A 5 Step Workable Solution To A Better Tomorrow

Do you want a better tomorrow? Do you want to be fruitful with your money? If you answered both those questions with a “Yes”, then this is for you!

Welcome to our Financial Matters weekly notes, where we will be discussing a 5 step workable solution to a better tomorrow.

If you find this blog post helpful and encouraging, please leave a like and don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section, located at the bottom of the post. Join us by subscribing! We would greatly appreciate your input and support! With all that said, let’s get right into it…

A Thought To Consider:

We are sure living in crazy times. I know that it can be difficult to be positive and forward looking when everything seems so uncertain and messed up. But, it is good to take some time out to reflect on how things are going, and to set up a workable solution to a better tomorrow.

Practical Wealth-Building Principle:

A 5 STEP WORKABLE SOLUTION TO A BETTER TOMORROW

Today I want to encourage you to…

1. Look back
2. Review how things have gone,
3. Assess where you are at present
4. Set some goals to take you forward
5. Set up a strategic plan

Look Back

How have your financial plans worked out?

Over the past year…

How has your money management gone? Are you winning or losing?

Have you managed to stay out of debt?

Were you able to reduce your debt or did your debt levels increase?

Have you managed to build up a contingency fund for those unexpected short-term needs and opportunities that arise from time to time?

Have you managed to build up your wealth portfolio?

These are all important questions that can help you to assess your financial wellness.

What about your cash flow?

Have you managed to set up and stick to a budget?

Are you spending less than you earn?

Are you diverting your surplus income into assets, thereby building up your wealth?

Or, are you being forced to spend all your disposable income on debt repayment?

I want to seriously challenge you to shrink your debts, and to start turning your income into assets, so that you can build your wealth portfolio.

I urge you to examine how things are going. And while you are at it, take an honest look not only at your money management, but also at your relationship with God.

“Examine yourselves…” (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Review

It is good to look back and to assess how you have managed your money.

I know that that past year has been an unprecedented time in history. War, high inflation, and Covid have caused havoc. Over the past year your debt levels may have increased and your investment returns may have been poor. Maybe you goal of savings has not been possible. However maybe you have been able to build your wealth portfolio. If so, well done!

On the other end maybe you have managed your money poorly. If so, please don’t give up! Don’t bury your head in the sand and pretend that your problems don’t exist. Rather face the music!

No matter how bad things have been, you can turn it around. Make use of this time to honestly reflect and review your financial affairs. I would suggest that you consider a new approach to how you handle your money.

If you can put a workable system in place and build some good financial habits, then this year can still turn out to be a good financial year, irrespective of the chaos. You can set yourself up for a brighter and more fruitful financial future.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true there is life and joy” (Proverbs 13:12)

Where are you now?

Take an honest look at where you are.

What has worked?

Where have you failed?

What needs to change?

What can you do to fix your finances?

Don’t settle for the mundane. It is time to rise up. To look forward. It is time to dream! Yes, we are living in tough times, but you can set up a strategy to move forward.

And where are you in your walk with God?

“Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:40)

Set Your Goals

I want to encourage you to review your goals and possibly set some new goals for the year ahead.

Dare to dream, aim high, and attempt great things. Write down your goals that you want to achieve. Goals are an important starting point.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverb 29:18)

4 Steps To Set Up Your Goals:

What…

What do you want to achieve?

Be specific.

Something powerful happens when you write down your goals.

Why…

Why do you want to achieve these goals?

Asking the “why” will help you clarify what is important to you.

How…

How are you going to do this?

The “how” is your MAP. It is the PLAN to get from where you are to where you want to be.

It is advisable to get some financial advice in order to set up a plan that can help you to achieve your goals and objectives.

If you apply these three steps above, you will be able to set your goals. But there is one extra crucial step that many miss….

God…

Don’t try manage your finances alone.

God is interested in you and has a plan for your life.

He is interested in every area of your life and that includes your finances.

So, make certain that you invite God to be part of your process.

Commit your plans to him. Trust in him, follow his direction, and he will lead you on the best pathway for your life.

