Intro to Providence and Paychecks

Something I always wished I learned more about was basic budgeting principles. Of course, in high school some of us took a personal finance class or two (and if you were me, some accounting classes), but I was more focused on what I was doing after school than what my retirement is going to look like in 40+ years. I wanted to get a nice vehicle once I graduated. Then once I had a real job, I planned to get a house really quick too! I did not care about retirement or compound interest or whatever the heck a 50/30/20 budget was.

Fast forward 10 years (crazy to think I graduated 10 years ago) and I have been blessed enough to obtain some of the goals 18 year old me had. I was able to get a loan on a home before the market exploded, my wife and I both have reliable vehicles and we still save a little bit of money at the end of each month… but I still feel behind. My retirement is not where it should be (changing jobs does not allow for that 401k to grow too much) and I feel like every month I am being hypercritical of the household finances. Not because we are struggling to keep a roof over our heads; rather the economic state of the USA right now is in disarray.

But I keep reminding myself that God will provide. I do not claim to understand what God is providing me with, but I do know he will provide. Sometimes the answer is a resounding “YES!” and sometimes it is a quiet “no” or even “ask another time; right now is not best.”  As Paul wrote in the book of Romans “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Chapter 8, Verse 6). Trusting that the Lord will provide for us, which is providence, will allow us to keep a level head and have more clarity to make the right decision.

We have all seen the graphs and polls. Houses cost too much. Employment is underpaying people. There are jobs available, but no one is hiring. Taxes are ravishing our paychecks. All for the working man to struggle and the government to still somehow be in a deficit. It seems like whatever you do, it is never enough for anyone or anything.

My goal is to help people with the basics of budgeting. I am not a certified financial planner. I am not a millionaire. I am more or less the common man who lives life the best he can to provide for his family. I have a degree in finance, have worked in insurance as well as banking, and have taught budgeting life-skill classes to people in the town I live in and have seen them experience success.

What this blog will NOT be is information on what stock to invest or not invest in. Like I stated prior, I have no licenses and thus cannot provide specific information. Rather, this is a commentary on what I have done and what has worked for me, my family and those around me.

I want to give people the information on how to be more efficient with their budget. My definition of budgeting is the inflow and outflow of money for a household resulting in a net gain. But how to manage that inflow and outflow of a household is what I plan to expand upon in the following pieces. How to lower expenses, increase income, and save money along the way. Budgeting is not hard to understand, but it can be hard to implement. I hope I can be a great resource to help you all along with your personal finance success stories.

God Bless,

Bubba Miller