FSM 271 / FN 380 DO
Finances and Fund Raising!--Part Five
Business Teamworker Tips and Testimonies
Copyright May 1995, World Services, Zurich, Switzerland
FASCINATING FACT!
"My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). In this verse, the Greek word in the original text that was translated as "supply" in the King James Bible, is defined in the Strong's Concordance as "to make replete." The word "replete" is defined in modern dictionaries as "full or supplied to the uttermost. Abundantly supplied; abounding. Filled to satiation; gorged." So in promising to supply all our needs, He is promising to provide abundantly, to the uttermost, so that we are satiated (meaning satisfied, as with a full stomach after having eaten a delicious meal)! Praise the Lord! What a promise!
CONTENTS:
The Job of a Business Teamworker
1
Budgeting Made Simple!
2
Points to Ponder
13
I Was Elected Business Teamworker
14
When the Home Is Struggling!
16
Lessons Learned Being a YA Business Teamworker and Working with Finances
18
Some Qualities of a Fruitful Business Teamworker
19
Business Teamworker's Personal Checklist
20
Suggested Reading List on Business Management
21
(Editor's note: The business teamworker portfolio usually consists of not only the care of the Home's finances, but also other important aspects of Home management, such as taking care of the Home's business and legal affairs. The business teamworker may also be responsible to oversee the Home scheduling, outreach and tools distribution/ordering, provisioning, follow-up, etc., as the case may be. However, since one of the most difficult and important aspects of the business portfolio is the proper management of the Home's finances, this will be the main focus of this FSM.)
The Job of a Business Teamworker
By Dust, North America
The business teamworker has a vital role in the Home and on the Home teamwork. His or her job is much more than that of simply counting the money, keeping the books and doling out petty cash on a day-to-day basis. Rather, like any other deacon, steward or disciple, their job includes taking regular prayer and Word time to be in tune with the Lord as they carry out their responsibilities. As Dad has taught us, we must all be constantly seeking the Lord for direction and vision. Just as teachers look for ways to help their students progress, or witnessers pray about how to feed their sheep to help them grow in faith, likewise the business teamworker should be looking for ways in which to move the Home ahead financially.
In the Family we're not in business just for the money, of course. Nevertheless, we do have a very real need for finances in order to do our job for the Lord. A Christian businessman once said, "Preaching the gospel is my main business, but I pack pork to pay expenses" (ML #1332:12). A successful Home, from a financial viewpoint, is one that should be getting ahead financially, rather than just standing still, or even worse, falling behind.
Just as we expand our faith to take on greater outreach projects and strive to attain a higher standard in our children's care and education, we must also have expanding faith for the Lord's supply. And because "faith cometh by hearing the Word of God" (Rom.10:17), the business teamworker must be looking to the Lord for ideas and direction. The business teamworker should do more than merely give an account of the finances; he or she should be a prayerful contributor to the teamwork and Home's decision-making process.
The business teamworker needs to make (in counsel with his teamworkers and/or others) many daily decisions regarding such matters as outreach, tool ordering, provisioning, fund raising and follow-up, "traffic control," vehicle maintenance, house maintenance and utilities, and more, since virtually every aspect of Family Home life is somehow affected by finances, either directly or indirectly. So as is the case for all of us, a business teamworker must learn to make prayerful decisions by going to the Lord and the Word for the answers to each day's questions and problems.
Besides looking to the Lord, the business teamworker must also be diligent to counsel with the rest of the teamwork and the Home concerning financial decisions. Major decisions can not be made by the business teamworker alone without counseling with others. As stated in the Charter, all Family voting members age 18 and over are responsible for the Home's financial condition, and all financial decisions affecting the Home must be made with the agreement of a two-thirds majority of the Home's voting members (see page 54 of the Charter, section 12.C. under Responsibilities of the DO Home: Regarding Financial Matters). The business teamworker must also regularly inform Home members about the state of the finances (page 55 of the Charter, section 12.D. under Responsibilities of the DO Home: Regarding Financial Matters), and hold a regular monthly Home council meeting on the subject of finances (page 150 of the Charter, section 15.C, Required Meetings and Activities).
Some aspects of the business teamworker's day-to-day responsibilities affect areas of the Home for which other teamworkers are responsible. Where this overlap takes place, it's important that decisions and actions be well coordinated in unity and in counsel with the other teamworkers and Home departments.
The financial management of a Home is vitally important, as borne out by the Charter requirement that each Home, to retain its DO status, must be "financially stable, live within its income, operate within a monthly budget, and meet all of its financial responsibilities and obligations." And "if a Home is in debt, meaning that it has unpaid bills for two months in a row, it will automatically be put on Probationary Notice by the Continental Office." (See section 12 of the Charter, Responsibilities of the DO Home: Regarding Financial Matters.)
* * *
Budgeting Made Simple!
A How-To Class on Managing Home Finances Prepared by a Summit '95 Subcommittee
As a result of Dad and Mama's counsel regarding finances, many Homes are trying to make the big change from operating on a day-by-day basis to the far superior way of working from their one-month cash buffer.--And this, of course, is also generating lots of questions such as, "What's the surest yet simplest way to manage our budget? How do you raise a one-month buffer?" etc. This class will not answer every question you may have, but for further answers and solutions, be sure to look to the Lord and the many pubs on the subject of finances. We recommend that your business teamworker consider rereading this class periodically to review the basic principles contained herein. (See also the "Suggested Reading List on Business Management" on page 21 of this FSM.)
You also might decide to hold a Home council meeting to read the portions of this class which you feel apply to your situation, pausing after each main point to discuss how your Home could follow through on this counsel. Before you close your meeting, try to agree upon a clear course of action. A point-form review of this class, entitled "Points to Ponder," appears on page 13.
1.) CASH BUFFER--HOW IT WORKS
To review how the one-month cash buffer is meant to work, we'll repeat here the explanation from "The Cash Buffer Program!" (LNF#143): "If a Home's average monthly expenses were about $4,500, the goal of that Home would be to try to save a little extra each month until they built up a $4,500 cash buffer, and once obtained, they could use that $4,500 to cover their current month's needs. Meanwhile, all funds they are receiving during the current month would not get spent, but rather saved for the next month. Then, by the time the next month comes around, they will already have a month's worth of income saved. Your goal, after reaching your one-month buffer, would be from then on to spend in any one month not the funds you would be currently bringing in, but rather only those funds which were generated the previous month and put into your cash buffer.--And this way your income would be one month ahead of your expenses. The funds you earn one month would not be used until the following month. Once you have obtained a one-month cash buffer, it is then much easier to budget your expenses, knowing what you have to spend is what you have earned the previous month."
Therefore, you have to consider that unless you have a buffer (a whole month's worth of income at the start of each month), you aren't really financially solvent. If you start every month with nothing in your budget envelopes and depend on your day-to-day income to keep you going, you're operating just like the man who constantly drives his vehicle on empty. Using this analogy, in the long run, it really costs the same whether you drive your vehicle on almost empty or on a full tank of gas. The difference is that with a buffer you're one full tank ahead which makes it possible for you to face an emergency. Whereas if your tank is empty, you're not going to be able to get anywhere in the case of an emergency that interrupts your day-to-day fund raising.
2.) RAISING YOUR ONE-MONTH CASH BUFFER
What we are recommending you shoot for is a one-month financial cushion that will cover all of your Home's operating expenses. There are many benefits to having this buffer: (a) You can then do monthly bulk buying of your Home's needs, which is more economical. (b) Bulk shopping also saves lots of time and wear and tear on your Home members and vehicles. (c) Having your needs in advance will enable you to plan to use your time more wisely--investing more in pioneering and follow-up, etc. (d) Your Home will be better prepared for any emergency. (e) Being ahead financially allows more time to establish long-range goals, such as cultivating provisioning contacts and regular supporters to supplement your usual cash income.
One of the things you want to do first is to calculate how much of a buffer your Home needs. Once you know what you're trying to achieve, you could try any one--or a combination--of the following suggested ways to raise your Home's buffer. The Lord may also give you other ideas.
(1) Designate a set percentage of all income towards your buffer fund. For example, you could set aside 10, 15 or 20 percent of your income each day. Using this method will take some time, but the important ingredient for success is to stick to it and "despise not the day of small things"--or small beginnings (Zec.4:10).
(2) Designate a particular source of income towards your buffer. For example, you could put all income you receive from your mail ministry into your buffer.
(3) Make special appeals to your contacts, friends and relatives. Many of your supporters and follow-up contacts are most likely businessmen and businesswomen, so they would probably relate and respond well to a prayerfully prepared and wisely presented explanation of your need to get onto sounder financial footing in order to invest more of your time ministering to them and others like them. If you appeal to your friends specifically for your buffer, please be sure to use those funds for that purpose only. Don't use them up on current expenses, otherwise you are being dishonest and are likely to offend them.--And, as the Scripture says, "A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city" (Pro.18:19). (Please refer also to ML #2447, "Designated Gifts," and FSM 265, "Finances and Fund Raising!--Part Four," page 5.)
(4) Windfalls or "extra income." If you should receive a large or unexpected donation (that is not designated for a specific purpose), you may want to seriously consider putting at least a substantial part toward your buffer. For example, if when calculating your projected monthly income you expected $200 from John's mail ministry and, lo and behold, he received $500 instead, the additional $300 could go into your buffer savings. If you have estimated your other income accurately and are "on course," this shouldn't adversely affect your immediate finances.
(5) Have "attack days"--specific days of the month when all income from that day goes towards the buffer savings.
