Go Team Budget

Here's my Relief Society lesson from today.


Time and time again we are counseled to have a budget. Every family, every person needs a budget. Today I’d like to share our family’s Budget with you. This is our fish his name is Budget. Every family must have a Budget.
He is a responsibility, you have to change his water every week or he’ll start to stink. You have to feed him a little every day. You might think the responsibility makes vacationing difficult or impossible but a vacation is even more fun with Budget!
Budget can strengthen your family and support your values. Budget helps you prioritize. Budget reduces stress; he is a calming and wise presence. Budget helps you prepare for times of challenge. Budget gives back 10 fold all the love and attention he gets. To some it may be difficult counsel to follow but I’d like to enlist you all in Team Budget.

Go Team Budget!

Everyone gets a Budget to take home. He’s yours to care for and he’s yours to enjoy.
(Ziplocs with “fish” inside – paper Budgets)


Family Pet
Budget is a family pet. Sometimes families buy a pet and one person ends up doing all the work? The kids say I’ll feed it or I’ll clean it and in the end one person gets the chore. This is not how we care for Budget. As a member of Team Budget we work together but you are not alone. The church has many resources to assist including the pamphlet One for the Money as a member of Team Budget you will get a copy as soon as they arrive. In One for the Money Elder Ashton provides inspired financial advice he says, “We should regularly review our family income, savings, and spending plan in family council meetings. This will teach our children to recognize the difference between wants and needs and to plan ahead for meaningful use of family resources. Marriage is a management partnership with husband and wife both parties have a voice when children reach the age of accountability they too should be involved in money concerns on a limited partnership basis. Control of the money by one spouse as a source of power and authority causes inequality in the marriage and is inappropriate. Conversely, if a marriage partner voluntarily removes himself or herself entirely from family financial management that is an abdication of necessary responsibility.

89% of all divorces can be traced to quarrels and accusations over money. 75% of all divorces result from clashes over finances. These marriage tragedies are not caused by lack of money, but rather by the mismanagement of personal finance.
AS Elder Hales says, “The three most loving words are “I love you,” and the four most caring words for those we love are “We can’t afford it”.

Family Spending Values
During Family Home Evening make time for family business. For Budget to survive he needs everyone to look out for him. Use Budget’s bag to collect all your receipts - no holes in the bag please and change Budget’s water every week before family home evening. Know where your resources go. Are all or more of your earnings gone? What purchases are needs & which are wants? Can you cut back on some things to pay debts or start saving? Are your purchases in line with your values?

President Tanner once said “I know of no situation where happiness and peace of mind have increased with the amassing of property beyond the reasonable wants and needs of the family. Let us learn from the sorrows of the past and avoid enslaving our time, energy, and general health to a gluttonous appetite to acquire increased material goods.

As a member of Team Budget I encourage you to talk with your family about your values and priorities. Discuss the following questions with your family during family home evening.

1. How do you define success or a life with no regrets?
2. What do you think our purpose here on earth is?
3. What matters most? What do you hold sacred? When do you feel peace? What brings you the most fulfillment?
4. What characteristics do you value in your friends?
5. What are families for? What does your family believe in? What’s important to us? What do you stand for?
6. What makes you happy? What activities give you greatest joy? What activities do you like to do together?
(Questions from Living Simply with Children by Marie Sherlock)

Spend more = work more working more means less time with family. Identify what is valuable to you ask as Elder Hales suggests is the benefit temporary, or will it have eternal value and significance. Identify where you want to go and how you want to live. Create a family values statement using what you learn.

If I gave you $100 what would you do with it? How would you spend your money and keep in line with your values?

What will you do with all the Lord has given? Be wise. Be virtuous. Think before you act. Think before you spend. Counsel with the Holy Spirit to do what is wise and good. Start where you are and move forward. If you are not paying your tithing start now. If you are spending money on worthless addictions seek the Lord’s help. Addiction is the craving of the natural man, and can never be satisfied. As children of God, our deepest hunger and what we should be seeking is what the Lord alone can provide-His love. His sense of Worth, His security, His confidence, His hope in the future, and assurance of His love, which brings eternal joy.

Family Goal
Elder Hales’ family had a family council when their boys were young and they set a goal to take a “dream vacation” down the Colorado River. When any of them wanted to buy something during the next year, they would ask each other, “Do we really want to buy that thing now, or do we want to take our dream trip later?” This was a wonderful teaching experience in choosing provident living. By not satisfying our every immediate want, we obtained the more desirable reward of family togetherness and fond memories for years to come. Talk with your family about a goal that will help encourage you to keep up on changing Budget’s water and other responsibilities. “Some families miss a tremendous financial and spiritual experience when they fail to sit together, preferably during family home evening, and each put in his share of the monthly amount going to the son or daughter, brother or sister, who is serving in the mission field.” (Ashton)

As Benjamin Franklin said "Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship"

There is a sticker for each of your debit or credit cards to remind you of your membership in Team Budget. Every time you see your Budget sticker think of your family home evening where you talked about Who you are and who you want to be or think about your family goal or a favorite scripture maybe 2 Nephi 9:51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Harken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which periseth not, neither can be corrupted.

