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TO: Interested Onliners FROM: Jim Bramer, Retired CPA-Auditor
FILE: 0208-04/jrnl
RE: J I Ms J R N L for the month of August 2004 Originated: August 2004
This process allows me to share some rather personal comments/thoughts about Righteous Personal Finance (this month especially) plus Ministry Finance matters on normal months. Please go to 0200 for further explanation and links to earlier JIM's JRNLs. The four digit (see xxxx ) links referenced below, come from www.bcidot.org sources. If you would like to receive the upcoming JIM's JRNL during the first week of the next subsequent month, please join the following Yahoo Group: ---- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JIMsJRNL/. Caution --- the non www.bcidot.org web links that I reference below do NOT necessarily imply my endorsement. Further, if any of the links below do not work, let us know which one at LINK@bcidot.org. Incidentally, our more recent www.bcidot.org Web Docs, or writings, can be found at 9712. and 9716.
W A R N I N G: As evidenced when you Click Here, the "Envelope Spending Controls System" mentioned below has been significantly updated since the 1st week in September 2004, when this JIMs JRNL was originally released,
The month of August 2004 was a little different. First, Bettie and I spent a good portion of the month in the Portland, Oregon area with family, as we joined most of the "Bramer" clan in celebrating my Mom's 90th birthday. It was a very very special family event. We are so very thankful for Mom who is so alert and active (she uses computers and occasionally sends us eGreeting cards, etc.) that it hardly seems that she has reached that point in life. She especially is a spiritual blessing to both my sister Stella and I and our families.
Secondly, during August 2004, I have "zeroed" in on the topic of Envelope Spending Controls as a budget alternative for Christian Families -- see the Mission Statement below. This retired "Bean Counter" is convinced that Christian Families need help in doing their personal bookkeeping as they get closure in managing their personal finances. The Ministries Listed Here are terrific, but it seems that the Christian Family needs some practical tools as outlined below. My prayer is that the following resources are relevant and helpful.
Envelope Spending Controls System (5):
MISSION STATEMENT (2): We are ready to remotely assist a Christian Onliner as we help you do your personal bookkeeping, or financial record keeping and reporting. This is primarily done via our "eEnvelope, or Internet "ENVELOPE SPENDING CONTROL" System. It usually integrates with you taking part in such groups as listed when you Click Here -- as you consummate your personal commitment to be Godly stewards of your fiscal affairs as you earn money and then incur/pay your bills primarily via the use of your Checks and Credit Cards using the Internet resources as would be pleasing to the Lord. Remember the emphasis here is "Spending Controls" and not necessarily accounting for tax or investment purposes. By the way ----- Mr. Steven Smith has written a easy to read story about the use of the Envelope system as an alternative to the usual budget process. It is a free e-book and I know you would learn from it. You can read it as a result of accessing http://www.mvelopes.com/files/Money_4_Life.pdf .
The eEnvelope or - Internet ENVELOPE SPENDING CONTROL System - involves at least the following:1> You define "Spending" areas of your life. Usual such Envelope areas are shown in the sample report below. I do not advise this, but one family has set up an Envelope for each of the following:
Auto fuel, Auto insurance, Auto loan; Auto Maintenance, Clothing, Entertainment, Regular Church Donations, Bldg Fund Pledge Donations, Food - groceries, Food - eating out, Gifts - birthday, Gifts - Christmas, Her Spending, His Spending, Home-insurance, Home-Maintenance, Home Mortgage, Life insurance, Medical Expenses, Dental Expense, monthly memberships, Utilities, Internet costs, and Misc Costs.
I recommend that you begin with such Envelopes as per the sample below and expand only when you need better control in a particular Life Style area of your life. Also, there is some merit to dividing up the Life Style costs between that which is either fixed or variable.
2> You determine how much of your available money goes into such "Spending" areas and you place all of your money upon receipt into the applicable Envelopes.
3> You make full and timely use of "Internet centric (or Internet Friendly) " resources and contemporary accounting tools mentioned more in depth below. You use Credit Cards or Checks as tools when you do your prudent buying from the available balance in each of these Envelopes. Please see Methods below. You discipline yourself in such matters as:
A. You thoroughly understand the reports that include the latest Bank and Credit Card activity. See the sample report below that follows the month end pay day.
