Treat Your Money Like No One Else

Managing Money Well Creates Choices

Managing money well gives you more choices and options. You see, money is just a tool to help you reach your goals and dreams. It’s an asset and a help. It’s not a master, and it’s a terrible god.

William Jennings Bryan, three-time Presidential candidate, put it this way in a speech in 1900, “There is a proper relation which should exist between man and money. Man, the handiwork of God, comes first: money, the handiwork of man, is of inferior importance.”

Our purpose is not to serve money, but for money to serve us and help us reach aspirations.

When money is managed well, good financial decisions are made and financial goals and dreams are moving forward. Some questions for you to consider are:

What are your goals for your money? When you make financial decisions, do you know the choices that you have? When you make financial decisions, do you make them based on your goals and dreams and do they support the financial life you want to create? Do you make financial decisions based on how they grow your assets?

These questions can guide you as you make financial decision and improve choices.

Assets Are Money Managed Well

The foundation of choices with money are assets and specifically, liquid assets. Asset that can easily be converted into cash in a short amount of time are called. Liquid assets include things like cash, money market instruments, and marketable securities.

Liquid assets are often viewed as cash, and likewise may be called cash equivalents because the owner is confident the assets can easily be exchanged for cash at any time.

Overall, liquid assets are very important for individuals because they are the first source of cash used in meeting payment obligations, financial shocks, emergencies, and the other things that we all do with money. Managing money well creates assets and provides the choice to go back to school or to quit your current job to look for a better one or start your own business.

David Kolb, An educator, says this about choices, “The way we process the possibilities of each new emerging event determines the range of choices and decisions we see. The choices and decisions we make to some extent determine the events we live through, and these events influence our future choices. Thus, we create ourselves through the choice of actual occasions we live through, and these events influence our future choices.” (Kolb 1984:63-64).

You can create better choices for you and your family!

Can A Financial Coach Help you Manage Money Well?

I am a financial coach/counselor and what I do is help people navigate financial choices to help them manage money better. I would love to help you manage your finances better. Imagine, a year from now and you have a different outlook on life and different perspective about your future. Working with you as your financial coach, we can make this happen.

The question is not can a financial coach help you, because they can, the question is, are you ready to be coached? Are you open to receive coaching so that you can make better financial decisions? Contact me if I can help you. Take care.

Teaching Children about Saving Money

Children are great learners. Maybe it’s because they have not yet developed the attitudes and behaviors that many of us have. They control or have some input, as consumers, on a lot of household spending. They do not need as much help learning to spend as they do learning how to save.

Teaching children about saving money and giving children a better understanding of what is at stake is essential for their growth and development with money. Therefore, consider introducing saving and teaching your children about saving money, as early as elementary school or even sooner. Preschool-age children are curious about money and actually want to accept some responsibility and may welcome the opportunity to save money. There is never a better time to teach children about money and saving. Even if your kids are a bit older, there is no time like the present.

Setting kids on the path to becoming good savers is not difficult and can actually be fun. The following are a few activities that parents can do with their children, even if they do not feel financially well informed themselves.

Buy or make a piggy bank and decorate it to help children save money. This can be an engaging activity for the parent and child. This activity can also get your children excited about saving. Let them get as creative as they like, this will help them feel connected to the saving effort.

Help your children set and work toward a modest, short-term savings goal. For young children, it can be something like a special toy, or video game. Something that they can reach fairly easily. For teens, the goal can be more significant, like saving for a class trip or the prom. Resist the temptation of starting with goals that are too big and too far in the future. If you can afford to, offer your kids age-appropriate extra jobs to earn money.

Encourage your child to put coins and savings into the piggy bank. If the bank is transparent, the child will be able to track progress visually. Piggy banks are great for children because they enable immediate action, a place to save gifts or allowance right away.

While you are teaching your children about saving money, consider setting a family saving goal for something like a fun vacation. This is a great opportunity for parents to set a good example, regardless of how they have managed money in the past. Additionally, initiate a conversation with your children about money and finances. You and your family can also work together collecting loose change or maybe having a yard sale to help establish saving as a good habit and a family value.

You can also help kids become good savers by reading money related stories and playing money games with them. Any experiences with money, and how to do good things with money will help teach children. Additionally, there is a wide array of financial education programs and resources available to help you teach your children about money and saving.

Remember, when teaching children about saving money, if your children’s first saving experience is exciting and fun, they are more likely to want to do it repeatedly. And they can never be too young to learn something about money. Remember, they are great learners. Take care.

How to Control Leaks in Spending

Does it seem you never have enough money to buy the things you would like to or need for your family? If you answered yes, you may have some leaks in spending. That means you are spending money without knowing where it is going. This is a problem that can threaten your financial security. Controlling leaks in your spending can help you get more of those things that you want for your family. Below are some tips to help in control leaks in spending.

1.Keep meaningful records of where your money goes.

keeping a record of your spending will show where your money is being spent. From this record you can decide whether you should make changes to your spending plan and what changes to make. As you keep a record of your spending, you will begin to see areas that you will be able to cut back on or eliminate.

Spending is a leak only if the spender is surprised at the amount spent and feels that it is not worth the money.

2. Plan to spend your money to control leaks in spending.

Planning to spend your money can be well worth the effort. That is because it can help you spend your money wisely rather than letting it disappear without a trace. Start with your writing down your income, and then write down your spending categories and how much money you will allocate to each one. With careful planning, you will begin to get many of those things you wanted for your family.

