Financial Matters September 2013 – Stuart Burns
For the last several months we have been reviewing some strategies to save money, budgeting, details behind credit such as FICO scores and the benefit of building and maintaining good credit. It’s pretty easy for me to be passionate about money matters since I see how it affects people every day. I am also glad to have this forum with Vance Simms and Father Matters to get more education out there to help others achieve their financial well being. We are going to continue to cover more areas such as mortgages at a higher level of detail in the months ahead, but this month I wanted to pause and put money in perspective. Most of us have heard one biblical passage told like this “money is the root of all evil”. But the actual passage says “for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” and it’s never said that money itself is evil. That being the case, we still need to watch the place money is given in our hearts and avoid getting to a place of loving money or the false notion that more money will automatically solve all of our issues. I came across this story and thought it was a great reminder of the balance we need to find between the necessity of working hard/making money and allowing time to be spent on what’s most important.
A Father and Son
Son: “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
Dad: “Yes sure, what is it?”
Son: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
Dad: “That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?”
Son: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
Dad: “If you must know, I make $100 an hour.”
Son: “Oh! (With his head down).
Son: “Daddy, may I please borrow $50?”
The Father was furious.
Dad: “If the only reason that you asked is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard every day for this childish behavior.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such a question only to get some money?
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $50 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
Dad: “Are you asleep, son?”
Son: “No daddy, I’m awake.”
Dad: “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It’s been a long day and I took out some aggravation on you. Here is the $50 you asked for.”
The little boy sat up straight, smiling.
Son: “Oh, thank you daddy!”
Then reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled bills. The man saw that the boy already had money and started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked at his father.
Dad: “Why do you want more money if you already have some?”
Son: “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do.”
Son: “Daddy, I have $100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.
Wow! Wasn’t that a great story! I hope it has you all thinking if you are allowing time for the important people in your life.
The main idea of this article is to focus on money and what it means to us. But I know the reality is we do need to make a living and sometimes it can be tough to find that balance between work and home. Here are a few tips that I use that help save some time at work to allow me to get projects done and hopefully spend some more time with my wife and family.
Make sure you are cognizant of your energy levels. Some people are more naturally energetic in the mornings; others might have more energy in the afternoons. Make sure your most importance efforts get focused during that high energy time. Use times with less energy for the least important tasks.
Use the 80/20 principal. This is the “Pareto” principal. It basically relates that you will accomplish 80% of your results with your top 20% of your time. So it’s important to focus which tasks are in that top 20% of time and then start removing some of the things that are not pushing your top 20% forward.
Learn to say “No”. This is still a challenge for me because I like to try and do everything, but the simple reality is that saying “No” is sometimes the best thing to allow you to focus on the top 20% of your tasks.
Plan your day. Take a few minutes to plan your day out. It’s a great habit to start each day by writing down your top tasks and then prioritize them each day. Allow gaps for realistic breaks and distraction time too.
Place events on your calendar. If you use Microsoft Outlook or any other planner, it’s a good habit when you have a child’s play, baseball game, doctor’s appointments, etc, to place them on your calendar. This way other people are not loading you with meetings during that time and you won’t have as many last minute distractions before you need to leave.
”Money has never made man happy, nor will it; there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” Benjamin Franklin
Look forward to discussing more money matters next month and seeing you at one of Father Matters seminars in the near future.
For some great financial tools and resources go to: BankofAmerica Money Management and bettermoneyhabits.com
or contact Stuart Burns at 602-464-1381 or email me at stuart.j.burns@bankofamerica.com