Work Pants Finance

What if you could cut your family's food, entertainment, clothing, and miscellaneous budget from $2400 to $1600 per month, just by switching the payment method from credit card to cash?

That's what happened in the Miner family when we got serious about budgeting.

And what if you could adopt this approach without handling physical currency? Amy and I discuss physical and virtual cash-envelope budgeting and other family budget hacks to live on one income.

Big ideas from today's conversation:

1) How you budget is less important than that you do it and that you budget, and create the budget as a team 2) Budgeting is not about the "right" tool or app. It's about a process for telling your money where to go, rather than wondering where it went 3) Amy and I share a case-study grocery budget for a single-income family. For more on this, access my Hacking the Grocery Bill whitepaper at workpantsfinance.com/resources 4) Use physical currency (or a virtual envelop budget), for grocery, entertainment, clothing, miscellaneous or other categories that are routine budget busters for your family

For more information, visit the show notes at https://workpantsfinance.com/31

Today's show features new voices as listeners call in with their questions.

For your invite to appear on the next Work Pants Finance Q&A show, sign up at workpantsfinance.com/resources.

The topic of kids and money is a key part of your life plan, let alone your financial plan. Teaching children to work, earn, give, save, and spend will give them dignity, agency, learning, and experience. It will make them more helpful to you, and more interesting to other adults they meet – including prospective employers and clients!

You start with your beliefs about work and money: What are your presuppositions?

You'll need a philosophy for money: Feel free to adopt mine: We work to earn, so we can give generously, save largely, and spend wisely.

You'll need to teach your children that work is needed, and how to do it. This creates a time-cost now, but the pot of gold is just over the horizon – and it's really there. One day when you are doing something for your work or business only you can do, when you're going on a run in the park, or taking your wife on a date while your child is mowing the lawn or vacuuming the living room, you'll be so glad you made the time-investment of time up front.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://Workpantsfinance.com/29

My guest is my bride of 20 years, Charity Miner. She tells the story of how she got started on a homeschool career, why Charity and I believe this is the best education option for our family, and why homeschooling is more achievable than you think.

If you'd like to exert control over your family's time and take vacations in may and late September, rather than July, or if you just want a glimpse of our family's story and habits, this episode is for you.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://Workpantsfinance.com/28

Want more orders in your business? Try asking customers and prospects to buy! Josh Miner, the 14-year-old Small Batch Homeschool Roaster brings solid wisdom for entrepreneurs of any age.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://Workpantsfinance.com/27

Philip "PT Money" Taylor of FinCon and PTMoney.com serves up general wisdom and specific recommendations as he tells the story of his transition from work as a CPA to launching a successful blog and the industry event for creators in the Personal Finance and FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) world.

Key takeaways from the episode include:

• The power of time-blocking in your job or business
• The importance of enjoying and appreciating where you are right now, even as you work to create the future you want.
• Post-2020, physical connection is more important than ever.
• Let your customers craft the event – have a vision, but poll the community.
• Don't make the thing you create – whether a conference or piece of content – about you, the creator. Instead, make it about the person you're trying to serve. For example, even though you hear a lot of my voice, this podcast is for you: MBA's, entrepreneurs, and other high-income professionals who work hard and sacrifice a lot in your jobs and businesses. Every one of you has massive productive capacity for earning income and building wealth. Work Pants Finance exists to teach you how to be a debt-free millionaire in your thirties, forties or fifties, and to provide encouragement and inspiration along the way.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://Workpantsfinance.com/26

Delivering results is what lets your employer or client keep you on the payroll and never compromising who you are let's you continue to sleep at night and smile at the guy or girl in the mirror when you shave or apply your makeup.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://Workpantsfinance.com/25

Laura is a leadership coach, facilitator, sustainability strategist, and author of Our Next Evolution a book with a people-first model for leaders in business, non-profits, and the public sector to work on environmental issues.

Huge thanks to Laura for bringing her big heart and unique wisdom to our conversation today.

Key Take-aways are:

1) If you've got a mammoth project – like writing a book, or making a financial plan, get help and follow a process. 2) To make gains in your health and money, get outside and move! It's cheap and delightful. 3) Watch the Tiffany Shlain video linked at workpantsfinance.com/24. Then, turn off your screens and let your mind wander. If dreaming was important to Thomas Edison and Salvador Dali, it won't hurt you and me, either.

Now I'm turning off the screens and headed out for a run in the woods. Since there's no gasoline in the southeast right now, I'll ride my bike to the trailhead too.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://Workpantsfinance.com/24

The advice to "move fast and break things" is at best incomplete. If you make change the wrong way you can create upset, chaos, and even risk blowing up your business, career, or an important relationship.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://Workpantsfinance.com/23

We hear "Hope is not a plan", and it's true. But without hope, even carefully conceived plans are doomed.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://Workpantsfinance.com/22