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Two Shall Become One

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

One of the few times in our lives that two things combine to become one is when we get married. The preacher says that we become one, for richer, for poorer, for better or for worse. You won’t have a great relationship until you can communicate and agree about money. Larry Burkett, noted financial author, says, “Money is either the best or the worst area of communication in our marriages.”

Communication before Marriage

One of the most important things to do prior to marriage is to seek pre-martial counseling. Find a good counselor or pastor and sit down and find out about your future spouse. Building strong lines of communication before you get married is essential to a good marriage and a strong financial future.

Money fights are one of the leading causes of divorce in America today, so make sure that you can agree on your spending and savings goals before you tie the knot.

Combining Income

Do not combine your income before you get married. Once you say “I do!”, then it is time to combine your finances. Starting out your marriage with a spending plan and a budget to reach your goals will get your marriage off to a strong start. Do you need to pay off debt, student loans or the wedding reception? Set a budget and stick with it. Doing so will also help you save for a home and your future.

Agree on Your Goals

In order to be able to focus your energy and your financial management to reach your goals, you first need to know where you are going and why you want to get there. Sit down together and dream about your financial future. Do you want to own a home, send your future kids to college or retire early and travel? All of these things are within reach if you set goals early, learn to save and have the power of compound interest and time on your side. To calculate your goals with compound interest click here.

Gerken Financial Coaching Can Help

We have a pre-marital coaching package that can help you and your fiancée get on the same page with your finances. We can help you to set goals, to create a plan for eliminating debt, and to save for your future purchases. Most of all we can walk you through the process of learning to talk about money.

Whether you seek help from a professional to learn to communicate effectively with money or you work on communication with your partner, in order to be pointed in the right direction you must be in agreement on where, how and why you are spending and saving money for your future.

Tim and Kathryn Gerken are Financial Coaches in Newcastle, WA. They serve their community through classes and speaking in the greater Seattle area. Their coaching services are uniquely tailored to each client.

Filed Under: Financial Goals and Habits, Financial Planning and Priorities, Our Blog, Personal Finance, Relationships & Communications Tagged With: , , , , ,

Who Is Responsible For Your Personal Finance?

February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.” - George Bernard Shaw

Create Your Budget

The cash flow plan or budget is the best way to change your circumstances for the better. By knowing exactly what is coming as income and telling your money where to go during the month, you decide where your income goes by spending on paper, first, before you begin each month. Do this without the outside pressure from creditors or marketing experts using commercials. Make a situation for yourself where you are in control of the spending and you can set your own spending priorities.

Prioritizing Your Budget

Your cash flow plan should have savings at the top. If you don’t save money, there isn’t anyone else out there that will do it for you. Your next priorities are food, shelter, utilities, basic transportation and basic clothing. Having these necessities covered in your plan will allow you to work through your debt from a position of strength. With your basic necessities covered, you can prioritize paying off of your debts. List them from smallest amount owed to the largest amount owed and then pay the minimum payments for all of them. If you have any extra money, apply it to the smallest debt to pay it off the fastest. With the smallest paid off you can take its payment and any other extra income that you can make and apply it to the next debt payment.

Get Up and Look For a Better Life

You are in control of your life. Married couples must talk together about your hopes, dreams and goals for your family. Getting on a plan and paying off debt is a means to those goals. But you have to know WHY you are sacrificing your life-style and living differently than the rest of society. You have to know where you are pointed and have a plan to make your dreams a reality.

The best way to have a great outlook and future in your money management is to create it

By having a budget, prioritizing your spending and working a debt payment plan to accomplish your goals and dreams you will change your circumstances to fit your life, without living a life of circumstances dragging you down. Get off your couch, turn off your television and take control of your life and get pointed in the right direction today.

Tim and Kathryn Gerken are Financial Coaches in Newcastle, WA. They serve their community in the greater Seattle area by teaching classes and speaking for groups as well as coaching.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Our Blog, Personal Finance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Plan That Works

February 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The downturn in our economy over the last few years has amplified the personal finance situations of the people of this nation. It has divided us into two categories: the stable and the unstable. Some American households have upwards of 9 credit cards according to a 2010 report.  Which category do you feel that you fall into?

Is Your Money Management Plan Working?

