Beyond the Emergency Fund - Stocking Up

I am developing a section for "Recession Proof Living" that I want to introduce here. In essence it is taking the 3 to 6 months emergency fund to the next level. I am suggesting that every family stock an extra 3 to 6 months (or more) of staple items as well. Just imagine how much pressure would be off, if in addition to 6 months of basic living expenses, we had laid aside six months of food stuffs and emergency items. If we had supplies of flour, sugar, potatoes, vegetable oil, cereal, toilet paper, tooth paste,etc. we could face tough times with very little stress.

Brittan and I are in the beginning phase of doing this very thing. We want to be prepared for any eventuality.

I will be fleshing the idea out in my next book, but wanted to plant a seed now to get people thinking.

A Little Good News in Tough Times

Besides gasoline prices, there are a number of consumer goods actually going DOWN in price these days. Long term, that's kind of bad. We wouldn't want to go into a time of DEFLATION. That would say bad things about the economy. But for the moment, after a summer of crazy prices, it's a pleasant relief right at Christmas time. I think we could all use a bit of relief, don't you?

Enjoy Cheap Gas While It Lasts

I am a hopeful person. I am pretty darned optimistic most of the time. Oh, I guess rainy days and Mondays always get me down, but apart from that I'm an upbeat kind of guy. But I'm not upbeat long term for gas prices. I suspect that 6 months from now prices will be well back on the upswing. I am concerned that early next year when congress reinstates the offshore drilling bans they lifted earlier this year, that oil futures will begin climbing again. When that is coupled with a production cut from OPEC, we could see very rapid reversals of recent declines.

I am still on the "Drill Here, Drill Now" bus. We need energy independence.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the heck out of sub $2 a gallon gasoline. But I'm not going to adjust my budget. I'm going to keep the excess in my "gas and oil" envelope and that way I'll be a bit more prepared when the prices start to go back up. That way the pain will be less intense. For now, though, it sure is nice.

Recession Proof Living Part 1

I thought I would use this space to process a few of the ideas that will be going into my new book, "Recession Proof Living". This will give me a vehicle to toss around some concepts and either refine or discard them as I write the book.

As my loyal reader would tell you, I'm big on written budgets. I call it 'fantasy spending'. That means spending each paycheck on paper before spending it in real life. Doing so, gives each dollar a job, a home, a sense of purpose. If we don't focus our money, it has a tendency to go rogue and run away from home.

I'm also big on promoting a financial revolution. I want people to take back their lives and have financial peace of mind. I long for families to live debt free and not have to panic when the economy nose dives. I wish for us to do more than survive, I believe we can thrive in tough times and in good ones.

The first thing we must do is establish a perimeter. That has a good revolutionary ring to it. My original idea was to talk about circling the wagons. But in the end I decided that connoted too defensive a posture. I want people to think more like an invasion force. Establishing a perimeter sounds much more like creating a base of operations with aggressive intent, while circling the wagons sounds a lot like fending off and an attack from hostile desperados.

Sometimes we have to play defense, that's a given. But we don't want to live defensively. We will establish a perimeter and protect everything within that safety zone (ie. our families)at all costs. Once the perimeter is solid, we will use it as a base of operations to move forward and capture new territory. We will not give up until we have liberated a nation. After that, the world.

Our perimeter covers all four points of the compass. These are the first four categories for which we budget. And we address them in a specific order. If we are in dire financial circumstances they may be the only categories in our budget. But eventually, we will be able to advance and conquer more area.

The North Perimeter is God. Our giving to God should always come first. A strong Spiritual foundation is critical to a balanced, full, prosperous life. Let me make a comparison to our physical bodies. We can diet, exercise, lift weights, do pilates, run miles a day, but if inside we have a cancer, or anemia or some other disease, we can never reach our full potential. In fact, if we get sick enough, our outer bodies deteriorate no matter what we do. If, however, our insides are good, then we can sculpt our outer bodies pretty much any way we like.

In the same way, we can work like crazy to get our financial house in order, but if we're unhealthy spiritually, we will never reach our full potential and we may even be doing ourselves more harm than good. On the other hand, if we put God first, we increase our chances of winning many hundred fold.

I love the third chapter of Malachi in the Old Testament, where God tells the people to stop robbing Him and bring the whole tithe into the store house. He says, "test me and see if I don't pour out all the blessings of Heaven on you." Go back and read it. I think you will find it most challenging.

Tithing is a good place to start. That's the traditional 10%. By the time we get through with our plan, we will be giving away 20% of our income. Yep. And we'll be thriving beyond our wildest imaginations. But we're a long way from that. So we'll start with 10%. Some won't even have the courage to start there. I didn't. I started with about 6%. I was a coward. I was afraid that my debt was too great to give God the full 10%. I'm ashamed of that now, but I need to be honest.

Fortunately, God took my feeble act of Faith and blessed it. After a couple of years, I finally got up the courage to give Him the Full 10%. I've never regretted it. Our tithe check is the first check Brittan and I write on payday. God gets the first of the best and the best of the first.

The Bible says, "If God is for us, who can stand against us." In other words, if our Spiritual perimeter is strong, we become both the immovable object and the irresistible force.

Coming soon.... Part 2, the South Perimeter, Food.

The Shaping of Expectations

I bought gas this morning. I was ecstatic to only pay $1.96 per gallon. I felt like I'd hit the lottery. Sad, isn't it? Only a few short years ago, we were all ready to march on Washington because gas was at that price. But after looking down the barrel at nearly $5 a gallon, under 2 bucks feels great. We adapt so quickly. Sometimes I feel like the frog swimming around in the pot while the water slowly heats. Other times, I want to jump out and run for the hills. How are we so easily conditioned? I don't have the answer, I'm just thinking out loud?

Yahoo Finance Does It Again!

Found this today. More great saving ideas. Read HERE.

More Money Saving Tips

Saw this tidbit on Yahoo Finance this a.m. Thought I'd share it. Some good advice. Read HERE.