AoM 31 Day Journal Challenge – Day 15

Day 15: Come up with your own Cabinet of Invisible Counselors. There are innumerable great men from history who we can learn from today. When thinking about your life or pondering some question or problem, yes, go to actual mentors and friends, but also take in the advice of men of yore. Write out who you would have on your list and what you admire about them. Having trouble coming up with a list? The comments in the post should offer plenty of ideas.

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The last few days my journal entries have come earlier in the day, but when I read the topic this morning I decided to take the day to dwell on who I might include in my cabinet. Throughout the day many great men that I have been inspired by in one way or another popped into my head. For some reason I tricked myself into think the topic said I was limited to five cabinet members. Upon re-reading it that is obviously not the case. Nevertheless, I’ve decided that (even though outside of this entry the cabinet may grow) I will limit my cabinet to five men.

In no particular order:

1. Teddy Roosevelt – This is a somewhat obvious choice for me given that the Bullmoose part of Suburban Bullmoose is derived from the original Bullmoose himself. Most people know Teddy Roosevelt as the 26th president of the United States of America that was known for his famous quote, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” However, the Teddy Roosevelt that I want in my cabinet is the one who ventured out west to the Dakotas and lived like a cowboy after the deaths of his wife and mother. Teddy Roosevelt left a comfortable, structured, and convenient  life in the city for the unpredictable, rugged life of the wild west. I want the Teddy that looks at even the most adverse situations with a look that says “bring-it-on”. That being said, I’d like all the wisdom he gained while in office as well.
2. Winston Churchill – Standing at 5’8″ tall comes the second member of my cabinet and I need every bit of him. Like Roosevelt, most people know Churchill as a political figured, but, like Roosevelt, he was much more than that. One thing I love about Churchill in particular was how efficient he was with his days. The structured days that Churchill lived are different from the type of structured days most people submit to as they fall into a boring life. Churchill lived every day with purpose. Every morning, evening, and night; every breakfast, lunch, and dinner; every event, conversation, or time spent alone had purpose to how he was able to grow as a man.
3. C.S. Lewis – Famously known as the author of many books including the Chronicles of Narnia series as well as several other non-fiction books, C.S. Lewis is a perfect fit for my cabinet. Not only do I love every one of his works (both fiction and non-fiction), I also admire his desire for camaraderie. C.S. Lewis, among many other famous authors at the time, were members of a secret society called the Inklings. In their meetings these great minds would share their current works-in-progress with one another to be critiqued before they continued working on them. However, these meetings weren’t just intellectual. During their gatherings they would tell stories and jokes while sipping on whiskey and smoking a pipe. They would laugh together, cry together, and simply enjoy life together. With C.S. Lewis I’m getting more than a genius, I’m also getting a great friend.
4. General George S. Patton – The opening speech in the movie Patton starring George C. Scott was probably enough to earn the General a spot in my cabinet. This man of war is fiery, tenacious, and loyal. He’s the man who will never let you quit. He’s the leader that will push you through even the most difficult moments in life. Before Patton left to lead his troops against Erwin Rommel he visited his mentor, General John Pershing, on his deathbed and asked for his blessing. Patton knelt beside the bed, Pershing put his hand upon Patton’s head and said, “Goodbye, Georgie. God bless you, and keep you, and give you victory.” Patton saluted his mentor for what would be the last time ever. This is the moment he took to war. This is why Patton would not be denied victory. This is the man I need in my cabinet.
5. Jesus – Perhaps the most obvious, and most deserved member to join my cabinet. I would even say that I’m not worthy of His presence within my cabinet. The first four men all have different qualities about them that I only hope to find within myself, but they all have one thing in common. They’re lives were lived in accordance to the things that this fifth man said and did. Jesus is the ultimate Suburban Bullmoose. He became the ultimate difference maker when he rose from the grave and conquered sin and death. He was never willing to settle on what he had already accomplished, for he wants everyone in the whole world to know that their Father loves them. He was the ultimate outsider, for he didn’t fit within the mold of the political or religious leaders of the time. However, he’s so much more than a Suburban Bullmoose. He’s God. The (literal) perfect cabinet member to turn to for advice, inspiration, and comfort.

The Simple Budget

Over the last couple of years I’ve researched a variety of different budgets to implement for not only myself right out of college, but for my wife and I in our first year of marriage. We have looked at budget plans that give her and I individual “fun money” to do what we will. We have looked at plans that require extreme frugality, essentially making every dollar purposeful, and every day stressful.

Most of these budgets somewhat resemble the fad diets that make brief appearances. I’ll call these fudgets (fad budgets). One easy way to identify a fudget is a fudget will require more attention than a full time job. I have seen people break their back collecting coupons, filling out surveys, and doing every tiny little thing, no matter how insignificant, to potentially save a few pennies here and there.

The other type of budget I have seen will push your frugality to it’s absolute limit. It demands that every dollar that doesn’t go towards a fixed expense go straight to savings or paying off debts. There is no room for things like… well, anything fun.

Both of these types of budgets, and other budgets that put unnecessary tips on a pedestal, do have one thing in common. If you can get past fudgets that introduce ideas like green alternatives to consumer products or 10 secrets to frugality you will find that at their core they all force you to define what your fixed and variable expenses are. As it turns out, this is the only important part.

Let’s get down to business. We have a simple budget to create. This should only take about 30 minutes. Let’s begin.

