Thanks for taking part in this course! I'm excited to be able to share some information with you about possibly the most boring topic imaginable: budgeting.
On a personal note though, this is right up my alley. When I began college there was one major that kept calling my name: accounting. They accepted me before I had my charisma bypass surgery. I was a natural from the start!
Be forewarned! My formal schooling is as an accountant! And this is about budgeting! I actually take the idea of budgeting extremely seriously. When you lack personality, these things become very important to you.
Over the next ten days we'll discuss everything from spontaneity to boxing, and marriage to dollar unemployment. I'll keep this quite personal. You'll hear my experiences and those of others with whom I've worked. My hope is to have you so consumed with resolve to get your financial house in order that you'll be absolutely dying to get on a budget. You do need a budget, after all.
Read a "money book" carefully and you'll notice every "guru" mentions the need for a budget. Each stresses its importance for...oh, about three sentences. They then move on to catchier, more popular, more saleable things.
That's the biggest problem people have with budgeting--it doesn't sell. It's not sexy. It's not complicated. As a matter of fact, a lot of times an author sells a book by over-complicating something that was simple to begin with. Not so with a budget-- it's just too straight-forward.
"Sorry Mr. Guru, you don't have a chance with this one. You'd best write about intelligent portfolio allocation or super-mega-rapid-debt-repayment-strategy optimizers."
I am being sarcastic. But the fact remains that the budget is not given the attention it deserves.
BUT, it is the ROCK upon which your financial life is built. It is your foundation. All other financial decisions are appendages to the budget. The budget is the tree. Your retirement plan is the fruit. The budget is the massive trunk, rooted deep into the ground, immovable by any force. The new car you want is the fruit. The house you want--the fruit. The college savings you're dying to put away for your kids is, you guessed it...the fruit.
If you don't plant and care for the tree, you won't get the fruit.
Advice from a Guru: "Make sure you're putting away at least 15 percent of your retirement into no-load mutual funds with solid track records."
But you still need to find that 15 percent.
Advice from a Guru: "You can utilize many options to save for your kids' college: 529 plans, ESAs, etc. It's an absolute must that you begin putting money away today."
Where will that money come from?
Most financial books focus on the fruit. During this course, we're focusing on the tree. The fruit needs to come from somewhere, and that's ALL we're going to talk about (well, almost).
Tomorrow we'll discuss the budget's bad rap, and expose some dirty lies about budgeting. In two days we'll hit our First of Four Rules.
Write down the "fruit" you would like to grow from your financial tree. What will you do?
- Get out of debt?
- Pay off your home?
- Invest more earnestly for retirement?
- Put away money for a fancy vacation?
- Buy a new TV?
Write down your financial goals. This course will open your eyes to the reality of those goals--they are a reality. You just need to plant your tree, help it take root, and watch it grow.
Write down your short- and long-term financial goals. | If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below: Unsubscribe YouNeedABudget.com 770 E Main St. #236 Lehi, Utah 84043 United States | |
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