Financial
Financial Snapshot – First Step To A Budget
You must attack your debt with quick and decisive blows. The first thing you will need to do is find out where you stand. You must know where you stand before you can determine where you need to go. This step should only take a few minutes but it is an extremely important first step towards a budget. It’s called taking a Financial Snap Shot.
First write down or enter into an Excel Spreadsheet your monthly income. Then list the following monthly expenses:
- Tithe or giving
- Child support or other required monthly payments
- Mortgage/Rent
- Average grocery bill
- Utilities
- Auto Loans
- Gas to and from work
- All other monthly bills
Refer to the example below:
John (Family of 3) Financial Snapshot
|
Monthly Income |
3700 |
|
Tithe/Giving |
380 |
|
Mortgage |
1000 |
|
Groceries |
400 |
|
Utilities |
250 |
|
Gas |
240 |
|
Auto Loan |
300 |
|
Auto Insurance |
100 |
|
Visa |
50 |
|
Master Card |
100 |
|
Am Express |
120 |
|
Childcare |
450 |
|
Cable |
80 |
|
Phone |
50 |
|
Cell Phone |
120 |
|
Total Bills |
3640 |
|
Left |
60 |
For most people, financial snapshots are somewhat surprising. Most people are totally oblivious of the amount of money they waste. Most people waste hundreds of dollars each month eating out, entertaining themselves, and shopping for nonessential items. I recall feeling quite upset with myself when I realized that I actually made enough money to pay my debts. The fact that I wasted a lot of money had just smacked me in the face. The sudden realization that YOU are the problem does not feel good.
In this case if John and his family rarely ate out, never took a vacation and never had any unexpected expenses, they could squeak by each month. This would be a very unrealistic expectation and would not help John and his family make any progress towards getting out of debt. John and his family like many other working families are just one emergency away from financial ruin.
Some may look at John’s financial situation and say well, that’s easy, he should just stop giving or tithing. We don’t recommend that. Tithing and giving opens the doors for you to receive blessings. Goods thing come back to you when you are a giver. If you are in this kind of debt, you need lots of good things to happen in your life so, keep giving if there is any way possible.
Your situation may be better or worse than John’s but that doesn’t matter. Now that you know where you stand, you can take action to change your situation.
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