3. Live within your means.

Living within your means, means that you are not spending more than you make. You are using your money wisely and not spending money on things that you cannot afford or pay for right now. If you live within your means, you will never need a credit card or small revolving credit loans.

4. Buy only for what you need or use.

Buying in bundles or buying more features than you need, or use will slowly drain your spending plan, because the little things add up. For example, if you are not watching those extra channels on cable or using your TV or movie subscription service like Netflix, or using extra features on your phone, consider scaling back to what you do use to cut down on cost.

5. Plan your shopping trips to control leaks in spending.

Before heading out to the store, take note of what you have and what you need. Try not to shop when you do not need anything. For example, going shopping when you bored or going shopping just to kill time. Have you ever walked into a store to get one thing and came out with a cart full of merchandise? Where all these items necessary? How will this purchase affect your budget? When you are going shopping, making a list beforehand and stick to it. This will prevent you from going over your budget and making unnecessary purchases.

Just stopping these leaks in spending will help you purchase some of the things that you want to for your family. Additionally, by tracking spending, you will begin to see areas where you will be able to where you can save money by cutting some expenses. Try these tips, they can help you control leaks in spending and comment below. Take care.

Using Values to Guide Money Management

Today I want to talk a little about using values to guide money management. Values are personal beliefs about what you regard as worthy and true. They tend to reflect your upbringing, and they tend to change very little without conscious effort. Values are the worth of something in terms of the amount for which something can be exchanged. People do what they value.

Your goals should be based on your values. The more harmonious your values are to your goals with money, the greater the likelihood of attaining them.

To understand better how you value money, answer this question. If you had an extra $1000, what would you do with it? Seriously think about this. There are a lot of things you could do, but you decided based on your values.

Understanding Values

Whatever you decide, it’s your decision, and it’s not about right or wrong. It’s about your values and your awareness. Understanding your values will help you be a better steward and create a better spending plan . Remember, people do what they value.

One of the things I ask clients to do is to think about and understand what they value. Because people do what they value, knowing and understanding your core values can help you in all that you do, especially in managing your money .

Once you a better understanding of your values, you can consciously connect your spending and your spending plan to your values. And you can create a spending plan that works for you and is easier to stick to.

Additionally, by understanding your values, you can make goals for your money and your finances that reflect your values, and therefore you have a better chance of reaching your goals and the goals are better. Because your goals reflect your values. So, instead of buying a big-screen TV with a credit card, maybe you make a goal to save money and buy it with cash because you value the freedom of not paying the interest you will be putting on your credit card. Now you are using values to guide money management.

Determining Your Core Values

So how do you determine what your values are? Below is a listing of values that can get you started to help you determine your values.

Ambitious, Caring, Charity, Curious, Dependable, Enthusiastic, Ethical,Flexible, Freedom, Generous, Growth, Happiness, Health, Innovation, Intelligence, Loving, Loyal, Optimistic, Personal development, Popularity,Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Recognition, Relationships, Reliability,Safety, Security, Service, Spirituality, Stability, Thankfulness, Traditionalism, Understanding, Wealth, Well-being, Wisdom

If I asked you what you valued, what would you say?

Write down the values that resonate with you. Add any you think of that are not on the list.
Select the values that you think most accurately describes you and then categorize values into related groups
Once you have related groups of values, identify a central theme of the group.
Next, determine your top core values by ranking your central themes in order of importance. If you must narrow your list to under 6 to core values.

Values are unique and influenced by upbringing and experiences.

Keep in mind that it’s important to stay conscious of your values throughout your life because, like spending plans, they can change as your career and personal life develops.

Thanks for reading and sharing with others who may benefit. Take care.

Spending Plan Tips for Graduates

Congratulations! You finally made it and graduated, and now it’s time to face a different world. And that includes planning to spend your money. Keep the following spending plan tips for graduates in mind as you get out in the world and start working your first real job.

Use a Spending Plan and Plan your Spending

You are possibly going to have more money than you ever have. It’s going to be a smart move, on your part to plan to spend it. Money is good for three things, and spending is one of the three things, so it’s okay to spend just spend with a plan.

Sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil and just write out where you are going to spend your money; how much, where, and what for.

By doing this, you are creating a spending plan. Later you may want to move to a spreadsheet or app, but to start, use paper and pencil, keep it simple.

Tracking Your Expenses helps You to Be More Aware

Track your spending if you want to manage your money better. There are lots, and lots of ways to track your spending…you pick one. You can track by app, spreadsheet, or on your phone, and it does not matter which as long as you track.

Record every expense every time.

Some expenses are just easy to forget. Here I am mainly talking about things automatically drafted, like the streaming subscription or maybe a credit payment. Car insurance payments every six months or once a year is another. Keep these expenses written down in your log so you do not forget them. And get a receipt from every place you shop or eat; this will help when it comes time to remember and record.

Also, contingencies and emergencies are going to happen. Do not forget to save for these. A good emergency fund will cover expenses for a couple of months and give you peace of mind.

Again, congratulations! You have worked hard, sacrificed, and now it’s time to celebrate. After your celebration is over, start planning your spending and use these spending plan tips for graduates to creating a spending plan that works for you. It will benefit you as you grow in your career and life. Take care.