In the lasts several years our national economy has made it obviously easy to tell if we are living with a money plan that can withstand the ups and downs of a weak economy. If you have been able to sail smoothly through theses turbulent waters, then you probably have a money management plan that works well. If you have had to resort to credit cards and stress while the economy is rocky, you may want to consider changing your plan.

Emergency Fund is The Key to Peace

Having an emergency fund will help relieve the stress of unexpected events. Everyone should have an emergency savings. Even though these events seem unexpected, we know that it is only a matter of time before one will occur in our lives. In the 7 steps to financial health, we recommend a starting fund of $1,000. This is large enough to cover most emergencies, but small enough that you have some urgency to make it larger. Paying off debts is the next step. The emergency fund will help you to keep from incurring more debt while you are working your way to clean up debt that you already have.

Debt Elimination Takes Change!

The habits to change are those that started with your unstable financial plan.  That plan, which may have been no plan at all, is the first thing you will need to break. This is a group effort. It will not work unless every adult in your home is willing to change. That change should start with you! Whether your spending is the main problem or not, you can lead by example. You can work with your spouse to establish a budget and live on less than you make. Save for emergencies and pay off your debt. This is a huge step in relieving your stress over money and fights over money. It is the first step to put you into the “Stable” side of the nation.

Budgeting Works!

Telling every dollar where it is going to go during the month, before the month begins, is the key to getting ahead and paying off debt. controlling your money instead of it controlling you will lead you to get pointed in the right direction for financial stability. Stick with your budget corner stones first, before you pay any debts, so that you can stay in a strong position to fight your way through the time it takes to become debt free. You can do it. Stay strong, keep motivated and be successful!

Tim and Kathryn Gerken are Financial Coaches in Newcastle, WA. They serve their community in the greater Seattle area.

Filed Under: Financial Planning and Priorities, Our Blog, Personal Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Name Your Income Tax Refund

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Many people have already filed their Federal Income Tax Return for 2011. Many more are in the process of filing. Are you getting a refund this year? If you are, you can track your refund here . If you are getting a large refund you should consider adjusting your withholding. You could be taking more money home each month to add to your budget rather than letting the government hold it without interest until April of next year.

For budgeting purposes, a tax refund should be considered as extra income or irregular income. Other funds that fall into this category are bonuses, stock sales, and even raises at work. If you can maintain your current level of spending, assuming that you are not over spending your income, then a raise could go toward debt, emergency savings or retirement depending on which step you are on. It is very important to name the extra money that comes into your life, before you get it. Make a list of spending and savings priorities that you would like to do, but don’t have the money for. List them in priority order. Then when you receive extra money, you know exactly where that money should be spent. If you don’t name it, your windfall will blow away on who knows what.

Take a few minutes, make a list and get pointed in the right direction to put you in a position of strength when you receive extra income.

Tim and Kathryn Gerken are Financial Coaches in Newcastle, WA. They serve their community in the greater Seattle area.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Financial Planning and Priorities, Our Blog, Personal Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Income Crisis

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Did you find that when you put your income on a budget and spent it on paper before the month began that you had more expenses than income?

Let’s look at some ways to reduce expenses or raise your income.

Part-time or overtime work: It might be that until you get your debts paid off that you will need to take an extra job or work overtime in your current job to make ends meet. This will be a temporary situation if you concentrate on paying off debt as quickly as possible.

Sell Stuff: Is there anything around the home that could be sold to pay on debt or to pay extra on debt. How about your car? If  your vehicles, boats, etc. all add up to payments of more than half your take home pay then you may need to sell something.

Reduce Expenses: While you can’t reduce fixed expenses like your insurance, you can look at ways to make payments lower or at least more predictable. Does your utilities company have a monthly budget plan? Do you really need the cable or internet services that you currently have or could they be reduced. Do you have a land-line and a cell phone? Do you need both? Look at your expenses and ask yourself if you could do without, or reduce them some how. You may even try to et your interest payments reduced, if you have credit card debt.

It all comes down to paying attention to what you are spending and trying to find ways to increase your income, while paying off debt, so that you will get pointed in the right direction to become debt-free! In this way your income will work for you, and not the other way around.

Tim and Kathryn Gerken are Financial Coaches in Newcastle, WA. They serve their community in the greater Seattle area.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Crisis Management, Financial Planning and Priorities, Our Blog, Personal Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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