Southern Indiana Asset Building Coalition
Asset Building Coalition
I am so pleased with the response our attendees had to our big event – we all walked away with a new level of awareness about our own habits and attitudes in addition to ways to help those we serve and those we love create a more stable financial future!
Check out the article here.
Thanks, as always, to our local paper for covering important events in the community!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend Sparking Change, an event hosted by Southern Indiana Asset Building Coalition in recognition of Money Smart Week.
The professional development workshop offered many relevant components from identifying your relationship with money, mapping your money dreams and highlights from 5 important community resources doing amazing things.
Syble Solomon, creator of the My Money Habitudes program was the keynote speaker and started the morning with her presentation on our emotional relationship with money. Our ‘Habitudes’ are the habits and attitudes we carry about everything really. What we DO based on how we FEEL.
We played the ‘game’ associated with the My Money Habitudes program and discovered that there are 6 ‘Habitudes’ we have about money. Security, Spontaneous, Status, Selfless, Free Spirit and Targeted Goals. As we progressed through the game, we found which areas we are the most challenged in and where we need more balanced.
I found I was completely lacking in selflessness! This made me feel horrible until I realized it didn’t mean I was completely selfish or non-charitable. Actually I was strong in the security area which also means, according to the cards, that I am generous toward others. However, I am also overly concerned about my own security and making sure we have enough.
Two important things I realized from this activity were, one, that recent events can impact the way the results turn out. For example, several losses in my life over the last few years, including deaths and my husband’s multiple job losses contribute to my insecurity about our finances. Two, it won’t always be that way so there is hope that should I revisit this process in a year things might look different. That’s hopeful!
Making the connection between how I FEEL about money and my actual financial situation helped clarify what I need to work on to improve my relationship with my money.
After this session, we heard from Carrie Van Winkle, financial counselor for SIABC. Carrie shared on the dreams and goals we have financially and how we can achieve those despite challenges we may face. Some of those challenges may be temptations, stress, distractions and the expectations of others. She advised that the best way to achieve those SMART goals is to first specifically define them. Use a visual reminder, like a photo or word and place it somewhere to be reminded of our goal. Accountability is a good prompter in helping us achieve the things we desire.
The day concluded with 5 organizations, Women 4 Women, Bank on Louisville, Junior Achievement, Bellarmine’s Poverty Simulation and Southern Indiana Asset Building Coalition. Each organization was given 5 minutes to present 5 big ideas they are working on and how it will impact the community. It was exciting to see so many interesting and relevant resources but more importantly to me, I was impressed with how truly passionate the presenters were about what they are involved in. They really desire to offer programs and resources that make a difference.
It was a great event and besides a cool tote bag and the Money Habitudes materials I left with a sense of ‘What’s next” for my money? The good news is that the event gave me lots of great resources to tap into like a
For more information about any of these ideas, contact SIABC at 812 206 7520 or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SIABC
The Southern Indiana Asset Building Coalition held “Purse Strings” on December 6, 2011 at 300 Spring In Jeffersonville, IN. 10 vendors were featured in a Holiday Shopper’s Village, Kitty Slickers provided music and door prizes were presented to 10 lucky guests. The event also featured a purse drive benefiting Dress for Success Louisville. The highlight of the evening was when Executive Director, Whitney Bishop talked about the future of the organization. She revealed a new logo and programs for the non-profit which provides financial education, coaching, credit counseling and free tax preparation for individuals and families.
Guests enjoying Kitty Slickers at Purse Strings
Over the last several months the Southern Indiana Asset Building Coalition worked with Allen Howie at Idealogy to create the new logo and imaging. It will be the driving force behind the goals and ideas the organization will implement in the future, including increased community awareness and education, more individuals receiving services and a financial resource center that individuals can utilize to conduct their personal financial business in a convenient and secure environment.
Is BUDGET a ‘bad’ word in your vocabulary?
For most people, the word “budget” conjures up thoughts of penny-pinching and the unpleasant task of crunching numbers. This couldn’t be further from the truth. A budget is the cornerstone of a solid financial foundation, regardless of your situation, and it isn’t that hard to do.
What is a Budget?
A budget is nothing more than a breakdown and plan of how much money you have coming in and where it goes. Could you imagine a business becoming successful if it didn’t keep track of its income and expenses? The same holds true when it comes to your personal finances. If you don’t know how much money you have coming in and where it goes, your road to financial success will be a difficult one.
The biggest fear that most people have when creating a budget is that they will need to suddenly cut back on all of the fun spending — things like the occasional coffee or dinner out, movie night, or even the trip to grandma’s for the holidays. While you may find that you do need to cut some spending after putting together a budget, without actually sitting down and creating one, it is impossible to know what expenses need to be cut, if any.
Tracking Income
The first step in creating a budget is to determine how much income you have. This is quite easy and typically only requires you to take a look at your pay stub. Of course, if you’re married, be sure to include your spouse’s income as well. In addition to your regular pay, you’ll want to also include any other sources of income you may have, such as dividends, interest, a side business, and so on.
Tracking Expenses
Now that you know how much income you have coming in, it’s time to take a look at your monthly expenses. Start with the regular and fixed payments you have, such as your mortgage or rent, car payments, insurance, debt and taxes. For most people, these are going to be relatively fixed, meaning you can’t easily change the amount that is due each month.
