Janus and The Art of Budgeting

A resolution you can’t afford to break… A lesson from Janus

By Tommy Haws, Vice President Pinnacle Bank

(Photo Credit- Wikipedia Commons)

AAs a new year approaches, we tend to assess our past, calculate our future, and find a way to resolve to do better. The word January, itself, is a cause for reflection as it is derived from the name of the

Roman god Janus—a two-faced god with one face looking backward and the other looking forward.

As we look back on our year past and forward to a new one, we are like Janus—simultaneously seeing behind us and ahead of us at the same time.

One of the most common things people make a resolution about in a new year, besides losing those holiday pounds or the resolution to start exercising (here come the weight loss commercials and home gym advertisements), is to do better with money— particularly a budget. Here are a few things that might help as you start your new year and work on a resolution that will last longer than January 15th.

1. Prepare and USE a budget. There is an old saying: the cost of living is always the same— everything you got. One way to make sure you use it on the things that you choose is to prepare and use a budget and try to not to cheat. There is usually enough to get to the end of the pay period if we learn to say no after that category runs out.

2. SAVE for the future and the easiest money to save is the money you never see. If you are saving for retirement, use payroll deduction so that it will never make it to your bank account. If you want to save for events like Christmas or vacation, set up a separate account for those things and have your bank automatically sweep money into that account on a regular basis like a payday. *Pinnacle Bank offers a Christmas Club account that will pay you interest on the account and then you get a check or deposit into your checking account in Mid-November, just in time for the holiday spending season.

3. PLAN for things that are out of the normal budget. Birthdays and holidays and bosses day and secretary day and…the list goes on and on with things that can be budget busters. But if you plan them in, they make a difference. Also remember to include things that creep in like workplace secret Santa events, wear and tear on your vehicles (those tires WILL run out and need to be replaced someday. It is not a matter of if, but when. Same with brakes, oil changes, filters, etc). Which leads to:

4. SAVE for a rainy day. This is not just an nice saying your grandmother used to say—it is good practice. Save a portion of your income each month for unexpected expenses that come up along the way. A kid’s field trip, an unexpected trip for a funeral or sick loved one, co-pays or medical expenses that creep into life. It’s a nice place to know you have some extra and is a comforting thought as you encounter life’s unplanned expenses.

5. Be vigilant. It is easy to SET a budget—it is not as easy to maintain or control a budget. Use online tools, reports, statements, and other things to track where your money is going. If you need to adjust that budget, tighten up in other areas where things “leak out” of your normal operations; you will be able to adjust more quickly and not have to react.

6. ACT before you are forced to REACT. Sticking our head in the sand when it comes to finances never works. The day will come that we are all forced to live up to the reality around us. So if we ACT before we are forced to react, we have many more options and many more tools to help us manage things.

If you have any questions about how we might help you to find tools, use the tools we have, or come up with a way to work out of situations that are not good now, please come and sit down with us and let us talk out some options for you. We love to help people meet their financial goals and a new year is a great time to reassess what we can do to be better. Even if you have some regrets about the past—use that chance to look back and see what you would like to change and then look forward to a more peaceful way to live—within your means and with a plan.

December

Happy Holidays from our family to yours! 863-6868

39th Annual Red Rock Balloon Rally

December 6-8, 2019

Presented by MARATHON • Powered by Gallup Propane Service

Thursday- December 5th

6:00 pm

Butler’s Office Supply Pilot Registration

El Rancho Hotel

Friday-December 6th

McKinley County Day

7:30 am Mass Ascension Fox Run Golf Course & Red Rock Park 6:30 pm Marathon Glow in the Rocks Red Rock Park 6:30 pm Rico Auto Complex Indian Dances Red Rock Park 7:00 pm Four Corners Welding & Gas Supply Pilot Registration El Rancho Hotel Richardson Trading Pilot Appreciation Sponsor

Saturday-December 7th

Supersmith Day Red Rock Park

6:30 am Amigo Automotive Group Dawn Patrol Red Rock Park 7:30 am Mass Ascension Red Rock Park 8:30 am Pinnacle Bank Pyramid Rock Run Red Rock Park 6:30 pm Rio West Mall/Sonic Balloominaria Rio West Mall RMCH Pilot Pack Sponsor Gurley Motor Platinum Sponsor

Sunday-December 8th

Ferrellgas Day

6:30 am Amigo Automotive Group Dawn Patrol Red Rock Park 7:30 am Mass Ascension Red Rock Park 10:00 am New Mexico Gas Co. Awards Brunch

& Auction

Red Rock Park Big Mike’s Platinum Sponsor

Perry Null Trust and Goodwill Pilot Appreciation

Sponsor

Special Thanks to Gallup McKinley County Chamber of Commerce, and all of our Volunteers

Gallup Propane Service, Inc.

SuperSmith Inc.

Boys

Hugh Chone 11th grade. Placed 24 in District and 102 State. Joshua Chavarria 9th grade. Placed 47 in District. George Piestewa 10th grade. Placed 6th in District and 29th State. Tayan Benson 10th grade. Placed 1st in District and 8th in State. Riley Watson 12th grade. Placed 2nd in District and 10th in State. Shance Johnson Hood 10th grade. Placed 33rd District and 109th State. Logan Barber 12th grade. Placed 40th in District. Chandler Whitman Jr. (CJ) 9th grade. Placed 39th in District and 107th in State. Not pictured Shayton Brown 10th grade. Placed 22nd District and 83rd in State. Boys team placed 2nd in District and 7th in State.

Girls

Shondiin Benson 8th grade. Placed 24th District and 80th in State. Melonie Houston 10th grade. Placed 39th in District. Tianna Yazzie 9th grade. Placed 40th in District. Lorianna Piestewa 8th grade. Placed 2nd in District and 5th in State. Kaleia Vicenti 11th grade. Placed 16th in District and 36th in State. Tasheena Thompson 10th grade. Placed 10th in District and 28th in State. Aubrey Tah 8th grade. Placed 8th in District and 37th in State. Not pictured- Chevelle McCray 9th grade. Placed 19 in District and 81st in State. Shenoah Platero 9th grade. Placed 21st in District and 69th in State. As a team, girls placed 3rd in District and 5th in State.

Sounds of the Season Merry Christmas!

Download and listen to iHeartMedia – Gallup’s free App. Listen to a variety of Christmas music stations or create your own Christmas play list perfect for the Holidays!

Christmas at the North Pole!

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR WE ALL LOOK FORWARD TO, CHRISTMAS!!!! THE CHRISTMAS SONGS, THE TREATS, HOT CHOCOLATE, AND OF COURSE SANTA!!! iHEARTMEDIA – GALLUP, ALONG WITH SANTA’S HELPER, CASTLE FURNITURE, INVITE YOU TO “CHRISTMAS AT THE NORTH POLE!!!” DECEMBER 7TH FROM 4 TO 6PM!!!

ENJOY CHRISTMAS MUSIC, FREE HOT CHOCOLATE, CHRISTMAS COOKIES, AND KIDS WILL RECEIVE A FREE GOODIE BAG FROM SANTA, HIMSELF. PLUS REGISTER TO WIN SANTA’S CHAIR. COURTESY OF CASTLE FURNITURE. JOIN iHEARTMEDIAGALLUP AT “CHRISTMAS AT THE NORTH POLE.”