Whatever methods you agree to use in your Home council, it is important to be faithful to stick to them. Even though setting these goals may require you to get more desperate, remember that the Lord never fails! Like Dad said, "I like to set my sights high and aim at a goal that I know would be good if we could ever attain it. We shouldn't bring our goals down to the level of little faith, but rather try to raise our faith to the level of higher goals. Saving money is a part of good stewardship, saving money is a hard job! It takes time and effort and you have to work at it! Spending money extravagantly any fool can do!... Never get out of the habit of pinching pennies. If you are not a good steward of these material things, who is going to commit unto you the true riches!" (MOP 142:70 and ML #212:23,27).
3.) BUDGETING TIPS
Set Income Goals
One common mistake in budgeting is to underestimate your needed income and aim too low, so that even if you reach your projected goal, your Home standard still remains lower than it should be. Therefore, in calculating your budget, try to set your goals high enough to be able to attain and/or maintain a good standard of living, as outlined by Mama in "From Poverty to Plenty!":
"The Lord is not willing that you live in poverty, brethren! You have a big job to do for Him, and He wants you to have what you need to do it. He wants you to have accommodations that are ample for you all to be comfortably housed, spacious grounds on your property or nearby where your children can have the get-out they need, and located close enough to major population centers so you and your teens can have access to good witnessing opportunities. He wants you to have good, safe, reliable cars, vans and buses to provide the needed transportation for your ministries.
"He wants you to be well cared for physically and to have the medical attention you need, including proper eyeglasses and dental work, vitamins and healthful foods, so that you will be strong and healthy to do your work for Him. He wants each of you to have the means to be well-groomed and well-dressed to be a good sample and testimony to the world. He wants your Homes to be well heated and well lit so you can remain healthy to do His work, and to be good witnesses of His love and care. He wants your children to have the computers, textbooks and reference books, Walkmans and guitars and other equipment they need, so that they can have top quality training as the future leaders of His kingdom. He wants you to have money to buy what you cannot provision" (ML #2929:8-9, GN 598).
Priority List of Basic Monthly Home Expenses
The following list of regular expenses can be used as a sample guide to help calculate your Home's total monthly expenses, thus helping you to realistically set your Home's total monthly budget. Some of these categories may not apply in your situation, or you may need to add others which do.
If possible, take the average monthly expense for each category, rather than just relying on last month's figures, which might not reflect an average month. To calculate the average, add up what was spent on each category for the last three months (providing those were fairly representative months) and divide that total by three. In some categories, such as food, you'll need to take into consideration the number of people you had in your Home during those three months to make sure the figure accurately reflects your Home's present state.
ITEM
1. Tithe
2. Seed corn
3. Electricity *
4. Water
5. Phone
6. Household gas/heating **
7. Rent
8. Maintenance
9. Food and household
10. Taxes and fees
11. Legal expenses
12. Car insurance
13. Car payments (if applicable)
14. Vehicle repair and upkeep
15. Fuel and public transportation
16. Home Loan payments (when applicable)
17. Visa trips
18. New births coming
19. Baby needs
20. PG mom needs
21. Buffer (if not already raised) or other special project funds (see next section)
22. Teaching materials
23. Children's needs
24. Missionary gifts
25. Medical (dentist, eye doctor, etc.)
26. Postage
27. Mail ministry materials
28. Survival
29. Office and photocopy
30. Personal needs (clothing, shoes, toiletries, etc.)
31. W&R/Family Day
32. Excursions
33. New equipment
34. Family gifts (photos, etc.)
35. Newspapers, cable TV and other subscription fees
36. Area projects; delegates' meetings
Notes:
*In some countries, you need to be aware of bills that are only estimates; for example, if the electric meter is just read by the electric company yearly, and based on this reading, an estimated monthly bill is issued each month for the following year. This does not reflect the actual use, and therefore you may find yourself with a large bill at the end of the year if your electric consumption has gone up since the meter was last read. To avoid this, you should take a reading of your electric meter every month and figure out the difference between what you actually used and the monthly average you are being billed for by the electric company. Set that difference aside, so that at the end of the year when your meter is again read by the electric company and you are presented with your end-of-the-year bill, you will have anticipated the extra expense and already have saved up the funds to pay it.
This may hold true for any bills that come once every few months or yearly, whether they be electricity, water or whatever.
**In cold countries you may also want to anticipate large winter heating bills by taking them into account when calculating your monthly budget. For example, if last winter you spent $2,400 on heating, you may want to incorporate $200 ($2,400 12 months) into your monthly budget, which you would set aside and save up for the winter. This will save you having to face a large heating bill that you weren't prepared for or didn't take into account when formulating your budget.
Incorporating Raising Your Buffer into Your Monthly Budget
When starting to work on building up a monthly buffer, once you have determined your monthly budget by calculating your Home's average monthly expenses as mentioned above, you should take into consideration that you'll need more than that for a number of months until you have saved up your buffer. So actually, until you have raised your buffer, you should include your buffer as a regular monthly "expense" that you set aside for, just like everything else.
Following are two examples of how to incorporate raising your buffer into your monthly budget, in order to raise a monthly buffer in no more than four months' time:
Example one: Add 25 percent to your total budget to come up with your new monthly budget for this period. Divide this new budget by four to determine how much you would need to raise on a monthly basis for the next four months, by which time, if you reach your target income goals, you should have a full month's buffer.
For example, if your normal monthly budget is $4,000, then your new monthly budget for the next four months would be $5,000 (4,000 + 25%). This means that if you raise an average of $1,250 (5,000 4 weeks) per week for the next four months, you'll have saved up a full month's buffer. Of course, during this time you'll need to faithfully set aside and not spend the extra 25% (which would be equal to 20% of your new monthly budget) that you're allotting to your buffer. In the above example, this extra amount would be $250 a week ($1,250 5), which after four months would make $4,000. After you've raised your buffer, you can go back to your regular monthly budget ($4,000 a month, in the above example).
(Editor's note: Although the example is given of setting aside 25% of your income to raise your buffer in four months, this is only one suggestion and by no means mandatory. It is up to your Home to agree upon a plan for raising your buffer according to your faith.)
Example two: Take your monthly budget and divide it into three equal amounts and then aim to raise that amount every week. By dividing your monthly budget into three weeks instead of the usual four, you can strive to raise your monthly budget for the Home in three weeks and then use the income from the fourth week for your buffer, thus making it possible for you to have the buffer (one month's complete budget) in three to four months, depending on how much you raise during that last week of every month.
Handling Inflation
Many countries suffer from inflation, that is, a general increase in commodity prices due to either an actual rise in the cost of living, or a devaluation of the local currency. In most cases the increase is slight and not a cause of great concern, except that you may have to readjust your budget every few months in order to take into account rising prices.
However, during times of economic crisis, some countries can fall into what's called "hyper-inflation," such as happened in Mexico in 1994. In these cases, the inflation is due to a dramatic loss of value of the local currency. This could mean that the funds you hold today in the local currency which are equal to an entire month's budget, could within a few weeks be equal to only half a month's budget or less! (This is in the case that prices immediately rise in response to the crisis.) To avoid such a devastating loss, in such circumstances it is best to hold as much of your funds as possible in a strong foreign currency such as Swiss Francs, Yen or German Marks, etc. (or US Dollars, if no other strong foreign currencies are readily available or there is too high a premium [bank charge] on their exchange).
Under such circumstances, besides holding your reserves and/or next month's budget in a strong foreign currency, you may also find it best to exchange whatever income you receive in the local currency into a foreign currency on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the severity of the inflation. Then, as you do your shopping, pay your rent, or make other expenses, you would change the money back into the local currency (if possible, on the day you have to pay the bill, so you get the most for your foreign currency). Although you do lose money in exchanging currencies, and it is an extra hassle, you can often save much more than you lose, and it may be the only way to keep afloat financially during such economic crises.
During times of severe and rapid inflation, if you keep your funds in the bank, it's best to get what's called a foreign currency account, so that the money is held for you and can be withdrawn in a foreign currency. This way your money will not lose value while sitting in the bank.
However, be prepared for governments to place tight restrictions on currency exchange during times of financial crisis. At these times you will need to pray for guidance and "keep your ear to the ground," as they say, so as not to be caught unprepared for any contingency.
4.) SOME PITFALLS TO SUCCESSFUL BUDGETING
Once you have raised your monthly buffer and are therefore one month ahead financially, you'll find it much easier to follow a budgeting plan. And we believe that as you set and follow a realistic budget, stay desperate in prayer, obey and witness faithfully, the Lord will supply, as He always has. Budgeting works! There are, however, some potential pitfalls which can set you back if you don't watch out for them:
Failure to stay desperate: One of the nicest things about having your income one month ahead of your expenses is that it relieves a lot of the anxiety that characterizes the day-by-day, hand-to-mouth financial situation which most of us have experienced at one time or another. It takes away a lot of the pressure, making it easier to both trust the Lord for finances and also to have more faith to invest in longer-term means of supply, such as winning kings and supporters through follow-up, etc. We must be very careful, however, not to go to the opposite extreme and feel that because we have our present needs and the pressure is off temporarily, we don't need to stay desperate, and therefore allow ourselves to just coast through the month. "There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man spendeth it up"--without replenishing it! (Pro.21:20) We need to stay desperate and we need to keep working diligently at raising our budget for the following month! If you're not faithful to keep raising your monthly expenses every month and rely on your cash buffer instead, you'll soon find yourself back where you started--living hand-to-mouth and probably quite discouraged.
