Personal Budgeting

I read a lot of Personal Finance blogs these days and the current vogue seems to fit the “X ways to do Y affordably” or the “X things you can do to save money” mold. You get the picture. Most of the posts contain fantastic advice, like this one, but what troubles me is the lack of focus on what really matters at the end of the day.

In times of economic crisis, what could be more crucial than money? Well, I’m right there with you, or at least I was until Monday morning when my three year old daughter taught me a lesson I hope never to forget. I’ll warn you though, if you have a low tolerance for cuteness then you may wish to skip the post.

Having a father that works two full-time jobs takes its toll on a family. Like most days, my daughter hates to see me gather my things just before I head out the door to work each morning. “Daddy, I want you to stay and play with me,” she said Monday as she often does. “Daddy has to go to work to earn money to pay for food and to keep the house warm,” I replied trying to create one of those “teachable moments” as they say, only I thought I was the teacher until my daughter proved me wrong. “If you’re cold, I will give you my blanket and you can stay with me and play,” came her reply.

Did you catch it? I sure did. I received the message loud and clear, delivered via the crystal clear, conscience of a child. There are more important things in this world than money, even in these troubling times. That may be hard for some to believe perhaps but the sentiment is the same at the other end of life where it has been said that no one ever confesses on their death bed, “I wish I had worked more.”

Yes, I still kissed my daughter good-bye Monday morning, and promised her like I do every day that she and daddy would play as soon as daddy got home later in the day. I also hugged her a little tighter than most days perhaps and I whispered “Thank you,” although she thought I was thanking her for the hug and kiss.

After hearing this story my colleague Dewayne commented that, “People need to be more conscious of the decisions they have been forced to make by an economy founded upon consumption. The choice,” he continued “is between making two cars payments, countless credit card payments, cable or satellite bill, and high speed Internet access OR sell the cars, buy two clunkers, sell some stuff, and spend more time with your family.”

In case you’re wondering, both Dewayne and I fall into the latter category. We both understand sacrifice but there are some we refuse to make and that is to sacrifice time best spent with those we love. They say, “Stuff comes and stuff goes,” but what remains, especially in times like these, are our loved ones who will be there through thick AND thin.

If you don’t get it, this blog post can’t help you and the most you can hope to take from it is a cute kid story. If you do get it and you’re ready to make a change, a great place to start is by making a plan. We think BudgetSketch is a great place to get started. Regardless, the proper perspective will reveal priorities. All you need to do is find a way to honor them.

We’ll cut you some slack. No lengthy post this time, on our blog anyway. However, we encourage all future and present college students, their parents, and/or their guardians to read Six sure fire ways for students to ruin their financial future.

We think all the advice is spot on except that we would council that students steer clear of all credit cards and use debit cards alone. We especially like item 1 for which we would like to recommend BudgetSketch in place of spreadsheets. BudgetSketch permits anyone to create a budget, set goals, and the best part… IT’S FREE!! Perfect for college students, and dare we say high school students as well? Also, students can grant parents and/or guardians access to their BudgetSketch account to add a measure of accountability.

OK, I know. We promised to keep it short!