t have someone with whom they can sit down
Some of you might have a spouse that is not on the same page as you about getting your finances in order. Nor do they want to have a meeting, much less get a budget done. How do you deal with this reluctance? Do you beg, demand, nag, whine, or manipulate them into working with you? The answer is absolutely not! Doing any of these things will create resentment and anger. They will never join you.
In the last post, we left off saying that when you work together you’ll make the right decision. For a couple, togetherness is the key to financial success. Just because one of you is good at math and numbers, it does not mean that you should be the only one making financial decisions. Even if you are the only breadwinner for your family, this does not give you the right to make all of the financial decisions. Both of you must work together.
Men, women, and money what a statement. God has made man and woman very differently. Each one has his/her own strengths and weaknesses. Neither one sees money in the same way. God made the man to be the protector and the provider of the family. He made the woman to be the nurturer of the family. I am not saying that women should not work or that men should be the only ones to work. All I am saying is that God created each one of differently.
