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Why Budget?
Our Budget Book
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BudgetYes!, The StoryAbout 25 years ago (wow, has it been that long since 1983?) when we met and started becoming a couple, we discussed all of the usual issues. Money was one of our favorites. We knew it was important to start right, and start organized. Like others, our only money education was simply what we observed from our parents, and our fledgling attempts at money management through young adulthood. Now "grown-ups" entering a relationship, we started our own self-study course on how to set up and run our personal finances. Then and now, the material on money was plentiful, but not necessarily what we needed. Over the years we tried several things, and eventually molded our own way of doing things. We took all of the good ideas we could find, got rid of the "busy work," and added touches of our own. We drew heavily on our extensive backgrounds in mathematics and computers, always with an eye toward simplicity and power. As other family members made their official entrances into the "real world," they quickly encountered the same frustrations about budgeting that we had. We shared our system with them, and they liked it! Based on these experiences and encouragement, we decided to make a contribution to our community. Using our skills in education, particularly course work dealing with making learning fun, we created a "Personal Budgeting" class that we began teaching around our area. For a traditionally "dull" topic, the classes became quite popular. Many people started requesting the material in book form so they could refer back to key points and share it with others. The heartwarming responses amazed and touched us, inspiring us to reach an even larger audience. Thus, BudgetYes!, the book, was born in 1997. "Tulip Tree Press" is the company we created to publish our book. Our Web site went online in 1998 and has had a few different "looks" over the years—with the most major one launching in 2008. This year we've added easier navigation, a more updated look, opportunities for social networking and sharing our articles, and two offers we've never done before...
The Mission of Our Web SiteThere is a great wealth of budgeting "tips" out in the world, primarily under the genres of frugality, tightwad behavior, and downscaling. Our purpose here is to provide a budgeting education—to fill in the gap most of us have between our job training and "real life." Handling money properly was not discussed when most of us were in school. Our parents tended to be our role models. (That was sometimes good, sometimes bad, and many times both!) Our parents' generation also went through school without a formal financial education. We hope to provide that educational foundation. It is our passionate belief that having a personal budget is the single most important finance-related thing anyone can do for themselves or their families. Almost all of life's decisions are related to money either directly or indirectly. A budget simply gives you the information you need to make the most intelligent choices. It is a tool to help you function the best you can. If you do not have accurate information about your personal money picture, it is safe to say you are not making the best decisions possible. This is often why people feel out of control, and that their money (or lack thereof) has dictated their lives. A Little Bit More About Us (I, Jane, write this in December 2007...) Time does go faster as we age! John and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in October 2007. We have had plenty of life's usual ups and downs through the years, but in general know how blessed we are and are so grateful for the good life we lead. Honestly, probably the smoothest aspect of our relationship has been the lack of stress in dealing with our financial issues—not that we haven't wished for more money—but that we've managed to be of like mind in how to handle things. I know that our good start in talking about and deciding how to handle our money had a great impact on that. Maintaining steady employment is also a big plus. That said, we really have been living what we teach, and that is the main point I wanted to reflect on. For the last several years we have been remodeling our "dream" cottage on Lake Erie. We love being outdoors, taking walks, and admiring the natural beauty around us. As an aside, the reason we named our publishing company "Tulip Tree Press" was because of a particular Tulip Tree that is in sight out of the window of my grandparent's Lake Erie cottage. Thanks for spending some time at our Web site! Best wishes in the new year! |
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