I am a lone parent, so how that differs from a single parent is that my children’s father is not involved in their lives financially or with his time. In that sense, I have had to support them by myself and, at times, have had to get creative to provide for them. I have gotten really good over the years at generating income from nothing, so now I’m teaching others the steps I took to figure out what they have to offer that can be monetized.

You talk about raising your daughter alone. Help me understand it better. What are some of the challenges of being a single mom?

The biggest challenge is financial.  I have always been able to provide for my family…at times when I didn’t know how I was going to make it, God always showed up and provided. Christmas was always stressful, I needed to earn extra money to provide a Christmas experience.  Some of the things I have done to provide Christmas are making 18 cases of homemade salsa and selling it, parking vehicles in my driveway for nearby events, and photography. The other challenge is getting time for rest.  There is no one else available to help pick up the slack…I’m the shopper, the laundress, the cleaner, the chef, the landscaper, the maintenance man (I have repaired and replaced my dishwasher myself), the snuggler, the tea party player, and the breadwinner.  Having a community around you for support is crucial.  I am grateful when a friend shows up at my house hands me my purse and my keys and tells me not to come back for 3 hours.

I love your pottery stuff. What inspires you to create and how did you get started?

Pottery was something I always wanted to try, it was on my bucket list.  December 2018 was a Christmas gift to myself to take classes.  I loved it. I learned quickly and had a natural talent for it.  Pottery has been a creative outlet for me as well as an outlet to get out of frustration…nothing like slamming some mud to work out aggression!

Do you have an online portal where you sell your pottery creations?

I sell my pottery mostly in person at hand-made shows and also have an Etsy portal: nicoleventurapottery.etsy.com

What does women’s empowerment mean to you?

Women stepping into the power they possess and not being afraid to take up space in a room.

Talk to me about the city you live in and why we should visit.

I live in Hamilton, Ontario.  I’ve lived here for 17 years.  I’m originally from a very small town in northern Ontario. Hamilton has that small-town feel of being a blue-collar city.  People here are real and don’t have an ounce of pretense.

How do you balance food, faith, finance, and family?

I don’t believe there is balance. However, with that, I believe that priorities are never in conflict so whatever the priority is at the time gets my attention.  My faith always gets my attention first, after that it is whatever the priority is.

Do you have any advice for my readers who are 25 years old?

Don’t wait until you’re older to not care what other people think of you…the sooner you realize that whatever they think of you has everything to do with them and nothing to do with you the sooner you step into your full power as a woman.

The post Single Mom With a Purpose appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Introduction

The surge and rise in prices of goods and services in an economy are called inflation. The increment in price results in your currency buying fewer goods and services resulting in the decreasing purchasing power of your money.

As I am revising this article, the inflation rate in Canada and the U.S. is around 8% the highest in four decades.

I am going to write about what I have been doing to save money during this inflationary period.

I have spent more than 25 years in the financial services industry. I have lent money, managed money, traded money, and seen two recessions, the tech crash in 2000, 9/11, 2008, and now 2022. The COVID-19 crisis was an outlier or a Black Swan. The challenge with the COVID-19 crisis is that we had to quarantine ourselves, as countries around the world had been hit by a pandemic that was merciless, carcinogenic, and catholic. The knife was in the stomach, turned around and salt is being rubbed in the form of a shortage of many goods, disruption in supply chains, hoarding, and inflation.

I would strongly recommend that you create a budget and stick with it. Inflation kills your budget.

The future is uncertain and the times are scary. However, we will overcome it.

One question on your mind is whether you will come out ahead financially at the end of this. Here is what I am doing to deal with inflation and save money.

Save on Car Insurance

It is easy to save if you own two cars. Debbie has a short drive to work. I am working from home. We will be driving the car once a week to get groceries. This month, I called the insurance agent and took one car off the insurance. Total savings is $125.

Save on Cell phone, cable, internet

As a loyal customer with a provider, you have to negotiate and it can save you money. I called my provider and negotiated better rates for the cell and internet. I switched to IPTV where I get 5,000 channels and only pay $15 a month. Total savings is $50.

Hair color for Debbie

Debbie used to go to a salon for coloring her hair. I learned how to color her hair. Total savings  $125.

Cutting grass

I have a huge lot and for the last couple of years had a professional company cut my grass three times a month. I am going to cut the grass this year. Total savings $100.

Save by Working from home

I requested to work from home. It saves me two hours a day stuck in traffic. I am saving $160 in gas and $50 in parking. Total savings $210.

Cooking at home

I am cooking all my meals at home. I used to eat out pretty often. No need for Uber Eats or Door Dash. Total savings $150.

Cut the non-essentials

Inflation could last for a while. No one knows if another wave of COVID-10 will come. So, the more money you save, it can sustain you.

Refinance, consolidate and lower your rates

If you have many loans, lines of credit, and credit cards, I recommend you refinance your mortgage and consolidate. This way you will have only one payment. Call your banker and lower your interest rate. I recommend Ashish Lala. He is the best in the business.  Continue to invest in conservative stocks that will give you a dividend and ask for a raise.

I hope some of these tips will help you to save money during these inflationary times.

Photo Credits: Tonik  Richard Burlton Andraz Lazic Andre Gaulin Diogo Brandao Max Ilienerwise Becca Tapert Anastase Maragos Sharon McCutcheon

The post Tips on how to save money and fight inflation appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Do you want to save money? Here are my favorite quotes on saving money.

Never spend your money before you have it. – Thomas Jefferson

Do not save what is left after spending; instead, spend what is left after saving. – Warren Buffett

He who buys what he does not need is stealing from himself. – Swedish Proverb

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. – Henry David Thoreau

Therefore, it is not how much you make, but how much you save that matters.

It was 2001. I was a young, aggressive, investment advisor on Bay Street. A call came in and being the broker of the day I answered.

Meeting potential clients

The caller was in his late 30’s, an executive in the hydro business and his wife was a marketing executive. They had two kids. He wanted to meet with me as he needed help to save money and start saving for retirement.

Are you kidding me? Sure…. It was an opportunity of a lifetime.

I called the wife and told her I would be late for dinner.

I am dressed to kill. The car is washed. I am ready to make an impression. I am ready to open an account and help this couple save money.

I drive around and check the hood. I see a Mercedes and BMW parked outside their home.

I am excited. My heart is beating fast. I have my pitch perfected.

I ring the doorbell and they welcome me.

Zero Savings

After the basic get to know chat, we sit down to have a more serious conversation. The numbers are impressive. They have a total family income of 250,000 plus bonuses. I can work with that. I can give them tips on how to save money.

After that, I ask how much do you save at the end of the month?

Their face completely changed. They had zero savings.

The monthly payment for the mortgage was $ 3,000, each car was leased for $ 500, private school per child was $ 2,000, trips, vacation and eating out took the rest.

I made some recommendations that included some lifestyle changes to be made in order to reach their goals and how to save money.

As a result, I left empty-handed and never heard from them.