Serve family, others and the Lord
Draw your family near do not let money become a wedge. Follow Elder Hales’s counsel joyfully live within your means, be content with what you have, avoid excessive debt and diligently save and prepare for rainy day emergencies, provide for yourself and serve and bless others. Nothing seems so certain as the unexpected in our lives. (Tanner) Our challenges, including those we create by our own decisions, are part of our test in mortality. Your situation is not beyond the reach of our Savior. (Hales) He will extend his arm and support you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he will be with you in every time of trouble. (D&C 3:8)

Set a righteous goal and the Lord will see you through it. How you treat the debt collector, how you treat the poor, how you treat your waitress, how you treat your family, your neighbor, this is who you are. Do not let money or material things keep you from being who you want to be. Money is a tool. We should use it to assist us in achieving eternal happiness. It is a happy day when money be thy slave and not thy master for if it is not your slave it will be your master. Be honest, be wise and have integrity in all matters. Do what is right and fear not for you are Christ’s, and He overcame the world (D&C 50:41)

My daughter said I shouldn’t be nervous about teaching in relief society because I teach kids all the time and adults know how to behave.
Our family like most has experienced times of financial trouble. I’d like to share from my journal some of our experience.

“Struggles come to everyone and no one is immune. We all have illnesses, unemployment natural disasters etc. We will all face challenges and I never want to look at my kids and say, “there’s no more to eat”. We’ve had some close times eating oatmeal and PB&Js more often than anyone would have liked. I hope when our financial situation changes we’ll never forget these PB&J days and we’ll have compassion for those who are going through rough times and compassion for ourselves by being prepared for future challenges. Hunger and Poverty don’t care about excuses or reasons. There is no compassion in them only in us. I’ll never pay my fast offering and think ohh this will buy a sandwich or some oatmeal because people need more than oatmeal and PB&J. Christ gives them more and so will I.

While in Salt Lake I had the blessing of touring the Church’s Welfare Square and Humanitarian center. I testify to you that the Lord’s work is being done. There are trucks loaded ready with supplies to go wherever they are needed. Sometimes it is hard to pay our tithing and to give offerings but I testify that there is great need. A prophet of the Lord said if the church had one dollar left it would go to feed the poor.

The Lord does not ask us to do more than we can. Pay your tithing and offerings, avoid debt, take care of Budget and he will take care of you, build a reserve and teach and work together as a family. I know this is the Lord’s work. I know he wants us to care for each other and ourselves and to be who he knows we can become. You can do it with the Lord’s help. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

TEAM BUDGET

Congratulations on your new pet BUDGET!

Use Budget’s bag to collect all your receipts no holes in the bag please. Change Budget’s water every week before family home evening and see where the money is going. What items are needs and what items are wants? Are your purchases in line with your values? Spending all or more of your earnings?

FHE Questions
1. How do you define success or a life with no regrets?



2. What do you think our purpose here on earth is?



3. What matters most? What do you hold sacred? When do you feel peace? What brings you the most fulfillment?



4. What characteristics do you value in your friends?



5. What are families for? What does your family believe in? What’s important to us? What do you stand for?



6. What makes you happy? What activities give you greatest joy? What activities do you like to do together?

Create a family values statement using what you learn. Use this statement to assess your spending and budget. Are they in line with your values?









Budget (From church materials)
Income Planned Actual
Wages/Salaries (after taxes)
Other Income
Total Income

Expenses Planned Actual
Church Donations
Savings
Food
Mortgage or Rent
Utilities
Transportation
Debt Payments
Insurance
Medical
Clothing
School Expenses
Other


Total Expenses
Incomes less Expenses

Budget weekly, biweekly or monthly according to your pay schedule.

Budget % from Dave Ramsey (not a church source)
Charitable Gifts 10-15%
Savings 10-15%
Housing 25-35%
Utilities 5-10%
Food 5-15%
Transportation 10-15%
Clothing 2-7%
Medical Health 5-10%
Personal 5-10%
Recreation 5-10%
Mad Money (money to blow) 2-5%
Debts 5-10%
Spend less than you earn. Save and invest the difference. Eventually you can retire on the difference.

Seeing percentages really helped me so hopefully it is useful to you. J
Remember your Budget sticker and to put it on your credit/debit card as a reminder.