2014 May

God Wants the First Bite of Pie

May 31, 2014 by Brian 15 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #42 - “Honor the Lord with your possession, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” - Proverbs 3:9-10

Ever let someone else take the first bite off a piece of your pie?

I don’t understand it but a psychological thrill ride occurs when I slide a fork through the tip of a triangular shaped slice of pie. It’s as though I’m embarking on a slow, taste sensation journey, the first step of which is to destroy the perfectly symmetrical geometric figure.

When someone else takes the first bite, the whole pie eating experience is diminished. The rest of the piece doesn’t taste quite the same. When I’m polite enough to let this happen, I’m totally bored eating the rest of it. It’s as though my mind is saying, “Eh…it’s just pie.”

A part of me is happy for the person I gave that first bite to. I know they appreciate it. The look of pleasure on their face as the piece dissolves in their mouth gives that away.

Deep down, I’m envious and selfish. It was my pie after all. Shouldn’t I enjoy the pleasures of the first bite?

That’s right…it’s all about my needs.

How can I stop thinking like that?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Giving, Hidden Nuggets Series Tagged With: Blessings, Giving, Pie, Sacrifice

The Fear of Spending Again Once the Debt Is Gone

May 29, 2014 by Brian 32 Comments

“Can We Ever Step Off the Gas With Our Finances?” That’s a question I asked just over a year ago on this blog. That post looked at when it might be appropriate to loosen the reins on the budget and relax the tightfisted control we have over our spending as we pursue certain financial goals.

My answer left open a great deal of room for debate. I concluded that “it depends” on many factors, such as:

…the depth of the person’s dreams.

…the levels of debt still to pay off.

…if a person is facing an expensive medical issue.

…if there is some form of crisis on the horizon.

…how large the bank account/investments have become.

…how old a person may be.

To reach any financial goal requires intense focus and discipline. The debt payoff journey may be the hardest of them all. When you are waist deep in it, the finish line may as well be half a world away.

With perseverance the day will eventually come when all the debt is gone. When that happens so many choices open up. One of the biggest is how to spend all the freed up money that was going towards debt.

Having recently paid off our mortgage early, I can attest that the “no debt world” is a great place to be. However, something else is at work that was totally unexpected.

I’m finding it difficult to relax my spending.

The Fear of Falling Off the Wagon

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Filed Under: Debt, Spending Tagged With: Debt, Discipline, Spending

How We Are Paying For Summer Vacations With Cash

May 27, 2014 by Brian 29 Comments

Niagara Falls

Our school is out for the year, so for me that means summer has arrived. I know the official start date of summer here in North America isn’t until June 21^st. The astronomers and weathermen can push that date all they want. Once the kids start sleeping until 9 am or later, I know something has changed.

Summer brings with it vacations, which our family thoroughly enjoys. We usually take one big trip (a week+) and one short trip (3-4 days) each summer. This year will be no different as we will be embarking on a week long trek from Atlanta to Niagara Falls and back, followed later in the summer by a weekend cruise to the Bahamas.

Neither of those trips will be cheap, although we did get an incredible deal on the cruise (more on that in a moment). Nevertheless, we won’t be going into debt for either of them. All our vacation expenditures will be paid for in cash (through using our debit card).

How are we doing that?

Two words: “planning” and “saving.”

Early Planning Leads to Deals

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Filed Under: Debt, Saving, Spending Tagged With: Debt, Saving, Spending, Vacation

A Memorial Day Task: Teach Your Kids to Remember the Fallen

May 25, 2014 by Brian 12 Comments

During one of my classes this past school year, I happened to mention the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. I was a little surprised my descriptions of that tragedy and its aftermath didn’t elicit the kind of reaction I expected. Not that the students were indifferent, it just didn’t seem to draw out the same emotions that I was feeling while sharing that story.

Then it hit me…they are only 14 and 15 years old. How old were they on 9/11? One? Two?

They didn’t live through that day like the rest of America.

They don’t know many of the details.

They have no emotional connection to it.

They were too young for that event to have significant meaning. It’s not their fault. It’s just the reality of when they were born.

So many people died that day. Many more fell in the resulting wars that followed, as they fought to defend our way of life. Today’s youth need to be reminded of that fact.

