I shudder to think about what my family’s budget looked like before we attended Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. It was a joke. I wrote down everything that came through, but didn’t set goals for how much I wanted to spend in a particular category. I might as well have glanced at my bank statements and called it good (which is exactly what I did before I pretended to budget). (If you’re reluctant to start a budget, check out this post.)
Dave Ramsey stressed the importance of not only knowing where your money was going, but telling it where to go in the first place. He taught us how to be proactive instead of only looking back at the money after it was already gone.
Finding a budget that worked for our family was hard work. My husband and I had different views about what we thought it should look like. He wanted a monthly budget, I wanted a weekly. Finally, I discovered a way for us to both be satisfied and mix the two. On the monthly budget, we recorded everything that came out on a monthly basis, such as the bills. On the weekly budget, we recorded Wal-Mart trips, gas, restaurants, and miscellaneous. These four categories were also reflected on the monthly bill.
As soon as we created a system that worked for both of us, the budgeting itself was a breeze. What had been holding me up was that I was trying to make other people’s budgets work for me.
I love our budget. Even though my husband has an engineering degree with a minor in math, I quickly took it over. It was so much fun that I had dreams of returning to school for a master’s degree in finance so I could help others with their personal finances.
Bookkeeper Business Launch
Then, I stumbled upon Ben Robinson’s Bookkeeper Business Launch class. Ben taught you how to be a bookkeeper and help small businesses with their finances, and a whole other world opened to me. As I learned the ins and outs of bookkeeping and worked with the software, I found that I loved it just as much if not more than my own personal finances. I felt as if I had finally found my calling.
That’s where you come in.
I suppose you have a similar story as to how you came to start your business–a story of inspiration and desire. The problem was that when you had this dream, your dream wasn’t to spend hours worrying about the finances. You shouldn’t be left scratching your head after your bookkeeper/accountant explains what is going on with money-jargon. My job as your bookkeeper will be to help you to understand any aspect of your business that you are unsure about.
After all, my bachelor’s degree is in education. I have had professional training in how to explain the problem, not just how to solve it.
Let’s get started!
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Blessings,
Valerie Johnston