Failure to follow the plan: The whole plan of budgeting from your buffer rests on this single principle: Live on what you raised the month before. This, in turn, consists of three "rules": 1) Draw up or update a realistic budget at the beginning of each month, based on what you have in your buffer. 2) Stick to your budget. 3) Don't touch your current income, as it is designated for your next month's budget. If you follow that plan, you won't deplete your buffer. You may be tighter some months than others if you fail to reach your income goal, but this means you need to pray and work harder so that next month you won't find yourself in the same financial bind.
Failure to stick to your budget: Once you have agreed together as a Home on how you are going to budget your available finances for any given month, you need to stick to it! Emergencies or unforeseeable expenses may arise from time to time, but if you are monitoring your finances faithfully throughout the month as you should, hopefully you'll be able to make the necessary adjustments in order to stay within your overall budget. For example, if part way through the month you see that you are overspending in one category, you'll need to counsel and come up with a plan to make cuts in other categories to compensate. If you find that you are consistently overspending in the same categories each month, then this should be your cue to adjust your budget for the following month by allotting more money for those categories. To do this, either some other expenses have to be trimmed back, or you need to raise more income. Ideally, every Home should be progressing, so the preferable solution, of course, is to raise more income!
Failure to arrive at a realistic plan for raising your next month's budget: At the beginning of each month, as you counsel about how you are going to budget the funds received during the previous month, you also need to make projections as to how you plan to raise your budget for the following month! Certain categories should be fairly predictable: Draw up a list of your monthly pledges, mail ministry and any other regular sources. Set realistic goals for poster, tape and video distribution income, including sponsorship. Don't be overly optimistic in making these initial projections, but rather estimate on the conservative side, based on your average monthly income from each of these sources over the previous two or three months. Total your projections, and then compare it to your monthly budget.
If your projected income is less than your budget, come up with some definite steps to raise the difference. Who could be approached to increase their monthly pledge? Which of your newer follow-up friends have progressed to the point where they could be presented with the sponsorship or monthly pledge vision? Which of your expenses could be reduced the following month through greater austerity or more provisioning now?
Ideally, your projected income for the following month should be about 10-15% above your present monthly expenses. This way if income from one source should turn out to be lower than your estimate (i.e., a pledge or mail ministry gift does not come through as usual), you will still have enough to reach your budget goal. If, on the other hand, you do reach your higher goal, you'll be able to make greater progress in getting ahead! Praise the Lord!
Please bear in mind that budgeting is something you'll need to re-adjust and/or re-figure each month. And as you do, try to tip the balance a bit further toward a broader-based income with more income coming from a variety of sources, such as sponsorship, pledges, follow-up, kings, provisioning contacts and other supporters, as well as from distribution of tools.
Failure to monitor your income throughout the month: Just as with your expenses, you need to faithfully monitor your income throughout the month to make sure you're on course. Keep a checklist of your regular follow-up contacts and their respective pledges and tick off your list as they are visited and their gifts come in, etc. As in the past when you may have had "attack days" toward the end of the month if you saw you were falling short of your distribution goals, you may now sometimes need to make special pushes for more follow-up appointments and/or get extra witnessing teams out if you are in danger of falling short of raising your next month's budget.
5.) PROVISIONING AND BUYING IN BULK TO CUT DOWN EXPENSES
Once you have your monthly budget worked out, it would be good to sit down and see how the expenses can be reduced through provisioning. By having your provisioning, finance and kitchen departments work hand in hand, you may be able to cut your Home's expenses considerably. Determine what the main expenses are in your Home. For example, if some of the main kitchen expenses are meat, milk and eggs, perhaps these would be some of the top priorities to have your provisioners work on. Even if they're unable to provision them for free, perhaps they could get a good discount (for bulk quantities) and thereby significantly reduce your food bill. Just make sure you have adequate storage space so they won't start going bad before you've used them up.
Make sure you use each item wisely so you don't run out before your next bulk shopping. When you have lots of a certain item it's easier to use it up quicker. One way to avoid this is when buying certain items in bulk, divide each item up into weekly allotments, and only use that much each week. For example, if you buy three month's worth of honey at once, divide it evenly into 12 jars and stick to one jar a week--if you don't, chances are you'll use it all up in only two months or even less!
Other items that might be worth provisioning are household, school and handyman supplies, car parts, gasoline, etc. You could make a prayer list of all these priority items, and then ask the provisioners to work on them. With the Lord's help, by and by the amounts that you were spending on these different items hopefully will decrease, and available funds can then be used elsewhere as needed. Again, in order for this plan to work you will need to maintain good communication between all those involved, and hold regular Home meetings to coordinate projects and make sure everyone is working on the right priorities.
6.) "SHARE THE KNOW"
Besides the minimum monthly "share the know" Home council meeting, you may also want to post (in a place accessible to members but not visitors) a simple income chart to inform all Home members of the Home's current financial state. Since all voting Home members aged 18 and over are responsible for the Home's finances, a simple chart can be helpful to keep them frequently updated. Then everyone can rejoice at the victories as well as continue to pull together in daily desperate prayer.
This chart can be a simple line graph with the days of the month on the horizontal scale and your total monthly budget (income goal) on the vertical scale. Then you draw a "target line"--a diagonal line (from bottom left to top right) between zero income on the first of the month to your total budget on the last day of the month. Then, throughout the month, keep record of what comes in on a daily basis, and record it on the chart. Do this by drawing a second line (preferably in another color) which indicates your total income for the month so far. If all goes as planned, this second line should follow close to your target line.
Of course, there will be days when you will not bring in the projected amount and the income-to-date line may dip below the target line. There may also be days when your income-to-date line goes above your target line (i.e., when you receive a large gift, etc.).
(Sample Graph here)
7.) THE "ENVELOPE SYSTEM"
As Dad said, "Plan your work--work your plan!" (MOP 1:28). After you've determined your monthly budget, you need a system for keeping track of your income and expenses that will help make sure you stick to your budget. First of all, you should have a simple chart (on paper or computer) where you keep track of your total income, as well as the expenses in each category. For an example of such a chart, see How to Get Things Done, page 290.
Secondly, you need to make sure that you are allotting sufficient income to each expense category, and not overspending in any category (and thus going beyond your budget). The method for this is known as the "envelope system." This system may initially take a little bit of extra time to set up and keep track of, but it is a simple tried-and-proven method that works! It basically involves setting up a separate envelope for each specific expense category. In other words, if your Home has expenses in each of the 36 different categories mentioned above, you would need to have 36 different envelopes--one each for tithe, rent, utilities, food, etc. One of the advantages of the envelope system is that you can see at a glance exactly where you stand with each category of expense and thereby keep close track of your Home's financial situation.
The envelope system will work differently, depending on whether or not you have already raised your buffer and are therefore living on last month's income instead of this month's income. We'll address both of these situations separately.
The "Envelope System" While Raising a Buffer
While working on raising your buffer, you're still living on the income you raise during that month. So practically speaking, once you receive your daily income from all sources, your business teamworker or finance deacon will need to divide that income between the different categories which comprise your overall budget. The big question at this point is, "How much of each day's income needs to go into each category?" Here are three alternatives:
Plan #1. The simplest and surest way to divide your daily income is according to your average daily budget. This can be determined by dividing each category's total monthly allotment by the number of days in the month.
Once you determine how much should go into each envelope on a daily basis, you can pencil these figures onto the corresponding envelopes, changing them each time you revise your monthly budget. For example, if your Home's monthly food budget is $600, then your average daily food expense would be $600 divided by 30 (days), or $20. So you would write ($20) on the outside of your "food" envelope, to remind you to put that much in each day.
Although this is a simple, straightforward method, there is one factor which can complicate matters, namely this: your income is likely to fluctuate a great deal from day to day, particularly if your income is from a variety of ministries, such as follow-up and mail ministry, not just tool distribution. Here's how to get around this difficulty:
a. If your income on any given day is equal to your projected daily need, then you can simply divide up the income exactly as planned.
b. On days when your income is lower than your daily average, you'll need to make a decision as to how to distribute the income between the envelopes on hand. Here is where you must make a priority judgment, and as Dad has taught, after tithe and seed corn, the priorities are rent and utilities. (See ML #212:19; 682:9, etc.) When Homes get into serious straits financially, this is nearly always where they begin to go wrong. There may appear to be more "pressing" needs, but the Lord simply does not seem to bless straying from the priorities.
To make sure you keep your priorities on track, we suggest you number your envelopes in order of priority. Then when distributing the day's income between your envelopes, start with your #1 priority envelope and work your way down to the lower priority ones.
If your total income for the day fell below the target amount, you won't be able to add any or all the required funds in some of your envelopes. So you'll need to keep track, either on the envelope or on a separate chart, how much you "owe" to those categories. (See sample chart on page 11.) Using the above example, if on a certain day you only had enough funds to put $10 in your food envelope instead of $20, then you should note on the envelope that you owe $10 to that category. If the same thing happens the next day, then you'll owe $20 to that category, and so on.
c. On the days when your income is above average, after putting the required daily amount in each envelope you will have funds left over. The first thing you should do is pay back any "debts" to any of your envelopes (as explained in the previous paragraph). Again, you should start with the highest priority envelope that is below target, and work your way down.
If all your envelopes have reached their target figures and are not "owed" any money, and you still have funds left over, these should go into another envelope marked "AHEAD." Keep this money separate and unused, only to be added to your income and divided on the days that your income is lower than your daily need. Putting any extra money into your AHEAD envelope rather than spreading it out between your expense categories gives you a little reserve and prevents you from overspending in any budgeted category.
If you've put money aside in your "AHEAD" envelope, then on the days when your income falls below the daily average, you can use the funds in your "AHEAD" envelope to make up the difference.
(Please remember that during this time, since you're trying to raise your buffer, you should have an envelope for your buffer, just like for any other expense category, and add to it daily as well.)
