DailySaving

“One of the reasons that the re- covery has lost momentum is that high-end consumers have become more jittery and more cautious,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. (NYTimes 7-17-10)

Were we just talking about this yesterday?  Even the rich have are showing signs of saving like they have to.  Whether you need to or not, it’s a good idea to run a tight ship and save like you have to because someday, you just might have to.  Looks like some of these folks are feeling like they have to.  I hope it’s not too late!

Have you changed any personal finance habits lately?

Foreclosure rates are up again in the first half of 2010, clearly, we are not out of our collective financial mess yet, even if the market is over 10,000.  I wonder what percentage of this increase was due to poor budgeting, or planning, and a lack of self-control with credit and pursuit of the finer things…  How much of this increase could have been prevented if only there was more attention to the details of the family balance sheet, and/or a greater focus on saving?

There is still plenty of job loss and tough situations that are difficult to overcome that I’m sure are represented in this increase and have little to do with a lack of discipline or responsibility.  That should be reason enough for all of us to take some time to do a few things to make sure you be alright should the unexpected hit you!

They say the best time to look for a job is when you already have one.  Maybe saving and strong budgeting and planning is best done when you really don’t need to do it to make ends meet.  

Take a few minutes to save like you have to.  Look at your budget, your cash flow…  What would you do differently if you or your spouse lost your job?  What if certain variable expenses increased unexpectedly (heating, gas prices, insurance, etc)  What would you do more or less of?  Prioritize the things you could go without in the worst case scenario…  then implement some of those withholdings on a trial basis, you might be surprised!  BANG!  You just saved a few extra bucks for those kids to get to college!  When of course you are disciplined enough (as I know you are ;)) to save that money you just made.  

I have gone through this exercise with my family (because we now have to and I wish I did this when I did NOT have to!) and we have some good new money habits.  I have cut our grocery budget in half and everyone is a bit more aware of what we are spending and questioning whether or not its a good idea.  The discussions about money with my two kids (both almost 10) have been outstanding.  I can see how their feelings about money are being shaped as we speak.  I hope we are doing a good job!

Save like you have to.  Give it a shot because someday you might have to.

I’m just getting started and I couldn’t be more excited about the VALUE of my message yet I’m still poking around, talking, reading, listening and trying to learn about the best way to go about my business…  There is so much great (and not so great) material out here, it is easy to get distracted, overwhelmed, and ultimately lost.  So as I go through this process (I’m sure many of you can tell me how long I can expect it to last), I’m reminded of a few things but one struck me this morning…  I must have goals.  When we have goals, they must be SMART.

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Time-bound

Seems like most people know that there must be goals in here somewhere but without the guidelines of the widely applicable SMART acronym, we can get distracted, overwhelmed, and ultimately lost…  sounds familiar.

Set goals.  Be smart.

How do you stay on track??

Plan shopping efforts around the sales, plan it out and work the plan!  Discipline is required for sure.  Work the flyers hard each week and do NOT deviate.  Plot out your shopping stops during the course of the week and get there.  Once you have that list together, work it!   Once the goods are gathered, it’s time to plan the menu around what your catch.  I love bouncing around from store to store, using coupons, and shopping the sales.  My goal is to leave the store with a bag full of groceries for less than $5.  It doesn’t always work but a man needs to have goals!

Micro-Shopping take a few extra steps and a bit of planning but it pays.

The first step to recovery is that you admit you have a problem.  Right?  Do YOU have a money problem?  You may not have one or might not THINK you have a money problem but the numbers don’t lie.  I don’t know where to begin, pick a number, any number: 31% have NOT saved for retirement, average household has $8k credit card debt, 43% of families spend more than they make, by most accounts, 70% of American’s live like the top 1%.  So odds are that at least one of those really nice cars I saw on the road today must belong to one of our statistics, right?  Was it you?  Do you really know enough your financial situation to answer that question correctly?  

The first step is to clearly define your own reality.