As a VP with a US discretionary manager, I covered Ontario and Manitoba. I would only go to see a potential client who had a minimum of $ 750,000 to invest.

I flew to Sudbury to see a surgeon, an executive in the construction business and a retired janitor.

How to save money

As a result, I googled the home of the janitor and it was not impressive. To be honest it was in a derelict state. I thought to myself he probably wants free information on our stock picks and is not interested in our services.

I went to see him at 5 pm and he preferred that we sit out in the balcony. After the usual small talk, I explained a little about our services and asked him the usual getting to know your client questions. I asked him about his net worth and he did not have a clue. He brought out two statements from different banks and the total was about $2.5 million.

As I am looking at all his holdings, he tells me he also has some share certificates and bonds. He brings about 30 share certificates and bonds and they consist of all blue-chip stocks listed in Toronto and New York.  His liquid net worth came to approximately $5 million.

I recommended that he convert them to electronic shares.

Above all, I was fascinated. I wanted to know his story.

He shared that he started off as an 18-year-old janitor and saved a lot of his money and invested in shares. He retired at 55. He was not interested in impressing anyone. He lived within his means and took vacations. Overall, he lived a simple life. He did want to leave a legacy with a few charities. He was good at saving money.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if there is something, I have learned from being two decades in wealth management is that it is not how much you make but how much you save.

It is important to go out, travel, spend time with family, and do other fun stuff but it has to be within your means.

Photo Credits: Michael Longmire Vanessa Lee Javier Reyes Zan Allef Vinicius Benedikt Geyer

The post Its Not How Much You Make But….How Much You save appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Money touches everything. It affects how we sleep, how we eat, how we raise our children, and how we dream about the future. Yet too often, we treat finances like a separate compartment of life, disconnected from faith, family, and well-being.

What if we approached money the way we approach health, looking at the whole picture instead of isolated parts?

In this conversation, Jason Trueman, Portfolio Manager with Cumberland Private Wealth Management, shares why a holistic approach to household finances matters. From buying a quality mattress to investing with discipline, Jason explains how thoughtful spending, long-term vision, and balance can create not just wealth, but freedom and peace of mind.

Welcome to Four Columns, where food, faith, finance, and family are not separate conversations, but part of the same story.

Jason, welcome to Four Columns, a holistic blog on food, faith, finance, and family. Please tell me a little about yourself.

I am a Portfolio Manager with Cumberland Private Wealth Manager. Cumberland is headquartered in Toronto. I work with a talented team in Kingston, Ontario, including a CFP, CA, CPA, and TEP, providing holistic wealth management services for successful Canadian families and business owners.

How did you end up in personal finance?

I graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree. I received my CFA charter in 2001. I started my career as an Underwriter with Chubb Insurance. I was recruited by AIG and worked in Bermuda for 7 years before returning to Kingston to raise our young family in 2010.

Give me three tips on how to have a holistic approach to personal finance?

Control your spending by buying things you need and on an average cost basis (i.e. you will spend one-third of your life on a mattress so buy a good one).

Be disciplined with your investing. Buy dominant companies with great management who care about both their customers and their shareholders (these are rare and require work to find).

There is a balance between disciplined spending and enjoying your life; life is short so if you need a trip or a new car or new shoes to enjoy your life then spend the money.

What happens when we live on credit cards and not on our salary?

Credit cards that you pay off in full on a monthly basis and never pay interest on and accumulate rewards are great. When you overspend and pay exorbitant interest living beyond your means then you will suffer from difficult financial decisions and increasing stress.

How important is it to have a budget as part of a holistic approach to our personal finance?

I find long-term goals are helpful in providing meaning to your actions like why am I going to work and saving for my child’s education or retirement. Budgets help keep your life and spending in order; like a calendar and daily to-do lists.

What are some important tips to start saving?

Paying off your higher interest-bearing debt is most important. Taking advantage of government savings programs like RESPs, RRSPs and TFSAs is enormously important as well. Again, buying things you need (healthy food, a quality mattress) instead of buying things you want for status and cost a lot on a per-use basis (the tenth pair of shoes, vacation properties) is critically important.

How do you balance faith, food, finance, and family?

I believe in humanity; if we all do our part to contribute, we collectively accomplish amazing things. If you don’t spend money on healthy food then you’ll pay the price with poor health and physical limitations. Finance is about independence; ideally, a career doing something you enjoy while creating financial freedom to do nothing if you so choose. Raising kind, caring and confident children who find something productive they love to do in life are our number one job as parents.

Can you recommend some great restaurants in Kingston?

Kingston has an enormous array of awesome restaurants – having 35,000 students in the city helps. I prefer local family-owned restaurants such as Tango, Woodenheads, and Harpers.

You manage money for the wealthy, what have you learned from the experience? Do they have a holistic approach?

Success usually requires some form of sacrifice at some stage in their life. For many that mean focusing on academic excellence instead of always finding the nearest party. For others, that means pursuing an idea, a vision, and taking on considerable financial risk, and working excessive hours to make their dream a reality.

How important is food to you?

Food has an enormous impact on how you feel and how you look. Humanity would benefit from healthier eating with lower health care costs, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and an overall more productive society and cleaner earth.

The post Holistic Approach to Household Finances appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Financial well-being is more than numbers on a spreadsheet. It is about freedom, security, dignity, and the ability to live a life aligned with your values. In a world shaped by economic uncertainty and changing lifestyles, money management has become a critical life skill rather than just a technical discipline.

“My Way of Viewing” was created as a space to explore financial wisdom, practical money strategies, and ideas for living a life that is not trapped by debt but supported by thoughtful planning. Finance is one of the essential pillars of a balanced life, along with emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.

I have always believed that learning from different perspectives helps us grow. Conversations with fellow thinkers and bloggers allow us to explore personal finance beyond formulas and into the realities of everyday life.

In this discussion with Good Nelly, we explore financial behaviour differences, smart money habits, debt management, emergency savings, and the meaning of financial empowerment, especially in a world shaped by the COVID-19 experience.

Nelly, do men, and women have a different approach to their finances and money management strategies?

Yes, I feel that usually men and women have different approaches to finances. Mostly, men like to take risks, whereas women are relatively more cautious and give importance to security. In most households, men take the initiative of managing finances. However, statistics say that the life expectancy of women is relatively longer than that of men. Therefore, women should take an active part in managing household finances.

Women are more cost-conscious. However, in general, women earn less than their male counterparts. So, even if they can save more, it’s less in amount. Several pieces of research reveal that women can save about 10% of their salary, whereas men can save about 8% of their income.

Talk to me about how to live like a rich person on a budget is one of the most amazing money management strategies?

There are several money management strategies. You don’t have to be a millionaire to enjoy the life of a rich person.

Here are a few money management strategies you can follow:

• Drive a second-hand high-end vehicle if you want to
• Take a note of the discount sale times and buy branded garments, or you can buy branded garments from outlet stores too
• Shop at the end of the day to get lucrative discounts; one shouldn’t compromise on eating healthy to live like a rich person
• Keep a note and travel before or after the peak season; the hotel rates are relatively lower that time
• Hire designer attire, instead of buying them, to attend parties

Above all, try to increase your net worth. Plan your finances such that you can have a better financial future.  