Plan #2. Alternatively, another envelope method is this: Calculate what percentage of your total monthly budget (100%) each expense category represents. To arrive at these percentages, divide your monthly budget for each category by your total monthly budget. (For example, if your total monthly budget is $6,000 and your monthly food budget is $600, by dividing $600 by $6,000 you find that your food budget is 10% of your total monthly budget.) Then write these percentages on the corresponding envelopes. (For example, tithe and Family Aid Fund would be 11%; rent might be 17%, food 10%, and so on.)
Then, on any given day, you simply multiply the day's total income by each set percentage to see how much of the day's income goes into each envelope. For example, if on a particular day you had income totaling $400, then $41 would go into tithe/FAF (400 x 11%), $68 into rent (400 x 17%), $40 into food (400 x 10%), and so on.
The drawback with this method is that it's a bit more difficult to keep track of exactly where you stand, and how your actual income so far that month compares with your target income for that envelope (to do this, you can use the same chart on each envelope as mentioned in plan #1--see sample on page 11). Also, since the amount you put in each envelope each day is based on a percentage of that day's income and not on a fixed amount, it's more difficult to make sure you're filling the priority envelopes first, on the days that your income is below average.
Plan #3. In order for the envelope system to work, you will need to have a supply of smaller denominations of cash so that you can easily divide your daily income between the different envelopes. If you find this to be a major problem, then a variation of the envelope method is to follow the same basic principle outlined in plan #1, but keep all your Home's cash together rather than dividing it up, and use a spreadsheet instead. The way this works is that on your spreadsheet (whether on paper or computer), you would keep track of how much should be in each envelope, without actually using any envelopes. It's like a bank, where all the funds may be kept together in one place, but the bank keeps a record of how much of that money belongs to each account.
While this method saves time in not having to "make change" in order to keep all your envelopes up to date, it creates an extra step of having to balance your total cash on hand with your individual available balances for each category. In other words, you'll have to regularly (preferably daily), count all your funds on hand and make sure that they add up to the combined total that your spreadsheet indicates you should have in your envelopes. This is to make sure you didn't make any mistakes in your bookkeeping, which could easily lead to overspending in a certain category, thinking that you have more available to you in that category than you actually do. Having your spreadsheet on computer, using a program that can do the adding for you, makes this step much easier and allows you to check your balance after each transaction or entry. (Important: Be sure to encrypt your finance files and back them up daily on a floppy disk to avoid losing them!)
Another caution about this method is that you'll need to be sure to keep accurate and up-to-date records of your income and expenditures on paper or computer, and make sure all your income and outgo is recorded daily. You're relying on your spreadsheet to tell you how much money you have left to spend in each category, so make sure those figures are correct!
The main drawback of this system is that you don't physically have the money for each category in its own envelope; so if someone comes and asks for funds for such-and-such, it's easy to give the money without checking whether you actually have enough allotted for that particular type of expense. Whereas if you have to actually look in the envelope and take the money out, and there's not enough there, you are more constrained to hold back on that particular expenditure.
All things considered, if you don't feel confident of your understanding of bookkeeping, you may want to start by using the simple-to-follow envelope system (plan #1).
(Note: With any of these three plans, you will not only be putting into your envelopes as your income comes in, but you will also be spending out of the envelopes to cover your daily/weekly expenses. You can use the same sample chart above to keep track of what you take out, so you can balance it against what's left to catch any possible errors in your book-keeping.)
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(Sample chart here:)
Sample chart for keeping track of income/outgo and target levels in each expense category:
LEGEND:
Target = The total amount that should have been put in your envelope so far that month.
Put In = The actual amount that you put into the envelope on each day.
Total Put In = The total amount that you've put in so far that month.
Owed = How much you owe to that envelope (Target - Total Put In).
Spent = How much spent from that envelope.
On Hand = How much you have on hand in that envelope (Total Put In - Spent).
(Your latest On Hand figure should equal the actual amount of cash in that envelope.)
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Using the "Envelope System" When Operating with a Buffer
If all the above sounds complicated and difficult, take heart! Once you have saved up enough for a month's buffer, the envelope system becomes very simple. All you have to do is at the beginning of the month, take out last month's income, and divide it between all the expense envelopes, according to your budget. In each envelope, you'll start off with the full amount for that month, and if you stay within your budget, that amount should last you through the whole month.
If at the end of the month you have money left in some of your envelopes (your expenses were less than your projected budget), then you can add those funds to next month's "AHEAD" envelope. The "AHEAD" envelope becomes a reserve that you can add to monthly, and save for emergencies or special expenses you haven't budgeted for.
And what about dividing your daily income? Since you're living on last month's income, all the income that comes in this month should be set aside for next month, in a "next month" envelope. So you won't need to divide it between your envelopes as it comes in on a daily basis--you can do that all at once at the start of next month. The only thing you'll need to watch for is that your total income so far that month is on target (which you can do with a simple line graph, as explained on page 8). So as you can see, having a buffer makes budgeting much easier, praise the Lord!
(Note: If you prefer, you can also use the spreadsheet variation of the envelope method, as described in the previous section, and keep your funds all together, rather than physically dividing the money between the envelopes. Just bear in mind the fact that you won't physically see how much you have in each category, and could more easily overspend in a certain area.)
Safeguards to the "Envelope System"
A great danger with the envelope system--regardless of which variation you use--is when you start borrowing from one envelope to meet the need of another. The ideal, of course, is to simply not do it. But since emergencies do arise, a wise "law" to adopt is: borrow downwards on your priority list, but not upwards! In other words, only borrow from a lower priority envelope. For example, you could borrow from your food envelope to pay your rent, but not vice versa, as you can always provision more food if necessary, but usually most landlords require cash payments on time. Also, failure to pay your bills or going into debt for two consecutive months will result in being put on Probationary Notice, as per the Charter (page 145).
Another important point: Only dip into your AHEAD envelope for top priorities, such as rent, utilities (including phone), visa/legal, seed corn, etc.! Besides being your priorities, these categories are either fixed amounts or easy to accurately predict when you draw up your budget at the beginning of each month, so you're not likely to overspend in these areas.
Also, if you haven't yet raised your buffer and have a large bill falling due near the beginning of the month, specifically pray for the Lord to send in the funds for that category early. If He does, and you're following the above counsel, they should be in your AHEAD envelope when the time comes. Praise the Lord!--And you won't need to borrow from any other envelopes, which always complicates matters and causes those other areas to be tight until the funds can be repaid.
The only sure-fire guarantee against overspending your monthly budget in the more "fluid" or variable categories such as food, meals out, household, transportation, needs, etc., is to make yourself a hard-and-fast rule not to borrow for them! This way, all you will have to spend for any given category at any given date is what has gone into that envelope to-date (or, if you are living on your buffer, what is still left since the beginning of the month), thus making it impossible for you to overspend your budget!
Bank Accounts
If you use the spreadsheet variation of the envelope method, then you have the option of keeping the bulk of your funds in a bank account, and only keep a certain amount of petty cash on hand for daily use. Depending on your situation, this may or may not be preferable.
In some countries, utilities and other bills can be paid through the bank. For example, the electric company may deduct the bill directly from your bank account, thus avoiding having utilities cut off through late payment of bills. If you do this, you will need to be faithful to maintain an adequate balance in your account to cover the upcoming expenses, so as not to overdraw your account and thus be liable for extra bank fees, etc. Also, be sure to record on your spreadsheet any expenses you make from your account, and your current bank balance. (Also be sure to check that the company deducting your bill from your account didn't make a mistake and overcharge you!)
8.) KEEP ACCOUNTS DILIGENTLY
We would suggest that until you are really on top of your finances, as the finance man of your Home, you do the finances daily. As many have learned from experience, after waiting only two or three days it is difficult to really know what the state of your income and expenses is, as things begin to slip. Before you know it, you might find yourselves in debt or not knowing where the money was actually spent. The key to good budgeting is not only finding out what your income and expenses are, but also deciding upon your budget and then diligently sticking to it. This takes a real commitment to be diligent to take care of the finances on a daily basis, to be faithful to put the funds away in the proper envelopes--or whatever system you decide to use--and to be very prayerful with all transactions. "Beware of `little' expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship!" (MOP 39:23). That is what you are trying to accomplish through proper budgeting: to help plug up these small leaks and the holes, to monitor the expenses and have a workable system whereby all your funds will be properly channeled to the right priorities.
9.) IN CONCLUSION
We pray that this class will be a help to you in setting up a working budget for your Home! Although the principles and suggestions above have been tried and proven in the business world, as well as many of our Homes, it is up to you to look to the Lord as to how to best apply each of them to your situation. The main point is to counsel together, diligently budget, and pray that the Lord will supply all your needs abundantly.--And He will!
"Are you good and faithful servants, faithfully delivering the message, delivering the Words of God, witnessing and giving out the Word faithfully that bears fruit? If so, I believe God will take care of you and all of us! I know He will! The good and faithful servants enter into the joy of their Lord here and then! Here and now and there and then! Obey God! Where God guides, He provides! Follow God! Obey the Lord! Do His will! As long as we're doing what God wants us to do, I don't have the slightest doubt that He's going to pay for it!" ("Priorities!" DB1, pg.427; "Seven Cures for Financial Ills!" ML #1271:153).
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POINTS TO PONDER
-- A checklist of budgeting points which you can use in your finance meeting:
RAISING A ONE-MONTH CASH BUFFER
If you are not already operating on the cash buffer system:
--Do you have a definite plan for adding to your cash buffer each month?
--Do you stick to your plan?