“Commit your work to the Lord and then your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3)

Set Up A Strategic Plan

Setting goals is an important starting point if you want to change your financial future, but setting goals doesn’t guarantee success.

Setting your goals, while very important, is not enough and can end up being a waste of time if you don’t implement some form of system or strategy to help take you from where you are to where you want to be.

Create a system that will help you to implement your goals.

If you follow a systems-based-approach to managing your finances, you will have a much better chance of achieving your goals.

Example 1 – Building Up An Investment Portfolio

If you want to build up your investment portfolio, you need to:

• Review your budget and free up space to start saving.
• Choose the amount you want to invest each month
• Get advise on where to invest. Your investment vehicle and fund allocation needs to match your goals and objectives
• Implement an investment and set up a regular debit order that will go off your account before you can spend it.
• May setting up this simple strategy your will automate your investment and over time, with little fuss, you will build up your wealth portfolio

If your goal is to build up your savings and investments, you could form a good financial habit of building a wealth portfolio by setting up a simple strategic plan.

Example 2 – Squashing Your Debt And Improving Your Cash Flow

If you want to squash your debt and improve your cash flow, you need to:

• First have a look if you have any unused assets in your home that you are not using. Maybe you can sell them in order to pay off your debt.
• Review your budget. Get rid of all wasteful expenditure. Try free up space in your budget
• List your debts, from smallest to largest
• Commit to continuing your minimum repayment on each of your debts
• Use the extra money your free up within your budget to attack your smallest debt.
• Once the smallest debt is paid off, roll the payment and extra money in your budget into your next debt.
• And keep rolling the funds over into your next debt once the next debt is paid off.
• Over time you will gain momentum. Continue rolling your debt payments forward.
• Once your debts are settled your cashflow will automatically improve.
• Now consider setting up an investment strategy so that you can build up your savings and investment.
• to start saving.

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22)

It’s Time To Set Up A Workable Solution

I want to encourage you to…

1. Look back
2. Review how things have gone
3. Assess where you are at present
4. Set some goals to take you forward
5. Set up a strategic plan

”Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty”. (Proverbs 21:5)

Interesting Fact:

What is your Wealth Portfolio?

What is your net worth?

To work this out you need to add up all your ASSETS, and then subtract all your LIABILITIES.

YOUR NETWORTH = ASSETS (What you own?) – LIABILITIES (What you owe?)

What does your WEALTH PORTFOLIO look like?

Has your NETWORTH (WEALTH PORTFOLIO) increased or decreased over the last year?

Power Quote Of The Week:

“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress… Don’t just focus on your goals, but rather focus on your system instead.” – James Clear

Goals are important, so dare to dream and aim high. But make sure that you set up a plan to help you follow through on your goals.

What Does God Have To Say:

Rest In God!

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich, do not trust in your own cleverness” (Proverbs 23:4)

Give God The Reigns!

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

It is so easy to get despondent when look at the crazy times in which we live. It’s easy to live in fear and to worry. We are living in tough and uncertain times. But I need to tell you to look up, even when everything is down. Don’t give up! Don’t give in. There is hope in God.

Keep Your Eyes Up!

Nahum 1:7

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” (NIV)

Psalms 121:1-2 NKJV

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”

Keep Your Eyes On Jesus!

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Let’s Pray:

Father, as I reflect on the past year with all its troubles, I thank you that you have kept me. Today I surrender my life to you. I ask you to protect me and to lead me in and as I look forward to what is ahead, I give you my life along with my burdens and failures. Lord Jesus, I ask you to be my Savior. Be the central part of my life. Today I choose to “seek first the kingdom of God and Your righteousness”. Lord, I put my life in your hands and want to please you in all I do. In Jesus name. Amen.

Conclusion:

May your life be fruitful and filled with God’s abundant favor. Don’t stop dreaming! Look up! Look forward! Set your sight on Jesus! And, set up a workable solution to a better tomorrow.  

God bless you.

If you found this blog post helpful and encouraging, please leave a like and don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section, located at the bottom of the post. Join us by subscribing! We would greatly appreciate your input and support!