Hope for your financial life and beyond

What’s More Valuable: Short or Long-Term Goals?

Goals puzzleWe usher in October tomorrow which means that 2013 is rapidly coming to an end. Remember all those New Year’s resolutions you swore would be accomplished this year? How did those goals pan out?

Most likely you accomplished some and dropped some. That’s the norm for most of us. I’ve been able to finish two short-term goals and two long-term goals so far this year. I postponed one to be completed in 2014. The only long-term goal I have left for this year concerns my running.

Goals give us targets to shoot for and assist us in moving forward in life areas that we feel need improvement. When they are written properly, they serve to keep us focused and motivated. When accomplished, they give us an incredible boost of confidence and spur us on to create greater ones. I love the feeling of winning with my goals.

Bringing my goals into the public eye this year via this blog has been an interesting experience. It’s helped me develop a clearer understanding of goals and their importance in my life. Most notably, I’ve realized the need to establish a balance between goals that can be accomplished quick and those that will take some more time. Both types have value, bringing unique things into my life.

The Value of Short-Term Goals

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A Trick to Staying Motivated

Hidden Nugget Series #11 - “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9

Man in TunnelTwo weeks from today several significant milestones will take place in the Luke1428 household. On Friday, Oct. 11th, I’ll be flying to Maryland to compete in the Baltimore Marathon over the weekend. That event will bring to an end my arduous 5-month training schedule that has seen its share of nagging injuries, post-run ice packs and more diet restrictions than I care to think about. (Can I please just have a soda?!)

That same day Mrs. Luke1428 will turn in her final grad school assignment in what has been a three-year vocational transition from teaching high school math to becoming a full-fledged CPA at a private accounting firm. We’ve already celebrated the completion of her CPA requirements and this last class wraps up her quest to secure an MBA as well. I’ve written extensively in my monthly updates how mentally and emotionally challenging this has been for the entire family. I really can’t believe we’ve made it to the end of our long, dark tunnel.

Anything of value worth seeking brings some kind of hardship. Invariably the intense pursuit makes it incredibly difficult to keep moving forward day in and day out. The end looms so far in the distance. Weariness sets in. Discouragement soon follows. And then the questions begin.

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Plan Your Budget Around These 5 Expenses

Lamborghini

Although you may not need this Lamborghini Gallardo, reliable transportation is a Top Five budget expense.

The first time I planned a real budget with my wife, we didn’t know where to start. With literally dozens of expense categories popping into our head, the whole process seemed a bit overwhelming. At some point it dawned on us that we needed some clarity and we obtained that by going back and evaluating our basic needs.

There are five fundamental expenditures that all budgets should revolve around. Without them, any person would have a difficult time surviving. These categories will also be some of the most expensive items each month. Those two reasons alone justify us starting with them when we plan our budget each month.

Food.

Our bodies need fuel. Without it, we become physically weak and mentally drained. We would be unable to carry out basic functions without the daily allotment of calories our body systems require.

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High Risk Investing: When I Turned One Thousand Dollars Into…

Dollar SignI marvel at how Wall Street creates wealth. Purchase a few 100 shares in a small company that hits it’s stride or a start-up that goes supernova and you could be a millionaire inside a decade. That’s not the norm, for investors as it usually takes multiple decades of steady, solid investing to create significant wealth. But it does happen from time to time, as we all have seen.

That’s why we get caught up in new companies and try to buy in on the opening day of trading. IPOs (initial public offerings) tend to be extremely volatile, which is why investors are better off waiting for several months before they decide to purchase shares. (Unless you were investing in the 1990s bull market Internet frenzy when pretty much all IPOs skyrocketed on day one. Heck, mygrandmother.com would have opened 50 points higher!)

What if you could purchase shares in a company before it went public though? That would be stratospheric high risk investing - putting money into a company that might not even make it to market. Technically, I wouldn’t even call that investing. More like speculation.

Would you do that given the opportunity? Put money on the line with a chance to hit it big or lose it all? Here’s the story of when I did.

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The Boy vs. the Blog - Exercises in Giving

Hidden Nugget Series #10 - “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42

800px-Football_on_groundToo often my thoughts degenerate into believing that only quantity has value. In other words, I mistakenly believe that when giving, it needs to be done in great amounts. While there are times and places to give generously, perhaps even exorbitantly, I’m convinced that isn’t the norm.

Last week I’m seated one evening at our downstairs computer pounding out another Luke1428 blog post. I’m on a roll as each sentence is coming quickly. (Oh if it were only this easy to write every blog post.) Then half-way through my glorious blog-writing experience, disaster struck.

My 10-year old son peeks around the corner and asks me to throw the football with him.

Ugh. Major cognitive dilemma.

Do I go play with him and risk losing my train of thought? (It’s incredible frustrating to have a writing groove interrupted.) Or do I simply tell him “Sorry bud, daddy is working and can’t play right now?”

What would you do?

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Be Fearless

“The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Psalm 118:6

I’m honored today to be a guest contributor at a new blog dedicated to the courage it requires to face personal financial struggles. Todd and John from FearlessMen.com have branched out with a new site called FearlessDollar. I’m there today with several other bloggers providing some insights and helping them jump start their new project.

When we choose to get radical with our personal finances fear becomes our greatest challenger. It binds us up and locks us down. We become completely immobilized as the multitude of fears line up at our front door.

dark tunnel

Are you ready to confront your fears?

Fear of the unknown.

Fear of change.

Fear of a new money management process.

Fear of ridicule from others who think we are crazy.

Fear of the future.

Fear our past will repeat itself.