I have paid my monthly credit card balance since university. What are the dangers of making only the minimum payment and using the credit card as your checking account?

It is one of the primary reasons to fall into debt if you make minimum payments on your credit cards. When you make only the minimum payments, the interest gets accrued on the unpaid balance every month. So, outstanding balance increases. With time, it becomes difficult to repay outstanding balance and you have to look for a suitable debt elimination plan to repay dues. So, always try to pay back your dues at every billing cycle.

Avoid using your credit card like a checking account. When you use your credit card to take out money, you have to pay an extra charge, a cash advance fee. Why will you waste your hard-earned money like this?

Debt is a scary word. I always talk about good debt and bad debt, What is the difference?

Being in debt is not good. Even a good debt can become bad if you can’t manage it properly. However, there are some good debts like taking out a mortgage loan or a student loan. A mortgage loan helps you to buy a home, which in turn, helps you to increase your net worth. But, you should manage your home loan properly and pay it back on time. Likewise, a student loan helps you to earn a degree and secure a good job.

However, bad debt may be a payday loan or a credit card debt. When you can’t repay a payday loan on time, you have to pay quite a high interest on it. And, if you don’t clear your credit card balance at every billing cycle, you have to pay interest on it. Therefore, it is better to avoid such debts. But, credit cards help to build credit scores; only that you need to repay the balance at every billing cycle.

The COVID 19 crisis has taught us to save for a rainy day. I believe in saving at least three months. What is your opinion on this?

I always suggest having an emergency fund worth about 5-6 months of your living expenses for your rainy days. So, calculate how much you spend every month. Try to save about six times that figure into your emergency fund for your rainy days.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many people are losing jobs. An emergency fund can come to a great help during these tough times.

And, be careful of not using your fund unless it’s a real emergency. And, when you use the fund, try to replenish it as fast as possible.

Help me understand what women empowerment means to you?

By women empowerment, I mean being self-sufficient and being able to make correct decisions without anyone’s help. By financial empowerment, I mean women should be able to manage their assets and money. They should be able to plan a budget through which they can save a decent amount of money every month. Single women should be able to make good decisions to grow their money to have a better financial future. And, as a couple, a woman should be able to make decisions for the financial well being of the family.

I am a big believer in having our emotional, spiritual, mental, and financial aspects of our life balanced. Please comment?

Yes, absolutely. I always believe in balancing life, balancing personal and professional life. We have to strike a balance between our emotional, spiritual, mental, and financial aspects of our life.

If we are emotionally not happy, we won’t be able to look after the happiness of our family members and concentrate on work. So, achieving emotional and mental stability is a must. Everyone needs to have ‘me’ time to attain emotional and mental stability. Spiritual stability can be achieved by helping others and forgiving others. One should live life according to certain principles set by himself/herself. Financial stability can be achieved by planning a realistic budget and following it. It can help to be financially secure and live life stress-free. In turn, it helps to achieve mental stability too.

There are times we need credit and financial counseling. Talk to me about the advantages of this?

When you can’t manage finances on your own, you should go for credit and financial counseling. A financial counselor can assess your financial situation and offer suggestions and tips by following which you can manage your financial life in a  better way. When you can’t manage your finances even after following the advice, a credit counselor can also offer a debt elimination plan in the form of a debt management program, through which you can repay debt with professional help.

When you go for counseling, you get to know where you’re doing wrong, which you might be overlooking. So, you can consult a good financial counselor when you want help to manage your finances.

A financial counselor can help you avoid debt or solve debt problems, offer budgeting tips, and advice for a better financial future.

Money can be used as a positive force in our lives.  Help me understand this statement?

Money is a positive force in our lives. When we can manage our money well, we can live life stress-free, which in turn, improves our physical and mental health. We can see money as a result of our hard work. We have to work hard to earn. Growing money denotes that we have better money management skills. When you respect money, you can make your life organized. By this, I mean you have to track your money regularly. Money also increases your self-esteem. When you can increase your net worth, you have the power to look after yourself and your family, not only now, but in the future too.

The post Secret Money Management Strategies During a Crisis appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Money and holidays go hand in hand.

There is so much to do. You have to buy gifts, visit family and friends, and bring stuff to each of those visits.

If one is not careful, the bills can pile up, and January can become a scary month. However, it does not have to turn out that way. Have a budget, set up a list, pay cash, do some free stuff for people, volunteer, give your time, do not buy on credit, do not buy last minute, give practical gifts, use coupons or online sales, and have fun.

Enjoy the holidays, rejuvenate and get ready for the new year.

I talk to Hope, who is a blogger at UndertheMedian and we discuss how to stay within a budget and to use your money wisely during the holidays.

Hope, a pleasure to have you onboard and talk about one of my favorite topics, money and household finances. I love your name Hope and please tell my audience a little about you?

My husband, Larry, and I have been married for 31 years and are the proud parents of four sons – age 11-23. I have a degree in Radio and Television, working for a local radio station for 12 years, before leaving the full-time workforce when I had children.

Since then, I’ve provided voiceover talent for such prestigious companies as Pioneer Hybrid International and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I sing the second soprano and have been a featured soloist for the highly-acclaimed Heritage Ensemble, am a frequent and popular speaker at the APACHE Homeschooling convention, civic, and church groups. I teach literature and public speaking in the high school department at Peoria Cooperative Academy. I have written multiple guest posts for websites, including Crystal Paine (Money Saving Mom) and Change Your Finances. Finally, I blog and give tips on living with a spirit of joy and abundance on a shoestring budget.

What is Under the Median all about? Why should we read it? Who is your audience?

When my husband and I married in 1988, we were each making $5 an hour. Three months later, our bank account registered ZERO! We had a choice to make. Would we continue our current spending habits and sink into debt, or look our situation square in the face, embrace delayed gratification, and learn to live within our means?

We chose to take the bull by the horns, set goals, and figure out how to live lean. Four years later, we purchased our first home with a 20% down payment. We paid off our 15-year mortgage in just 5 years. Then, 12 years later, we purchased our current home with cash. We did it all while raising 4 sons on an income that was consistently under the national US median income.

My blog, Under the Median, was born three years ago out of a desire to teach others how to not only cut costs but also to live with a spirit of joy and abundance while doing it! Encouragement and practical advice are huge parts of my blog. Anyone who wants tips on how to live within their means, save money, and create memories without spending money, will enjoy reading my blog.

You talk a lot about budgeting. What is it and why is it important to talk about money?

Some people get very uncomfortable when you begin speaking about budgeting, but, really, they shouldn’t. A budget is a monthly spending plan, giving each dollar that you earn a job to do. It’s not about being in a financial straight jacket. It’s about giving yourself freedom, knowing that you can spend money on that latte, as long as you have budgeted for it. I often tell people that no one is excused from setting short, medium, and long-term goals. In fact, if you make a less-than-average income, written goals are critical to your success.

