Change Maker by Compass Catholic Ministries

Birthdays on a Budget

Birthdays can be budget busters if you get carried away with an over the top party, tons of gifts and spending money instead of time with your child.

Don’t try to outdo the neighbors. Instead, make each birthday memorable by having special family birthday traditions, which will be cherished by your child much more than any birthday gifts they may receive.

The Compass blog has more on developing special birthday memories your kids will remember and pass on to their children.

Master Your Money

A large part of mastering your money is based on giving it place in your life it deserves, and it’s not first place. Everything in our culture influences us to think that more is better, especially when it comes to money. Yes, more money may ease the financial pressure for a while, but it will never provide lasting happiness. 

Master your money by learning to be a good steward of God’s many blessings, including the way you give, save and spend.  

Read the Compass blog to learn more about how to master your money.

Learning to be Content

Scientific evidence suggests that being content may have major benefits for your health. For starters, it helps combat stress, boosts your immune system, protects your heart and reduces pain.  What's more, it may even increase your life expectancy.

What does it mean to be a contented person? Happiness is a temporary "high,"whereas contentment is a longer lasting, deeper feeling of satisfaction and gratitude for everything in your life.

Read the Compass blog for more on learning to be content.

Heal Financial Infidelity

Marriage is a joint venture in all areas, even when it comes to money. When you get married, you don’t vow to share all financial aspects of your life with your spouse—but maybe you should.  Nothing will ruin a marriage faster than hiding financial details from each other. Our podcast suggests ways to break down those financial walls that are separating you from each other.

Also check out our blog for more ways to share your finances with your spouse.

The Benefits of Using a Financial Planner - Part 2

John Kennedy, CFP and fiduciary, offers advice on saving for retirement. Check out this link and look at page 13 for the intersection of your age and salary. Multiply your salary by the number in the intersection to see how much you should have saved for retirement at your current age.

John also comments on his personal experience with the Compass Catholic Navigating Your Finances God’s Wayand Set Your House in OrderBible studies. Not only did it help him in his financial planner role, it also helped him and his wife communicate about their personal finances.

Read the Compass Catholic Blog for more benefits of using a financial planner.

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.

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.

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