We’re excited to introduce you to one of our great members, Brandon, who started an amazing local bookkeeping firm called Clean Finances. Brandon and his team spend their days helping their clients make smart financial decisions, and now, he’s opening up his resources to help all of us know how to make smart financial decisions amid the economic uncertainty sparked by COVID-19.
Without further ado, here’s our first Common Desk “Member Post,” written by Brandon with Clean Finances!
In times of uncertainty, we often find ourselves stuck in an uneasiness that can be hard to shake. We wonder what the future holds for our family, our career, and even our community–and that wonder can quickly slide into fear as we watch the news and hear the words rattle inside our brain: COVID-19 is changing everything.
These are certainly unprecedented times. Thousands have already lost their paychecks and nearly every business is under immense pressure to cut costs as the outbreak continually spreads and the recession sets in. At this moment, we can quickly become very aware of all the things that we cannot control, and that can definitely be scary.
In times like these, it is critical to keep a balanced outlook as we focus on those things in our life that are in our control–like following social distancing guidelines, checking in on loved ones, staying mentally and physically healthy, and checking in on our financial plan.
With this free resource, we want to help you focus on that last idea. Whether your personal paycheck is in jeopardy or not, we encourage you to take a deep breath, remember what matters most and, then, create a plan on how to move forward. Put another way–let’s make a budget.
The ultimate goal here is to empower you with a sense of confidence around your numbers so that you know where you stand and how you can strategically move towards a brighter tomorrow.
If you hate that word (you know, the B-word), I want to encourage you to keep reading. The ultimate goal here is to empower you with a sense of confidence around your numbers so that you know where you stand and how you can strategically move towards a brighter tomorrow. No matter what past experiences you’ve had with budgets, I promise you that this tool will be a breath of fresh air. What makes this tool different?
First, it’s visual.
As you add in your transactions and start to put together some details around the months ahead, you’ll have immediate clarity around the numbers as you will be able to visualize the trends over time and more easily make decisions from that position of clarity.
Second, it’s powerful.
From cash and debt balances tracked over time, to integrated features that account for credit card activity, to incredibly helpful insights around your budget vs. actual numbers each month–this tool will do all the heavy lifting for you.
Third, it’s simple.
While it has all the power you need, we’ve made it incredibly easy to keep updated as you only need to enter your transactions into a simple input area. We promised ourselves that we would only deliver this tool if we could make it helpful and easy to use, and we are thrilled to deliver just that. This is budgeting made easy.
In conclusion, this tool will help you understand what the real numbers mean for you and your situation, so you can make that transition from fear to confidence in the middle of this COVID-19 crisis. No matter where this year takes us all, we wish you and yours the very best health and happiness as you move forward in these strange days.
We’re in this together, and we’re rooting for you.