--Have you set a date by which time you hope to have a full one-month cash buffer in order to be able to begin budgeting from it?
--Is raising your buffer a major priority of your Home?
SUCCESSFUL BUDGETING
--Is your Home paying all of its bills on time?
--If you have difficulty getting your budget to work, have you prayed about and discussed what could be the cause?
--Are you having a "share the know" meeting at least once a month with all voting members, as required in the Charter?
--Do you regularly pray and counsel and decide together as a Home on matters concerning your financial situation, as per the Charter guidelines?
--Does your Home finance deacon keep accurate records of both income and expenses?
--Do you establish a projected monthly budget at the beginning of each new month, based on your actual expenses from the previous month(s) and including all foreseeable additional or unusually high expenses?
--Are you provisioning sufficiently and buying in bulk to cut your Home expenses?
THE "ENVELOPE SYSTEM"
--Do you have an "envelope system" or other workable means for managing your Home's cash flow into a budgeting system?
--Do you adhere to your agreed upon system?
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I Was Elected Business Teamworker
By David (21), U.S.A. (with comments from Dust)
To my shock and amazement, I was elected business teamworker of our Home. In this article I would like to share some practical tips which have been a real blessing to me. I'd like to start by saying that although this article will bring you through the history of our Home and will show how a lot of progress has been made, I can't take any credit personally, as it has all been the result of our unitedly pulling together as a Home and seeking the Lord for His answers to our problems.
We Were a Sinking Ship
I found the job completely overwhelming. It was much more than I had ever expected to encounter when I accepted the job. To set the scene a little bit: We were over $3,000 in debt and late on nearly every bill. Finances and the lack thereof were a tremendous source of discouragement and a very large burden for every member of the Home.--It was like a monster with a black cloak over the Home that would come out and say "BOO!" at the end of every month, and we would all run for our lives. Finances basically dictated most of our decisions, and raising funds was the main thing going on in the Home. Meanwhile, because of the large emphasis on money and lack of emphasis on other important aspects of the Home, things were very disorganized on the Home front (home care, childcare, kitchen) and it was all around in a pretty bad state.
Every week or so we would have a much-dreaded finance meeting and go down the list of bills that we needed to pay in order to keep the utilities on and not get evicted from our house. As you can imagine, such meetings did not send ripples of enthusiasm throughout the Home, nor spark exciting outreach ideas, but usually ended with a desperate plea to the Lord to supply the money we needed, as we thrust ourselves into another emergency all-hands-on-deck outreach attack. We were a sinking ship, and most of the Home members were ready to jump ship.
We Launched an Attack!
Our ascent from this abyss of debt and discouragement began when we yanked the cloak off the boogie-man and came to grips with our financial situation. The teamwork got together and we talked about what we wanted our Home to be like, and how we would run things if we weren't under constant financial pressure. We went on the offensive and launched an attack! We had a lot of organizational meetings, began raising the general standard of the Home and went on a campaign to lift the morale of the Home. We made it a goal to become the best Home we could be, and found that after this spark and injection of inspiration, everyone began coming up with ideas. The general attitude in the Home became, "We can do it! Let's find out how and make it work!" The inspirational level rose dramatically! Praise the Lord! Following is my advice to business teamworkers:
1) Don't overemphasize the negative aspects of the Home's financial situation when "sharing the know" with the Home. But rather, emphasize trusting the Lord and the conditions to receiving the Lord's blessings.
2) Make major financial decisions unitedly as a Home, and not by yourself or only with the teamwork. (Editor's note: This is now a requirement in the Love Charter.)
3) Keep an accurate financial balance by daily subtracting your expenses from your income and comparing it to what you have on hand.
4) Divide expenses into different categories so you can know how much you're spending in each area, such as food and household, fuel, transportation, children's needs, teaching materials, etc.
5) Have a weekly schedule outlining the regular duties and activities of everyone in the Home. (Editor's note: You may also find it helpful, with the Home's agreement, to plan your Home's daily schedule one week in advance. Some details are bound to change, but if everyone knows as much as possible what they will be doing and when, it will help them plan their time, prepare, schedule follow-up appointments in advance, etc. See FSM 262, "Finances and Fund Raising, Part 2," page 9.)
6) Always be one step ahead. Each day review your weekly schedule and fine tune your plan for the next day.
7) Have regular teamwork meetings, daily if possible, to pray and plan.
8) In the regular "share the know" Home finance meetings that are required under the Charter, be sure to share not just what has been spent, but what will need to be paid within the upcoming weeks. I found this is easier for the Home to deal with; it also gives time to take steps towards raising the needed funds ahead of time.
9) Get a one-year calendar and mark the dates the bills are due. This helps greatly, as with one glance you get an overview of all upcoming bills.
10) Make a list of your responsibilities as business teamworker and establish somewhat of a regular schedule for things such as banking, mail runs, tool orders, etc. This helps things not to be forgotten or overlooked.
11) Ask the Lord for ways to raise finances and act promptly on whatever He shows you, as sometimes fund-raising ideas take time to bear fruit; by taking action right away you'll give the people you approach for support time to respond. (Dust: We've found the more Homes can diversify their fund-raising activities, the better.) (Editor's note: Please see FSM 269 and 270, "My God Shall Supply All Your Needs," Parts One and Two, for various fund-raising ideas.)
12) Anticipate needs such as car repairs and handyman projects a few weeks in advance so that you have time to provision the materials and make repairs before things totally fall apart or break down. This helps avoid emergency situations where you have to spend money under the press of the emergency. (Editor's note: Alternately, you could budget a certain amount each month for vehicle repairs and Home maintenance, and hold any balance in a special repairs fund so you'll be prepared for emergencies.)
13) A lot of finances in our Home are raised through distribution of tools. Therefore I've found that it's crucial to set aside an additional 20% above the minimum replacement level for seed corn each month so that the stock is growing instead of depleting. (Dust: Some Homes have even found it best to set aside 50% to 100% more than replacement cost for seed corn. This means setting aside one and a half or double the seed corn price until an adequate tool stock is built up.)
14) The quality or fruitfulness of outreach has a lot to do with the resulting blessings in the form of income. It's very important to constantly be praying about how the outreach is going and what direction the Lord is leading. It's better to branch out into new methods of outreach before your present ones are burnt out. It's not always easy to take time off from your normal witnessing methods when they're going very well, to step out and pioneer, as it seems a little risky. But if we don't invest a little time in pioneering, we end up "scorching the land" and being compelled to pioneer anyway, under somewhat less agreeable conditions and with more pressure. Asking the Lord for and counseling about new witnessing and follow-up ideas helps to keep things fresh and moving during our regular Home council meetings about our outreach. (See pages 149-151 of the Charter for more on required Home meetings.)
15) If you are ever late on a bill (i.e., a utility bill), call the company right away and let them know that you're late, but will be sending in a portion of the amount due right away. Establishing this contact with them is very important as it lets them know that you're trying to pay, and most importantly it keeps them from disconnecting your utilities. I learned this lesson the hard way and it's very demoralizing for a Home to have a utility temporarily discontinued, not to mention the hindrance it can be to your outreach and the proper functioning of the Home--and reconnection fees!
16) Cultivate regular gasoline contacts, and coordinate provisioning pick-ups and trips out with visits to these contacts to fill up your tank. Trimming down the fuel expenses really makes a difference and saves a lot of money. (Dust: This Home also found that provisioning the use of a rental truck for market day or other provisioning pick-ups helped to facilitate traffic control with the Home's vehicles, plus saved wear and tear on our own vehicles, while giving them the added benefit of driving a brand new, and usually bigger rental truck.)
17) Keep receipts and records for at least a few months (or longer if need be), as often things come up where you need to prove that you paid a certain bill or you need to return something that's broken while it is still under guarantee. (Editor's note: Guarantee papers and related receipts should be kept for the full guarantee period.)
18) Keeping organized files is vital! Accessibility is very important, and filing things when they come in saves a lot of time looking for them later. Make separate folders for "house papers," "reference information," "bills," "TRF," "legal documents/POAs," etc. Having these files handy is a big advantage and time-saver. (Editor's note: Please keep all legal papers and files locked up when not in use.)
19) Posting monthly stats graphs is a real inspiration to the Home, and regularly updating the chart as you press towards your monthly goals can be exciting! (Dust: These are best posted and updated daily, but especially after each attack witnessing weekend.)
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When the Home Is Struggling!
Tried-and-Proven Lessons and Tips for Business Teamworkers--by James, North America
Managing a Home's business as the business teamworker is a very important ministry. At times you may feel this ministry is neglected or underrated and that being the personnel shepherd or the childcare shepherd is a more important ministry. But in reality, if the business teamworker falls down on the job or isn't able to manage the finances or does not have the proper concept of what he's supposed to be doing, his Home often ends up struggling day-to-day, living hand-to-mouth, and maybe even going into debt.
Clear Trumpet Signal and Plan of Attack
When a Home is in debt or struggling financially, the first thing to do is pray desperately together as a Home about a clear plan of attack and agree on how to implement that plan in a unified way. This initial plan will more than likely have to be modified as time goes on. It is good if it takes into account present bills as well as future bills. One of the keys to making this plan work and not only stabilize our finances, but keep them stable once we are on top of things, is to double-check the plan on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to make sure whatever goals the Home has decided upon are being met. If the goals are not being met, then we need to evaluate whether we're doing enough to reach the goals or perhaps adjust them if they are not realistic.