ASSETS (3)
10 · ABC Bank Accounts
11 · For Credit Card Payment
1,541.71
12 · Avail for Envel Bals Below
2,720.89
Total 10 · ABC Bank Accounts
4,262.60
19 · CrCard Buffer or Float Acct
1,600.00
TOTAL
5,862.60
LIAB & BAL
Liab = Credit Cards
22 · Due to XYZ CrCard Co
1,541.71
Bal
30 · Spending Envelope Balances
31 · For Church Donations
300.00
32 · For Life Style Costs
720.89
33 · For Mortgage Payment
1,200.00
35 · For Upcoming Events
2,100.00
Total 30 · Envelope Balances
4,320.89
TOTAL
5,862.60
B. The family buyer always knows how much money there is to spend in each Envelope and makes appropriate buying decisions therefrom. Example: the $720.89 in the Life Style Costs Envelope above means, of course, that $720.89 is that Envelope's buying limit.
C. You make no buying decisions simply based on your Bank or Credit Card account balances.4> You make full use of the monthly "Buffer", or grace, period that your Credit Card Co allows you -- or you righteously buy now and, without paying any interest/fee costs, timely pay the total later. See the $1,600.00 in the Sample above. Please go to 4040 and read our June 2000 publication on the general topic of using Credit Cards as a tool. Please manage your affairs so you make this resource a blessing and not a tyrant. Please note the possible Methods/Levels that follow as you utilize the eEnvelope system.
eEnvelope Methods and Levels (6)
My heart particularly goes out to those Christian Families where at least one spouse does not do well at tracking financial details. this reminds me of a cartoon I saw once where the little one is watching Mommy at the desk and tells her something like: "Paying bills is like grown-up homework." Let's face it, some of us do not do well in such vital chores as: >> keeping the check stub balance current/accurate, >>doing the monthly Bank Reconciliation, >>and keeping and recording those small Credit/Card slips. They falter in these administrative duties and therefore do not know if they are within their righteously developed budget constraints. Since they are guessing, they are likely to overspend with the obvious negative results
Please contact me for a personalized dialog about HOMERs as we help you pursue the appropriate eEnvelope Method that is outlined below that best meets your personal needs and overcomes such problems. Be sure we discuss the unorthodox, but necessary, fees that are involved. By the way .... be sure and digest the link contents located HERE with regard to the AFT (After the Fact) QBuxBox Weekly Internet Acctg System
Method A - Use of "cutting edge" Internet and Computer resources - please Click Here and go to a list of report samples flowing via the eEnvelope or ENVELOPE SPENDING CONTROL" System.
Level A-1 -- Use the Mvelope, eBilling and Online Banking software. Click here for features about this software. For example, this software allows Bank and Credit Card transactions to electronically flow into your eEnvelope system.
Level A-2 -- Use of afore-mentioned Mvelope, plus eBilling and Online Banking software for the eEnvelope system. Then you manually enter portions of your Bank and Credit Card activity into this system.
Level A-3 -- Use portions of this Mvelope, plus eBilling and Online Banking software and this eEnvelope system . But you manually enter all transactions therein.
Method B - Use of other Computer/Software and the above Internet resources. Prior to August 2004, we emphasized the QuickBooks or Quicken software and used such terms as Quite Virtual Envelopes (QVE) or BuxBoxes. Please go to the list of links on such matters as used by Christians to do Righteous Personal Finance-RPFin.
Level B-1 -- Via older versions of QuickBooks (QB) - Please Click Here and go to a QB eEnvelope Tutorial that walks you through the use of this product for such purposes and provides you with spending control report samples.
Level B-2 -- Via older versions of Quicken - ask me at Jim@bcidot.org for more info.
Level B-3 - Via a product known as Make $ Cents Envelope system -- ask me at Jim@bcidot.org for more info.
Let me know if you prefer to maintain your personal finances manually, or you are not comfortable using Computers, or the Internet, as you manually do your Envelope record keeping and/or reporting that includes Checks and Credit Cards. I have some ideas that might be of value to you.
Mvelopes Software
Product (7)
- - - - - PERSPECTIVE - - - - -
Not long ago I
observed our grown daughter take her cash and place it in physical
envelopes. And I said to myself, "gee, that is GREAT as I am sure
that this greatly helps her stay within her cash budget." Then I
got to wondering if she and other Christian Families have an
Envelope method to also control buying via Checks and Credit Cards.
Since then I have been interested in an effort like
eEnvelope
.
For a long time I have been convinced that you Christian
families
should use this fundamental Envelope system as a Budget
equivalent tool to carry out
all of your Righteous Personal Finance
RPFin convictions. But,
as demonstrated above, the emphasis has been a Cash
Only Envelope approach as the only
practical way to make use of this system. Or Church Families take their
Cash upon receipt
and place a pre-determined amount within applicable
physical Envelopes. There is a physical Envelope
for various ways that they have decided to righteously spend their money.
