Let's Go for a Ride
Imagine you are driving your car across the country.
Phase One:
You are driving blindfolded. You are going to hit many bumps along the way and if you do arrive at your destination, it will be a complete accident.
Phase Two:
You are driving while looking at the rear-view mirror. As you round the same corner for the third time, you try to remember the turns you took so that you could attempt a different route. This is going to take a while. And lots of gas.
Phase Three:
You are driving while looking straight ahead. In perfect linear fashion, you reach your destination exactly when your GPS said you would. You encountered some things that you would have rather avoided (had you known) but were still able to navigate through safely.
Phase Four:
You are planning future trips today. While researching, you have uncovered a few roads that are under construction (avoid those), bad weather (speed up or slow down so that you will not be there when the bad weather hits), a festival in one of the potential stop-over cities (definitely want to work this into your driving schedule), and a good friend will also be in another city around the time you could be passing by (so you decide to adjust your itinerary accordingly).
Now let's apply this to our finances.
Phase One:
You do not look at prices, receipts, your bank or credit card statements or even your mail. Stuff gets randomly shut off and way too much money gets eaten by overdraft fees. If you opened your mail, you would discover collection notices and nasty grams from the IRS.
Phase Two:
You look at receipts to see how much something was. You look at your statements and bank balances when you think of it. The bank statement is lower than you wished it to be, and the credit card statement is higher than you wished it to be. You hope next month you'll do better, again.
Phase Three:
For personal, you are really doing your best to manage your finances. You set up a spreadsheet to track your income and expenses. You have several months of history so now you feel like you finally have the info to create a budget. It's a bit of work because formulas don't tweak themselves, but this is much better than doing nothing. For business, you have set up your accounting software or you are paying someone to do this. Categorization and reconciliations are completed monthly. You feel ok but you are not sure of the next steps to get ahead. You are maintaining but there is never a feeling of progression.
Phase Four:
For personal, you are utilizing zero-based budgeting software. Every expense is decided before the money leaves your account. When income is deposited into your account, all of it is yours to do as you wish with it. This is because you have already set aside money for your needs, wants and wishes. For business, your financials are impeccable because you know everything was set up correctly. Categorization is being done weekly and your budget is set up so you are able to run budget to actual reports. You understand the financial reports and are able to ask questions about anything that does not make sense to you. You understand your financial position, are able to set reasonable goals, and can measure your progress. When something new comes up, you can quickly get answers rather than wasting time going down several rabbit holes.
I can meet you exactly where you are to help guide you to your next best steps!
Send me a message or schedule a FREE consultation here:
www.calendly.com/northstarfinancialsolutionsllc