Why Should You Even Bother Being Financially Prepared? Some Thoughts for the Holiday’s

Why should you bother being financially prepared, after all, the world gets along just fine charging whatever it wants – don’t you deserve to have it all too? Christmas is just around the corner, the children’s “I want” commercials have been running for quite a while now. Luckily, I have a plan to overcome the craziness! It’s called a budget, a bit of sanity for my purchases this year.

My reasons for financial preparedness are pretty simple and they keep me sane:

• It is worth it not to worry about money. As a former money worrier I can now say, if we lose a job, we can still survive.
• Being self-sufficient is important to me. I do not want to have to rely on the government if we are out of work. A recent Deseret News article says many American’s have no savings and 43.1 percent of Americans do not have enough money saved to even subsist at the poverty level for three months if their income was suddenly cut off. For a large number of Americans, savings is minuscule or non-existent and they are one paycheck or one minor setback from financial disaster.
• Just like Long Term Food Storage, financial preparedness is a buffer against life’s storms.
• Being financially prepared will cover more disasters than any other preparation you can do – unemployment, car repairs, sickness, hospital,  smaller check – all those little things that cause our heart rates to jump when they happen.
• I don’t view a monthly budget as a constraint, but rather financial freedom. I know how much money we have coming in each month and I know where it is going because I’ve given it a name. It does what I tell it to!

A short list of books to help with your Financial Preparedness. There are so many others…

Christensen, James – Rich on Any Income, The Easy Budgeting System that Fits in Your Checkbook, 1986

Hunt, Mary – Debt Proof Living, The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free, 1999

Ramsey, Dave – Financial Peace Revisited, 2003
Ramsey, Dave – Total Money Makeover, A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, 2007

Shamo, Lyle and Tracy – Debt Free on Any Income, A Practical Guide to Financial Security for Latter-day Saints, 2004

Taylor, Cameron – Does Your Bag Have Holes? 24 Truths that lead to Financial and Spiritual Freedom, 2007

Toohey, Bill and Mary – The Average Family’s Guide to Financial Freedom, How You can Save a Small Fortune on a Modest Income, 2000

What Books do you recommend? Send us your success stories and the book or author that was helpful to you.