HAVING A FINANCIAL PLAN

Folks I must apologies for my slow start into the new year I can only attribute it to the need to retreat to re-fire if you know what I mean!

Anyway, I stated in my last write up that you  need to have a financial plan for your self this year. many of us just allow things to catch up with us without deliberately planning for our finances. the need to plan for your finances cannot be overemphasized.

in the first place you are not in absolutely in control of all the factors that will affect your life this year so it makes sense to reduce the unforeseen to the barest minimum via planning. Furthermore, planning you finances helps you to allocate resources well ahead of time preventing waste and impulsive spending.

The first step to financial planing is to have a year's budget broken down into monthly budgets. In the past I have spoken on what ought to constitute a monthly budget but suffice it to say that a repetition will not be out of place here.

In your monthly budget there are certain keys issues that must be provided for. They include but not restricted to the following:-

1. Food
2. Rent.
3. Bills (Electricity, water etc)
4. Transportation or fuel
5. Consumables - soap, sanitary items etc.
6. School fees
7. Clothing items - especially for those living in cold regions.

Every other thing will be an addendum depending on availability of funds.

Now the sum total of all the monthly budgets over 12 years constitutes your year's budget. Now the total will be the minimum amount you need to earn to cater for the needs of your family for the year. Next you need to ask yourself if your present income can match or surpass the year's budget. If it can then all well and good otherwise, you will need to find out how to augment your income by taking a second job if possible or doing what is called side hustle.

In any case your year's budget tells you immediately if the present state of your family income pooled together can meet the basic needs of the family.

If you want to embark on some project this year, then you will need to plan on how to raise the funds through savings or securing a loan. I will advise that it will be better to save up for a project than to take a loan that will further deplete the amount of money available for you to spend when ypou start repaying the loan plus interest except you and your family have decided that in other to do the project you will scale down on some essentials.

Next time will look at how to fund projects without borrowing!

God bless you.

Femiimevbore@gmail.com
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www.lifebuilder.ecwid.com 
www.elshaddaicovenantchurch.org 

MONEY MANAGEMENT IN THE HOME 3

Can two walk together except they agree? Amos 3:3

In looking at money management in the home there is a principle that many know but do not apply and this is the principle of running a family budget.

A budget is simply a financial plan that outlines how monies (receivables) will be spent. Various sums of money are allocated to areas based on priority. It must be emphasized that a budget cannot be governed by what one wants but what is needful.

Every couple that wants to enjoy financial freedom but form the habit of budgeting for their expenses on a monthly basis. From my experience I have discovered that you then to overspend if you spend impulsively without a well thought out and articulate plan.

Lets us look closely as the benefits of a family budget.
1. It helps you to see on a broad basis if your present income is capable of meeting your needs. This is important because you want to avoid the situation where you have to borrow money to meet your needs. Borrowing puts you in bondage and everyone needs to escape the debt trap.

2. Secondly, it helps you to attend to the things that are most important to your life first before other things like luxurious items or pleasure

3. It enables you to avoid impulse spending, a propensity that you and I have. Every time money comes into ones hands there is always that lure to want to begin to buy the things that are attractive to the eyes. I have noticed that it is when I have a lot of money at hand that I want to indulge myself in some pleasure spending.

4. It help you to discipline yourself financially. With a budget you are constrained to cut your cut not according to your size but according to your cloth. You learn to do the things that are most important and leave the rest. Once you are able to discipline yourself in how you spend money then it is easy to discipline yourself in many other areas.

In developing a monthly budget, the couple must seat down together to outline their expenses and draw up a list that will be followed. A typical monthly budget will be something like this:-

1. Feeding  - $300.00
2. Rent (Apartment) - $250.00
3. Utilities - $100.00
4. Soap, detergents etc - $50.00
5. Fuel and lubricants - $100.00
6. School fees /Educational expenses - $200.00
7. Transportation - $120.00
8. Tithe/Offerings - $200.00
9. Pocket money - $300.00
10. Savings - $200.00

Note the figures used here are arbitrary and will depend on what is of priority to the couples concerned. The important thing is that the couple must agree on what they want to do and must have the will to stick to their plan as much as possible.

Initially you may not be able to follow through 100% but with persistence you will master the act and perfect the scheme together. The idea is that you don't spend money on trivialities only to find out later that you need money to do something that is important.

More next time

God bless.

Femiimevbore@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/officialecc?ref=hl
www.lifebuilder.ecwid.comwww.elshaddaicovenantchurch.org