Informative Speech
Building Blocks of Financial Stability

Intro:

My name is David Bruce Mahorney III and I …. I am fiscally irresponsible… That is… until I start taking control of my money instead of it controlling me…

Behind me, I have completed what you will come to know as one of the first steps in becoming financially stable. I can relate to those of you with these new financial responsibilities; I can remember my first car, first apartment, the first struggle between school and bills and the increasing misc. fund. There are others here, like myself that still struggle with these responsibilities even after being introduced to the “real world”. So… I’m here to examine how every citizen can promote fiscally responsible personal and business decisions by adhering to five fundamental principles. We’ll look at how to create a balanced budget, how to be consistent, how to save, how to asses investments, and finally the most important to help others help others.

First order of business is to create a balanced budget… How do we do that??? Don’t spend more than we make! Sounds simple right? It can be!
We start by creating a monthly budget…
List all our income sources: jobs 1 through however many.
List all our monthly expenses: From credit cards to Christmas gifts and even that Us weekly that found its way into your cart…PUT IT DOWN… on the budget.
Finally we take a look at where we’re at and analyze where we can afford to make cuts. If there is extra money, we can look at giving to a charitable cause, savings or paying down debt. This chart will give us a goal to shoot for when allocating our income.

Transition: Once we have established how much money we have available and where it is going, we are on our way to

The next fundamental principle which is perhaps the most challenging. Consistency is a repeated measurement of action. We need to create consistency in order to be consistent in our financial duties.
A starting point is to remove all negative reactions to moving forward and building our financial stability. We do that by making a list of reason’s preventing us from following a budget and line that up with reasons why we would benefit. Mark Twain described this situation to a “T” when he said, “It’s easier to stay out than get out.”(1) Now we create consistency by developing a systemized plan that will become habit. A good one! A new system requires a budget maintained at least weekly. A method for receipt, bill, and income sorting and entering. (perhaps a colored paperclip or envelope for each day of the week and others for planned payment dates) We also need a list and possible receipts for all assets. If we stick to the system for a month, balancing and allocating income it will provide us solid foundation for the rest of our principles.

Transition: Soon that extra money will present itself and we will have to find a place for it in our next principle.

The next building block is what I call save, save, save safely.
We must establish an emergency fund of $1000 this is a good way to train us to save.Once we have the emergency fund try saving up for other major purchases.
Paying cash or reducing the principal on a loan will keep us from accumulating high interest debts. One way we can get our savings to start working for us is to contact our bank or financial advisor and look into savings plans. Such as savings accounts, CDs, money market accounts, and IRAs are usually low risk ventures that offer some return on our investment. Some of these are short term and can help us make a little more towards that item you are saving to purchase.

Transition: Figuring out how to invest and what to purchase is valuable principle and happens to be the next one.

Let us look at how to assess before we invest. When investing it is necessary to assess risk and rate of return on our investment. Let’s look at two tangible items a Car and a House.
Does it have a resale value that is more than its purchase value. Will we get full enjoyment over the lifetime of the item. Credit Score, total assets and debt to income percentage are three major factors in acquiring a loan. 675+ is a good score. Total assets are savings plus investments. Debt to income is total monthly debt payments divided by total monthly income. Market investing is a fairly complex field, but it can be simplified by finding a bank or personal financial advisor we trust. They will tell you to diversify. As the saying goes “Never put all your eggs in one basket.” I highlighted earlier some savings plans to research.
Investing in the stock market itself should be done with EXTREME caution and calculation. Seek professional assistance and research extensively. This is not a scare tactic, but a deterrent to the “get rich quick” thought process.

Transition: Now that we are at a point where we feel comfortable with our financial foundation, there is one last principle that needs addressing.

In my opinion this is the greatest principle of them all and can be done at any stage as long as you are not affecting your processes. Simply put, help others to help others. There is a Chinese Proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
We can give to charities, volunteer our time, and perform a multitude of civic duties. but
I want to go a step further and apply the “teaching a man to fish” portion of the proverb.
We can start with friends and then extend to work-shops set-up at schools, work, or community centers and by taking the tools from this speech, our own testimony, and other research we have accumulated along with newly acquired skills from speech 130 we should be able to provide plenty of people with the assistance they need.
Let’s not limit this to just financial assistance. Pass on skills to others that may need assistance in their lives. This will not only give someone the ability to pass along that skill, but will reinforce your own abilities.

Transition: These are keys to developing a fulfilling life and an appreciation for what we have. By following this principle along with the other four we will start to see a drastic improvement in our financial situation.

So let’s add this all up! By setting up a budget we have a physical reminder to not spend more than we make. In creating consistency we have eliminated excuses and set a system in place that will become a habit. We learned how to save, save, save safely by setting an emergency fund of $1000, saving for those purchases and contacting a professional for information on savings plans. Assessing before investing was the key to evaluating your purchases, knowing your purchasing ability, and understanding that the stock market is a volatile investment that requires professional instruction and intensive research. And finally helping others to help others is the most important step to fulfilling your life and others. I’m going to pass out some information when I’m through, but I want you to ponder something…. I’ve started my process all ready…. how about joining me and building your foundation on something [stomp, stomp] more financially stable.

EdGate.com, Inc. Title Practical money skills for life [electronic resource] / [selected by Web Feet]. Pub Info EdGate.com, Inc., [2001]- http://fish.lcc.edu/search?/Ypersonal+budget&SORT=D&searchscope=2/Ypersonal+budget&SORT=D&searchscope=2&SUBKEY=personal%20budget/51,68,68,B/l856~b1273955&FF=Ypersonal+budget&SORT=D&searchscope=2&62,62,,1,0

Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835-1910), U.S. author. Following the Equator, ch. 18 (1897).