Hope
New Tool! Announcing the Time Budget
In November 2006, I wrote about the power of budgeting your time! It works the same as budgeting your money!
Similarities between money and time.
- You have limited income AND time.
- You can only spend a dollar AND an hour once and then it is gone!
- Planned money and planned time goes farther and is less susceptible to waste.
- Both money and time are valuable!
I have now added two new Time Budgets to the TOOLS page.
One Time Budget is in 1/2-hour increments and the other is in 1-hour increments.
How are you spending your time? Are you accomplishing everything you hoped for? I highly recommend a time budget – especially for ensuring that the family spends a lot of time together. The Sangl's have used the time budget to ensure that "Family Game Nights" and "Daddy-Daughter Date Nights" are on the schedule. You don't want to miss out on these, and a time budget is a great to way to ensure that they happen regularly!
Have fun!
Saving Money
CNNMoney.com had a great article about American's savings status on April 11, 2007 titled Have Less Than $25K In Savings? Get In Line
It is sobering and backs up what I have been saying about American's spending habits! We are spending ourselves to oblivion!
Key Points
- Nearly half of all workers saving for retirement have savings that fall short of the $25,000 mark …
- Overall, 40 percent of respondents said they are not currently saving for retirement while 34 percent said they didn't have ANY retirement money saved whatsoever. A full 25 percent, meanwhile, said they had no savings at all – retirement or otherwise!
This makes me want to CRY!!! What are we thinking? That some magical fairy will show up at retirement and pay all of our bills? Are we so oblivious to this epidemic that we can't see it or have we just chosen to ignore it?
Read that key point again! Forty percent are not saving for retirement right now!!! What are they going to do? What are their plans?
Folks, this crusade is so HUGE! I need your help in reaching others! Have you spoken to your friends and family about this?
It is NOT HARD! It is NOT hocus pocus … it is FOCUS pocus! It takes about 2 hours to sit down and put together an INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO budget! The tools are free on www.JosephSangl.com! Just click on TOOLS at the top of the page!
Go tell your neighbors! Go tell your friends! Go tell your family! Invite them over for dinner! Show them what you are doing that has changed your entire financial future! Show them that it can be done! Show them that there is HOPE! Show them that you are there to help them!
Let's reach America and show them a better way!
Financial Counseling
Over the past three months, I have been able to meet with 123 people in 81 different one-on-one financial counseling appointments.
What an amazing quarter! I have been honored to meet each person and hear their story.
Here are some key things I have learned through these counseling sessions.
- Couples who work together on their finances are in better financial condition than couples who do not work together.
- People who give faithfully rarely have huge, burdensome financial problems.
- People want HELP/HOPE not REPROACH/DISAPPROVAL (they already know that they have a problem!)
- Some people will just flat-out refuse to learn.
- You have no idea how much debt your neighbor/friend/relative has!
- People have big dreams/ideas/plans, but have no idea how much it will cost to accomplish them.
- It does not matter how much you make, only how much you give/save/spend.
- People pay way too much for insurance.
- Car payments are an epidemic.
- Saving money is a foreign concept for many people.
- Once shown a better way (INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO), most people will immediately switch!
- Schools are doing an awful job of teaching money management.
- Parents are doing an even worse job of teaching money management.
What have you learned as you have learned to manage your money better?