Financial
Stress in the Workplace
By
Keith Bunn Jr.
July
13, 2012
USA
Today
In the July 11th edition of USA Today’s money section,
they had a small poll listing towards the bottom of the page saying, "What
is the most common cause of on-the-job distraction". The distractions
were...
People stopping by your office: 27%
Phone calls: 26%
E-mail alerts: 19%
Text messages: 10%
Don't know: 10% (that was really one of the distractions)
Social Media: 8%
A
Bigger Distraction
Although I'm sure those are true distractions, there is
another distraction that didn't make the cut, which in my opinion, is a greater
distraction and effects more people by far.
Personal finance issues effect about 55% of the work
force today. When yours, mine, or anyone else's finances are a mess, it can
occupy most of our waking moments just trying to figure out how we can pay the
car payment, the light bill, or just put food on the table. It can be extremely
stressful at time and we've all been there a time or two.
In a YouTube video I
watched the other day, financial coach and speaker, Chris Hogan said, "You
can't manage something you're not aware of." Meaning, if you don’t
know where your money is going, there is no way you can stop it from going
there and he is absolutely right! So how do you start? Well, you have to have a
plan.
The
Plan
1.
Emergency
Fund: It is extremely important that the first thing you do is
to get an emergency fund started. If you make more than $20,000 per year, you
should have $1,000 tucked away for a rainy day. If you make $20,000 per year or
less, that fund should be at least $500. This baby emergency fund is just
enough to catch life’s little mishaps. Later, after you’re debt free, come back
to this fund and build it up to 3 to 6 months’ worth of expenses.
2.
Write
a Budget: You need to make and live on a written budget each and
every month. Why every month? Because each month won’t be the same. You will
have birthdays, holidays, weddings, graduations, anniversaries… you get the
point. The best kind of budget I know of is called the Zero Base Budget. To put it simply, income minus outgo equals zero
each and every month. And if you’re married, work with your spouse on making
the budgets. This is both of your
mess!
3.
Pay Necessities
First: We all have our own definitions of what necessities are
so let me explain. Necessities are Food, Shelter, Utilities, Transportation,
and clothing. Notice that I didn’t say cable/satellite, cell phones, or
restaurants. Just what you need to live on so you can fight another day.
4.
Make
a List: Make a list of all your debts except your mortgage. List
them and start paying them off in the order of smallest to largest amounts
owed, not smallest to largest
interest rates. By paying them off in the order of amounts owed, it will give
you some quick wins and help you stay motivated.
This whole thing of getting out of debt, living on a
budget, and living on less than you make is not an easy task at first. It’s
hard, but it is worth it!
Hebrews 12:11 says, “No
discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it.”
Questions
for you
·
Have you ever done a budget before?
·
If you’ve had one that failed, what do you
think went wrong?
·
Do you understand what a Zero Based Budget
is?
·
Do you understand why an Emergency Fund is so
important?
Social
Media
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