Concrete and Steel

Cash flow planning or budgeting as most of us call it is a critical piece of a successful financial plan.  It is the foundation that your financial future is built on.  I have worked in the construction industry for over ten years and have learned a little about foundations.  

A building’s foundations are often very simple and very complex at the same time.  They are different forms of support for a structure that are constructed deep in the ground with a very specific mix of concrete and steel.  On one level it looks like a hole in the ground filled with concrete and steel that is haphazardly installed.  On another level, the mix of concrete and steel is specifically designed to support the weight of the finished building. 

The foundation is not designed with the process in mind or with the beginning in mind.  Foundations are designed with the finished product in mind.  

Jesus spoke of this in Luke 14:28-30: “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you.  They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!” (NLT)  

Begin with the finished product, finished project, final goal in mind.  A cash flow plan is the foundation for your financial journey.  As you work on your budgets at the beginning of this month, think about where you want your finances to take you.  Do you want to get out of debt?  Do you want to spend time in another context?  Do you want to give more?  Do you want to spend more?  Do you want to change?  The time you spend on your budget will be directly related to your success on your journey towards financial peace. 

Make an effort to understand your budget!  If you understand the concrete and steel of your foundation, you will know how high your skyscraper can be.  Agree today on your goals and priorities.  Draw the plans for your journey and start to follow them.  If you have ever built anything, you will know that things change.  This plan will change and has to change.  You may realize as you move forward that you thought you wanted to have a 50 story skyscraper, but what you really want is a 30,000 square foot mansion.  The plans will change.  The important thing in this process is that a strong foundation can support either one.  

A Walk Down A Familiar Path

I love taking walks with my family.  In the Spring, Summer, and Fall we try to take a few minutes several times each week to go on a walk.   We walk down the same path almost every night.  The path is familiar.  It is comfortable, and secure.  More than anything else, it is ours.  These walks provide time for us to grow together, and to focus on sharing our days with each other.  We disconnect from: the internet, the TV, and our cell phones.  We enjoy the warmth of the sun and freshness of the air.  These walks provide an opportunity away from the busyness of life to listen. 

These walks also give my wife and I an opportunity to teach.  We can make use of the world around us to illustrate truths of the bible.  We discuss the beauty of creation and the majesty of our Creator.  The truth of life can also be taught in these simple walks.  We chat about the truth of life and death, about the life cycle of bugs and frogs (too often squished on the pavement).  We talk about the rule of the harvest, that everything is either green and growing or ripe and rotting, as we see it in action in trees and flowers.  We teach by example the importance of exercise and the effects it has on our bodies. 

On Sunday, I started a walk with a new community as we began the 13 week journey on the path of Financial Peace University.  This is the fifth time I am leading a community on this journey.  The FPU materials are comfortable.  The lessons are familiar and make me feel secure.  I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you and want to encourage our FPU community to travel the entire journey.  Listen as we share this time together.  Take what you learn here and teach it to others.  People desperately need financial peace in their lives.  As a person who has taken this journey, I can promise you that the effort to go on this walk together is worth it.  Take the journey to financial peace and make it yours!