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Filed Under: Current Events Tagged With: Freedom, Honor, Memorial Day, Sacrifice

Since the Dawn of Time Our Purpose Has Involved Work

May 23, 2014 by Brian 4 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #41 - “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” - Genesis 2:15

In light of my decision to quit my job and become a stay at home dad, I’ve been reflecting on how my work will change going forward. It will be different for sure as I won’t have a typical employer-employee relationship. I’ll be responsible to make sure tasks get completed around the home and that my writing stays on track. Of course, my wife will be around to monitor how things are going, but I’ll essentially be accountable to myself for it to happen.

Whether a person is a homemaker or a CEO work can become tedious and tiresome. Many get sick and tired of their jobs and begin to look for ways to escape. At times it seems the best thing would be to win the Mega-Millions Jackpot and escape to the beaches of paradise, never to work again.

If you feel that way perhaps a different perspective is in order. It’s time to realize that humans were endowed with the nature to work from the very beginning. Even the first two created beings could not escape it, even in paradise.

Being Guided to Your Calling

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Work Tagged With: Fulfillment, God, Pleasure, Purpose, Work

Do You Want to Beat the Market for 60 Cents Per Hour?

May 21, 2014 by Guest 10 Comments

The following is a guest post from Graham Clark at Moneystepper.com

Why do we invest? Presumably, we all invest money to obtain the best returns we can to improve our financial future. Effectively, this means that we are investing to earn money.

We invest in the stock market because we think it “pays well”. Investing in the stock market (assuming we can earn the market returns of the S&P 500 since 1970) can earn us 15.79%. Alternatively, holding money in cash returns approximately 5%.

Investing in the stock market is therefore the equivalent of working at a legal firm instead of McDonalds – the wages are better.

Hourly wage of investing

Let’s say you have $10,000 invested in the Vanguard S&P 500 (with an annual TER of 0.1%). Therefore, your average annual return, after costs, is equal to $1,569. How much work did this take? To set up your Vanguard account and buy the fund, and then to completely forget about it for the year, probably takes about one hour.

So, you are earning an hourly basic wage of $1,569 per hour. Not bad. Well done you!

Now, I’m going to give you the opportunity to earn another 60 cents per hour. Would you like to do that?

You probably wouldn’t. Moreover, you would probably report me to the authorities for exploiting my employees!! But, millions of people are doing this when they are trying to beat the market.

Can you beat the market?

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Filed Under: Investing Tagged With: Investing, Stock Market, Wages, Work

Why I’m Quitting My Job To Be A Stay At Home Dad

May 19, 2014 by Brian 104 Comments

You read that right. It’s not a misprint or a trick to get attention. As of Friday, May 23^rd 2014, I will no longer be formally employed.

After 17 years in education serving as a principal, teacher, coach and mentor, I’m quitting my job to be a stay at home dad.

Those are the most exciting words I’ve ever typed on this blog! I’m starting a new journey.

They are also the scariest words I’ve ever typed on this blog because I’m starting a new journey.

I’ve waited a long time to share this news and start talking about what has brought our family here. It hardly seems real even after formally declaring my intentions. Maybe it will hit me next week as I start to clear out my classroom. My guess is I won’t feel it’s full impact until sometime next fall, probably on the first day of the new school year.

This decision appears to have come out of nowhere to those in my circle of influence. Obviously the students were surprised last week when I shared the news with them. I hadn’t hinted at this at all, even though I’ve known for some time this was going to be my final year. What appears to those outside to be a surprise, is actually the culmination of a multi-year prayer journey.

That’s right…I don’t make decisions quickly. Especially when it comes to leaving a place to which I’ve committed my entire adult working life.

I can’t unpack all there is to share about this move in one single post. So if you came here looking for a step-by-step tutorial on how to become a stay at home dad or the financial challenges associated with it, that’s coming later.

For now, I’d simply like to focus on “the why.”

Following Through On the Stay at Home Dad Desire

Life is a series of choices. Sometimes those choices collide and cause friction no matter which option is chosen. Regardless of the situation, we can never say we don’t have a choice. There are always options.