It is not how much money you make but how much you save. Please comment?

Absolutely! We, personally, live in a neighborhood that is full of people who make several times what we do. My husband works at the local police department and has had captains and sergeants ask him how we bought a home in our neighborhood. We could afford to live here because we had a plan and worked diligently to make it happen. It was a long, hard road to achieve that goal.

Also, you have to remember that “money problems” do not just affect those who make little money. Often, folks who make a higher-than-average income, have never learned the principles of budgeting. You have to approach it as though it is a skill – because it is! The good thing is, anyone can do it! You don’t need a college degree or lots of money to make it happen. Information about how to save money and successfully budget are available for FREE. All you have to do is look for it! I’ve been budgeting for 30 years and I still check out finance books from the library. Why? Because there is always something more that I can learn.

December is the holiday season and stressful for many people with gifts and travel. How can people make it easier by spending the money they have?

I love this question! I teach a 3-pronged holiday strategy.

Be authentic and honest

There is nothing more wonderful than sharing warm moments with family and friends. However, the pressure to attend functions and spend money is very real!  It’s enough to leave you distraught, confused, and emotionally devastated. You can’t do it all – physically, financially, or emotionally. So, don’t try.  Be upfront and honest with every single person who comes to you with a request or an expectation. Answer sincerely and with a smile.

Set realistic expectations and boundaries

Boundaries are HUGE during the holidays, especially when it comes to family dynamics. It’s okay to tell your siblings that you won’t be contributing $100 toward Mom and Dad’s gift this year. Instead, you can afford $50. It’s okay to tell friends that you’d love to meet them for a drink, but you already allocated your restaurant money for the month. Better yet, invite them to your place for a pot luck dinner and then play board games or watch cheesy Christmas movies. It’s okay to set limits on how much you will spend on gifts. When was the last time you opened a gift and said, “Wow!  This is great!  How much did it set you back?”  I would venture to say that never have such crass words come from your lips.  So, it is highly unlikely that any friend or loved one will utter them either.

Create margin and memories

If looking at your December calendar is giving you hives, then do what you need to do to make it manageable. I advise that people pick several days and a pencil in “evening at home”. This gives you emotional permission to take time out to just breathe, read a book, and sip a drink by the light of the Christmas tree. Taking time for self-care is SO important when your schedule is a little wild.

Finally, you must remember that creating meaningful moments does not always mean spending a lot of money. We never had money while raising the boys, but we discovered several annual events, which were free or nearly free. As the boys got older, they told us which ones were most important to them. In fact, when our oldest was home from college for Thanksgiving, all six of us gathered in the living room, and everyone scheduled into their phone, the dates and times of this year’s holiday family events. My boys did not want to miss any of our family traditions!

How are household finances and money different as a single, married, and married with kids?

I remind married couples that they are a team! Just like a football player would never start passing when he was supposed to be blocking or tackling, you can’t go off in your own direction when you are married. Generally, one person in a relationship is a spender and the other is a saver. You need each other to find balance. I am the saver, but I need my husband to periodically say, “We have the money saved for this trip. It’s okay to relax and spend the money.” Conversely, he needs me to tell him, “No, we can’t afford that new big, screen television until next year” Then, I follow up with a timeline. “If we save $100 a month, we should have enough money in six months.”

The other thing you need to take into consideration is your partner’s communication and learning style. Larry is concrete-sequential. He doesn’t like anything that is nebulous. He likes a carefully thought out plan for nearly everything. When I began budgeting, my husband was pretty doubtful that we’d be able to reach any financial goals. Remember, we were both making $5 an hour. I realized that he needed to see my plan in black and white. So, I created a chart, delineating where we were financially now, a preliminary budget plan, and a timeline of when we would reach that first big goal (which was paying cash for a car). His reaction was like night and day! Once he could see that there were a clear path and a plan that we could set in motion, he was “in”!

Being married with kids is a whole new ball game! As parents, we want to give our kids the world. I remind people to think deeply about what really and truly counts in life. We need to develop our children’s character, their work ethic, their compassion for others, and their awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses. Your children need your love, affirmation, guidance, and time. None of which will cost you money! We spent a huge amount of time with our boys, deliberately creating moments every week of family bonding and fellowship. My grown sons have thanked us again and again for letting them know that they were loved and cherished.

Having said that, I’m a HUGE proponent of teaching financial principles at an early age. We give our sons an allowance from age 5-14 and it is tied to weekly chores and work. When they turn 14, we have a coming-of-age celebration! They receive special gifts from us, a ceremony, a blessing from my husband, and a party for family and friends. At age 14 we also stop paying them an allowance. Instead, we “invest in their dreams”, matching 50% of the amount that they earn toward their own, personal goals. They must earn their half by working for someone besides us. At age 16, they reach financial independence. We pay for all school-related expenses, healthcare, and food. They get a job, pay for their portion of the car insurance, purchase their own cell phone, and pay for all personal items and expenses. We match the first $2000 that they save toward a car.

Our sons knew very early in life that we would not pay for their college experience. We simply could not do it. They were encouraged to get good grades, participate in extra-curricular activities, and define their strengths and interests. Our oldest son will graduate debt-free in May of 2020, with 2 associate’s degrees and 1 bachelor’s degree. He won several scholarships, including a full-tuition offer to transfer to an amazing, small, private, Christian university. Our second son chose not to attend university. Instead, he is pursuing a career in IT. His passion for all things electronic has been clear since he was very young. Not only does his employer deeply appreciate his work ethic and commitment to the company, but they are also paying for all of his certifications.

I tell single people that they should not “go it alone”. No man (or woman) should be an island.

Get an accountability partner. It’s honestly lonely for someone who is single and is struggling with making ends meet or is deeply in debt. It can be debilitating to feel alone. They need to pick someone who will support their goals, not be afraid to lovingly be honest with them, and give them a sounding board. I mention the ability to call that partner if you are in the mall and that Kate Spade bag is calling your name. They will be able to tell you to put the plastic away and save up for it.

Give me three tips on how we can save money and have a meaningful holiday season?

There are three major steps that I tell people to take to get through the holidays without breaking the bank.

Get accountable. Don’t do Christmas alone and don’t “wing it”!

I will tell you with absolute transparency that the opinions of others have always mattered very much to me.  I love to make people happy and nothing breaks my spirit more than knowing that I have disappointed a friend or family member.  At Christmas, my husband and I spent out of guilt, feeling that we needed to make everyone happy.

It also became clear in a really short order that my annual spending spree had to stop! It was time for intellectual and emotional honesty with one another. We had to negotiate what traditions stayed and which ones needed to be cut. We had to partner together to get through December without a holiday hangover in January.

If you are not married, I highly recommend that you get an accountability partner.  This person should be trustworthy and willing to be firm, but honest with you.

Plan a realistic Christmas budget

One of the mistakes that people make is creating a gift list and then stopping there. First of all, that gift list needs to include how much you intend to spend on each person. Just going to the mall or heading to Amazon will spell certain disaster if you have no idea how much you can reasonably spend.

