Part 2-Budgeting: Building "A House of Order"-- Recap of our February Quarterly RS Activity!

The second part of our activity focused on budgeting and getting our finances in order as a way to have more peace in our lives and have the ability to give and share with others. As mentioned during the lesson, we are all at different places financially--and that is okay.

The scriptures and general authorities teach that we should get out of debt as soon as possible and avoid debt at all costs. Debt is something that binds us down and literally makes us "servants to the lender." As we strive to live within our means, have a plan, make sacrifices, and work diligently, we can become free from the chains of debt and experience peace from knowing that we are doing what Heavenly Father would have us do. We can have peace of mind and spirit and eliminate stress and worry from our lives as we have our finances in order and are able to take care of our family's temporal needs. We can then share and give to others more abundantly when we do not owe the bank, Visa, or Sallie Mae! ;)

As discussed in our lesson, every specific aspect one program or way of managing finances will not necessarily apply to every person or family--everyone is different. Take bits and pieces of what works for you. Some people are more disciplined and are able to use credit cards as a way to build points--and then pay them off completely each month by using money in their account and therefore not accruing debt. For others, that may not be the best option, and using cash (and debit cards) feels like the best way. Another way to manage over spending is to use the cash envelope system for categories such as entertainment, food, clothing, and gas.

Most importantly, we have been instructed by our Heavenly Father to live within our means and get our finances in order. It may feel overwhelming, stressful, and hopeless at times. But it is possible! Trust in the help that will come as we trust in Heavenly Father and seek His help.

Here are some ideas that were shared at our meeting. And as mentioned that night, much of the information was taken from Dave Ramsey, and you do not have to agree or follow everything he says. Read, learn more, give it a try, and figure out if it works for you.

For more information, check out Dave Ramsey online.

Here is one of the books mentioned as well: The Total Money Makeover

Tips and Ideas that will lead to Financial Peace---

all taken from Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University program.

~Put God first--everything we have comes from Him! Tithing always comes first. Pray for help!

~Budget--- Have a plan! (Give-Save-Spend)

            -Make a new budget each month, as some expenses vary month to month.

            -Spend all $ on paper before the month begins—know where your money is going!

            -Use cash/envelope system for certain categories such as food, clothing, and entertainment.

~Avoid using credit cards—use cash or debit cards instead!

~Have an emergency fund so that you do not have to rely on credit or borrowing from family/friends during unexpected emergencies.

~Save ahead of time (a little bit month to month) for upcoming expenses or items you would like to purchase—that way you can pay in cash and it doesn’t rock the budget.

~Get out of debt ASAP using the debt snowball—make sacrifices where necessary.

~ “If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”

~Get our lives and finances in order so that we can experience peace and then be able to live and give like never before. Once we help ourselves in this way we are free to reach out and help others.

Step 1: $1,000 emergency fund ($500 with an income of $20,000 or less). This fund is for EMERGENCIES ONLY. This is the foundation so that when emergencies arise, credit cards won't have to be the go-to! This is the beginning of peace of mind, knowing that there is money in the bank in the chance of an unexpected expense.

Step 2: Pay off Debt using the Debt Snowball! List all debts in order from lowest balance to highest (excluding house mortgage). Pay only the minimum payment due on all debts except for the lowest balance. Pay as much as possible per month on the lowest debt until it is paid completely. Then apply what was being paid on the first debt to the next, creating a snowball effect. Continue this pattern as each debt is paid off. 

Step 3: 3-6 month Full Emergency Fund.  Once all debts are paid (aside from mortgage), begin saving 3-6 months worth of household expenses. This is considered a fully funded emergency fun in the event of loss of employment or more expensive emergencies. This is separate from saving for items to be purchased. The goal is to have a full emergency fund at all times. 

Step 4: Investing-- more info here. 

Step 5: Save for Children's College Fund-- more info here. 

Step 6: Pay off House EARLY! pay more and make extra payments in order to pay off home before the original pay off date.

Step 7: GIVE. Once our family finances are fully in order, we will have more opportunities to share and give in more abundance. 

