It is the last day of the month and you know what that means …

It is time to prepare your budget for FEBRUARY!

Here are some great things to consider for this month:

• If you are expecting to receive a tax refund, be sure to use the Mini-Budget to plan that money also!
• Be sure to review your Known, Upcoming Non-Monthly Expenses to ensure you are not going to be caught off-guard by a surprise expense (like vacation, property taxes, or a car repair)
• Review January’s budget to see if you accomplished everything you planned

Get fired up!

Read recent posts

I am a “spender” by nature so I am always looking for reasons to spend money.  Of course, my monthly budget helps ensure that my spending is well under control, but I do enjoy spending money as much as the next person.  After all, money is called currency because it is supposed to flow (like the current of a river).  With that said, here are 5 Good Reasons To Spend Money.  This should be fun!

5 Good Reasons To Spend Money

1. To transition to a lower cost service.  It might cost a connection fee to change to an alternative cable TV provider, but if it lowers the monthly ongoing cost of that service, it is worth spending the money!
2. To increase the value of something that will be sold.  When preparing to sell a house, it can be helpful to spend money to upgrade the kitchen or master bathroom as it can increase the overall value of the home.
3. To increase the likelihood of selling something.  If the car will not run, it will sell for a lot less.  A lot of times, it can be worth it to spend the money to bring the car to full operating strength.
4. To generate future profits.  If money can be spent to start a business that will generate future profits, it can be well worth it!
5. To free up time to produce additional income.  If you can use time that you usually spend mowing your lawn to generate additional income that is greater than the amount spent for the lawn service, it can be worth it!

BONUS:  To brighten someone’s day.  If you see someone in need and you have money available to help – do it!  There is nothing as rewarding as being able to bless someone else.

What reasons would you add?

Read recent posts

Let me ask you question:

Do you know more about American Idol (or insert your other favorite TV show) than you do about personal finances?

If you do, how messed up is that?

Here’s the news flash – American Idol, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Glee, Your Favorite Sports Team, Cake Boss, and Pawn Stars are not going to change your life.   Managing your personal finances well CAN affect your life in a HUGE way.

If this is you, TODAY is the day that you make “managing your money well” your TOP PRIORITY.

If this is you, I would love for you to email me HERE and tell me what your next big financial step is!

Read recent posts

During the Financial Learning Experience, I always challenge people to write down their plans, hopes, and dreams.

I am passionate about helping people accomplish their dreams.   It is why our passion statement is to help people accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their finances.

It is so important, in fact, that we provide time during the FLE to begin writing these dreams down on paper.

Here is what I know to be true:   EVERY SINGLE DREAM WILL COST MONEY!

Every single one.   It will either directly or indirectly cost money.

Here are some common dreams (and they all cost money)

• Eliminate stress
• Become debt-free
• Start a business
• Be a stay-at-home mother
• Provide for children’s weddings
• Pay for kid’s college
• Retire some day
• Adopt a child
• Travel (everywhere – including Antarctica)
• Give more money away
• Build a home
• Help those who are in need
• Spend more time with the family

I challenge YOU to spend some time TODAY to write down your plans, hopes, and dreams.

And then …

Put the amount of money required to achieve each item – and GET STARTED!

Read recent posts

Have you ever met someone who is a non-detail person?   They focus on the big picture, pursuing one thing after another, and they accomplish great things?   For a while at least?   And then the wheels come off.   The utter inertia of all of the things they have created catch up to them, and the infrastructure is not there to support it.   The result?   A colossal failure or collapse.

It’s been described many ways:

• Trying to keep all the plates spinning
• Too many things on the plate
• Juggling too many balls

It’s great to get an item started, but will it last?

Let’s get to the personal finance and small business finance application.   The details matter!

• Someone needs to make sure the best deal is being obtained on all purchases
• Someone needs to plan the spending every month – not just occasionally
• Someone needs to actually pay the bills – on time
• Someone needs to reconcile the bank account – regularly
• Someone needs to serve the customer before, between, and after purchases – not just during the purchase

You don’t have to address the details personally, but you must KNOW that someone is responsible for the details and is equipped and able to do so in an excellent manner.

Are you ensuring that your financial details are being handled with excellence?

Read recent posts

According to Sangl’s Dictionary, here is the definition of “Debt-Free Christmas.”

Debt-Free Christmas – noun The act of buying Christmas gifts without incurring any debt.

Here is the 1-2-3 steps that will ensure that you can have a Debt-Christmas of your own:

1. Save money for Christmas throughout the year – save some money for Christmas every single paycheck.
2. In October/November, prepare a Mini-Budget for the money you have saved for Christmas.     Click this link to pull the tool up: Mini-Budget Tool.   See the picture below for a sample budget.
3. Ensure that it balances to EXACTLY ZERO!
4. Stick to the plan!