Secondly, I include everything related to the holidays: gifts, decorations, special dinners, supplies, high-priced ingredients that I don’t generally buy, stocking stuffers, and events like annual plays or musicals. I try to think of everything that may need to be added to my holiday budget and list it.

Shop wisely

Don’t hop on the “whatever is popular” bandwagon. Usually, those items are not only hard to find, but they are also expensive. Remember the Cabbage Patch dolls in the 1980s? There were physical riots trying to grab them off the shelves. Instead, put some thought into items that are meaningful. They should also fit into your budget, of course. You may consider visiting shops that stock lightly used items. Also, pay with cash. When you do, statistically you spend 20% less.

You have been married for three decades and raise four children. Give my readers some tips on being a wife and a mother?

As a mother, I took great pleasure in the challenge to create moments of family bonding for little or no money. For instance, because we had absolutely no money to go out to eat, we took the boys on Friday night picnics. Every Friday, we packed up whatever I had made for supper, a board game, read-aloud book, or some music, and headed off to a local park that overlooked the river. Both of my older sons voted “Friday night picnics” as their absolute favorite memory while growing up.

One of the other important roles of being a mother is being a sounding board for your kids without becoming a helicopter parent. My boys always knew that they could talk to me about anything – and they did! However, they also learned that if they were not looking for solutions, but for sympathy, they would preface the conversation with, “Mom, I just need you to listen”.

Another super important concept I talk about when I speak to parents is allowing your children to be their own person. They are not carbon copies of you. They come with their own set of strengths and weaknesses, their own desires and goals, their own individual bent and calling in life. Our role, as parents, is to help them discover the talents that God has birthed in them and then facilitating a pathway for them to move in that direction.

You talk a lot about your faith in your blog. Walk me through this faith and how has it helped you?

Being Christians has had a huge impact on our view of money. We believe that ultimately God provides for all our needs. We also understand that God has given us our income. We are stewards of it, not only to meet our own needs but also to reach out beyond our own family and impact the lives of others. Many times, when goals seemed insurmountable or stress mounted, my husband and I would take to our knees together and pray for help and for guidance. Having a frame of reference which includes a Divine impartation of strength has been absolutely critical in every area of our lives.

Talk to me about a time you face something really challenging and how you overcame it?

Probably the biggest hurdle we have ever surmounted was paying cash for our home. In the fall of 2008, at 3:30 pm, three of my children had just come inside from playing in the front yard. At that moment, a drug dealer ran through the front yard, closely followed by the police. This was not the first time that chaos had erupted in our neighborhood. Sadly, gunshots and break-ins were becoming all too commonplace. My husband looked at me and wordlessly mouthed, “When can we move?” I did the quickest calculations I had ever done in my life!  Here’s how the situation looked on paper.

We owned our current home.

We had some savings.

My husband made $40,000 a year.

We needed an additional $60,000 to move to a better neighborhood.

We gave ourselves two years to save money. If we couldn’t eat it or wear it, we didn’t buy it. We cut every penny possible from our already tight budget. Every extra dollar that came into the house, went into the “house fund”. We communicated more effectively than we ever had in our married life. We prayed as a family every night and thanked God for making a way where there seemed to be none. We grabbed onto that great, big, nearly impossible goal with both hands and refused to let go!

Twenty months later, we had saved 37% of my husband’s income. In August of 2010, we paid cash for a three-bedroom, two-bath, brick home in a very good neighborhood.

The post Money and Holidays appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Liz is the creator behind Minding My Thirties, a financially focused blog where she discusses the necessary evil that affects us all, money, debt, and finances. For her, money doesn’t have to be so evil. In fact, money can work for us. It can actually be the tool that lets us spend more time with our family, travel the world, or learn a new skill. It can give us time, which is really freedom after all.’

Liz’s goal with her blog is to ‘understand how to better harness’ money. She got her Eureka moment when her credit card got declined for a $7 beer. She had $70,000 in student loans and consumer debt. She researched money management and personal investing to pay down her debts and also save for her future. She became more aware of her personal finances, gained control of her money, and became debt-free at the age of 30.

Just like families evolve in our 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, so do our finances. I interviewed Liz on finances in our 30s.

Liz, a pleasure to have a fellow financial blogger on Four Columns. Please tell me a little about yourself.

Thanks, Jerry! Well, I’m a 30-something-year-old American expat living in Germany with my (German) partner, Timo. We left the States, Chicago to be specific, in January of 2020. Despite the global pandemic, we’ve been settling well and embracing a slower lifestyle here in Germany. Back in Chicago, I was working for a high-end interior design firm as a Designer, collaborating on residential projects all over the country. I’ve always been passionate about design in any realm possible, from graphics to interiors to website design. I think what I love most is that design is much like storytelling, which is probably what piques my interest when it comes to blogging.

But after finishing my graduate degree in interior design, I found myself in about $70K of combined student loan and consumer debt. I spent most of my late twenties working to get out of debt as quickly as possible. I also dedicated a good chunk of time towards understanding finances and learning how to manage and invest my money for the long haul. Somewhere along the way, I discovered minimalism and the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) lifestyle. I was hooked! I decided to start blogging about personal finances as a way to document everything I was learning and to connect with others going through the same experiences when it comes to money.

Since then I’ve focused my time on prioritizing my personal values, financial goals, and building quality relationships while removing the excess from my life. While tackling my finances and adopting a minimalist lifestyle I’ve become more mindful of how I spend two of my most valuable resources: money and time. My long-term goal is to be able to remove money from the equation altogether by achieving financial independence. In doing so, I’d like to be able to make decisions based on where I see value and opportunity – and not just a paycheck.

I love your blog and graphics. What made you decide to become a financial blogger?

Thank you! The graphics are a lot of fun to put together. It was kind of the perfect storm with the development of the blog. As I mentioned in my backstory – I spent a ton of time researching personal finances and climbing out of debt myself leading up to our move to Germany. I also knew I would not be able to legally work for a while when we got to Germany. While I do not necessarily intend to make a living off the blog (although a girl can dream, right?), I knew it would be a great opportunity to start one seeing as I had the time to do so.

I also thought it would be a great way to document everything I learned about personal finances. And in doing so, I could offer help to others, which has been the most rewarding part. Most people think they have to have some unique story or niche to start blogging. That’s not necessarily true. Sometimes the best bloggers are the most relatable ones. The ones who have stories and experiences just like you and I. These are the people we can easily connect with. I thought my story and prior relationship with money was very relatable: I had debt. Made a modest salary. No real assets to my name. I didn’t understand how money actually works. Nobody taught me about finances and I didn’t pay someone to handle it for me. Everything I achieved was through hard work and persistence with my financial education. I thought – if I could do it, surely someone else could.

I’d love to be part of the reason someone better understands their finances. I’d love for others to experience this awakening – or – mindfulness when it comes to finances. Because once you’re able to fully harness your money, so many other opportunities open up.