If we don't monitor our finances on a regular basis, it's like putting money into a bag with holes (Hag.1:6); it can disappear very quickly. But if we are praying, counseling and staying diligently organized, we can soon find and close the holes, and things will start looking very different. Following are several tips which have in one way or another helped some Homes become more stable financially:
Note for New YA Business Teamworkers
When starting on your new job as the business teamworker, it takes awhile to fully understand this ministry, and much of it you will learn from experience. A helpful way to learn this ministry is to have someone experienced work side by side with you and help to train you; they will probably be able to spare you some lessons learned the hard way. (Editor's note: The suggested reading list on page 21 of this FSM provides excellent training from the Word and other Family pubs for business teamworkers of any age.)
Program for Building Up the Tool Stock in a Home
A simple way to build up a tool stock is to set aside extra seed corn for each tool distributed. For example, you could set aside 10 cents instead of the usual 7 cents for every poster distributed, $5.00 instead of $4.50 for every video, and $1.50 instead of $1.25 for every tape distributed. When our Home started doing this, we had about one week's worth of tools. After eight months of faithfully setting aside extra seed corn this way, our tool stock rose to where we now have about two-and-a-half month's worth of tools.
Simple Plan for Setting Up a Buffer
Our Home also agreed to set aside 10% of all income in order to build a one-month cash buffer. It is taking time, but after eight months we now have about two-thirds of a one month's buffer set aside. Thank You Lord!
You may discover, as we did, that when you are starting from scratch, this can seem like a very difficult task. One reason is because you are most likely using all of the funds that are coming in just to keep your head above water, so thinking about setting any funds aside can seem quite impossible. Another reason is because your discipline muscles regarding finances might be a bit flabby.
One of the keys to setting up and maintaining this buffer was to agree as a Home to not dip into it. We set up some safeguards which in effect said "don't use this buffer!" We put the funds that we're saving up for our buffer in a separate envelope which is "untouchable," just as we do with our Home's tithe. Another safeguard is to give the buffer to another teamworker who will not let it get spent.
The Blessings of "Sharing the Know"
At the beginning of every month, we plan out the upcoming month as much as possible (i.e., witnessing events which would be good to send road teams to, special follow-up missions and upcoming meetings, etc.). On a daily basis, a couple of people meet together to pray and counsel and take care of the immediate financial business. Usually one person keeps the books and the other person helps double-check things. (In our Home, our YA business teamworker keeps the books with an adult double-checking his work and offering any tips and suggestions from his experience.)
In our Home council finance meetings we pray, read faith-building Word and then make an agenda. The main purpose of this meeting is to get an understanding of our financial situation, as well as a plan of attack for it. Some of the main points usually covered are as follows:
a) The business teamworker "shares the know," usually with charts. When sharing the know, it is good to start off by testifying of the accomplishments and victories from the previous weeks, as it really helps to give people the faith for the Lord's continued guidance and provision.
b) Go over any upcoming bills.
c) Discuss any new financial situations which may have arisen, such as budgeting for a visa trip, the need for a new van, setting aside funds for a birth, etc.
We usually spend the first half of the meeting going over the bills, and the second half making a plan to pay the bills based on our witnessing, follow-up of our main supporters and friends who promised to pledge and/or tithe, etc. (When we mention follow-up here, this does not include everyone on our mailing list, but only our top regular friends and supporters.) We then decide which people we need to faithfully follow-up on that week. On our monthly prayer day we take an hour or so to meet together and commit to the Lord our different needs and supporters, as well as to ask Him for any new direction, ideas, etc.
Increased Tool Distribution
One factor that greatly helped our financial situation was an increase in our tool distribution. When we started to work on the financial situation of our Home, it was at the time that WS had sent a message to the Family encouraging us to increase our tool distribution during the Christmas season. The Lord did miracles and helped us get out tools in greater quantities than ever before. It helped raise the inspiration level of the Home at the same time as it brought in the extra funds we needed to pull out of a financial slump. Since the Christmas push, we have had to stop and re-evaluate our outreach methods and priorities on a regular basis, as the inspiration level of our witnessing begins to fall if we keep going on yesterday's plan, when the Lord may have a new direction in mind. Keeping our outreach fresh and inspiring is an important ingredient in maintaining a stable financial situation in our Home.
(Editor's note: Another factor that can have an effect, either positive or negative, on the general inspiration level of the Home, is whether or not the Home members' personal needs--and even extra "wants" when possible--are being met. See FSM 269, "My God Shall Supply All Your Needs!--Part One," page 16, for some helpful counsel on this.)
General Ideas and Principles for Managing Finances to Get the Home Afloat
- Remind Home members to, as much as possible, counsel before making a purchase.
- It helps greatly if Home members request needed funds a day in advance. This gives you time to counsel about ways to save money.
- With finances, if you expect overnight solutions, it can sometimes be discouraging and can make the task seem impossible. Instead, if you just try to faithfully do a little bit more each day, and set aside a little more each day for your bills, seed corn and buffer, it slowly but surely adds up.
- Have a "do it now" attitude in the Home, whether it be to reach your outreach goals or raise funds for big needs, etc. Having a "full of faith/can be done" attitude helps to fight the "can't be done" spirit or a defeatist attitude about finances that can otherwise discourage your Home.
- Budget well in advance for big projects or needs such as visa trips, upcoming births, etc., and stick to your plan.
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Lessons Learned Being a YA Business Teamworker and Working with Finances
By Mark (19), U.S.A.
When I first started to work on finances I was quite a worrywart, as I saw a lot of bills and things that needed to get done, and our witnessing didn't seem to bear much fruit financially. We were in quite a desperate situation with a few thousand dollars of back bills that needed to be paid. We also had a debt to the Home Loan Fund that we had not been paying back. My area shepherd at that time asked if I could write up a report every night so we would be able to go over the day to see how we could have done things better, learn from the mistakes made and make new plans for paying certain bills, etc. When I would meet with him, I would be wearing the most discouraging face ever seen. But after praying together and committing everything to the Lord, I would walk away inspired! I soon learned that it was the Lord who supplied the money, not the business teamworker. Of course I knew that already, but I had to learn to trust in the Lord and have faith that He would supply. I had to learn that if I had faith and believed that the Lord was going to supply, then I wouldn't have to fear, but just trust Him.--And He never failed! Praise the Lord!
Buffer
One thing that we were not doing was working on raising a buffer, nor did we have one. So we unitedly agreed to start setting aside 7% of our income to start building up a buffer. It was hard at first to set the money aside, and even harder not to use it when a need arose, but we all made the commitment to not use it no matter what happened. Every month we would add 7% of our income for that month to our buffer envelope, and it grew steadily.
One time, we learned a very valuable lesson! We were quite desperate for funds to pay a certain bill and we went against our Home commitment and used some of the buffer to pay the bill, thinking that we would pay it back the following week. But the week came and passed and we couldn't pay back the borrowed money. When we used the buffer to pay the bill, it seemed like a good idea, but after a few weeks of not being able to pay back the buffer, we said to ourselves, "Never again!" We should have left the buffer untouched as per our original commitment, and prayed and trusted the Lord to bring in the needed funds through some other way.
Lessons Learned
When I was first asked to work on the finances I wasn't really sure what to think as I didn't know how, what or where to even start. I went for my first "class" and sat there quite amazed at my shepherd's faith because I saw quite a few bills and there was literally no money! My first reaction was to think, "I can't do this! It's impossible to run a Home like this!" I wanted to quit, but I couldn't do that, so my next reaction was to hide from all of my problems.--But as everyone knows, you can't do that. I had to learn to face the situation with faith.
I also learned to be faithful and neat with my work, because I am a bit disorganized and can thus easily lose something, which can be a problem. Though I have a good memory, I soon found out that a short pencil is better than a long memory. I had to learn to write everything down. Taking good notes and writing down every transaction is very important.
One lesson that I learned the hard way was to not make any major decision affecting the finances without seeking counsel from other Home members first. I made some decisions alone once, which later took a lot of time to pick up the pieces. Alone, I was not able to foresee the consequences of my decision. Had I counseled with others, together we could have come up with a better solution.
I also learned to be positive when "sharing the know." At first, by the time I had gathered the facts and figures to share with the Home, I would be very discouraged, and then I would go out and share all of the discouragement with everyone! After I did this a few times, someone pointed out that it would be better to be more positive and testify of how the Lord is working and how we are reaching our goals step by step. I tried this, and it not only helped the Home to have more faith and a more positive outlook on our situation, but also it helped me to trust the Lord to help us accomplish our goals. For example, if I explained our need to pray in the funds to pay a large bill by the end of the week and by the end of the week we had paid it, then the Lord got the glory for it. Everyone was praying for it and saw how the Lord answered our prayers.
* * *
Some Qualities of a Fruitful Business Teamworker
--By WS Staff
- His primary duty is to put God first--"If you will put God first and put His tithe first, He will see to it that `the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail'! He will `pour out such a blessing there will not be room enough to hold it,' and you'll have no complaints because you had to pay God first" ("God First!" ML #934:7).
- His mode of operation is Word-based.
- He has a vision for the overall work.
- He has a vision to give and share God's blessings with other missionaries, WS, and needy situations in the local area.
- He runs on a set plan and doesn't divert from it.--If the Home agrees not to dip into the buffer, he sticks to the decision.
- He's diligent and faithful about details, such as making sure thank-you notes get sent to contacts, bills are paid on time, personal needs are taken care of, etc.
- He communicates the spirit of diligence to the Home, such as giving others reminders to save water, turn lights off when not in use, etc.
- He operates in teamwork.--He prays and counsels about any decisions that need to be made.
- He delegates and makes sure goals or plans are followed through on.
