Family and Finance

Life Update:

A month ago, we were able to realize a dream we’ve had for a long time. After serving as President and CEO of our local credit union for a year, Dustin was able to quit the 9-5 daily grind and go all in on building his own financial education business. We made this decision as a family with lots of prayer, planning, and preparation and we FINALLY did it!

You can continue to follow along on this page. We’ll be sharing a little bit of the how, the why, and some of our progress. You can also support Dustin by subscribing to his YouTube channel “Epic Finance” and following him at . Thanks friends! God bless!

Your only competition should be the old you! Get your eyes off of others and on your own goals. ♥️

Be blessed, fam!

• Testimony Tuesday •

Last week we each took turns with an AWFUL stomach virus. This guy got hit first and hardest. He missed 3 days of work.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, Madalyn’s turn came and she threw up all over our bed. I cleaned her up and he heroically managed the laundry 🤢

On Thursday, his first day back at work, it was mine and Micah’s turn...at the same time. After receiving a slightly panicked message from me he came home a little early from work to find us sitting in the floor with towels and a bucket (🤢) watching Cocomelon because that’s literally all we could do. He took over Micah duties that evening and stayed home from work Friday to take care of us both.

On Saturday after we were all feeling better he wrangled the kids so I could enjoy an evening away that had been previously planned.

Sunday was Mother’s Day. He helped me get the kids ready and to church (early, of course), and with very little notice he prepared and gave a beautiful short speech for the Mother’s Day service.

Today, he returned to work. They are short-staffed this week and he’s already behind on his work. But I know him. He’ll dig in and do what needs to be done because that’s what he always does.

Marriage is fun and exciting sometimes. Sometimes it’s just dealing with life. This week, I’m extra grateful that I chose him to be my lifetime teammate. He pulled some serious slack and did it with a smile. I love him so!

Who you marry matters!

Take control. Direct your dollars. You CAN win with money!

There’s no “secret” to winning with money. It takes discipline and a made up mind! Change your thoughts, change your actions, change your future.

📂SAVE for later!

It’s possible. You can do it! Here’s how...

💵Budget Budget Budget! You have to direct your money where to go every time you get paid or at least every month. Make saving/investing a priority in your budget. The first item in our budget is giving, the second is our savings/investments. Pay yourself BEFORE you pay someone else. If you’re not saving anything at all, start small. $20, $50, &100. As you refine your process and find places to cut expenses or increase your income, you can increase your savings and/or investing.

💵Automate! Set up an automatic draft to your savings account. When the process is automatic, all you can see in your checking account is what’s left. That’s what you have to live on for the week/two weeks/month. Get used to living on that number and you won’t miss what’s going to saving/investing.

💵Track your spending. Get into the habit of tracking what you actually spent. It will help you refine your budget. It will help you see where you went wrong. It will also help you to identify your emotional triggers that cause you to want to spend more than you budgeted. Remember: your budget should be tailored to your individual needs and wants. Leave some room for fun/comfort items or your budget will feel too rigid and you’ll find it too difficult to sustain.

What is helping/has helped you to break the cycle? 👇🏼

You have the power to change your family tree!

What habits are you building? What systems are you putting in place? How will you deal with problems differently than you did before?

You’ve. Got. This! 💪😜

Happy New Year from Family & Finance!

Reflect on 2019. Be thankful for the good times, be thankful that you made it through the bad times.

Reflect. Reset. Course correct. Move forward!

Be grateful, be content, and be prosperous in 2020!

God’s blessings to you and yours!

Just sayin’ 💁‍♀️

♥️♥️♥️

When I was a little burr-headed kid, our family went through some tough financial times. Most families have a moment of money problems at some point. A job layoff can take your breath away. An illness can leave you completely broke. The little kids in the house don’t know exactly what’s going on, but there’s more stress in the air. They are told, “Times are tough, so we can’t go on vacation this year,” or “We have to move,” or “Christmas is going to be slim,” or “The boat has to be sold.”

My parents were in the real estate business and were building homes. The economy went sideways and left them in a mess. They worked hard, but it didn’t matter. Outside forces brought trouble to our house. We never went without food, shelter, or anything else, but the air changed in our home. All I knew was that money would solve the problem, so I vowed that someday I would be a millionaire. I doubt I even knew what that meant, but in my little burr head I thought that meant money would never be a problem.

When I graduated from college, I was still broke, but this dream of becoming a millionaire was pulsing inside me.

I am a spender by nature. I’ve always enjoyed spending money. Of course, when I was young and immature, that idea of spending for fun led into the trap of thinking if I got enough Stuff, I would be happy. The high I got from buying things was and is real. I’m the guy that thinks they check your receipt at Costco or Sam’s Club at the door to prove you actually spent the required $200, like it’s a law or something.

I would never have admitted it out loud, but there was this stupid idea down deep in my head that if I got enough Stuff, I would be happy and safe, or if I got the right Stuff, people would be impressed. Yeah, I know, Shallow Hal, right?

With that driving force, I went about the business of earning piles of money so I could spend piles of money. But a funny thing happened on the way to the ball— the Stuff became . . . unsatisfying. There was never completion or peace after a purchase, only the need to buy something more.

I also met God during this time who did bring peace and completion. I realized I was pouring Stuff down a spiritual hole, and Stuff is not designed to fill that hole. No matter how many cars I bought, or fancy dinners I ate, or cool places I traveled to there was always something still missing. Stuff just doesn’t do it. If you eat enough lobster it eventually tastes like soap.

So, by the time I was 26, I was a millionaire making $250,000 a year . . . but if you eat enough lobster it tastes like soap. Yep, I became a millionaire and was bored with it.

I discovered giving. Generosity. Now that was and is real fun! It’s easy for most Spenders to become Givers. A new goal popped into my head: Someday, with God’s help, I want to give away a million dollars in one day.

Right after that, I went broke and lost everything. Well, so much for that goal.

That was 30 years ago. During the following decades, we slowly began building wealth . . . while always giving. We had discovered much more joy in giving than in Stuff.

I’m fine if you want some Stuff—get you some. I have some nice Stuff, but when you look for joy in Stuff, it will always let you down. The more Stuff you own, the more repairmen you have to know. Giving never disappoints. Generosity is always fun.

God has allowed us to give a lot of money in the last 30 years. Oh, and a cool thing happened right before Christmas this year. We gathered our 910 team members, our café team (an outside vendor), our pastor and his wife, and folks from the local children’s home (house parents and social workers that serve orphans, foster kids, and other at-risk kids). Seventeen buses rolled up out front of our offices to take all these people to the mall for a $1,000 shopping spree. We gave each of them $1,000 cash. Plus, we gave extra money for the kids in the children’s home and the people who give their lives away for the kids. When we got to the mall, we held a drawing and gave away tons of other items, including a $5,000 gift card and a car.

That’s right. God did it. He allowed me to give away One Million Dollars of His money in one day. He loves that little burr-headed kid turned Giver so much that He allowed me that privilege.

If you eat enough lobster it tastes like soap, but when you eat at the table of generosity, you leave the table having tasted the best there is and fully satisfied.

Dream the right dreams, then dream them big.

🎄🎄🎄

photo credit: Amy Weatherly