Talk to me about how women can be empowered by having control over their personal finances?

I love this question because taking control of my personal finances has been beyond empowering! Being able to control your money, instead of it controlling you, is freedom. Zero debt and a comfortable saving in place allows you to capitalize on opportunities and take some calculated risks (like moving halfway around the world with no job  ).

When I was about 5 or 6 years old my parents divorced. Leading up to the divorce my mom never really built much of a career as she was focused on taking care of my brother and I. In fact, she was just a semester shy of finishing her masters in creative writing when she became a mother. Of course, you can’t fault my mom for putting us first before her career and finances. Being a mother is in and of itself its own job, and in many ways, being a stay-at-home mom today makes financial sense for some couples.

But throughout much of my childhood, I watched as my mom had to build her career, and finances, from the ground up. Divorce happens, of course. But sadly, it’s usually the women who face financial risk when it does. They are the ones who put their careers and earning potentials, on hold while raising children. And they are the ones that go back to work with a dormant skill set and reduced earning (and a wage gap) after years off. But watching my mom come full circle 25 years later as she is about to retire next year has been an exemplary achievement. One that I admire and respect. It empowers me to continue taking an active approach with my finances. It’s a reminder to pay myself first and make sure my financial future is taken care of regardless of whether or not I get married and have children. I think seeing this type of achievement, especially by other women, can really empower more women to take an active role in their finances.

Oh, and by the way, a few years ago she also finished that last semester of grad school and finally earned her masters! I am very proud of my mom!

How do men and women approach finance differently?

Oof, that’s a loaded (great) question! I think there are many different ways men and women approach finances. But for the sake of keeping this brief, I’ll focus on the investing side of things. Research shows men tend to show more interest and knowledge when it comes to investing. Men also tend to express more confidence, leading them to riskier investments, which ironically means that the women who do invest are actually getting slightly better returns.

But I think a lot of this psychology might be rooted in our cultural norms and traditions since the beginning of mankind. Women and men always had very separate, independent roles from hunter-gatherers all the way until now in modern society. And to some extent, due to biological differences, men and women will continue to have separate roles. But when it comes to finances, men used to dominate the workforce not that long ago. Because of this, I think for most men it was a point of pride, of ‘macho-ness’, to be able to provide and handle the finances. However, I think this is changing now that more and more women are earning a living for themselves or in some cases – becoming the breadwinner of the family! Hopefully, it’s not long before we have more women taking an active, vested role in their finances.

Money is an emotional thing. People do not like to talk about it. Money can also be used to satisfy an urge by shopping or binging on food. However, money can also be used for many good things. Please explain?

Absolutely. There’s a saying that money is a necessary evil. But I’d like to change that mindset. It doesn’t have to be so evil. We just have to know how to better harness it. Money – or at least the opportunities, experiences, and even things money can buy – brings lots of joy to people. It can also solve or ease a lot of problems in the world. One thing I’d like to see more in the financial community in discussions around charity or sustainable spending: how and where we put our money can really make an impact. I’d like to see more people incorporate a dollar amount for charity in their retirement plans or find ways to be sustainable with their dollars: invest in socially responsible companies or shop at local stores. This is something my partner and I are now starting to look into. We’d like to minimize our carbon footprint and find ways to not only do so in our daily lifestyle but ways to financially support the efforts around fighting climate change.

Money, money, money when is it enough?

Ahh, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?! I believe there are three answers to this question, only two of which I can provide data.

There’s the salary, or how much money we need now to be happy now. For most, it’s enough to cover our essentials and pay off debts with some leftover for discretionary spending. According to researchers at Purdue University  the ideal individual income for optimal life satisfaction is $95,000 per year. But our emotional well-being is satiated with just $60,000-$75,000. Of course, this varies across regions, cultures, and individuals.

The second way to answer this question, and the one that is often difficult for people to understand – is how much money do we need in retirement? In fact, only 1 in 10 Americans actually understands how much they need to save for retirement. Our financial education system is failing us!

Here’s how to calculate how much you’ll need in retirement. First, determine your annual spending. This is how much you spend on everything for an entire year (rent/mortgage, car, food, clothing, travel, etc.…). Multiply this number 25 (for a safer, cushier retirement, calculate by 30). If you’re spending $35,000 per year, you’ll need approximately $875,000 ($35,000 x 25) to retire. This also assumes that you’ll withdraw around 4% or less from your investments in retirement. And of course, variables such as asset allocation and the current market will affect the success of this retirement portfolio. This method is not full-proof but it’s a great jumping-off point to get you started. It’s something that should be re-evaluated every year. If your annual expenses go up, your retirement number will too. This is why keeping your lifestyle in check is so important.

And finally, there’s the number of how much money YOU – personally – need to be happy, something I cannot answer. Many people will spend their off-hours ‘hustling’ to earn more with a financial goal in mind: to pay off debt, save for a child’s college or a down payment on a house. I think these are great, commendable reasons to maximize your earning potential. But there are many who approach money with an insatiable mindset – making more just for the sake of making more, or worse – making more to fulfill lifestyle creep. This is dangerous territory. If you don’t understand how much money you need then no amount will make you happy.

How are finances different when you are living alone compared to living with a partner or in a marriage?

I think when you are living with a partner or in a marriage, it’s incredibly helpful to share a financial vision. This can be tough to do as you may have very different views on how to spend and invest money. One of you may be making significantly more than the other, which can also add a point of contention. There are lots of variables at play here. So, I think the key is finding common ground and compromising.

There are also some couples who choose to keep their finances completely separate and split everything down the middle or proportionately to what they make.  This can be a valid approach when you have strongly opposing views on finances. But I still think it’s important to find a common goal or outlook when it comes to shared expenses and work on it together – after all, that is what being in a partnership is all about.

Like most things in life, there’s more than one way to do something. The same goes for money. So, it’s important to keep an open mind and hold judgment when discussing finances with your partner. The best thing you can do is talk about your financial goals early on in the relationship and maintain regular discussions – or check-ins – about your finances.

Of course, living on your own means you are accountable for all the financial decisions. This can be empowering and freeing, but of course, so can being on the same financial page as your partner and having twice the income working towards a shared goal!

I am teaching my daughter about money. I also went to the bank and opened an account for her and gave her a debit card. How important is financial literacy?

Super important! I believe financial literacy should be part of every high school curriculum! That’s wonderful that you are starting her early with a debit card and getting her used to the concept of income versus expenses. I say it’s never too soon to start teaching your children about money.

I never truly understood just how interest on a credit card worked, which is why I found myself in $10K worth of consumer debt. Learning to be fiscally responsible is not usually something that comes naturally to us. After all, money is a man-made construct. There’s nothing innate about our users with it. We may have certain personality types that make us more likely to be savers, frugal spenders, or over-spenders. But many times, these are learned behaviors. Which means anyone can learn how to better manage their finances.

The sad part about our lack of financial literacy is that, without it, our financial decisions could follow us for years or even decades into the future if we don’t understand how money works. Financial literacy is a topic I’m particularly vocal about on my blog and social media.

