Category: Finances

Finances and money affects all aspects of family life, but it doesn’t need to control your family life. The blessing of working and earning is also a responsibility. Learning and disciplining ourselves and family to live within our means can sometimes be a struggle, yet rewarding.

Family, Finances

The Beauty of Rhythm and Routine

  What if the rhythm of our life and routines created were all we needed to move forward towards our desired outcomes? Honestly, in my past, this would have been a boring proposition. After all, doesn’t a meaningful life include taking risks and being adventurous? Yet, life has taught me that my desired outcomes for this week, next month or in 2023 and beyond must be pursued with intentionality; and that intentionality includes my daily, weekly and monthly routines and/or habits which reflect the natural rhythms of life. Our world has natural rhythms: sunlight turns to dark which leads to […]

Finances

How Sinking Funds Help Control Your Money

A sinking fund is a strategic way to save money for a specific purchase by setting aside a little bit each month. I love sinking funds. Sinking funds give me a sense of security over and beyond my emergency fund. A sinking fund is a barrier to protect your emergency fund from known, yet sometimes unexpected (due to timing) expenses. For example, we know appliances and tires need to be replaced, yet need to be replaced at the most inconvenient time. Why inconvenient? Because we had not prepared and had other priorities. After you have created a steady habit of monthly […]

Finances, Food, For the Love of Family

No Check-Out Required

Today, in Seattle, the Amazon Go store will open its doors. This newest endeavor in shopping experiences is highly technical, easy and convenient. You enter the store, pick up what you need, and exit, without interacting with the cash register or entering the checkout line. It sounds intriguing. It sounds different. It sounds impossible. Yet, like many other things in our lives today, technology makes almost anything possible and is changing how we live, and especially how we shop. There are many opinions, discussions, debates about Amazon Go. Yet, regardless whether we agree or disagree with the concept of Amazon […]

Finances, For the Love of Family

Know Your Flocks, Care for your Herds or maybe…Just care for your car, washing machine,…..

It couldn’t have come at a better time. I was feeling stuck – wanted to move on, yet it was a risky proposition – especially for a low-risk taker and a conservative-minded financial coach. Should I take a risk? Throw all good sense to the wind and do what I wanted? I was living in my unknown world – not paying attention to my ‘flocks’. And from where I stood, not knowing let me believe I could and should do anything I wanted to be ‘unstuck’. Then I read this verse, and was gently reminded, that I need to take […]

Family, Finances, For the Love of Family

Do This. Checklists for First-Time Home Buyers

Recently one of my clients asked if I had a check-list for buying a home.  My answer was ‘no’, but what a great idea! Purchasing a home is exciting, especially your first one; yet it is also a bit overwhelming. Like anything else, though, you need to think through the ‘cost’ of owning your own home. As a financial coach, my first priority is to assure that the budget is working and good financial planning is in place. Having lived through home-buying mistakes, I desire to help others be wise in making a new home purchase so that the new home […]

Finances, For the Love of Family

What is an Emergency? Four ways to define the REAL thing.

A big side benefit of my husband working in home remodel and construction business, is being the benefactors of items others throw away – sinks, dishwashers, etc. Mind you, these things are not thrown away because they don’t work, or are old, but because they don’t fit the new décor. We (Gary and I) are okay with old décor; family members – not so much. One of our sons asked, “can’t we ever buy something new?” The answer? “Apparently not”, but I digress… This is our current dishwasher – new to us about ten years ago, and it is time […]