Upcoming Quarterly Relief Society Meeting~"A House of Order"

Please join us for the first 

Quarterly Relief Society Meeting of 2014!

We will focus on ways to create "a house of order" through simple meals, 

budgeting, and organization. As we strive to put our own lives and homes 

in order we will have a greater ability to serve and help those around us. 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

7:00pm

Hope you can make it!

10 Unexpected Costs of Owning Things

 

Since our last Relief Society activity on getting organized I've had several discussions with hubby and daughter about all the STUFF in our lives and what it does to our days, our happiness or unhappiness, our time, our stress. My daughter Carrie sent me this link to one woman who says it so well...

10 Unexpected Costs of Owning Things

2. You're carrying around the emotional weight of things you don't use.

5. You use objects as comfort.

7. The more stuff you have the more blind you become to it.

Count the TRUE cost next time you buy something.

e

photo credit

Bishop's Storehouse Reminder

Last call! It's fun, it's easy, it's a great dose of peace of mind.

At this point, we have plenty of adults for a good crew, but we would still love to have another person if any of you want to sign on.

* Sat. July 31, meet at 7:00 AM at the ward building, pull out at 7:10, so be on time! (If it makes more sense for your family to meet us at the Cannery, just let me know by e-mail or phone so we aren't waiting for you.)

* We have to be finished and out of the Cannery by 12:00 noon.

* We cannot take any orders for those who aren't going.

* Payment is by check or cash only - no cards of any kind.

* Use your own GPS, or the printed directions below.

DIRECTIONS TO LDS BISHOP’S STOREHOUSE
613 Heron Drive, Bridgeport, NJ
609-467-0031

Take 76 East (Schuylkill) – to 476 South (Blue Route) – to I-95 South

Exit I-95 at Commodore Barry Bridge. Go east over bridge toward N.J.

In about one-half mile, turn right onto Route 130 South.

Cross drawbridge, turn left onto High Hill Road. Will see a “Pureland Industrial Complex” sign.

In about 2 miles turn left at the blinking yellow light onto Heron Drive.

In about 1 ½ miles will see the Storehouse on the left, in front of the “Pureland” water tower.


View Larger Map

Owenna Nagy

LDS Philanthropies - Cast Your Bread

LDS Philanthropies is a department of the Office of the Presiding Bishopric responsible for philanthropic donations to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its affiliated charities including:

• Family Search
• Humanitarian Services
• Perpetual Education Fund
• Missionary Fund
• Temple Patron and Construction Funds
• Brigham Young University
• BYU Hawaii
• BYU Idaho
• LDS Business College
• Polynesian Cultural Center
• Church History

If you have an interest in giving to any of these causes, this is the place to do it.

Anyone may make donations on this site. They need not be a member of the church. I've had people want to donate to my son's mission or maybe our children heard a news report about a disaster and want to help. Perhaps a neighbor wants to donate something to a loved one's favorite charity. This is the place to do it, once or ongoing.

You'll also find news of what the Church is doing about natural disasters and need around the world. If you're concerned about recent flooding in the Phillipines or tsunami damage in Samoa, or just want a way to help those in need, donate to the emergency response fund.

If you'd like to honor a loved one, in lieu of flowers, you may make a donation in their name.

Besides our tithes and fast offerings, this website shows you the many ways to give.

Learn more about the history of LDS Philanthropies.

I'll put a permanent link in the right side bar for future reference.

Remember “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Ecc. 11:1. You know, what goes round, comes round.

Happy Giving!
Ellen

Upcoming Financial Fireside

On Friday, September 11th, 7:00 pm, VF 1st ward is hosting a financial fireside for the adult members of our ward. Babysitting will be provided for nursery age & primary age children while the fireside is being held.

Our guest speaker is David Behunin. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University with B.S. and M.S. degrees in accounting. David is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Pennsylvania.

We would like to request 2 things of everyone.

1. Please let us know if you plan on attending. If you have children for the childcare, please let us know.

2. Please submit any financial questions/concerns you have to me before Tuesday, 1 September. We would like to address as many of our ward family's questions as possible during this time, and if Brother Behunin has them ahead of time, it allows for better preparation and better use of everyone's time.