It is that simple!

Read recent posts

One of the most common questions we receive is:

“Joe, I know how to prepare a budget.   We just can’t find a way to stick to the budget.”

So …   My question to those of you who ARE following the budget you prepare each month is:

What advice would you give this person?   How do you ensure that you follow your budget?

Read recent posts

I just experienced one of the most incredible Financial Learning Experience weekends EVER at Messiah Church in Midland, MI!

On Friday night, Mark (IWBNIN Team Member) and I were able to grab dinner along with several of the financial coaches we were going to train the next morning.   It was at Pizza Sams – which is INCREDIBLE pizza!!!

Anyway, while there, Roland showed me one of the things that has changed his life the most when it comes to his finances – his grocery cash envelope.

It made me remember the reason that Jenn and I have used cash envelopes ever since we started our journey to financial freedom on December 2, 2002.

Here are three reasons I LOVE cash envelopes:

• CONTROL We overspent our debit/credit cards.   We NEVER overspend cash money!
• TRACKING It is so easy to understand how much is left for groceries – you just count the money in the envelope!   No more frustration related to counting up our bank and credit card transactions.
• SAVINGS When you realize how limited your cash is for groceries, dining out, clothing, spending money, and entertainment, you will start searching for bargains and better deals!

Do you use cash envelopes?   If so, why?   If not, why?

Read recent posts

I have written about Swagbucks in November 2008 and January 2010.   I continue to love this Budget Booster!   Swagbucks is a search engine just like Google, Ask, or Bing with one key exception – they PAY you to search!!!   Every so often, they reward you with a Swagbuck (or Swagbucks) when you search.   The Swagbuck is their own currency, and they can be redeemed for gift cards or merchandise.

I just redeemed my Swagbucks for a $5 Amazon gift card.   They also have Target gift cards and several others!   So far, I have personally earned 5,348 Swagbucks!   It takes 450 Swagbucks to obtain a $5 Amazon gift card.   It is FREE money that I receive for doing something I already do!   YES!

Here is a great feature of this program.   Once you register, you can refer your friends.   For their first 1000 Swagbucks, you can earn a matching Swagbuck!

You can check it out and register HERE.

The most important action that helped me achieve financial freedom was preparing an INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO budget.

The simple act of sitting down with my bride and planning our spending for the upcoming month is what allowed us to become debt-free in just 14 months and has allowed us to fund tons of dreams like giving a ton of money away and saving money for college, retirement, and vacations.

Every single time that we sit down with an individual or couple in a financial counseling appointment, we work with them to prepare a budget.   For most, it is the first time in their lives that they have planned their spending out to the very last dollar.   When I meet with many of the counselees a few months later, I discover that they have failed to prepare another budget since the time that they left our last meeting   – and, guess what, they have not been able to maximize their money.

It makes me want to ask the AWESOME readers of JosephSangl.com these two questions:

1. How often do you prepare/update your spending plan?
2. How well is your plan working?

Let the conversation begin!

Read recent posts by Joe

Receive each post in your E-MAIL

I have seen a lot of people prepare a written spending plan, and then fail to follow that plan.  At first blush, one would want to say that the people just did not have the discipline to stick with the plan.  As an engineer, I am always seeking to understand the root cause of someone's failure to stick to their budget.  So here are some of the top reasons that I see budgets fail.

• Not having a budget.  That was too easy, but it is true!  Fail to plan.  Plan to fail.
• Extremes – no spending money, $3.21 for groceries for the month, and no fun in the plan
• Spouse refusing to participate in developing the spending plan
• Spouse not asked to participate in developing the spending plan
• No saving in the plan – this allows emergencies to totally derail the plan
• Known upcoming expenses are not funded so they become budget busters when they do happen – Seriously.  Christmas IS going to happen!
• Can not say "NO!" to children
• No giving.  This is something I clearly see in financial counseling appointments.  Those who give are much better off – and it is not income related.

Maybe you can add some to this conversation in the comment section.  Better yet, maybe you can share how you have overcome these issues.

Read recent posts 

Chrysty asked this great question (and one that I am asked often):

Do you have a breakdown that shows what percentage of our monthly income should go towards the different categories? For example, what percentage of our money should we be spending on housing, transportation, etc.

Here is a general guideline for major spending categories.

Typical Spending Percentages
Giving 10 – 15%
Saving 10 – 15%
Housing 15 – 35% (including utilities)
House Payment < 25% (including escrowed taxes, insurance, PMI)
Transportation 10 – 20% (including gasoline, taxes, insurance, & repairs)
Food  10 – 20%
Clothing 5 – 10%
Other Debt < 10% (not including house and car payment)
Entertainment 5 – 10%
All other 5 – 10% 

Hope this helps!  If you have a question, you can ask it HERE. 

Read Recent Posts