Not Your Thing?

A lot of people tell me, Dorethia, I like what you’re teaching, but budgeting, balancing, etc. – all that is not my ‘thing’. I ask them if MONEY is their thing? We all like money and we all want some more.

The truth is you are not going to accumulate much money LATER if you don’t develop a few simple habits NOW. If you don’t decide to budget each pay, have a plan for saving and spending, and balance your checkbook while you are making $12/hour – money will slip through your hands when you’re making $100/hr. What will happen when a big contract or other opportunity comes your way down the line? The fruits will be spoiled because you haven’t developed any discipline when it comes to your personal finances.

We all know people who work everyday, make decent money, have minimal bills and are always broke. Why? Spending without a plan or an account of where it went. In every area of our lives we must do what it takes to be successful - spiritual, family, career, relationships, and MONEY. Diligent money management allows us to:

a. Have Some
b. Give Some
c. Preserve Some

So, go forth and make budgeting, balancing and banking your 'thing'!

Get Back On the Horse!

Even for the most astute, money management can be a task. You’ve got a million things going on, you forget to pay this bill or log that trip to the ATM … and we all know it only takes one transaction to throw your account off. Who of us hasn’t experienced that dreadful moment when we realize that because of a simple error, we now have to pay overdraft fees the equivalent of a car note!

For some of us the error isn’t so simple, it is clearly poor management. We don’t know what’s in our account, we are spending and letting the chips fall where they may, crossing our fingers in line at Target, praying it ‘goes through’.

Whatever the case - when you fall off the horse, get back on it! Don't beat yourself up, just shake it off, saddle up and keep on moving.

I remember an episode from 'Everybody Loves Raymond' where Ray and his wife were arguing about money and of course he insisted he could do a better job so she told him to take it over. He botched it up horribly and then went through great pains to create a 'fake' checkbook so she wouldn't know. It was hilarious! Well the electricity ended up disconnected and of course his wife was furious. If he had put the same energy into correctly managing the finances as he did in creating the fake checkbook, his lights would have still been on! ha ha

Even as you become an expert at managing your own money, you may make mistakes...we're human. Start over if you have to, redo that page in the checkbook --- just make sure you have the correct amounts!