"Tidying Up" Your Financial House

Jenn and I spent last night watching Netflix’s phenomenal, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”. We were fascinated, and a bit inspired by it. She takes the mundane task of creating a tidy home, and turns it into an experience where a couple grows closer together, by creating peace where there once was chaos. The process has a profound experience on the couples she works with.

Marie, has a philosophical frame work, Konmari, that she has translated into a specific set of milestones:

1. Clothes

2. Books

3. Papers

4. Komono (Misc items)

5. Sentimental items

After watching a couple of episodes, Jenn and I spent a few minutes, sorting through my vast “treasure trove” of books. Anything that did not “spark joy” in us, was sold or donated this morning to our local used book seller. Not only was it liberating to get rid of some junk, but Jenn and I worked together through the process, and connected with some old books that sparked a conversation … and we got 25 bucks!! for the old books. Overall it was a fun experience.

Much like Bruce Willis and the young boy in “The Sixth Sense”, that said “I see dead people,” I see finances everywhere. I could not help but see the parallels in what Marie and I do with families. I start with a philosophy: we should be living our best lives in the short/mid/long term, and then work through a set of milestones:

1. Create an emergency fund, get your down side covered with insurance

2. Maximize your earning and get your budget under control

3. Funnel money into accounts that fund your long term goals

4. Funnel money into trips/things/charity that suit your short term goals

5. Take care of your friends and family, with wills, 529s and care for your parents

Getting your personal finances in order seems like an overwhelming and impossible chore to many people — just like tidying your home — but when you dig in, you’ll find that it’s not as hard as it seems. You just need a financial planner to coach you along the way to “tidy up” your finances. As a result, you and your spouse will grow closer by removing the financial concerns and fears prohibiting you from reaching peace and sparking joy.

Are you ready to work with your partner on a profound experience? How can we spend some time getting your finances organized?

The Key To Keeping Your New Year's Resolution

After 1 month

45% of resolvers have given up.

Roughly 40% of Americans made a New Year’s Resolution on January 1st. And for good reason. We thrive as a society, because we constantly work to improve ourselves. The most common resolutions are around:

1. Weight loss/working out

2. Finance: Better money management and debt reduction

3. Stopping Bad habits: drinking/smoking

after 6 months

65% of resolvers have given up.

Here’s a common Resolution many of us can relate to

You are busy with work and family, booked from dawn to dusk. When you get home from work, its late, and you are tired, so you go out or order take out for dinner. It becomes a habit. As result, both your budget and weight become a concern. So you make a New Years resolution to make dinner 3 days a week. Its a good goal!

What’s Missing from this goal

What’s missing from this goal, is “how” are you going to go about it. If you want to add something to your busy schedule you have to remove something else. It’s why many people don’t stick to their resolution. They resolve to do something, without resolving NOT to do something else.

There’s a reason in this scenario that you started ordering out. You were too tired to cook. So you have to free up time so you get home earlier 3 days a week and aren’t too tired to cook dinner or plan a way to prepare dinner before you walk in the door tired and hungry.

My Recommended Resolution: Budgeting

If you are open to a resolution, I highly recommend budgeting: create and stick to a budget. If you and your family want financial security, following a budget is the answer. I assure you, it is going to take some time. Whether you use an app on your phone and check in each morning over coffee, or if you do a weekly audit on Sunday mornings before church, using a sophisticated tool … you will need to add the time to your schedule. There is no way to “carve out” extra time, you must decide to STOP doing something else, so that you can spend time budgeting. So, ask yourself, if you are resolving to make and stick to a budget … what are you giving up, so that you can spend time on something more valuable?

Want to be in the successful 35% that keep their resolution?

Are you busy and need someone to help you with your finances? Contact me whether you need a realistic budget, a financial plan, help getting out of debt or a financial advisor that you can trust to manage your investment portfolio and keep you informed and in control, I can help you.