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Filed Under: Career, Marriage, Work Tagged With: Career, Kids, Parenting, Stay at home dad

The Real Secret to Developing a Work Ethic in Kids

May 17, 2014 by Brian 6 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #41 - “Therefore, I urge you to imitate me.” I Corinthians 4:16

father and son with spiked black and orange mohawk

Like father, like son

The messages this week at Luke1428 have all centered around the benefits, both financial and emotional, that children can receive from doing work. My wife and I have been teaching our children that labor leads to profit and that if they don’t work they won’t get paid. Those are big messages and the sooner they learn them the better.

Have you ever wondered how a solid work ethic gets ingrained in a child? Is it something they are born with? Does it come through the hearing of verbal instructions given by adults? Or maybe it results as a reaction to punishment received for laziness or disobedience.

Those ideas have merit. However, I don’t believe any of them in and of themselves will ultimately produce a child with a strong work ethic. What will ultimately do it? The answer is simpler than you think:

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Kids and Money, Work Tagged With: Behaviors, Kids, Model, Work

How Much We Pay Our Kids For Chores

May 15, 2014 by Brian 27 Comments

“In all labor there is profit…” That was the message from my Tuesday post on why we don’t give our kids allowances. I’m not giving them money just for existing, which is what an allowance implies. Kids need to feel the burden of work so they can experience the joy of its rewards.

Would your kids know which setting to use?

In addition to earning some money, doing chores around the house is teaching them responsibility. The home is where they should begin to learn basic life skills. I knew some freshman college students who couldn’t do their own laundry. My oldest two children have been doing that since they were nine.

Questions About Paying Kids For Chores

There are so many questions that arise for parents on the issue of paying kids for chores. Some of the big ones we’ve wrestled with include:

“At what age should we start?”

“What tasks should my kids be doing?”

“Do I pay them for everything?”

“How much should I be paying them?”

I’m not sure there is a cut and dry answer to those questions. We’ve gone back and forth on the issues since we began our work-for-pay commission program. Five years into it, this is how we see it:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Kids and Money, Work Tagged With: Chores, Money, Pay, Work

Finding the Qualities of Successful People in Yourself

May 14, 2014 by Guest 12 Comments

The following guest post is from My Money Design, a personal finance blog that is all about developing your passion for success.

MyMoneyDesign.com

When you think of famous celebrities or business figures, to what do you attribute to their success? Hard work? Talent? Or just the irrevocable notion that they got that way by being at the right place at the right time?

Sure we’d all like to believe that luck had everything to do with it. We also like to convince ourselves that we somehow missed the bus and could have been just as successful as these people if we had been in the right place as well. But that’s simply not true.

Developing the Qualities of Successful People

Although I’m no celebrity, I know that one of the best things I can do for myself is to emulate the qualities of successful people to get what I want. Everything I’ve ever gotten, I’ve earned through hard work and passion. I don’t owe chance anything for my accomplishments. I believe that success is less about being lucky and mostly all about creating your own luck.

Here’s another way I choose to look at it:

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Filed Under: Goals, Inspiration Tagged With: Doing, Learning, Planning, Success

Why We Don’t Give Our Kids Allowances

May 13, 2014 by Brian 30 Comments

2 out of 3 working hard

Does it seem our culture has lost the passion for hard work? I look around and see adults taking risky, unnecessary shortcuts in an attempt to get ahead in their career. I see people playing the lottery to get rich quick instead of choosing to build wealth over time.

Then there are those people in tough financial situations that won’t take certain jobs because they consider the position beneath their standards. Really? Must not be that desperate.

Our mindset has changed to thinking we should be given things simply because we deserve it. Someone else (like the government) will provide for me, right? So why work?

Sad thing is, these attitudes are being scooped up by our young people. We have a generation of kids who bristle at the idea of doing a 30-minute homework assignment on a Tuesday night. Cuts into their Snapchat time. If they do muster the desire to attempt the work, they only put in half the effort. They shut down if the answer to a problem causes them to think for more than two consecutive minutes.

More and more kids are refusing to push themselves to work. They are opting out of excellence. And when they fail, someone or something else is to blame.

If we are going to succeed in life and with money, we have to clearly embrace a concept found in the Bible - “In all labor there is profit but idle chatter leads only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23)

That’s why we are not giving our children allowances.

The Value of Work

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Filed Under: Kids and Money, Work Tagged With: Kids, Money, Values, Work

God Wants the First Bite of Pie