Financial Planning (Organizing your Budget)

A few years back a friend of mine accidentally saw one of my paychecks, he was shocked to see that he was earning more than me. He also noted the fact that his wife worked and mine did not. This particular friend had approach me a couple of times in need of a loan to get him through until his payday. Because I had been able to help him he had always assumed that I made more than he made. Once he realized that the situation was reversed he asked me how could we possibly being doing as well as we were.

I then asked him what type of budget he and his wife use for their household finances. He replied that they did not have a planned budget for the household bills. Well, I was surprised because this friend always seem to be very organized. I asked him how he thought he could manage his money without a budget. I explained that a budget is the cornerstone of knowing where you stand financially. I mentioned a phrase that I heard from my Dad years earlier...If you fail to plan, then you should plan to fail. I think he was a little offended and a little embarrassed, but he did see my point.

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I told that for many years my household had operated on a budget and yes at first it was not easy. Starting a budget is the hardest part, the adjustment to being responsible to show where each dollar goes is not pleasant for most people. The longer you do it the easier it becomes because you start to take pride in sticking to your budget and you begin to see the fruits of your labor. I asked him to try by starting on the following plan, which is the same one I used when I started out. I told him to use it for 6 months and then we would see if it worked.

The plan is simple: Your money needs to be divided by percentage for uses. 33% for housing, 17% for transportation, 25% for monthly bills, 10% for donations, and 15% for savings and investing. I asked him to list all of their misc. spending and notice if any money was being wasted. The savings account is also utilized for emergency needs such as home or car repairs.
Right from the start my friend said that 25% would not cover his monthly bills. I told him that he would need to use the portion designated for savings and pay off the credit cards. It turned out that they were maxed out on several cards and that was the main drawdown on their income. At the end of 6 months I met with him and he said they had paid off three of the cards and had listed their monthly misc. expenses. With that list they had realized that they were spending about 0.00 per month on things that were not neccessary. That combined with the savings on credit card payments had allowed them to put ,000.00 in savings. They will soon have all their credit cards paid off and will be able to place more money in the savings column.

This budget is a very simple example, the actual budget for each family requires a little fine tuning to match the current situation of each household. More advanced examples will be soon posted at Wongaa.com.

Financial Planning (Organizing your Budget)

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Financial Responsibilities of a General Manager & District Manager at Outback Steakhouse

Outback Steakhouse is one of the leading restaurant chains in the world, with a unique Australian outback theme. The chain has achieved resounding success globally over the last two decades because of its passion for quality and customer service, and its innovative management policies. The company follows a collaborative management approach where the financial responsibilities of a General Manager at Outback Steakhouse are substantial and involve him as a partner in the company's goals.

Apart from the General Manager, each restaurant also has a District Manager and a Kitchen Manager who all work together as a unified team. This helps to distribute day-to-day responsibilities and functions between the team in order to ensure top work performance and superior job satisfaction on a sustainable basis. Despite the serious financial responsibilities of a General Manager at Outback Steakhouse, the company ensures that he gets plenty of opportunity to enjoy a good family life, and pursue personal and community interests as well.

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Outback offers an equity stake to all its General Managers or Managing Partners as they are now called. This is the biggest attraction for top managerial talent to work for Outback because it gives them a tangible ownership stake in the restaurant that they run so passionately. However, with equity stake come heavy financial responsibilities as well. It becomes imperative to run the restaurant efficiently and profitably for the growth of the company as well as personal financial growth.

Outback Steakhouse Coupons are issued occasionally to encourage new customers to visit the restaurant. Outback Internet Coupons are available on various websites that offer money savings and discounts on popular products and services. Sometimes overstock coupons of Outback may also be found as inserts with newspapers, or included in the coupon booklets sold by school kids to raise funds for a cause. Some people sell their Outback Steakhouse coupons over auction sites such as eBay. However, usually the Internet coupons get sold out very quickly because of the immense popularity of Outback, especially in the United States.

Financial responsibilities of a General Manager of Outback Steakhouse include a personal stake, which is not the case with the district manager or the kitchen manager at the restaurant. The General Manager also makes an initial investment into the business, which makes his role more entrepreneurial and raises his stakes in ensuring the success of the restaurant. The General Manager receives a percentage of the annual revenues of the restaurant, and there is a stock option component in the compensation plan. This effectively means that lower revenues and a lower annual corporate performance will adversely affect the value of returns of the General Manager.

Outback Steakhouse also offers higher financial stability to the general manager as compared to the district manager by way of a long-term contractual commitment. Financial responsibility at Outback is directly associated with financial rewards, making it a potentially lucrative business proposition for the general managers. The bottom line of success in any case remains customer satisfaction and customer delight at all Outback Steakhouse restaurants.

Financial Responsibilities of a General Manager & District Manager at Outback Steakhouse

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The Importance of Budgeting - Planning Your Financial Present and Future

Budgeting is about planning your financial present and future. It is one of the most important steps to take on your financial journey and is an integral part of financial planning.

Planning entails setting some goals to aim for in the future. Whether your goal is to save more or pay off debt, or perhaps both, you need to understand your spending habits.

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In order to understand your spending habits take one of the following steps:

Research past bank statements and receipts. While this is time-consuming it is eye-opening...or Record all of your spending over the next month or so in a small notebook. This means recording everything from bills to cash spending. Once again a surprise is likely to be in store.

Set your budget and include savings (for the future) or to pay-off debt goals (the present). A budget is not merely a spreadsheet that tracks how much you spend for the month and it is not just balancing tool. While both of these are both important, neither fits the meaning of living within a budget -- your spending habits will control that.

Your present expenses are those that are needed for day-to-day living. These include essential expenses such as accommodation costs of rent or mortgage. It includes payment of debt and your utility costs as well as food and groceries. Some expenses are fixed in that they do not change each month while others vary from month to month. Having your present spending requirements fit within your income will mean living without getting yourself into uncontrolled debt. A budget is essential to know that you are living within your means.

Once you have determined how much money you have after paying all your essential monthly expenses, set aside a portion to save for your future expenses. You have no doubt heard the adage 'pay yourself first'. The idea is to put 10% of all income into long-term investment for your future -- this is considered the ideal percentage. Pay yourself as part of your essential spending and make it a habit.

Expenses for your future involve putting money aside for your goals: buying a house, saving for children's education, holidays and retirement to name a few. Each goal will have an amount to save for in your budget. Open a savings account specifically for your goals and transfer a set amount to that account every time you get paid. Making it automatic makes it a habit and tends not to be missed after a while...and it will gradually build up a sizable sum. When you are ready to spend on your goal you will already have the money set aside.

The importance of budgeting is living within the limits of your income and sticking to spending goals. This can be very rewarding, emotionally and financially. Planning your financial present and future depends on a good budget.

The Importance of Budgeting - Planning Your Financial Present and Future

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