We can assume that there are plenty of those high priced problems out there but that’s not what I’m concerned with.  I’m concerned with the middle class bump, like mine, where we’ve taken that reality check and fully understand and accept that action must be taken.  But what action??  I’ve never been here before.  We need to look around every corner, look at every label, and check that ego (we all have one!) at the door while we take personal inventory to define what we can and cannot, or will not, live without.  We all have our personal comfort zones, which should be tested but we do have our limits…  I will tell you right now, I am not yet at the point where I will make my own toothpaste.  You?  But I am crazy with the coupons, that’s a project I can manage.  It fits who I am.  There are so many ideas and suggestions out there for saving/managing our money, we can’t possibly do them all.  

Look at everything and identify what it is you must and are willing/able to change.

Take ownership of our situation.  Money has always been one of those taboo subjects in our society and that has literally cost us.  We’re getting better but still have a long way to go.  We need to take a step to look closely at what comes in and what goes out, cash flow (do you know your number?), only then can we accurately asses what type of action should be taken.  Open up the books!!

YOU must own it and take action.

We should all be so lucky to have high caring and high quality financial advice and coaching.  Tough to come by.  My Dad was high on the caring but lower on the quality than I would have liked but my financial advisor right now has decent quality but really couldn’t care less, let’s face it, he’s invested in me for the commission.  Trade, baby, trade!

I’ve got to do this on my own.  I’m doing it and I love to coach…

My sister and her husband got married, had a beautiful son, and bought a house recently.  Once we got past the akward, “are you sure you’re comfortable with me getting involved with your money?” out of the way, the high quality (relatively) financial  & some DailySaving, advice and coaching took flight and that is why I’m here.  With them my focus is sustainability.  If they, or our nation goes back to old habits, we’re in big trouble.

I love this stuff and I want to help.

I have 20 sales, leadership, and C.O.O. experience, my wife is the brains of this operation, she’s putting her PhD to work for the cause she loves, our schools.  I’m home now with the kids and I love it.  I have put my experience and expertise towards managing and leading (sort of) the household.  I have found that one of the things that worked for me throughout my career was my knack to Simplify.

Simplify to achieve goals at home.  One of my main goals is DailySaving. 

There are many numbers in your life that you know off the top of your head. Your birthday, height, weight (I didn’t say we had to necessarily like all the numbers), .406 (?), your anniversary (hopefully!), etc. But there is one number that we should know that most of us don’t. Some don’t know what it is, some don’t know how to get, others have trouble calculating it, and some just don’t want to know. Ignorance is bliss!

Cash Flow.
It’s a critical number that we should all have a handle on. It can tell you about the present and it can also tell you something about your future. It will tell you if you are sinking or swimming today and it will tell you if you will be able so save a dollar tomorrow.
If your cash flow is positive, things could be going swimmingly at the moment and you should look to save those extra dollars. If your cash flow is negative, you will have to take those dollars from somewhere else to keep your head above water.
Defining your current reality is the first important step to getting your financial house in order. Your Cash Flow number is a good place to start. If you don’t know where you are, you will not be able to figure out how to get to where you want to be. (unlike Google Maps, there isn’t something free and easy that will tell your current location, or cash flow position, thus giving you a starting point from which to build a good plan!) (calling for directions, what’s the first thing they ask you, “Ok, where are you coming from?”, next time you call, answer, “I have no idea”, see where that gets you!) We all have goals and ideas about where we want to be but without knowing where you are at the moment, you cannot begin to put a good plan together that will guide you that goal. Define your current reality. Know your cash flow number. (In it’s simplest form your cash flow number is calculated as Income - Expenses (all of them! That is a trickier exercise that you first think.)
Once you see that number for your household, the wheels start to turn. That’s what happened to me. “WHAT?!?” I went through the 7 stages of grief in a weekend and then decided to get to work on Monday morning. I needed to find ways to save money every day to help our family reach our goals!! DailySaving. That’s what this blog is about.
I commit to finding and sharing very good, practical, and simple ways to save on a daily basis. There is a lot great information out there, so how do we choose where to start or what to do?
The best plan is the implemented plan. Let’s move forward! Start with this number.