Category Archives: Finances

Growth Plan Part 1

Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness, Uncategorized, , ,

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. Benjamin Franklin

Every year we have a new opportunity to revise our plans. At the end of one year, we can look back and examine what worked and what didn’t. Then make adjustments and grow into a new year.

We don’t want to drift into a new year just like we wouldn’t drift down a white-water river. Drifting leads to circles which leads to everything flipping over. Did you see Bird Box? We must be intentional about our growth.

Growth requires a mindset and a plan. In Carol Dweck’s book Mindsets, she describes two basic mindsets fixed and growth.
A fixed mindset assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static which we can’t change in any meaningful way.
A growth mindset, on the other hand, thrives on challenges and sees failure as a springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.

Check out Mindset book here.

Our lives are designed to grow. (Think Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.) God has created us in His image. We have His appearance and his character.
This must be developed.
God has also called us to work and care for His creation.
We are created to bring order to the chaos. We are called to create.
This will require us to grow/learn.

Growth is at the foundation of who we are.

Because we are multifaceted people, consider these five areas for growth.
Spiritual Life
Relational Life
Physical Life (Health)
Emotional Life (Mental Health)
Financial Life (Money-Career)

Let’s grow stronger and better in the new year!

This is part 1 of a series of post about developing a growth plan.

grow.wood.jpg

Fighting Debt

Finances, Uncategorized, ,

Fighting Debt
I recently read an article that stated outstanding student debt has risen to 1.52 trillion. A 145% increase over the past 10 years. Americans owe more in student debt than credit cards and auto loans. You can read the article here. There needs to be a better way to further our education than raking in debt. Debt is something we should fight off!

And It’s worth the fight. Being overloaded with debt increases stress, which causes mental, physical and emotional issues. Debt has a way of controlling the way you live. It’s worth the fight to get out of debt.

“Never spend your money before you have it.”
– THOMAS JEFFERSON

Just as the rich rule the poor,
so the borrower is servant to the lender.
Proverbs 22:7 NLT

Fighting Debt

Step 1

Know where you are. It’s hard to fight what you don’t know. Review all your debts. List the balances, interest rates, and monthly payments.

Step 2

Choose your fight strategy. Snow Ball Calculator The Snow Ball strategy throws as much money at the lowest debt while paying the minimum on the others. Once that debt is paid, use the money toward the next debt. Therefore, creating momentum as you pay off debt.
Stacking strategy is focusing on the highest interest rate first.

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Proverbs 21:5

Step 3

Sell something you’re not using. Use the apps Let it Go or Offer Up. A simple way to get a little extra cash to fight the debt.

Step 4

Earn extra income to fight with. Check this out.

Step 5

Change your lifestyle. Take a hard look at the way you live. Consider tracking your daily expenses. You may be surprised how much money your spending on crazy things. Cut, sell, downsize.

The fight is real. If you are in debt, you are fighting for your freedom. So, go ahead and stir up your inner William Wallace and let the revolt begin.braveheart

 

How do you fight off debt?

Celebrating Life Together

Family, Finances,

Recently Nikki and I celebrated a date night together and had a fantastic time. It was actually 23 hours packed full of conversations, romance, and just pure enjoyment. So…
Today I wanted to lay out a few ideas that would help improve your date nights or simply improve your life!

Manage your Margins
What makes life enjoyable is having time to enjoy life! What makes a date night fantastic is having money set aside to enjoy! Having margins in our life allows us to move easily and spend freely. Don’t let the walls of busyness and poor budgeting keep you from enjoying life! Because Nikki and I routinely date and set money aside for those dates it was no problem when I said let’s get away for the night.
Try this -Set one day a week aside for you and yours to date. Even if you have been married for 25 years pick a day and stick to it. Set a budget. You’re going to spend the money somewhere why not on something you enjoy! (If you don’t enjoy your spouse that’s a different issue that needs to be addressed)
Manage your time and money in such a way that there are margins (room to move).

Invest in Experiences
The rooms at the Westin in downtown Atlanta gives you a floor to ceiling view of the city. The view is the experience. It was a great investment. We could have easily rented a room just for the bed and shower but, what’s the fun in that? Having a memorable story to tell is far better. Nikki and I have practiced this over and over. I can tell you stories of zip lining, hiking, fine dining, and views from the top of the Empire State Building. Good experiences are worth the investment.
Try this – Go to the theater instead of the movies. Go on a day hike. Rent a hotel room with a view!

 

Try Something New
I have always wanted to try a restaurant that had live music. Like the jazz club, you see in the movies. I can’t sing or dance, but I love music. We finally made it happen. A completely new experience for us. We visited a “Juke Joint” and set at a table right in the front. It was great. We even tried some new food (collard green egg rolls).
I like things to be comfortable. However, comfortable will only allow you to experience what you already know. There is so much in our beautiful world to be explored.
Try this- Go to a new city and try a new restaurant.

I believe we should enjoy the life God has given us. I also look for treasures along the journey.

So, what does this look like for you? I would encourage you to resist the common response “this sounds like a good idea” and do nothing.

Let me know how you celebrate your life?