Change Maker by Compass Catholic Ministries

The Benefits of Using a Financial Planner - Part 1

If you don’t have the knowledge and skill set, do-it-yourself financial planning can turn into a huge disaster. It’s hard to make objective financial decisions when you are emotionally involved with the outcome. Join us for a discussion about why using a financial planner will benefit you in the long term. We will also share the questions to ask a financial planner before you decide to work with them.

The Compass Catholic Blog has more on this topic.

Keep Your Old Car or Replace it?

Your car broke down, and now you're faced with a high repair bill. AGAIN!

It's not the first time this has happened, and you're getting tired of pouring money into an older model car. How do you decide whether it’s time to repair or replace?

Join us for the options to consider when you are trying to make this decision, and check out our blog for more on this topic.  Take your time and make a well thought out decision.

5 tips for first time home buyers

Buying a home can be one of the best or worst things you’ll do financially. Plan ahead to make it your very best decision!

In addition to the mortgage, home ownership comes with many related costs, such as the down payment, closing costs, upkeep and maintenance. You also need to think about what you’ll need when you move in. Going from an apartment to a home may mean you’ll have to buy a lawnmower, tools, furniture, window coverings and other items that you never needed in an apartment.

One mistake we have seen people make is buying too much house. Do you really need the five bedroom house and all the related costs that come with it?

The other mistake is not getting a home inspection done by a licensed professional.  Any home (even a new one) has a potential for problems. An inspection is one way to mitigate huge issues that can’t be seen with the naked eye.

Take your time and make a wise, practical financial decision and home ownership will provide many blessings.

The Compass Catholic blog has more on buying your first home.

Use a Sinking Fund to Stay Afloat

A sinking fund is a way to put money aside for planned expenses.  This is different than an emergency fund which is for UNplanned expenses.

A sinking fund is putting money aside each time you get paid to fund upcoming expenses. For example, a sinking fund could be used for Christmas. Based on Christmas 2018, how much did you spend? Take that amount and divide it by the number of months till Christmas and that’s how much you need to save each month for a sinking fund which will pay for Christmas 2019. Sinking funds can be used for vacation, home upgrades, tax bills, back to school shopping or any other planned expense.

Sinking funds are a great way to get ahead of the spending curve and avoid that debt monster!

Check out our blog for more on this topic.

Don't Take Out a Loan For Vacation

Vacations are great—they allow us to unplug from daily chores, work and responsibilities.  We can spend time with family in a relaxed and unhurried way. We can explore places we haven’t been and just chill out.

The best way to plan for your vacation is to figure out a way to pay cash. That may mean your vacation is less than glamourous, but paying cash means no stack of vacation bills when you get back home.

Taking a vacation in 2019 and paying for it in 2022 may not be in your best financial interest. Set your financial goals for vacation and get the family involved. Teach your children how be set goals and work to achieve them.

That will allow you to return home stress and stay stress free with no looming mountain of debt. Keep that vacation feeling long after you get home!

Check out our blog for more on vacation planning

5 Ways to Give Yourself a Raise - Compass

Once we establish a spending habit, it’s hard to break. But stepping back and analyzing these five areas may put more money into your bank account each time you get paid.

Are you loaning the government money each month? Maybe it’s time to review that W4 form.

Have you had the same car insurance company for ages? Maybe it’s time to do some comparison shopping.

Is your credit report accurate? Maybe you should review your credit report to ensure there are no errors so you get the lowest rates possible on loans.

Are you using life insurance as a saving vehicle? Maybe it’s time to look at how much insurance you really need and get it the least expensive way.

Is money you need now mixed in with money you don’t need until months from now? Maybe it’s time to think about a separate bank account for longer term spending.

Check out out blog for more on this topic.

Should I buy or lease a car?

That new car smell is great, but leasing one car after another means spending more money in the long run. Buying a car means you have an asset (even though it is a depreciating asset.) When you lease a car, you have nothing at the end of the lease - no transportation, nothing to trade in or sell.

It is hard to compare leasing versus buying head-to-head because they are so different and each is based on different parameters. Join us for more on why leasing may not be good for you. Our recommendation is to buy a certified used car and drive it till the wheels come off.

Check out the Compass Catholic blog for more

I'm Dead, Now What? (What your family needs to know)

We rarely think about the end of life issues or what would happen if we became incapacitated due to illness or accident. What a blessing it would be to your family in this situation if all the important information they would need was up to date, organized and easy to locate. 

Check out the Compass Catholic Bible study, Set Your House in Order. It’s a 5-week small group study which walks you through the process of getting all your important information created, updated and organized. There is no better gift you can give your family.

Our blog has more on this topic.

Don't Retire - Rewire

When people retire, many times the goal is to simply stop working. As our lifespan increases, retirement can be a time of great fulfillment by planning well in the following areas:

• Talk to your spouse to develop a joint plan for retirement.
• Use a budget before retiring to manage your income and spending in retirement.
• Ditch the debt so you can be debt free when you retire.
• Find a passion to use your talents and skills in serving others.

Retirement can be the most fulfilling time of your life if you plan to make it so.

The Compass Catholic blog has more thoughts on retiring well.

Check out our retirement calculators as part of your planning process.

What is Your Definition of Financial Success?

We would all be a lot happier if we defined financial success based on our own life, resources, capabilities and progress. Judging your circumstances against other people can be disheartening. All God is calling you to do is be a faithful steward of the blessings he has given to you, with no regard to what the next person is doing

The Compass Catholic blog has more on defining financial success for yourself.

Based on a listener's question, here are the percentage guidelines for various budget categories. The link will download a spreadsheet to your computer. Use this as a starting point and customize it to fit your life.