Thank you so much, we hope that everyone is able to take advantage of this opportunity to use the very valuable resource of Brother Behunin's experience!

Elizabeth Latey, Activities Committee Chair

Lesson Recap: Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually

Elder Robert D. Hales Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Taught by Cheryl Wentzel

What does being a provident provider mean to you?

New uses for old things? "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"? Feeding the poor, looking after the widows, avoiding excess. Yes, all these and more.

President Hales gives up this definition:

All of us are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families in both temporal and spiritual ways.

To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies.

When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others.

Our world fraught with feelings of entitlement

When we go into debt to buy things we can't afford...we give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude.

Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts. What remains is often only enough to meet our most basic physical needs.

Living at the subsistence level, we become depressed, our self-worth is affected, and our relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and the Lord are weakened. We do not have the time, energy, or interest to seek spiritual things.

Avoid and overcome patterns of debt, addiction to worldly things

1. Learn that the three most loving words are “I love you,” and the four most caring words for those we love are “We can’t afford it.”
2. Learn to say to one another, “We can’t afford it, even though we want it!”
3. Or, “We can afford it, but we don’t need it—and we really don’t even want it!”
4. Communicate with our husbands. As we counsel and work together in family councils, we can help each other become provident providers and teach our children to live providently as well.
5. Pay a full tithe, and fast offerings.
6. Ask ourselves, “Is the benefit temporary, or will it have eternal value and significance?”

Turn to the Lord
The appetite to possess worldly things can only be overcome by turning to the Lord. The hunger of addiction can only be replaced by our love for Him. He stands ready to help each one of us. “Fear not,” He said, “for you are mine, and I have overcome the world” (D&C 50:41).

As children of God, our deepest hunger and what we should be seeking is what the Lord alone can provide—His love, His sense of worth, His security, His confidence, His hope in the future, and assurance of His love, which brings us eternal joy.

Thanks Cheryl! Very timely in this uncertain economy.

Ellen King

$ave Money on Life!, by Jennie Boyer

Dear Sisters,

Many of you have asked me different tips on how to save money and other things. I have started a blog to share those ideas with others. I have been hesitant to share this since it is tied to my business. However, the blog is free and so I thought I would share it with all of you. The address is www.TheCouponBinder.blogspot.com.

One topic that I am covering is the way we budget. If you don't want to wait for our Seminar for church (it will be a few months) the instructions are posted on this blog—again for free. Also, feel free to comment about any of my topics or give me any tips you might have. I know that we have many fabulously frugal and talented women in our ward.

Loads of Love,
Jennie Boyer

Budgeting, by the Boyers

Sunday's lesson was on budgeting, with the Relief Society and Priesthood Quorums combined.

Class began with the release of the Elder's quorum presidency (thank you Brent Stratton and counselors for your service to us!) and sustaining of the new EQ President, Marcus Boyer, and counselors, David Vagnoni and Greg Carr.

Jenny and Marcus Boyer then started their lesson by role-playing a typical month-end conversation about money...a before-learning-to-budget and an after-we-learned-to-budget example.

They talked about the importance and benefits of budgeting. One thing Marcus said stuck with me: going into debt is giving up some of your precious free agency. You commit yourself and your future time and resources to someone else in order to meet that obligation. It can limit your time with your family and your ability to serve others.

Three Parts to Budgeting

They talked about three things you need to have to successfully budget. 1) Unified commitment 2) Planning and 3) Execution.

It's important to have information to base your planning on, info about what you actually spend based on good recordkeeping, and then real-time budget info through the month so when you are looking at a purchase you can also look at the trade-offs and decide if it's worth it.

It's important to be realistic about our expectations regarding our lifestyle, and to live on a less than we earn, so we can prepare for the future.

Boyers have set up categories where they share decision-making, and other categories they individually make decisions about (i.e. groceries or investments), where each has flexibility, and the other's trust in those decisons.

They barely scratched the surface of this topic and proposed a 3-session workshop in the future, where more in-depth discussion and learning could take place. Stay tuned for further details.