Your Family Money Coach

03/09/2024

This is witty and covers a lot of interesting topics. Keeping it light and fun. 🤩

💵 Create a free Budget - Sign up for EveryDollar today! https://ter.li/1ri6n3About this episode:Today, I’m bringing together two of the biggest names in the...

01/17/2024

Hey friends,

I've been a bit absent from FB for the last few months. My wife and I completed the move to our new home and have been settling in nicely.

Just before Christmas, I released a video on YouTube and now realize I didn't share it here. While Christmas has come and gone, there are some great tips to make sure you stay on track this year and start saving for Christmas 2024 now.

If that sounds scary, or you don't even know where to start. That's why we're here. Send us a DM and we'd be happy to help you get on your way.

09/15/2023

Buying a new home is a big deal. If you're a first time home buyer, or are looking to make a move, checkout the 6 things you need to check BEFORE you buy.

Get your free downloadable checklist here: https://tinyurl.com/cxpbbcpw

Want just a recap of the 6 steps? Jump to the end (14:30:00)

09/13/2023

If you're following along this week, you'll see we've now got you in a really good spot. We've gotten a written budget (telling our money what to do). We have paid off ALL our debts (student loan, car loans, credit cards, personal loans) AND we have 3-6 months of expenses saved in an emergency fund. Wow, that feels good.

And, because of these steps, we're now ready to talk about #4 the Down Payment.

So how much do you need? Well, it depends. One thing is for sure, you don't want to have your mortgage payment (combined with utilities, property tax and home insurance) to be greater than 25-30% of your NET (yep that's take home) pay. This is important, because it leaves you with enough margin to continue putting cash away for retirement in addition to paying off your home. If you get down the road and have been paying a mortgage that's over these percentages, you'll have a whole lot of home equity, and still no money...

Remember, the goal is to have PEACE in our finances, that means we've looked at all aspects of the financial picture, and made good choices in all the major areas.

Go ahead and punch in some numbers using a mortgage calculator, add the home purchase price (of the home in an area you're thinking of looking) a down payment amount that you think will work for you and it'll give you an approx. mortgage amount. Add in your utilities, property taxes and home insurance and see if that monthly number is greater than 30% of your take home pay. If it is, you can either increase the down payment or lower the house price. Find a reasonable spot and start SAVING for that down payment.

09/12/2023

Are you still tracking? We've got a budget in place, paid off all our debts, now..

Save 3-6 months of expenses for your emergency fund. The last thing anyone needs when they buy a new house is to wake up 2 weeks later only to find that they can't afford to fix the roof that is now leaking. I know, it won't happen to you... That's because you'll have an emergency fund of 3-6 months expenses.

The emergency fund is the 3rd step out of six that we'll check off to know whether we're ready to buy a house.

Think you know what's coming next? Drop it in the comments below.

09/11/2023

Now that you’ve got a clear picture about where your money is going, and you’ve given every dollar a job with your zero based budget, let's jump in to the next way you’ll know that you’re ready to buy a house.

If you’re thinking about buying a house, you want to be certain you have a strong financial backbone. That means, you need to be debt free… Yes, that’s right. If you have debt, you shouldn’t be buying a house.�� I know this may not make me popular, but I’m less worried about my popularity than I am about helping people make buying a house a blessing, not a curse. When you enter into home ownership with a bunch of payments on debts, and you’re working on paying off past purchases, you’re not financially fit enough to make the LARGEST financial transaction of your life. Seriously… please stop and think before buying a home when you are in debt.

Now, let’s be clear on what a debt is. If you have credit card balances, student loans, car payments, you owe taxes or you borrowed money from a friend or family member, you’re in debt. The payments you need to make on debt will not only keep you from being able to save for a downpayment, you’ll be less prepared to take on the responsibility of home ownership and if life comes at you, you might just end up in worse shape than before you bought a house.

So, if you’re in debt and you want to buy a house, let your home buying goal be your motivation to get on a budget (spending plan) and start tackling your debts with intentionality AND intensity.

