Join us for a discussion with one of our favorite financial planners, John Kennedy of Candor Path Financial Services. John will share ideas with us about how to get your finances in shape for 2020.
The Compass Catholic blog has more ideas for you to consider.
Financial planning can be difficult if you don’t have the knowledge and skill set to do it well. Making informed objective decisions is hard to do 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 and how to find a financial planner who is a good fit for you.
The Compass Catholic Blog has more on this topic.
Do you 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.
The advertising industry was created to make you discontent so you will want to buy whatever they are selling. Ads encourage you to focus so hard on what you want and what you DON’T have, that you often fail to appreciate what you DO have.
Develop an attitude of gratitude by learning the virtue of contentment. It all starts with recognizing the blessings we already have and being thankful for them. Join us as we share ideas for appreciating what we have and learning to be content.
The Compass Catholic blog has more ideas about ways to be content and grateful for the blessings God has given you.
Do you know where your parents keep all the information you would need in case of an emergency? Here are 10 questions to ask your parents just in case you (or other family members) ever need it:
The Compass Catholic blog has more details about what to ask and why it’s so important to know where this information is kept.
Increases in the cost of traditional health insurance have driven many people to participate in an alternative to traditional care insurance.
Health care sharing plans are significantly different than traditional health insurance and are usually based on Christian ideals where like-minded people help each other.
If you are considering a health care sharing plan, listen to the Compass Catholic Podcast as we have a conversation with our guest, Bob, who has been using a health care sharing plan successfully (and less expensively) for years.
The Compass blog has more information and links to the major health care sharing plans.
Join us for eight important money decisions every couple should make.
Money can be one of the hot button areas of a marriage. People bring into their marriage all the assumptions and experiences of their families in the way they use and manage money. Each spouse was raised in a different environment, so no two people come into a marriage thinking exactly the same way as their spouse on any issue, most especially money.
So it is important to set some ground rules for money in your marriage, whether you have celebrated many anniversaries or are a newly wed.
The Compass Catholic blog has more info on these decisions.
There is a difference between being cheap or being frugal. Cheap means using price as the only criteria for making purchases. Frugal means not spending more than you need to and knowing the price vs the cost of use.
A cheap person will invest a lot of time and energy in order to save a dollar or two, but the time and effort they spend may not be worth the money they save.
A frugal person saves money in a balanced way by considering the impacts of money saving ideas on other areas of their life. Saving money is good, as long as it is done in a balanced way so you can enjoy life and recognize the tradeoffs you are making.
This week’s podcast and the Compass Catholic blog point out the differences between cheap and frugal.
We are in the middle of an economic expansion and the unemployment rate is at a 50 year low. But change is inevitable and at some point there will be a recession. Are you prepared to weather an upcoming economic storm?
A recession may be months or even years away so the best time to prepare is now. Join us for some ideas about how to get ready.
The Compass Catholic blog has more about preparing for the next recession.
It is so easy to separate our faith from our finances and think of them as two entirely separate unrelated things. But often times when we get into debt there is a spiritual void we are trying to fill by buying things we can’t afford.
Financial challenges can be a hidden monster in many families and marriages. By shining the light of faith into that dark corner, we can tackle and tame the debt monster and learn that every area of our life, including how we handle money, has a spiritual impact.
The Compass Catholic blog has more about the spiritual impact of debt.
We have so many people come to us who are on the brink of disaster. Maybe they have missed several payments on the mortgage, their credit card bills are past due or they haven’t opened their mail for months.
These problems don’t happen overnight—they creep up gradually. If you are in a situation where your finances feel slightly out of control. The best thing you can do is get them under control before they spin into a full blown disaster.
For additional ideas about avoiding financial disaster, check out the Compass Catholic blog.
Have you ever gotten a phone call from your own phone number? There are any number of ways people hide their true identity in an effort to scam you. They may want your money or your personal information but they are persistent in trying to get you to give them what they want.
We have suggestions for how to avoid being scammed by being smart about who you talk to, what information you share, and how you can protect the information the scammers want the most.
The Compass Catholic blog has additional ideas about avoiding scam
Christmas can be a time of discontent as we try to keep up with what everyone around us is doing or expects us to do. If Christmas exhausts you financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually, learn the virtue of contentment from Philippians 4:11-13.
If spending less, buying fewer gifts and cutting back on activities will help you be content instead of exhausted at Christmas – go for it! Christmas only comes once a year, so do more of what makes you and the rest of your immediate family happy and less of what causes stress and discontent.
Check out the Compass Catholic blog for more on being content at Christmas.
We met a mom a few weeks ago who was telling us that her son and daughter started a dog walking business when they were young. Mom and dad taught the kids how to manage money wisely, and how to save. As the kids got older they took on more responsibility for their personal finances.
Their son is now graduating from college with no student debt. His entire college experience was funded by scholarships and money he saved. Even more amazing is that he has $100K in the bank as he graduates! What a wonderful way to get a head start in life.
This week the Compass Catholic podcast has ideas about how to train your kids to be financially responsible. If you don’t teach them when they are young, they will never learn as adults. Check out our blog for more on helping your children be financially responsible.
Recently, we were talking to the president of a Catholic Credit Union who mentioned the term “Financial Clutter” as all those things that get people off track with their finances.
Maybe it’s doing something you should NOT be doing or maybe it’s NOT doing something you should be doing. Financial clutter is whatever gets us off track from being a good steward of God’s blessings. Join us for a lively discussion on financial clutter.
The Compass Catholic blog has more on how to find and eliminate the financial clutter in your life.
Sooner or later almost everyone faces a financial crisis. A job loss, illness, birth of a special needs child, or damage from a hurricane or winter storm can all wreak havoc on your financial stability. Plan for the unplanned by having a crisis budget. A crisis budget will help you survive economic setbacks with minimum impact to your financial stability.
This podcast shares how to create a crisis budget and when to put it into action, and be sure to check out the Compass Catholic blog on crisis budgets.
College graduation is one of those milestones in life that need to be celebrated. And after the celebration it’s time to face a lot of planning and decisions about your future, including strategies for how to handle money, pay off the student loans, and become a financially responsible adult.
Join us for ideas and suggestions about how to get organized for your financial future.
The Compass Catholic blog has more on how to get a handle on your finances.
Saving money means paying attention to both large and small opportunities. Large opportunities to save may be a bonus, refund, raise or inheritance. Small opportunities to save means paying attention to the many ways you may be wasting money on everyday items you purchase. Join us as we discuss some small ways to save those pennies.
The Compass Catholic blog has more on money saving ideas.
When you think about giving, are you focused on the minimum or the maximum? It is easy to think giving is based on some exact number that will satisfy our obligation, yet true generosity comes joyfully out of a heart filled with love.
By developing a giving plan, you can reconcile the natural tension between meeting a minimum obligation and the response to a generous God who has given us everything.
The Compass Catholic blog has more on developing a giving plan.