What are some of the biggest challenges your generation is facing with regard to money?

In many ways, our generation has it easier than those before us. The power of the internet makes not only obtaining knowledge just a keystroke and click away, but so is investing and saving. We have an app for everything. Apps that will itemize our budget for us, automatically roll over our change on purchase into a savings account, or buy index funds. It couldn’t be easier.

However, with the internet comes a lot of noise and distraction. We are constantly being shown ways to consume instead of saving. We see dozens of sensationalized stories every day of how others accumulated wealth in passive and ‘simple’ ways. We see influencers living large doing the bare minimum. I think this can be very de-motivating. To be in constant contact with unattainable, and sometimes falsified, lifestyles and overnight success stories warp our vision of reality.

We are also becoming a culture of instant gratification because of the internet and things like Amazon Prime. Many of us give into immediate wants, such as buying the latest trends (even if we can’t afford it), instead of stashing away a few hundred dollars a month to save for our future wants. Our priorities are out of touch and I really believe the internet has a huge impact on that.

I have always saved 10% of my paycheck. Pls. comment?

10% is a great start! But you should definitely try to increase that. Here’s why: Let’s say you’re making $50,000 a year (after taxes). Saving 10% equates to $5,000 a year, which means you are spending about $45,000 a year. To maintain this lifestyle in retirement you would need about $1,125,000 invested. If you started investing $5,000 a year at 25 years old, you’d still fall short of this goal after 40 years by almost $100,000! This math scales. So even if you are making $100,000 per year but still only saving 10% (or $10,000), you’ve fallen into lifestyle creep and are now spending $90,000 a year. To maintain that lifestyle in retirement you would need about $2,250,000 in the bank. A 10% savings rate would get you to about $2,060,000 – still short!

A more sustainable savings rate is between 15-20%. Try increasing your savings rate by 1% every 3-6 months while reducing other unnecessary expenses. By gradually building up your rate, you’re less likely to feel like you’re pinching pennies or making drastic reductions in your lifestyle. When I first started my financial journey, I discovered bloggers who were saving in the vicinity of 75-80% of their income! I felt dwarfed by this in comparison as I only saved around 5-8%. But, little by little, I managed to cut the spending on things I really didn’t care about and save more. In doing so, my partner and I reached a savings rate of 52% while living in the States. Of course, this is more extreme as our goal is to reach financial independence as soon as possible. For someone on a traditional timeline, not wanting the option to retire early, they would do just fine with a rate closer to 20%.

Finally, give yourself advice when you were a teenager and in your early 20s?

Don’t overcomplicate your finances. Debt can wreak havoc on your financial AND emotional well-being. Be careful with it. Don’t buy crap to impress people you don’t care about. Spend less than you earn. Invest the rest. Start investing now and let compounding interest do the work for you. Financial independence is great but enjoy and trust in the process. It’s truly as simple as that.

And in life: be mindful of what you do today, it matters tomorrow. Eliminate the clutter in your life – whether it’s things or toxic relationships; both will slow you down. Design a life YOU want to live first and foremost, or someone else will do it for you. Don’t be ashamed if you choose the less beaten path; this is often the most exciting and fulfilling one.

The post Money, Debt and Finances in our 30s appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

A household budget is a financial plan that allocates future personal income towards expenses, savings, and debt repayment.

Welcome to my series, How To Use Money To Make You Happier.  In the introduction section, I gave some stats and mentioned a few reasons for starting this series. I am going to break this series into a couple of steps:

Introduction

Make SMART financial goals

Create a budget

Income

Expenses

Needs and wants

Debts

Difference between good and bad debt

Pay off debt

Use the credit to your advantage

Give to charity

Introduction

Budgeting has only one rule: Do not go over budget – Leslie Tayne

A debt problem is, at its core, a budgeting problem – Natalie Pace

When it comes to money and so many other things in life, understanding your weaknesses and strengths can help you with your future plans – Tagene Brown-Mcbean

If there is one thing, I have learned being in the wealth management business, teaching financial planning, and counseling people over the last two decades is that Americans do not like to create a budget. As a result,  I have heard it all. Jerry, you are taking away all the fun from life. You mean I cannot take three vacations a year. I cannot buy a new pair of shoes every month. I cannot buy expensive makeup. I cannot eat out all the time. No! I am not saying that. In conclusion, I am empowering you to live within your means by creating a household budget.

The main goal of a household budget is to show how much money you are making a month and how it is spent. It is the foundation to build your financial future. Above all, a budget helps you to use your money efficiently.

A household budget gives you control. It allows you to balance your income with your expenses.

If you do not balance your budget and spend more than you bring in then you end up in debt.

Income

The first step in creating your household budget is to look at your monthly net income. If you get paid on the 15^th and the 30^th of the month and you get $2,000 every payday then your monthly income is $4,000.

Expenses

It is important to keep track of all your monthly expenses.

I like to break down expenses into fixed, variable, and discretionary.

The first thing to look at is your fixed expenses. The fixed expenses could be your student loan payments, car payments, rent, or mortgage. These payments are fixed and you cannot decrease them.

The second thing to look at is your variable expenses. These expenses can change from month to month and would include gas and groceries.

Discretionary expenses would include shopping, entertainment, travel, and recreation.

The bank or the credit card will provide you with a proper breakdown of your expenses.

You have now documented your net monthly income and your fixed and variable expenses. You can see where your money is going and you can make changes. If you make $4,000 a month and you are spending $3,600 and saving $400 a month, give yourself an A+. If you are spending more than $4,000 a month, then you need to look at your discretionary expenses and changes need to be made.

Create a System

I will let you decide if you want to use a pen and paper, Excel budget template, money management apps, budget calculator, financial software, or a system designed by the financial gurus. At the end of this article, I will give you a simple example of a budget worksheet.

Advantages of having a budget

It empowers you and gives you control

It keeps you focused

It shows waste

Reveals your spending habits

Reduces stress

Helps in becoming more disciplined

Helps you focus on your goals

Motivates you to save for vacations and unexpected bills

Needs and Wants

You cannot always have what you want. Sometimes you get what you need. – Linda Berdoll

Supply the needs first and the wants later, for one can only obtain true peace, love, and joy when one supplies the needs first and not the wants. – David Benedict Zumbo

A need is something you have to have in order to survive. Food, clothing, shelter, and health care are examples of a need. A BMW, Nike shoes, Polo T-shirts, eating out, going to the movies are wants. Try to spend 80% of your income on needs, 10% on wants, and save 10%.

Example of a Household Budget

Monthly Income                   _____           Insurance                   _____

Net Income     4,000                                            Car

Dividends                                                               Health

Interest                                                                   Life

Benefits                                                                   Home

Charity                                   _____             Personal                     _____ 

Savings                                   _____            Groceries

Vacation                                                                Personal

Retirement                                                           Other

Wants                                                                    Miscellaneous

Credit Card Debts                _____          Entertainment           ______

Visa                                                                        Meals

MasterCard                                                          Movies

Amex                                                                     Gym

Loans                                      _____

Student

Car

Home                                      _____                                

Mortgage/Rent

Taxes

Heat

Water

TV/Cell/Internet

Monthly Income minus all your expenses let you know if you are over or under budget

Finally, it is important to review your budget, every quarter. A budget is a piece of art and not an exact science. Look at some of the areas you need to get better. If you are getting better reward yourself.

