The Beginning of Financial Fridays

I’ve decided to write a money book. (Several people who know me well are now snickering and guffawing. Ignore them.) Let me explain.

My husband is a math wizard. I am not. In fact, I’m at best a remedial math toad. So, in reality, he should be writing a book on money, not me. I said as much, but he wasn’t interested. I argued, But so many people are having a hard time and you’re brilliant. You could really help. He conceded to help. So, I made an outline.

Let me back up to why I felt I needed to write a money book. I served for almost four years as a president of a charitable organization and during that time I learned many things, but what I saw over and over again is that when people mismanage fundamentals, they can’t manage anything. A large part of my responsibilities as a Relief Society president was visiting women in their homes. When needed, I helped women fill out a menu and make a grocery list for food that they could pick up at the Bishop’s Storehouse (a Mormon equivalent to a food bank.) During my visits the conversations often lead to discussions on budgeting, health and medical bills, marital disagreements on money management, children and spiritual concerns.

So, this book is about what I saw and what I learned. I shared my outline with my husband.

This isn’t a money book, he said.
Sure it is, I replied.
He said, A money book addresses insurances, CDs, IRAs and stock options.

That would be a master’s money book. This is a basic money book. Here’s my outline:
1. Time—when people mismanage their time, they’re wasting money.
2. Budgets—accounting allows you to see the accumulated cost of both good and bad decisions.
3. Health—people spend enormous amounts of money on medical costs. Money that could be saved if they learned to manage their health.
4. Marriage—let’s face it, money causes friction in marriage. It can even cause divorce. And trying to save or especially end a marriage is emotionally and financially expensive. Brutally expensive.

So, it’s true this will be a different sort of money book and it’s being written by a self-proclaimed math toad. I did not graduate top of my masters of business program (but I know someone who did, and that someone covenanted before God to be my helpmeet.)

It’s my prayer that the lessons I learned and that Larry and I share, will help. I’m going to start posting on what I’m calling Financial Fridays. After enough Fridays and enough posts, I’ll collect my thoughts into a book. A different sort of money book. Anyone can read the blog and avoid the cost of the actual book, because I'm all about saving money. I’m also open to suggestions, comments and questions.

If I can’t answer them, I know someone who can.

(No worries--I haven't traded fiction for nonfiction. I'm still very much into my ghost story. My next novel will go public on Valentine's Day as planned.)