1. Get focused. Turn off the TV and silence your cell phone. I said this should only take 30 minutes, but it will undoubtedly take longer if you’re distracted.
2. Open up an excel spreadsheet. If you don’t have Microsoft Office, check out Google Sheets. There’s no need to purchase any budgeting software.
3. Across the top of the excel sheet list the months. January to December and at the end add a column that says “Total”.
4. Down the side list all fixed expenses first. These are the things that are the same every month to the penny. In this category you’ll most likely find your cable, internet, cell phone, rent, mortgage, credit card payments, and a tithe.
5. Skip one line. Underneath that write your name. If you have a spouse, write their name, too.
6. Starting with January, fill in the blanks. Copy and paste your numbers across all months.
7. In your Total column use the equation “=sum(cell:cell)” across and use the same formula for adding up each month underneath.
8. Do the same for your monthly salary.
9. Subtract your fixed expenses from your monthly income. The difference is what you have leftover for variable expenses and, of course, fun.
10. Now go buy groceries, fill your car, live your life like normal for a month. Get a general idea of what your monthly variable expenses will amount to.
11. Subtract it from your remaining budget.
12. Congratulations, you have just started a savings account.

If you’re satisfied with that green number, then job well done. You have created a budget that requires little to know attention, but also gives you a good understanding of where you are financially.

If you aren’t satisfied with that number, take some time to evaluate your buying decisions. Is there anything on your list you can live without? A variety of fudgets will introduce tips and tricks that you will no doubt be really on top of for a few weeks, but will inevitably be forgotten about. Ask yourself what changes YOU would be willing to make in light of the information you just revealed about your current situation.

There’s one more thing.

13. Stay disciplined.

This Simple Budget works because it’s not asking you to adopt someone else’s idea of an ideal budget. It’s asking you to adopt the changes that YOU decide you need to make.

Take the time to figure out what those key numbers are for you. From there you can 1) make the changes you want to make or 2) enjoy your peace of mind.

 

Ryan.

 

AoM 31 Day Journal Challenge – Day 7

Day 7: You’ve made it one week! Reflect on what this newfound practice has been like. Getting through the first seven consecutive days is truly the hardest part. Have you enjoyed it? Has it been difficult? Has it been what you expected?

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Because today is simply a day of reflection I will attempt to keep the post brief.

1. My first goal I set for myself was to read everyday. So far I have been successful in this task. Not only have I portioned out certain times in my day to read, I’ve found myself carving out other times throughout the day to open a book.
2. The second goal I set for myself was to be less attached to social media. I have worked towards accomplishing this goal by removing unnecessary social media apps (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) from my phone so they are not always accessible all the time. This limits my use of these apps to when I am sitting at a computer. It has also defaulted to me reading more. Win win.
3. My third goal (set yesterday) was putting more of the knowledge and wisdom I’ve gained into practice. It is a little to early to measure myself by this goal thus far, but for the past 24 hours I’ve made an effort to be more aware of the opportunities I have been passing by every day. If there is not a prompt regarding the progress of this during the 31 day journal challenge I will follow up with my own post later.

A couple of days ago I listened to a podcast where Brett McKay of the ArtofManliness.com interviewed Ramit Sethi of IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com about using behavioral psychology for a rich life. In this podcast Ramit talked about how people will put off something because they are waiting for the motivation to kick in before they get started. He essentially said that this is total garbage. Discipline comes first. If you discipline yourself to do something the motivation, the desire to want to continue will come, but first you simply have to start.

This is the approach I’ve taken when it comes to reading. Reading is not something that I’ve always enjoyed. In fact, when I was younger my dad sent me to my room and said “read a book” as a punishment. Over the last month I’ve come to find out that when I start reading I don’t want to stop. A couple of weeks ago I finished a book and I couldn’t wait to go to the store and pick my next one.

Day 12 of the 30 Days to a Better Man challenge is to create your bucket list. In the past my educational goal was to read 100 books before I turned 30. If I stay disciplined and continue on with my current pace I will no doubt have this goal finished well before I hit the big 3-0.

Discipline

Throughout my life I’ve visited my grandparents’ life more times than I can count, but one time in particular will always stand out. I remember one morning at their home when I was eight years old, my grandpa, J.J., brought out an old box and a shoe shine kit from his closet.  After he set up his to-be workspace by laying down a stained old towel with frayed edges complete with his brushes, polish, and rag laid out neatly on the towel as if it owned that space, he opened up the box and pulled out a fairly good looking pair of boots he had worn once during his days as a soldier.  I asked him what he was doing and he told me straight, “I’m shining my boots.” I’m no expert on my grandpa’s wardrobe, but I had never seen him wear these boots before and, in my opinion, they already looked pretty shiny.  Regardless, he carried on with the shining process, first removing all the dirt with a horsehair shine brush and a damp rag to get whatever still stuck.

After the boots were completely dry he smeared a generous amount of Kiwi black polish on the boots making sure he covered every inch of them.  He vigorously brushed the boots with that horsehair brush making sure there was no clumps of polish left, but just a thin film that clung to the boot. Then he got out a smaller pad and applied more polish to the heel first and then the toe. Both areas seemed to receive more attention compared to the rest of the boot. He swabbed the pad in a clockwise motion on the left boot and counterclockwise motion on the right to satisfy how perfectly parallel he wanted his boots to look.  Not only was it amazing that his boots looked more perfect than they did before, but that he maintained my voluntary attention for 45 minutes as executed his task.  It was incredible how much time and attention to detail he paid to each step in the process, it was so routine that it was almost robotic.

After he was done I asked him if he was going to wear them. He told me wouldn’t and put them back in the box he took them from, packed up his kit, returned both things to his closet, and carried on with the rest of his day. I discovered that he does this every day with a different pair of shoes, whether they be military boots, cowboy boots, dress shoes, or any other footwear that could be shined. I asked him why he does this and he said, “The discipline that does the little things is the same discipline that does the big things.”