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October 2022
AuthorJeff Venables is a Christ-follower, husband, father, high school chemistry teacher, Dave Ramsey certified financial coach, runner, and blogger. |
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Plan or Fail2/1/2021 "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." Have you heard this saying? It has been attributed to Benjamin Franklin. I have found this to be true in so many aspects of my life. I am in my 26th year of teaching high school chemistry. When I fail to plan for my students, I am planning to fail them. It also proved to be true when I am coaching sports, completing home improvement projects, implementing a plan for personal health and fitness, or working my financial plan. If you don't have a plan for your money, you will find yourself wondering where it all went every month. How do I know? Because I have been there. This is why everyone should prepare a written household budget. Every month. When I finally started creating a written budget - every single month - I turned the corner with money. This happened for me 8 years ago. It was amazing. It was like getting a raise. I have never stopped. I have a budget every single month. It was hard at first. My first couple budgets were terrible failures. I spent more on food and less on clothes than I planned. I ran out of money before I ran What did I do? I made adjustments the next month. It is not going to be perfect at first. Give yourself permission to fail, but only so that you can later succeed. Zig Ziglar said, "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well." I recommend a zero-based budget. The concept is simple - the amount of money going out equals the amount of money coming in. I am a spreadsheet guy - if you are like me, try this free download from Smartsheet. If you are not into spreadsheets, just write it down on a piece of paper. Start with your take-home pay. Then, write down everything you spend money on. I like to start with giving (church, charities, etc.), then the essentials (house payment, utility bills, transportation costs, food), savings, debt, and other expenses. The first couple of months can be really eye-opening. Give it a try! Do you need help with this and/or other financial issues? Schedule a consultation and see if a financial coach is the answer!
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