Discover Your True Wealth: Module 1

     “The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.” —John Schaar

Welcome….

Here is an invitation to chart the territory of your wealth. Too often, wealth is reduced to a purely financial definition; this is like taking a photo in black and white—it only captures a portion of the whole picture. Through exploring the other aspects of worth, you will create a vibrant map of your holistic value, your true wealth.  As you complete this simple yet illuminating inventory, you will discover all that is really important to you.

Develop the skills and awareness to utilize the full range of your resources, both external and internal, to create optimal wealth. Through entering a conversation about value and worth, you are choosing a doorway that opens to a landscape of plenty. Here we find our longing to engage in a satisfying relationship with life itself! Through approaching the inner, relational, financial, and environmental wealth with curiosity and courage, one discovers unexpected treasures and insights.

Wealth is not entirely quantifiable, for it defines a quality of life that is both satisfying and varied. Wealth is not a goal, but a state of being to be recognized, because it is subjective and incredibly personal. The following exploration of your monetary past begins a process for you to discover your true wealth.

True Wealth Template

• Inner Wealth: your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strengths

• Relational Wealth: your connection and collaboration with other people

• Financial Wealth: your money, property, and possessions

• Environmental Wealth: your surroundings of home, nature, neighborhood, community, and workplace

Your Monetary Past Worksheet

This activity will help frame your relationship with money leading up to now. (Please open & download this PDF) 

Overview of Accounting Strategy

9 Simple Steps for Success

1. Clarify your vision, set goals, strategize, design plans, and set up effective systems.
2. Create a budget.
3. Record financial activities accurately, consistently, and regularly by using a simple bookkeeping system.
4. Close your books at the end of each month and reconcile your bank statement.
5. Analyze and interpret financial information by creating a variance statement: compare figures in your quarterly financial statements with the projected income and expenses from your budget.
6. Regularly review your financial statements (including your income and expenses and the balance sheet).
7. With your accountant’s direction, prepare annual financial statements and file your annual tax forms.
8. Check your credit report annually.
9. Discuss money with your support team, including spouse, employers and family.

 

First Steps of Bookkeeping

This week, begin tracking your money, if you are not doing so already.

1. Receipts, receipts, receipts! Keep your receipts! Designate a special filing place where you will collect them. If any transaction has no receipt, create one.
2. Choose a program, such as Quicken, to make bookkeeping simple. Although it will take time to learn Quicken and set up these account categories it will simplify the bookkeeping process later.

 

 

An Exercise in Gratitude

The power of giving thanks is immense. The benefits are many, including reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. Giving thanks activates your hypothalamus, which regulates hunger, sleep, body temperature, metabolism, and how the body grows (see: “6 Ways Gratitude Affects Your Brain”). http://www.bustle.com/articles/123590-6-ways-gratitude-affects-your-brain
Write a descriptive, emotional, letter to someone whom you feel you haven’t really thanked, and then read it aloud. Get creative—this letter can address the little and big things. It could be to the friend who helped you at a crucial time, to the toddler who got you to play on the floor, to a teacher who influenced you, or to a stranger who displayed kindness. Gratitude knows no bounds. You’ll reap the benefits of giving thanks in any way you choose.