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!

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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?

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For example, the below video (can’t see it – click HERE) has had over 50 MILLION views.   50,000,000!

Now, I love kitty cats.   My family has two of them.   Here is an alarming fact, however.

Watching kitties will make us smile for a few minutes, but failing to learn how to win with our finances can make us frown for decades.

So … watch the kitty video, smile, and then start learning about how to make your money work for you to fund your dreams so that you can smile for decades!   A good place to start is the “How Do I Budget Series” HERE.

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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!

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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!

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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?

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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!

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“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?

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5 Things You Can Do To Prepare Financially

1. Use the Mini-Budget (HERE) to write down every person for whom you are purchasing a gift. Use this tool to determine how much you are going to spend for each person.
2. Set a target savings amount. Your Mini-Budget will help you establish your goal!
3. Save an equal amount per paycheck. Divide your total goal amount by the number of paychecks you will receive between now and Christmas.   For example, if your goal is $720 and you are going to receive 5 paychecks between now and Christmas, you should save $144/paycheck.
4. Be ready for Black Friday! My friend, The Saving Freak, always runs an annual series on Thanksgiving week helping people prepare to take advantage of amazing deals on the weekend following Thanksgiving.   Look at your newspapers and on-line deals – and have the money ready to take advantage of terrific savings!
5. Stick to the plan! No matter what happens – do NOT overspend the plan!   By taking the time to plan now, you will greatly improve your chances of success this Christmas!

Repeat after me – “NO DEBT THIS CHRISTMAS!”

How have you prepared to pay for Christmas this year?

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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?

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