If you want to learn more about how to pay off debts quickly, or you need help getting started on a budget, you can reach out over private message or leave a comment below. ��With time, intentionality and intensity you can become a home owner. Even if you’re in debt right now. Your past decisions are NOT a life sentence. You can make a decision today to start making different choices.

09/10/2023

There are six steps you can take to review whether you're ready to buy a house. Today, we'll walk through the first one.

So you’ve figured out that owning IS a good idea for you and your family. You know you’ll be staying put for about 5 years and now you want to understand what it takes to be financially ready to move. Before we go too far, I want to make sure you’re already on a written budget (remember, a budget is you telling your money what to do, instead of wondering where it went. It’s about being intentional with your money).

If you’re not yet on a written budget, now is the time. How can you know if you can afford a home if you’re not paying attention to your money? I like to work with a zero based budget. This allows us to “assign” each dollar we have to do a job. Now, we only want to assign money we ACTUALLY HAVE. No future guessing based on what could be. (You can do that on a separate sheet for fun…) I know what you’re thinking, who does budgeting forecasts for fun? Well, I do… haha.

Whether budgeting is something you look forward to or not, everyone needs a budget! Period. End of story. Walking through a forest with a blindfold on is dangerous, you might trip on roots, twist your ankle in a rabbit hole, or even run face first into a tree. (There’s a high probability you will). Why then, do we choose to walk through life with a financial blindfold? Money is not evil, and paying attention to it doesn’t make you evil. In fact, it makes you a responsible grown up.

If you’re not on a budget and you don’t know where to get started, you can watch our previous post where we walk through a basic zero based budget. If you need some assistance, why not ask be part of our “your budget walk-through”. We will go through a budget with you and then, I’ll record a breakdown for others to learn from your budget and I’ll make recommendations based on your personal situation. Only your budget numbers are used, your name and any private information will be kept private. This is an easy way to get some free coaching, so why not give it a try?

Checkout our post on starting your first budget - https://fb.watch/mQ5HOi-vWW/

Teaser.. Stay tuned until the end of the week when we'll release a video walking you through all 6 steps!

09/02/2023

In two weeks my wife (Cher) and I will close on our new home. As you would expect, we are excited to start this next chapter of our lives. And as first time home buyers, we’re finding out quickly all the little details that you just can’t “know” until you experience them firsthand.

This week, I wanted to explore “when is it time to buy a home?” If you’re someone dreaming about purchasing your first home, I want to share with you how to be prepared and understand what it truly means to be “ready to buy”.

Stay tuned as we talk about this hot topic, which is sure to stir up some feelings and opinions.

07/02/2023

It’s official! The no spend challenge is over.

I don’t know about you, but our family is happy to move into summer with some extra money saved.

Being intentional and paying attention to where the money was going, while working as a team, made the month of June a blessing to our savings.

06/22/2023

Want to get some professional help with your budget for free?

We're doing something new. Its called "Your Budget Walkthrough"

Here's how it works:

I'm looking for volunteers to share their budget with me (I'll send you some stuff to fill out). Then, we will have a free 30 min consultation so I understand your situation. Then I'll walk through your budget online while I make recommendations. You will remain anonymous throughout the process. You can take or leave the suggestions we make.

Interested? This might be the 'leg up' you need to kick off summer right! Send me an email: [email protected] to be our first volunteer for Your Budget Walkthrough

06/21/2023

We are almost 3 full weeks into the no-spend challenge and it's the first day of summer!

The good news... You've likely saved a bunch of money already if you've applied some of the tips we've given you.

The bad news... You may feel like you're missing out on doing fun things together.

BUT

There are a lot of great ways to spend time together for free!

- Go to the park and have a picnic
- Visit a local natural area (if you like hiking)
- Have a family bike ride
- "Rent" a movie from the library and make popcorn at home
- Have a campout in your living room in a fort or homemade tent
- Look for free events in your city -- remember to bring your own drinks and snacks!

It won't be long before the month is over; if you've come this far you'll be excited about how much money you've saved.

I'm excited for you! Way to go!