Doug Horn, with Blount Today, recently wrote an article about 5 basics of finances. He says that even though these basic 5 won't ensure that you are done with your planning, you will have the basics covered and avoid most major problems.
The basics are:
Doug explains that this is only a place to begin, not stop.
Having finances under control allows us to Serve Strong!
"How do you stay frugal without being miserly? I don’t want to feel guilty every time I need to make a purchase. At the same time, without a budget and limits, my bank account would soon be empty. My solution to prevent overspending is sitting right next to my wallet.
In my wallet I keep several index cards. Whenever I buy anything, I write down the date, what I purchased and how much it cost on the card. It’s not an original idea by any means, but I’ve found it is incredibly useful both for avoiding post-purchase guilt and overspending."
This is a quote from a recent blog post by Scott H. Young. He points out the importance of keeping record of your expenses. The benefits include knowing where your money goes. This, in turn, allows for greater use of money in the long run.
Financial woes take our eyes off our service to others. Keep your finances in order and you'll be be able to continue Serving Strong!
These 10 suggestions for saving money come from Emma-Lou Montgomery, editorial director of the Zurich Club.
Read the entire article for more details behind each of the 10 suggestions.
When finances are going haywire, we are using our mind to worry or scheme out of the mess. This is precious mind space we can use for serving others. Keep your finances strong and you'll be Serving Strong!
Crown Financial's blog posted a thought recently about a concept called, "Flexicurity" - a government established, 3-legged financial program in Denmark.
Crown suggests doing a personal Flexicurity program (which is actually the first 3 destinations of the Crown Money Map):
This is more doable than jumping to Destination 3 all at once. And if you need to, add your own pre-destination (no pun intended) of saving $500 for emergencies.
A strong financial position will help ensure we are Serving Strong!
Who keeps the checkbook updated in your marriage? Is it supposed to be the man? Or are women more likely to keep better track of the details?
Dave Ramsey was asked this question and posts his answer on his website.
Dave points out in each family, there's a nerd and a free spirit. The nerd is the one who can keep track of things and put everything in its place. The nerd gets excited when the checkbook balances. The free spirit is the opposite. They are interested in other things.
But BOTH must make financial decision together to maintain a healthy marriage.
Key word: together
Just because the nerd keeps the checkbook up to date doesn't give them exclusive right to lord it over the free spirit. The combination of one person working within their strength of administration updating the checkbook AND both planning the finances is part of a healthy financial picture.
Respect each other when it comes to finances. This will free up space for you to Serve Strong!
Wow, what an eye-opening experience to start tracking where the money is going!
When faced with a $249.35 expense we say, "Oh man! How are we going to pay for THAT?" But $9.95 here and $12.50 - these small amounts don't catch our attention like the larger expenses. But they sure add up. Before long, we look at the eroded balance in our checkbook and wonder where all the money went.
What's part of the solution? A budget. There, I said it. The "B" word. (If you don't like that word, perhaps you'll like "spending plan" better!)
Dave Ramsey offers a wealth (no pun intended) of help and information on his website, www.daveramsey.com. One of these helps is a "Basic Quickey Budget" form. If you're not operating with some sort of tracking system to see where you money is going, start with this and begin your journey to financial freedom. It's been said that "self awareness is the prelude to transformation." Start your transformation today.
Click here for Dave Ramsey's "Basic Quickey Budget" form and start getting your finances under control.
It so much easier, with little financial burdens, to Serve Strong!
Money only reaches so far. When expenses increase but income stays the same, it's wise to take steps to make your dollar worth more.
Brian Jones offers some great tips that will help the dollar stretch. The advise is specific to your car. Here are a few of Brian's thoughts:
The business of helping other people has enough stress of its own. It's important to avoid adding to that stress by having a difficult financial situation to have to handle. Improve your finances and you'll be Serving Strong!
I just read a quick 10-step article on improving your finances. The author is Raymond Heng. Here are 3 of the steps Raymond lists:
Your finances are a part of your overall health. Take care of that and you'll be Serving Strong!
Not having the money to pay for unplanned household repairs can be a real drain on you when you're trying to minister to others. One way to keep that from happening is to regularly put money away. Here are a couple tips:
Go around the house and determine the age of all your major appliances (or whatever you think could be a real drain if you had to repair it.)Our minds are on serving the needs of other people. When we are preoccupied with financial challenges at home, it lessens our ability to Serve Strong!
Ken Blanchard, Paul J. Meyer and Dick Ruhe have published the book, Know Can Do! in which they highlight the obstacles that prevent people from implementing what they learn. These obstacles include:
I have indicated in previous posts that there are two well-documented realities:
There is a gap between the struggle pastors face and the resources that sit in bookshelves and websites across the world. The problem is in what the autuhors highlight in Know Can do!
Coaching is the key to filling this gap. With a personal coach, a pastor overcomes the obstacles mentioned above:
Check out more about what coaching is.
Contact me if you're interested in exploring a coaching benefit for yourself. Learn the art of weaving balance and self-care into the fabric of your ministry.
"Debt and lifestyle go hand in hand in American society. When you use debt to fund a consumptive lifestyle, not only do you have the consumptive lifestyle working against you financially, but you also have the additional burden of debt working against you financially. Both should be avoided like the plague!"
This is a quote from an article on www.mastermoney.org.