- He's a visionary, he plans ahead. A visionary is defined as "a person who has unusually keen foresight or prevision." For example, he's the man who sees the washing machine needs fixing and does something about it. He plans for Christmas outreach well in advance, and makes sure the Home has enough tools to make it work.
"It's better to catch a problem before it gets too serious, rather than wait until everything falls apart" (MOP 23:23).
For a good listing of suggested pointers that your Home might want to review and follow, please refer to the "Checklist of What Is Required to Receive the Lord's Abundant Supply!" in the Letter "From Poverty to Plenty" by Maria (ML #2929, GN 598). Business teamworkers might find it additionally helpful to keep a photocopy of this checklist in their notebooks, for easy reference.
For more details on the Lord's requirements for receiving His financial blessings, please study "God's Financial Blessings!--How to Receive Them NOW!" ML #2813, GN 527. Also, "My God Shall Supply All Your Needs!" Parts One and Two (FSMs 269 and 270), which offer further testimonies and examples.
* * *
Business Teamworker's Personal Checklist
The following checklist does not include the more general principles mentioned in Mama's "Checklist of What Is Required to Receive the Lord's Abundant Supply," but lists other practical details of the business teamworker's job. Please note that many of these responsibilities can be delegated to others and then just overseen by the business teamworker. But even though he delegates the jobs to others, it is ultimately his responsibility to make sure they're getting done. "Your organization should have a check and double check system which makes sure that no stone is left unturned, and no item neglected, no job left only to one person's discretion without supervision" (MOP 1:87).
Home Meetings
--Have regular Home business meetings to talk about any business-related topics. During this meeting, you might want to devote a specified amount of time to prayer for the Lord's help and guidance. It is also important to have regular praise and prayer meetings to thank the Lord for His supply! (See the Charter, pages 149-151.)
Finances
--Regularly communicate with and advise other teamwork members as to the financial state of the Home, and prepare regular "share the know" reports for the Home.
--Prayerfully counsel with the teamwork and bring to vote by the Home any major financial decisions, as outlined in the Charter.
--Keep thorough records of the Home's income and expenses by maintaining clear and accurate finance books and keeping receipts.
--Make sure Home members turn in their income/expense records on a daily basis.
--Keep Home funds diligently in safe, secure locations.
--Open and maintain bank accounts as needed. Keep diligent records of banking transactions and keep bank statements on file as needed. Keep bank books, bank cards, etc., secure.
--Be responsible for the Home's HER fund, that it's kept intact, secure and administered according to the WS HER guidelines.
--Make sure the rent, utilities and other bills are paid on time.
--Set up and maintain a Home buffer in counsel with the teamwork and the Home members.
--Make sure the Home is setting aside enough seed corn to maintain good stocks of all tools.
--If needed, initiate a financial plan of setting aside additional seed corn in order to build up the Home's tool stock.
--Make sure that Home Loan and other financial obligations are diligently and promptly met.
--Lovingly administer daily and weekly Home spending needs (petty cash management).
--Fill out finance sections of the TRF.
Legal
--Oversee all interactions with embassies or consulates, immigrations, visas, etc., and keep track of legal situations, visa and passport renewal dates, travel info.
--Diligently keep secure and on file important documents, such as the rent contract, insurance, etc.
--Keep on file important receipts and warrantees for utility bills, major Home repairs, and equipment purchases.
--Make sure all of the Home members have (as needed) valid birth certificates, passports, IDs, POAs, residency papers, driver's licenses, and other essential documentation.
--Make sure that vehicle ownership papers and registrations, inspections, etc., are in order, and any registration and insurance fees are budgeted for and paid on time.
Home Business
--Arrange for dental and eye check-ups when needed.
--Research ways to economize. Be aware of factors which would affect the Home financially, such as when phone and utility rates are at their lowest, etc.
--Make sure the mail is regularly picked up and distributed, and faithfully pay the P.O. box or mail service fees in advance.
--Make sure Home utilities are operating at their optimum efficiency, that money is not going down the drain in the form of water from leaky faucets and toilets, unneeded lights left on, etc.
--Research local and visa trip transportation costs, schedules, etc.
--Oversee outgoing trips for safe and economical use of the Home's vehicles.
--Make sure that Home vehicles are properly maintained according to Dad's class on "What Every Driver Should Know" (ML #851, Volume 7).
Witnessing
(Editor's note: In some Homes, the business teamworker may also oversee the Home's witnessing. If in your Home another teamworker or Home member oversees the witnessing department, then this section of the checklist would be for them.)
--Encourage the witnessers to ask for pledges, then follow through to make sure they're picked up regularly.
--Check to see that follow-up and thank-you letters are done regularly.
--Make sure time is allotted for monthly newsletters and the mail ministry.
--Make sure the stats are done daily.
--Make sure the Home has a good stock of tools, with decisions concerning tool ordering prayerfully made in counsel with the Home.
--Look into the witnessing schedules, in counsel with your teamwork, to assure that Home members are getting enough time to rest, read the Word and get refilled; that their duties at Home are balanced with what they have to do while out; and that all are getting proper shepherding, personal time and oversight.
* * *
Suggested Reading List on Business Management
(Based on a reading list from the soon-coming Christian Vocational College [CVC] program.)
This is not a required reading list, but for those who want to learn and progress in the area of Family business management, we highly recommend studying the following pubs. Juan recently commented:
"The reading list on business management from the CVC course is just amazing! When I looked through this reading list, it was shocking to see the tremendous value of our pubs, and the jewels that we have! I think for anybody who wants to be a business teamworker, all the needed training is there. I went through six years of business college and from my personal experience, I would say that this list provides all the business training they need."
OFFICE MANAGEMENT
"New Colonies," ML #59:57-59, Vol.1; DB4, pg.193.
"The Wise and Unwise Leader," ML #263, Vol.2; DB5, pg.337.
"Labour Leaders," ML #161, Vol.2; DB5, pg.86.
"Letter to a Labourer," ML #325, Vol.3; DB6, pg.143.
"Without Love It's Nothing," ML #1819, Vol.15; DB2, pg.362.
"Have Mercy," ML #1818, Vol.15; DB7, pg.344.
"Love Is the Most Important Thing," ML #793, Vol.15; DB2, pg.339.
"Let'm Ask," ML #2650, GN 453; DB10, pg.564.
"More on Letting'm Ask," ML #2651, GN 453; DB10, pg.569.
"Let'm Explain," ML #2652, GN 453.
"Explaining Things and Answering Questions," ML #2653, GN 453.
"Relations with People," GT2, pg.1433; MOP2, pg.822.
"Teamwork: United We Stand," FSM 157.
"Teamwork Tips," FSM 180.
"Loving Shepherding," Parts 1-3, FSMs 234, 239, 248.
"How to Lovingly Correct and Train Others," FSM 177, pg.4.
"Ways to Improve Your Ability and Habit of Giving Correction," FSM 177, pg.17.
"Administration and Organization," MOP, pg.1.
"How to Be a Better Leader," HTL, pg.18.
"Success-Cybernetics," HTGTD, pg.50.
"Nothing Is Impossible," HTGTD, pg.56.
"A Passion for Excellence," CD Vol.1, Issue 9.
"The Art of Asking Questions," WND 118, pg.1.
"Management by Questioning," WND 118, pg.1.
"See It for Yourself," WND 161, pg.1.
"Make Your Secretary Really Work for You," WND 236, pg.1.
"Anyone Can Be a Leader," WND 296, pg.1.
"That's a Good Idea," WND 302, pg.1.
"How to Be a Leader," WND 312, pg.1
"Manners for Managers," WND 314, pg.1.
DELEGATING
"Getting Organised," ML #297, Vol.2; DB5, pg.391.
"Working with People," HTL, pg.1.
"Why Managers Don't Delegate," WND 169, pg.1.
"No Man Is an Island: Learn to Delegate," WND 297, pg.1.
MORE MANAGEMENT TIPS
"Office Atmosphere," HTL, pg.25.
"Criticism: How to Give and Receive It," WND 94, pg.1.
"Opposites Attract--But Can They Work Together?" WND 159, pg.1.
"How to Help a Procrastinator," WND 185, pg.1.
"Living and Working with Procrastinators," WND 189, pg.1.
"Why Smart People Fail," WND 227, pg.1.
"Don't Overmanage," WND 228, pg.1.
"Let Me Give You Some Advice," WND 232, pg.1.
"Great Business Quotations," WND 235, pg.1.
"Five Rules of Professional Behavior," WND 236, pg.1.
"Inept Criticism Can Harm Work as Well as Morale," WND 262, pg.1.
"Firms Bring on the Clowns to Act Out Their Problems," WND 262, pg.1.
"How to Handle Criticism," WND 300, pg.1.
"Bosses Face Difficult Decade," WND 314, pg.1.
"How Not to Give Criticism," WND 333, pg.1.
"Artfully Dealt Criticism and Its Office Hallmark," WND 342, pg.1.
"Employee Rule-Making Can Cut Rule-Breaking," WND 342, pg.1.
"Instructions," WND 358, pg.1.
TIME MANAGEMENT
"Schedules," ML #106, Vol.1; DB4, pg.324.
"The 70-Year Prophecy of the End," ML #156:37-47, Vol.2; DB5, pg.65, para.24-32.
"Don't Cram," ML #1859, DB2, pg.478.
"Getting Reorganized," ML #1861, DB2, pg.486.
"Redeem the Time," GT2, pg.1422; MOP2, pg.1023.
"Managing Your Time," HTGTD, pg.6.
"Finding the Time," HTGTD, pg.42.
"Nothing Is Impossible," HTGTD, pg.56.
"What's Your Excuse for Procrastinating?" WND 72, pg.1.
