Hope Financial Coaching Service

12/16/2023

He wads up: someone is sending out texts to some of our friends. Do not respond. The yext asks you to call. Do not call that number. Ignore the text.

12/02/2022

It's happening this Sunday at 1pm. Join City Church's presentation of "The Christ of Christmas". The Christ of Christmas is written and presented by Rick and Val McGough. City Church is presently meeting at Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church at 951 Lincoln Avenue, Jacksonville, IL.

06/03/2022

In the early days of Covid, our statewide ministry leadership team gave the ministers a list of things that indicated fatigue in ministry. One item on the list was focusing on a "grass is greener" syndrome. They said something powerful in that zoom call that I've never forgot: "People don't Instagram their worst days."

People often look at things others are posting and wish they had what they had, experienced what they were experiencing, etc. In my financial coaching training, Dave Ramsey's team also highlighted this, and even taught us that many people will post things that are not true just to look like they are doing well.
Advice? Love yourself as you are. God loves you as you are, why not love yourself as you are?

The scripture reminds us: 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6 (KJV). Enjoy YOUR life!

Why not stop and give God thanks for what you do have (rather than remorse over what someone else has that you don't)?

An attitude of gratitude will keep you from tumbling over the edge into poor spiritual, financial, and even physical decisions.

The grass only looks greener on the other side. As my wife says, "What people fail to realize is what makes the grass greener on the other side is a whole lot of manure." Think about it.

If you're struggling in this area, let me recommend a really good book (besides the Bible of course, which reminds you that you are fearfully and wonderfully made): "Love Your Life, Not Theirs" by Rachel Cruze.

04/29/2022

Inflation is not only seen, it is felt. It is felt in the tightening of your budget, and the emotions that go with it. No matter what baby step you are on inflation is causing you to feel like your purchasing power is shrinking, because it is.

The best solution is not to wait for government to figure out what to do (when has waiting on the government ever been a great solution?). The only thing you have control of is you. You can adjust your spending and come through this trial just fine. A budget is more critical now than ever, but what does a person do to minimize the effect of inflation?

I'm posting a recent Ramsey solutions article on how to adjust for inflation in your budget/spending/saving. Remember, you can always take a side-gig for a while. Pizza delivery, part-time jobs, working your own business out of your garage, garage sales, etc., are just a few of the things you can do to make more money and offset inflation's impact.

Inflation is zapping Americans of their money faster each month. But you’re not powerless against those rising numbers. Here’s how to combat inflation.

08/27/2021

Borrowed from Dave Ramsey. Enjoy!

03/09/2021

Good advice from Chris Hogan and the Dave Ramsey Financial team. Stick to the proven plan folks!

We can make predictions all day long, but no one knows what’s going to happen in 2021. Here are important trends that could contribute to a stock market crash.

07/19/2020

https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/debt-snowball-dave-ramsey

The debt snowball is Baby Step 2 of my plan for getting out of debt.

06/27/2020

https://www.facebook.com/daveramsey/videos/2720248134888785/

05/24/2020

Great advice from the team at Dave Ramsey...

Here's what you need to know. But don’t wait around for the government to cut you check.

03/23/2020

Quoted from Chris Hogan...

"These are uncertain times—and uncertainty might make you feel afraid.

If you’re feeling panicked about money, I want you to hear me on this: You are not alone, and you will be okay. Let’s remain focused on what we can control so we can make good decisions moving forward.

People are wanting to know how COVID-19 will affect their finances. Here are some of the top questions I’m getting about how to handle money:
1. Should I cash out my investments or take my money out of the bank?
No. The stock market is like a roller coaster—so don’t jump off in the middle of the ride. If you pull your money out now, you’ll guarantee a loss. But if you ride it out, you can bet that eventually the value will go back up. And bank deposits are insured by the FDIC and protected up to at least $250,000.

2. How long will this last?
To be honest . . . I don’t know. What I do know is that the economy will recover. Look at history as a guide. The market has always gone back up—even after the 2008 crash and other pandemics like SARS.

3. What should I do to protect myself and my family right now?
You need to go into conserve mode. This means cutting unnecessary spending, like cable or gym memberships. Focus on paying for the Four Walls—the absolute necessities:
• Food
• Utilities
• Shelter
• Transportation
4. How can I give myself some cushion in case of job loss?
Now is the time to build up your emergency fund. Focus on getting 3–6 months of expenses saved up. If you’re receiving a tax refund, put that money in a savings account. If you need extra money, sell some things around the house or look for part-time work at companies that are experiencing high demand.
We are going to continue this conversation about the coronavirus and the economy on Instagram so I can talk to everyone in real time. If you have questions, join the Everyday Millionaires Facebook group, or send us an email at [email protected].

Don’t let fear dominate you. YOU are in control!"

11/07/2019

Our household is BIG on Christmas. We love celebrating this season for lots of reasons. We celebrate Christ's birth in our house, but also love sharing this season with family and friends.

Of course we give gifts, too! I used to go CRAZY at Christmas, charging up huge amounts and paying it off later. No more! There's a better way -- Budget for Christmas and don't go over your limit.

Of course, you've got to plan for Christmas ahead of time, and save up for the gifts you plan to buy. Be reasonable; only do what you can afford to do--take the pressure off. But if you do plan to buy gifts, build a budget for Christmas and stick to it.

If you're trying to find ways to generate cash to help pay for Christmas, read this article I've pasted below...

Christmas isn't as far off as you might think. Get a jump-start on saving money for Christmas now! We'll show you how to save $1,000 in 12 easy steps!

10/21/2019

Steps to winning with money...

Hi Everybody! As I have time, I'm going to begin posting basic steps to winning with money. You don't have to do any of the things I recommend, but if you will try them, you can turn your life around financially. Where do we begin??? Well...

Here's the word everybody dreads: Start with a "Budget."

Simple truth is, in order to win with money, you need a spending and savings plan. So if you hate the word budget, call it something else...for example, "My monthly spending plan."

How do you determine what should be in your spending plan? Basics, for sure, like house payment (rent or mortgage), utilities, food, and transportation costs are the first places to start. From there, whatever other expenses you have each month should be accounted for, and listed in your plan.

Your spending plan will include whatever you need it to.

If you have no idea where you're spending your money, why not track your expenses over a 30 day period to discover where the money is really going. I bet many of you would be surprised to discover just how you're spending the money.

This simple step would reveal where you could cut out some miscellaneous expenses, and give yourself a raise.

For example, if you're eating out for lunch every day, spending $10 a day, that's $200 a month. Just reducing that expense a little, (eating out three days a week and brown bag it the other two days), and you'd have an immediate $80 a month raise (because you'd be saving $20 a week off your eating out total).

Ben Franklin said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." This is what he meant: money you save becomes money you earn (money you keep in your pocket) for other necessary expenses, like a car repair or unexpected medical bill.

You can track your expenses through a lot of different apps. Dave Ramsey's Every Dollar is a good one, but if you don't like that, try quicken, or even a spreadsheet of your own. The key is to get serious about it and track every expense.

Once you've got your list of expenses, compare what you're spending with what you're making to see how you're doing. Make a game of it. If you've got extra, you're winning! If you see you're in negative territory, look at your expenses to see what you can eliminate, and work hard to get back to even.

The point is start somewhere, and do it today!