After you’ve listed your fixed monthly expenses, it is time to dig deeper to find out where the rest of your money goes. Take out your checkbook or pull your latest bank statement to help you with this step. Jot down how much you spend on things like utilities, groceries, entertainment, subscriptions, and so on. This handy worksheet can help you with keeping track of expenses.
The Bottom Line
You should now have all of the information needed to help you create your budget. So, go ahead and total up your monthly income and all of your monthly expenses. Subtract your expense total from your income total and you’ll have either a positive or negative number. If you have a positive number, congratulations, you are spending less than you earn. Don’t worry if you have a negative number. The whole reason for creating a budget is to identify deficiencies and find out how to address them.
Now that you can visually see how much you fall short, you can adjust your spending or saving in certain areas to improve the situation. Oftentimes you’ll realize that by just making a few small adjustments to your spending habits, you can significantly improve your situation. Maybe this means cutting back on one of your magazine subscriptions, eating out one time less a month, or even just hitting the matinee instead of the prime time movie. Typically, just saving a few dollars here and there can be enough to not only make sure you spend less than you earn, but also apply a few extra dollars to things like high-interest credit card debt or your retirement savings.
Just because it’s FALL, doesn’t mean you have to FALL behind in your finances!
Kick it into gear with the 6 MONTH MONEY CHALLENGE designed to help you examine your beliefs, feelings and attitudes about money as well as evaluate your relationship with the almighty dollar!
By taking the challenge, you’ll have access to the tools, information and resources you’ll need to help you change your behavior and create habits that support your financial goals.
We post topic-related challenges to the SIABC Facebook page to give you direction!Jump on in and let SIABC help you reach the finish line of a great financial future!
Make sure to sign up on our Facebook page to get the weekly challenges.
Monthly Challenge Topics:
1. SPENDING
2. BUDGETING
3. DEBT
4. CREDIT
5. SAVINGS
6. CONSUMER PROTECTION
Click here to Join us on Facebook!
When it comes to keeping important papers like tax returns, bill payment records and bank statements, consumers often ask, ‘How long is long enough?’ We found some great advice from the folks at www.lifeorganizers.com with some great tips on just how to answer that question.
Organization is key to keeping track of our bill paying!Sometimes our bills pile up and become so overwhelming that it’s easy to want to throw in the towel! But taking a simple approach to organization is the first step in conquering that mountain! Our friends at www.realsimple.com are the experts at all things simplified and offer some great tips for getting on the right track!
Designate a box, basket, or folder specifically for bills. As soon as the mail comes, separate the bills from everything else and open them, throwing away the outer envelope and any inserts. Corral them in your designated spot until you’re ready to pay them. Tip: Instead of keeping bills in an office file, use a letter rack. As you open mail, stash the bills in order of their due dates. This way, you’ll have a visual reminder that they’re waiting to be paid.
Click here to watch a video demonstration!
debt collectorRead more: http://www.investorwords.com/8568/debt_collector.html#ixzz1Rx0I0H2N
WORD OF THE WEEK:
Savings Club
Read more: http://www.investorwords.com/18511/savings_club.html#ixzz1QczQ1NXo
Saving money is more important than ever in these uncertain times.
With the right amount of savings, we all can live more secure, prosperous and responsible lives. Saving money should be everyone’s goal, and we all should be looking for tips on how to do so. We hope to provide you with the information needed to make the best saving decisions related to money.
Our ability to save and store things is what gives us the freedom to look past day-by-day living and gives our lives the safety and security our ancestors never knew. Unfortunately, from government to individuals, much of modern society has forgotten how to live within its means and properly save for the future. In these tips we hope to help give you the motivation, information and tools to think more about saving money again.
Tip 1: Spend Less. This is not over simplifying the best way to save money! It is essential if you are serious about being a long term money saver and being able to save money every day. Review what you spend and look at ways you can save money.
Tip 2: Establish a personal budget. This is essential for families and individuals and can be the fastest way to save money. You will instantly see your incomings and outgoings once you create your budget. You will not be able to save money unless you know how much money you have coming in, and how much money you have going out.
Tip 3: Buy used. Sure, we all like to buy new. But there are huge money savings to be made in buying used. Typically cars lose one-third of their value in the first 24 months from new. Look for ways to buy “as good as new” items and save money.
Tip 4: Eat in rather than out. This is a huge area where you can save money. A cup of coffee taken out could easily cost you TWENTY times (or more) what it would cost you to make it at home. Fast food restaurants are counting on you eating food that you perhaps don’t really need at that time but buy just because it is quick.
Tip 5: Don’t carry excessive debt. Some debt in our lives may be essential. We may need a mortgage to purchase a home, we may need to use our credit card to make purchases until pay-day, but your aim to save money should be to have as little debt as possible. Credit Card debt is typically the most expensive debt we may carry. You will be able to save money every month if you make it an absolute rule to pay off your outstanding balance every month.
Why not start today in making sure you have money to maintain your current standard of living in your retirement years or when the unexpected happens.
Call SIABC if you have questions about these tips, are in need of financial counseling or would like to help others get on the right path to financial independence.
Contact Executive Director Whitney Bishop at 812 206 7514.