When there was no money left within an Envelope, they had
no more to spend in that area of their life. Please
click
here and view a Cash Only tool -- also
note the example of some years ago when you
Click Here.
As I point out when you read my editorial at
0917,
estimated consumer spending is currently divided up as follows:
--- Consumer Spending --- Ratio: Via Checks 51% Via Credit/Debit Cards (Plastic) 25% Via Green Stuff or Cash 17% Other ways 7% Total 100%
Apparently our present society uses Checks and Credit Cards to do over 75% of their consumer buying. No doubt Christian Families are close to these ratios, thereby tremendously complicating the Cash Only Envelope system.
- - - - GOOD NEWS- - - -
But the GOOD NEWS is that, via the Internet and a commercial computer software product known as Mvelopes -- please notice; it is not Nvelopes (or Envelopes), but Mvelopes -- we now have an another effective way to use this Envelope system as we include the Check/Credit Cards consumer spending areas. Or there is an electronic Envelope system. Plus, it also seamlessly integrates Online Bill Payment resources found at www.bills.com and more! Please Click Here for answers to questions as to how Mvelopes works. Please see below for Mvelopes --system Factors/Issues:
Factors / Issues: << It is a Web based computer system or you do not buy software as you access it directly via your Internet computer browser at anytime from anywhere. CAUTION: The ideal is to have a fast connection to be effective. See content of 0904 for more info. << The present cost is between $10.00 to $15.00 a month. The 1st month is free. << You do not have to manually write checks and mail them as you can pay virtually all of your vendors via the integrated Bill Payment system. This savings can greatly offset the the costs of the above monthly fees. << You have Online access to the activity and status of each of your Online Bank Accounts. Such transactions can be posted automatically to the Mvelope system << You have Online access to the activity and status of each of your Online Credit Card Accounts. Such transactions can be posted automatically to the Mvelope system. << You use the "drag and drop" feature to move an amount from one place to the applicable Envelope (Mvelope); you do not process bookkeeping entries with related complications. << You readily know how much of all your restricted finances is in that spending area --- or that Mvelope Envelope. << You readily know how much you have used of your Credit Card limit so you can timely l pay the balance and pay no fees, etc. << You can invite Helpers to view the Mvelope Envelope system content as you together make use of these resources. See content of 0905 for more info. << You know the critical fact of how much you have to spend (as previously decided) before you actually spend it
If any of this "rings a bell" with you, please contact me at Jim@bcidot.org for more information about this eEnvelope or ENVELOPE SPENDING CONTROLS system as set forth more precisely within the link contents found at 0400.
Potentially helpful "eEnvelope" Links for JIMs JRNL Readers (1):
Internet Resources Click and Access Link Contents: 101-Bills.com Online info http://www.bills.com/about.htm 102-Bills.com who you can pay via http://www.bills.com/billers.htm 103-eBill Payment - Common Questions Click Here for Long Link 104-Email - Pay bills via http://www.myonlinebillpay.com/ebill.php 105-Email - More "payments via" info http://www.ugotmoney.com/what_or_how.html 106-Make $ Cents Envelope system (9) Click Here for Long Link 107-Mvelopes - eEnvelope System Questions https://my.mvelopes.com/mvelopes/common_questions.php 108-Mvelopes Web Site http://www.in2m.com 109-Mvelopes Forum or Message Board http://www.in2m.com/forums/index.php 110-Online Banking - What is it http://www.bankrate.com/brm/search/story-online.asp 111-Online Banking info http://www.myonlinebillpay.com/online_banking.php 112-Online eBill Payment Web Site http://www.myonlinebillpay.com/ 113-Personal Online Finance Management http://www.personalfinancebudgeting.com/
Dear Lord,
As I have often stated, Lord, Mom is a real inspiration to especially my dear sister Stella and I. Many of us in our families can attribute much of our spiritual health to her obeying and trusting You during her lifetime.
Also, Lord, I trust that the resources outlined above contribute to spiritual encouragement and victories as Christian Families righteously and prudently manage their personal finances.
In Jesus' name, Amen
Possible "Lingo", or "Frequently Used Vocational Terms" appear below:
CBA = Church Business Administrator, CBAer; CMS = Church Management Software/System; CPA = Certified Public Accountant; GAAP = Generally Accepted Accounting Principles/Practices; GPFund or GPF = General Purpose Fund; MFTeam or MFT= Ministry Finance Team; QBOE = QuickBooks Online Edition; QBooks or QB = Quickbooks; SPFunds or SPFs = Special Purpose Funds; RPF or RPFin = Righteous Personal Finance
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This document was updated last on: November 15, 2010