"How to Be on Time," WND 81, pg.1.
"How to Find Time," WND 294, pg.1.
BUSINESS MEETINGS
"Pray and Obey," ML #1935, Vol.16; DB3, pg.294.
"Conferences, Colonies, Bands and Buses," ML #253:1-16, Vol.2; DB5, pg.307.
"Tips for Good Meetings," HTL, pg.152.
"How You Can Influence a Group or Meeting," HTL, pg.155.
"How to Confront Difficult Personalities," HTL, pg.159.
"Discussions and Simple Parliamentary Procedure," HTL, pg.165.
"How to Develop and Use an Agenda," WND 149, pg.1.
"Meetings," WND 258, pg.1.
"Another Meeting? Here's Why It May Not Work," WND 279, pg.1.
"Ways to Ensure Work Gets Done at Meetings," WND 312, pg.1.
"For a Successful Meeting, the Secret Is Preparation," WND 336, pg.1.
"How Not to Bore Your Audience at a Meeting," WND 336, pg.1.
BASIC BUSINESS MATH
"Basic Math for Biz," HTGTD, pg.294.
BEGINNING ACCOUNTING
"Letters I," ML #51:69-70, Vol.1; DB4, pg.146.
"The Laws of Moses," ML #155:27-28, Vol.2; DB5, pg.41.
"How to Keep Finances for Large Homes and Offices," HTGTD, pg.280.
"Finance Chart," HTGTD, pg.414.
"Keeping Finances for a Small Home," HTGTD, pg.290.
BUDGETING
"Kings," ML #212:18-28, Vol.2; DB5, pg.211.
"Owe No Man," ML #701, Vol.6; DB7, pg.44.
"Owe No Man--Part 2," ML #866, Vol.7.
"The 7 Cures for Financial Ills," ML #1271, Vol.13; DB1, pg.391.
"God First," ML #934, Vol.8; DB1, pg.172.
"Share the Know," ML #301A, Vol.3; DB6, pg.1.
"God's Financial Blessings," ML #2813, GN 527.
"More on George Mueller," ML #2814, GN 527.
"Mistakes You Can Make with Money," WND 160, pg.1.
BANKING
"Owe No Man," ML #701:62-64, Vol.6.
"Security Rules," ML #761:4-7, Vol.6.
"Why the Crash?" ML #867:64-68, Vol.7.
"Gold Coin Collectors Beware," ML #893, Vol.7.
"Africa Reverts to Savagery," ML #898:41-48, Vol.7.
"Gotcher Flee Bag?" ML #386:30-38, Vol.3.
"Family Banking," HTGTD, pg.258.
"Some Simple Family Banking Tips," HTGTD, pg.268.
"Banking, Currency, Regulations and Gold," HTGTD, pg.270.
SCHEDULING
"Schedules," ML #106, Vol.1; DB4, pg.324.
"Getting Reorganized," ML #1861, DB2, pg.486.
"How to Use Charts," HTGTD, pg.405.
"Schedules, Scheduling" (Index), HTGTD, pg.511.
RENTING
"Fleeces," ML #1394; DB1, pg.575.
"Buyers Must Be Bargainers," ML #1849, Vol.15; DB7, pg.355.
"Bargaining for a House," ML #1850, Vol.15; DB7, pg.358.
"More on Bargaining," ML #1851, Vol.15; DB7, pg.364.
"Open Doors," ML #2472, Vol.18 or GN 349; DB9, pg.373.
"New Housing," FSM 119, pg.7.
"Rental Contracts," HTGTD, pg.470.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
"A Good Sample," ML #50:8-17, Vol.1.
"Wonderful Wave of Worldwide Witnessing," ML #154:13-43, Vol.2; DB5, pg.11.
"Latest News Flashes No.2," ML #968:41-42, Vol.8.
"Face Up, Dress Up, Trim Up, Straighten Up," ML #1202, Vol.12; DB1, pg.357.
"Being a Wise Guest," ML #1549, Vol.18 or GN391.
"Conviction and Honesty," Maria #51, BTH, pg.93; DB3, pg.335.
"Relations with People," GT2, pg.1433; MOP2, pg.822.
"Sizing Up People," HTL, pg.29.
"Winning Friends and Influencing People," HTL, pg.34.
"Getting Through to People," HTL, pg.44.
"How to Talk with Anybody about Practically Anything," HTL, pg.53.
"Power with People," HTL, pg.61.
"Secrets to Success with People," (all).
"How to Answer Intellectual Questions," ML #2794, GN 516.
"You Don't Have to Know All the Answers," ML #2791, GN 516.
"Receiving Guests at Our Home," FSM 140, pg.1.
PURCHASING, MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION--Salemanship
"Diligence in Business," GT1, pg.790.
"Diligence in Business," MOP1, pg.199.
"Shiners? Or Shamers," ML #241, Vol.2; DB5, pg.261.
"Without Love It's Nothing," ML #1819, Vol.15; DB2, pg.362.
"Fill Up Your Heart," ML #1853, Vol.16; DB7, pg.367.
"Poster Salesmen," ML #1867, Vol.15.
"The Clinical Method of Witnessing," ML #1941, Vol.16; DB3, pg.18.
"Salesmanship!--If You Believe in It, You Can Sell It," Maria #47, DB10.
"The Art of Conversation and Salesmanship, HTL, pg.63.
"How to Sell Anything to Anybody," HTL, pg.312.
"How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling," HTL, pg.322.
"Secrets of Salesmanship," HTL, pg.330.
"Provisioning!--A Provisioner Is also a Salesman," HTL, pg.332.
"Success-Cybernetics," HTGTD, pg.50.
"Letter Writing," HTGTD, pg.202.
"Tips on Writing Business Letters," HTGTD, pg.203.
"Make Face-to-Face Interviews Pay Off," HTGTD, pg.365.
"Secrets to Success with People," (all).
"How to Get Things Done," WND 141, pg.1.
"Profiting with Help from Above," WND 218, pg.1.
"Great Business Quotations," WND 235, pg.1.
"Getting Along with Your Boss," WND 255, pg.1.
"How to Make a Good Impression," WND 323, pg.1.
PROMOTIONS
"Let's Reap Radio," ML #1589, Bk.13.
"Suggestion for Christmas Tape Packaging," FSM 45, pg.19.
"Tips on Using the Promotional Flyers and Colour Brochures," FSM 146, pg.2.
"Tips and How-To's for Video Progress," FSM 146, pg.8.
"More Tips and How-To's for Video Progress," FSM 169, pg.9.
"Children's Video Market Comes into Focus," WND 317, pg.1.
MARKET RESEARCH
"IHC Progress," ML #1572, Bk.13.
"Diligent in Business," ML #1604, Bk.13.
"The Radio Revolution Continued," ML #1629, Bk.15.
"Research and Report Writing," HTL, pg.295.
"Write Letters that Get Your Questions Answered," HTL, pg.299.
"You Get What You Ask For and What You Have the Faith For," HTL, pg.341.
"Telephone Techniques for Provisioning," HTL, pg.348.
"Business Letters that Turn People On," WND 108, pg.1.
FUND RAISING AND CANVASSING
"Raising Support and Provisioning," HTL, pg.353.
"Finances and Fundraising," Parts 1-4, FSMs 261-262, 264-265.
DIRECT MARKETING
"Seed Corn, Hot Cakes and Beggars," ML #1885, Vol.15.
"Shiners? Or Shamers," ML #241, Vol.2; DB5, pg.261.
"GP Posters," ML #1869, Vol.15.
"Visions of the Truth!--Push Those Posters," ML #1872, Vol.15.
"Video Victories, Tips, How-To's and Testimonies," FSM 169, pg.2.
PRODUCING BROCHURES, PAMPHLETS AND NEWSLETTERS
"Writing Letters for Prayer and Support," Maria #41, HTL, pg.234.
"Writing for Family Publications," HTL, pg.290.
"Basic Categories of Information," HTL, pg.292.
"Tips for Writing and Layout of FN Articles," HTGTD, pg.234.
"Basic Tools for Layout," HTGTD, pg.243.
"Photos (Promoting God's Work Through Photos)," HTGTD, pg.244 or HH4, pg.131.
"More By Dad on FN Photos," ML #1416, HTGTD, pg.247 or HH4, pg.134.
"Are Your Photos Good Enough for Publication?" HTGTD, pg.248.
"Typical Problem Photos," HTGTD, pg.251.
"How to Make Your Own Letraset by Photocopying," HTGTD, pg.252.
PURCHASING
"Expensive Bargains," ML #1401, Vol.15; DB1, pg.605.
"The Ragman," ML #1833, Vol.15; DB2, pg.424.
"Buyers Must Be Bargainers," ML #1849, Vol.15; DB7, pg.355.
"Bargaining for a House," ML #1850, Vol.15; DB7, pg.358.
"More on Bargaining," ML #1851, Vol.15; DB7, pg.364.
"Cheap Tools," LWG3, pg.147.
"The Bargaining Game," WND 156, pg.1.
"How to Make Smart Choices," WND 322, pg.1.
PROFESSIONAL SALESMANSHIP
"Good Stewards," ML #1028, Vol.9; DB1, pg.224.
"Basic Math for Biz," HTGTD, pg.294.
"What Is a Graph?" HTGTD, pg.314.
"Body Language Spoken Here," WNDEX, pg.948.
"Success," WND 5, pg.13.
"The Art of Asking Questions," WND 118, pg.1.
"Can Do," WND 122, pg.1.
"Living and Working with Procrastinators," WND 189, pg.1.
"The Secret of Our Success," WND 236, pg.4.
Copyright 1996 The Family