There will be times when you have an unexpected expense. That is when your savings come in handy.

Email me back as to how this has helped me and any other questions you may have.

The post How to create a household budget appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

How to make SMART financial goals.

Welcome to my series, How To Use Money To Make You Happier.

In the introduction section, I gave some stats and mentioned a few reasons for starting this series.

I am going to break this series into a couple of steps:

Introduction

Make SMART financial goals

Create a budget

Income

Expenses

Needs and wants

Debts

The difference between good and bad debt

Pay off debt

Use credit to your advantage

Give to charity

SMART Goals

It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach – Benjamin Mays

I am a big fan of having goals that are SMART. Your financial goals need to be specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic, and time-based.

Your financial goals must be defined and clear to you. It should be obtainable and you need to know and find out when it has been achieved. It needs to be agreed either by you, by everyone in the family or household, within the time frame to achieve the goals.

Three Kinds of Financial Goals

I want you to take a piece of paper and a pen and write down your goals.

Divide your goals into three parts.

The short-term goals are those that you want to achieve between 1 and 3 years.

Car repairs, home repairs, home improvements, vacation, personal items, credit card payment, student loan payments, insurance, rent or mortgage payment, emergency fund, and any other day to day expenses come under short term goals.

Medium-term goals are those that you want to achieve between 4 and 10 years.

Saving for a down payment on a house, debt payments, saving to buy a car, are examples of medium-term goals.

Long terms goals are those that you want to achieve after 10 years from now.

Saving for retirement, paying off your mortgage, saving for your children’s education are examples of a long-term goal.

When you set goals, you are setting a foundation upon which to build your future.

The goal of this series is for you to use your money to make you happier. As a result, you need to focus on the fact that your goals are there, so you do not worry, have shelter, food, enjoy your hobbies, have a car, go on vacations and save for your children.

Specific

A specific goal needs to answer which, why, where, who and what you want to achieve.

The what goal could be to save, so you can tour Europe.

You might want to pay off your mortgage in the next fifteen years. A goal could also be that you want to retire by 55. Another example would be, you want to go to the gym four times a week.

The why goal is there for a reason. Why do you want to tour Europe? Do you want to see different countries? Do you want to experience different foods and cultures? Why do you want to pay off your mortgage in the next fifteen years?

The why has to be aligned with your goals, values, vision, and mission about your life. There needs to be a link here. Once that link is there, you will be happier.

The where goal looks at what gym you want to join to go four times a week?

The who looks at everyone else involved in your life. If you are single then that is good also. If you are married or living with someone, then the who looks at all the other people involved in your life who might be impacted by this goal.

The which factor looks at the exercises you will do to stay in shape. The other factor is which countries do you want to visit in Europe?

Measurable

The measurable aspect will look at how much. How much looks at the amount of money you have to save to go to Europe. How much do you need to save to retire at 55? How much is the mortgage and what will it take to get it accomplished? You need to measure; how much you are saving monthly or quarterly for that vacation.

Achievable

The financial goal needs to be achievable. As you get closer to your goal, you will feel good and motivated. Do not create some pie in the sky.

Realistic

Keep in mind all those around you. If you have a mortgage, two car payments, and a couple of kids, then making a goal to save $40,000 in a year is not a realistic goal.

Time-Based

Your goals need to be based on a time limit.

I want to show you, how you can do a SMART goal to pay off your mortgage or student loan in 20 years.

‘I want to pay off my student loan in 20 years’. ‘We want to pay off our mortgage in 20 years’. This is an example of a specific goal.

‘The balance of my student loan is $ 20,000, I want to bring it to zero by 2039’.

‘We want to pay off our mortgage of $250,000 by 2039 is another example of a measurable goal’.

If you are a single professional and making decent money, then maybe paying off $ 20,000 in student loans over a 20-year period is attainable. The same is possible for the mortgage.

In order for the goal to be realistic then your income and lifestyle need to match the goal.

The 20 years is the time-based goal.

Take some time and complete this assignment.

Thanks for reading and do write back to me as to how you are coming along with this and if you have any challenges.

Photo Credits: bongkarn thanyakij Andrea Piacquadio 

The post How To Make Smart Financial Goals appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

In this post, I will show you how to use money to make you happier.

In the 21^st century, money is critical, essential, influential, significant, vital, fundamental, and important.

We go to school, college, and then university to become capable of earning it. After graduation, we spend the next four decades, making it. We think about it, how to make more, how to spend it, we worry about it and finally dream about winning the lottery.

Is money the root of all evil or can it be used to make a difference in society? In a divorce, arguing over money is one of the reasons given for separating. Our emotions ride high and low with how the stock market behaves or the value of the real estate. Some want the easy way out and resort to crime to achieve it. The world is judged by being first, third, and developing based on how much they have in terms of money.

In 2010, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett started the Giving Pledge. The top 1% is being asked to give more than half their net worth to sustain the environment, reform criminal justice, culture, arts, medical research, empowering girls and women, to get rid of poverty and other causes. 154 billionaires have signed the pledge. They do not want to leave the money for the next generation.

I found myself having to deal with money when I was in grade 8. I was in boarding school and a bank account had been opened for me. I was allowed a set amount of pocket money a month. At Bishop Cotton, the bank was on campus. However, all withdrawals had to be signed by the housemaster.

At college and university, I had to budget and make sure I never spent more than I had in my bank account. I did a co-op (internship) at Hotel De La Paix in Geneva. The crème de la crème of Geneva had their meals at the hotel. The tips were great.

I worked at a bank for a decade of lending money and then managing money for individuals. After that, I spent more than 15 years on Bay Street. Every couple of years, we had to update the client information. When I called clients for information on money, it was a tough fight. I soon learned that people are willing to talk about everything but money. It is an emotional thing. Our ego, identity, and everything else is attached to that paycheck.

Money is essential so we can have food, clothes, and shelter. Money can give us many options. However, do we use the money to have more free time or more things?

Does money make us happier? From the 1940s to the 90s, the purchasing power of Americans increased by 150%. Here is an interesting stat. The stats reveal that depression among people during that period went up by more than 10 times.

Tibor Scitovsky in 1976 wrote The Joyless Economy about human satisfaction. The author comes to an amazing conclusion. The best things in life cannot be bought with money. All research has shown that purpose, meaning, relationships, and connecting with nature bring people satisfaction.

Join me on the money series as I write on how to create a household budget, save for emergencies, retirement, and vacations, how to pay off debts, give to charity, and use credit to your advantage. I promise you this series will transform how you look at money and your life. You will learn how to use the money to make you happier.

The post How To Use Money To Make You Happier appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.