finances

Life & Finances

by Kim on October 4, 2010

Most of you know how important marriage is to me, and how important it is to be all you can be and strive to continually improve who you are.  To be a person of character, build your relationship with Christ and be loyal to those who you love and those you love.  What you may not know is I am just as passionate with other areas of life specifically areas related to your financial health.

I am so blessed to have so many people visit and read this blog and I want to thank each and every one of you for your support.   I have read your emails and know by the search statistics that those visiting here come to read about how to fireproof your marriage, stand for marriage restoration, find people of character, how to improve who you are, ways to do life better, and other related issues.  I also see that you are coming to read about ways to get out of debt or deal with general financial issues.

You may not know this but in addition to this blog, I also operate and write a daily blog on LifeandFinances.com.  The LnF blog is focused on the areas of life that touches your money.  Your probably thinking, “well money touches just about everything in my life.”  You are absolutely correct.

So with that in mind I want to invite you to visit my sister site LifeandFinances.com, listen to the podcast of how Life & Finances was started, read the articles and subscribe to the newsletter (oh, as a side note, and a sneak peak of the inside workings of KimStaudenraus.com, keep watch here for a new newsletter option in the next couple of weeks that you will want to subscribe to.)

As I am sure you have read on my About page, in 2006 I attended training with Dave Ramsey and the Lampo group and became a Certified Money Management Coach.  In my coaching I found that being in debt is really just a symptom of so many more serious issues that occur in ones life.  The Life & Finances blog is a resource of support, ideas and encouragement for all the areas in life that money touches.

Please visit LifeandFinances.com, subscribe to the newsletter, listen to the podcast, read the articles and of course leave a comment or two.  I pray it will provide you encouragement and hope for your financial life as a supplement to the support you are receiving here on KimStaudenraus.com.

Again, thank you for your support and your emails, please keep them coming and keep.

God Bless.

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10 Thoughts On Setting Financial Priorities

by Kim on October 26, 2007

Becoming debt free, building wealth and taking control of your finances does not happen overnight, nor does it “just happen”, it takes planning, commitment, and dedication. It is important to set goals as I discussed in Debt Free Goal.

Setting goals requires you lay out and acknowledge your financial priorities, but how do you do that, start here:

1. Be realistic.

You probably won’t be able to achieve every financial goal you have ever dreamed of. Don’t just identify your goals, decide what is most important to you and your family. By concentrating your efforts, you have a better chance of achieving what matters most.

2. First goals are the one’s that matter.

It isn’t about what you want most, but rather what is most important. You may have to postpone the “fun” stuff like a new boat or a special vacation in order to pay off credit cards. This doesn’t mean you can’t have the fun stuff, it just means you have to do them on a different time table.

3. Prepare yourself for multiple goals with the same level of importance.

There may be multiple important goals which conflict with one another. When faced with such a conflict, you should ask yourself questions like: Which conflicting goal will benefit more people? or Which goal will cause the greater harm if it is deferred?

4. Time is on your side.

Building wealth does not happen overnight. Time is on your side. Money in interest-earning savings accounts or invested in mutual funds, stocks and/or bonds grows and compounds. The more time you have, the more chance you have of success. Your age is a big factor.

5. Choose carefully.

In drawing up your list of goals, you should look for things that will help you feel financially secure, happy or fulfilled. Some of the items that end up on your list may include building an emergency fund, getting out of debt, investing, paying off your home and paying tuition for your children. Once you have your list together, you need to rank the items in order of importance to you and your spouse.

6. Include family members.

This is very important, if you have a spouse or significant other, make sure that person is part of the goal-setting and priority process, if married, you cannot do this alone, it just won’t work. If you have children who are a little older, and are able to understand some basic financial talk, include them as well, it will be a good learning process for them in many ways, such as how to set goals, how to improve communication in a family unit, and how to manage money.

7. Tomorrow never comes – Start now.

Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today. The longer you wait to identify and begin working toward your goals, the more difficulty you’ll have reaching them.

8. Focus on your behavior.

Once you have prioritized your list of goals, build your budget and stick to it. Whenever you make a large payment ask yourself, “Will this purchase bring me nearer to my primary goals — or will it lead me further away from them?” If a big expense doesn’t get you closer to your goals then it is not in your best interest.

9. It is not all about long term planning.

Much of what I have discussed is based on long term planning and goals, however most of life is lived in the here-and-now. Most of what you spend be for daily expenses – including many that are simply for fun. Fun is okay, and should be part of your plan and priorities. We work hard for our money, and even though we have our financial goals and priorities, that doesn’t mean we can not have fun. Plan for the fun in your budget.

10. You change so should your goals and priorities.

Your needs and desires will change as you meet goals and as you age, I recommend you re-examine your priorities at the end of every year and possible re-adjust at least every five years so you stay in step with your life as you grow.

You will make mistakes, don’t beat yourself up to much when you do, but learn from them, and then get back on track as quickly as possible.

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Debt is NOT Normal Debt IS Broke

October 3, 2007

Today a friend of mine talked to me about his debt situation and in the same breath stated he wanted to lease a new car. I won’t mention his name but he is a smart individual, well established family man who makes a good salary, close to six figures.As we continued our conversation, he stated [...]

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Debt Free Goal

October 2, 2007

Goal – Dictionary.com defines it as: “the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.” Goal, intention, objective, destination, target, mission. No matter what word you use, it is a point in your future that you aim for success. We have all set goals, we have successfully achieved many and we have all [...]

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Investing – What Not To Do

September 24, 2007

Most of my clients at one point or another ask me about investing. First, I tell them that legally, I can not advise as to what they should or shouldn’t invest in. However, I do offer some valuable, common sense advise. First and foremost, never give your money to someone else and say “invest it [...]

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