One of the biggest hindrances to being effective in any endeavor is the burden of debt. Our society constantly preaches a consumer-driven lifestyle rather than a purpose-driven one. Take inventory of your decision-making process by asking yourself these questions:
Your finances cannot be ignored. Having a proactive plan to strong finances will help ensure you are Serving Strong!
Christmas is on the way. And so is January 2008. On what financial criteria will your Christmas purchasing be based? As this time approaches, the worst thing is to make financial buying decisions without knowing where you are financially.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension offers a list of areas to evaluate on what they call The Personal Financial Scorecard. Some items on the Scorecard are emergency funds, credit card debt, household consumer debt, savings & investments, etc.
Check out this Scorecard. See if you're able to get to January without a lot of regrets.
Strong financial management will help keep you Serving Strong!
Are you getting calls from creditors or collectors about past due accounts? Are you considering filing bankruptcy?
These are two questions raised by the folks at coeing.org, a website dealing with financial freedom.
They list (10) things you can do if you answered "yes" to both questions. But I thought they were good for each of us to review as we are serving others, regardless of where we are financially. Here are a few steps they suggest:
Check out the entire list and website.
Finances can be a source of extreme frustration or freedom. It depends on how you view it and the behaviors that follow. When our finances are strong, we are better able to Serve Strong!
I've found the following to be good for dealing with the financial aspect of life balance & self care:
Wise financial planning and execution means we are able to serve strong!
An article by Miranda Hitti on WebMD.com the other day points out that the life expectancy is is as high as it has ever been in the U.S. (just over 78 years) - she cites the CDC, which bases their stats on preliminary data on over 2.5 million deaths nationwide in 2005.
Some of the details in her article include,
Miranda also points out the top causes of death as 1) heart disease; 2) cancer; 3) stroke.
What does this mean for serving strong? Here are just some thoughts off the top of my head. Perhaps you can add more...
We live in an amazing age! If we live a lifestyle with proper balance and self care, we can serve out our calling longer. Capitalize on your life expectancy and you will be serving strong!
There's a great post by Brett McKay on his "The Frugal Law Student" blog about maintaining sound finances.
In general, he lists 3 habits which I think we all can benefit by cultivating into our way of life:
Read the entire article for the details behind each habit.
These are 3 very basic, but powerful suggestions to help maintain good finances. Do this and you will be serving strong!
If you're looking to buckle down this September, now that school is back in session, here's a resource you may want to consider. It's on the Crown Financial Ministries website. For a small price, you can receive tips on cheap ways to
The book isn't about being cheap. It's designed to assist you in making your resources go further. At its essence, it's about living simpler while increasing your appreciation for the little things.
As you handle your finances wisely, you are better able to serve strong!
In a recent edition of the Rev! Magazine, Dave Ramsey explains 3 areas where pastors tend to create problems for their financial foundation:
There is a lot of ministry that gets canned because the servant is so heavily weighted down with financial woes. A clear plan of attack regarding finances will not only do wonders for the stress levels, but re-vitalize the ministry.
Plan your finances and you'll be serving strong!
Are you new to investing? If so, there is a helpful article on the Crown Financial Ministries website that just may help you.
The article points out some guidelines for the rookie investor. Some of them are...
As a person who serves other people, finances can have a major impact on you. If your finances are out of order or incomplete, your service to others will eventually suffer. For example, imagine trying to listen to someone in need and, at the same time, put aside the stress of that bounced check you wrote at the grocery store last week?
Investing can be a great piece of your overall financial pie. If you are going to include it, make sure you go about it wisely and you'll continue to serve strong!
Some say money is the root of all evil. Actually, it should be stated, "THE LOVE OF money is the root of all evil." That's biblical.
But when there's no money in the first place, what's to love?????
I bet there are a lot of people in ministry today who are struggling with the distraction of the wallet. There never seems to be enough money to do the things we really wish we could do, or have to do - as in paying the electric bill, the mortgage, gasoline.
What do YOU do to maintain financial health? How to do you keep your financial condition from becoming a distraction to your ministry focus? A lot will have to do with spending habits.
The folks at Crown Financial have a great article on their website regarding compulsive and impulsive spending. They outline a few guidelines to help us with controlled spending. One of those guidelines is to create a "want-to-buy" list. Wait seven days and find two additional prices for the same item. If the need or want for the items remains after a week, go ahead and buy it. But remember to keep only one item on the list at a time.
Visit the site for the entire article.
Also, visit their Money Map Coaching page. If you really are in need of help, get coaching. It's a proven method for identifying and achieving the goals you need to succeed.
When finances are where they need to be, you are serving strong!
Debt. One of America's little 4-letter words. It can help put some pretty neat stuff in the living room or garage. But boy, does it ever come with a ball & chain!
So much has been published regarding debt in recent years. I just did a simple Google search on "debt" and yielded 163,000,000 hits in 0.38 seconds.
So, what's your current debt status? Do you have a mortgage, car loans, credit card debt, student loans, home equity line, department store debt?
How does debt effect your everyday living? Is it on your mind most of the time? How much does debt take you away from being fully present in your ministry moments to your span of care?
I am impressed with the wealth (no pun intended) of information on the Crown Financial Ministries website. You will find resources to help you get on top of debt (wouldn't that be tremendous!?!) so you can concentrate on the calling you've received by God to serve others.
Don't let debt keep you from serving strong!