Fear of our ability to complete the mission.

Because fear represents the greatest challenge, it needs to become our greatest opportunity. Confronting and overcoming our fears moves us emotionally and spiritually forward in ways we could not possibly dream about.

Please click here to head on over the FearlessDollar.com to give Todd and John a shout out on their new venture.

And be fearless today. It’s time to confront what’s in the dark tunnel.

What was the greatest fear you faced upon decided to tackle your personal finance issues?

Image at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Next Post: The Boy vs. the Blog: Exercises in Giving

Prior Post: How to Get Out of Debt

How to Get Out of Debt

Debt thermometerIs debt casting a stranglehold on your finances? Take heart, you are not alone. Millions of Americans choose to remain shackled with boatloads of consumer debt and never do anything to get out of it. Well, nothing substantive anyway.

You don’t have to ignore the mountain of debt piling up. In fact, it would be better if you didn’t because excessive debt will cripple the wealth building process. It will mess up your savings, the kids college funding, and even your retirement investing. In many cases, it also ruins relationships.

Perhaps people choose to ignore their plight because they are blind to debt’s affects in their life. Some probably enjoy the perks that come from excessive spending. Maybe in some cases, the mountains are so overwhelmingly high people don’t know where to begin climbing.

The 5 Steps to Get Out of Debt

Whatever your circumstance, this post can help. The steps to get out of debt are easy enough to understand. However, they are more challenging to implement. And I’m probably not going to start at the place you would expect.

It all begins with attitude.

Step #1: Get angry

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The Secret Weapon to Contentment

Hidden Nuggets Series #9 - “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Philippians 4:11-12

Contentment - mountaintopOnce upon a time (circa mid-2002), an AmerIcan athlete produced a legendary press conference rant about the apparent need to show up for prActIce. After a first round playoff loss, his coach cAsItgated him for missing one prActIce, maybe two, maybe three…we don’t really know how many. The AgItated player argued to the reporters that a discussion about prActIce was immAterIal compared to his performance in the actual games - in what really mattered. He concluded his prActIce rant by exclAIming “How can I make my teammates better by prActIcing?”

I hated practicing basketball when tired or aching. But you are fully aware of the same thing I came to realize about practice - it produces greatness. We aren’t born instantaneously great. Greatness comes slowly over time, as our mind, body and soul learns and adapts to whatever we are pursuing.

In the verse above, the missionary Paul shares with us in the Bible the secret of contentment. He learned it. This makes me think it didn’t come naturally for him, just like it doesn’t come naturally for me.

Contentment had to be achieved…most likely through daily submission and practice.

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Shock Treatment to Break Your Financial Procrastination

Shock coilsCollege breeds procrastinators.

At no time of my life did I put more things off until the last minute than my first few months in college. Every hour something new would entice me to put the books aside and enjoy the other, more exciting things college had to offer.

The pickup hoops game at the gym.

The late night pizza runs.

The cute girl one dorm over.

Time and time again this would happen, especially early on in my college life. As a result of my attention to anything unrelated to studies, I would often find myself starting papers at 11:00 pm that were due the next afternoon. Talk about putting your back up against a wall. It was an all night scramble of writing, filled with Mountain Dew and Ho-Hos.

“Fairly quickly” is the answer to the question “How long did it take you to develop a more disciplined attitude?” Had to…my freshman GPA (and ultimately my graduation) was depending on it. I realized there was no way I could maintain those negative patterns of time management and succeed at that level of education.

Procrastination creeps into all areas of our life. We put off dealing with relationship issues, work assignments, our spiritual health and even kid problems. Perhaps in no area does it rear its ugly head more so than in the world of personal finance. What is it about money that keeps us from confronting our difficulty with managing it?

Are you a personal finance procrastinator? Ever said any of these things:

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Are You Ready to Live to 100?

100This coming February, 2014, our family will be gathering in central Indiana to celebrate a centenarian life. My grandfather will be turning 100 and I’m sure there will be a festive party at the retirement community where he lives. What makes this even more remarkable is that he will be the second member of his family to reach this age. His sister is still alive and kicking at 102.

Both are generally healthy for their age and maintain an active lifestyle (as much as possible for a 100-yr. old). My grandfather, a preacher all his life, still helps lead church services for the other retirees and is an active writer in his journals. His sister still enjoys playing pool in the rec-hall basement. They both tune in every day to watch the Chicago Cubs play and then rehash the game with one another.

While living to 100 is still not the norm, their longevity represents a growing trend in the U.S. and the rest of the world. People are staying healthier and living longer. In fact, the Population Division of the United Nations estimated in 2012 there were 316,000 centenarians worldwide, with the U.S., Japan and China leading the way with the most.

This becomes even more pronounced when it is compared to statistics from the 1930s, the decade Social Security Act was passed into law. [Read more…]

My Fantasy Football Obsession: Finding Life Balance

NFL Fan Map

Hidden Nuggets Series #8

The NFL season kicked off last night with the Denver Broncos playing host to the Baltimore Ravens. The long, tedious summer of Major League Baseball is coming to a close and there is no better remedy than good old-fashioned football. Let’s be honest, MLB doesn’t hold a candle to the NFL (or college football for that matter) in popularity.

It also doesn’t compare in fantasyland.

I started playing fantasy football in 2006 in an 8-team league with some of my friends. I won our leagues’ inaugural championship going 12-2. Since then, I’ve lost in the championship game two other times and have only incurred one losing season. My overall record stands at a healthy 60-36.

If you have never played there is something you need to understand…fantasy football COMPLETELY changes how you watch an NFL game. Here’s how.

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