How I Define Financial Peace

Posted on Monday January, 25 2010 | 2 Comments

Financial peace means different things to different people.  For sure, most everyone wants to achieve it.  Being at peace with your money situation is a great place to be.  Are you there right now?  Are you missing a few pieces your financial peace puzzle?  If financial peace is what you want, you have to define it.  Below are things I consider essential to my financial peace.

  • Being current on all my bills.  Being behind on a bill is no fun place to be.  I like to have all my bills paid on time.  I can say this is true 95% of the time.  We have a few moments in our busy lives where we are late by a few days.
  • Having an emergency fund of $1000.  Life happens to us all whether we are ready or not.  Insurance deductibles, car repairs, car tires and other unexpecteds happen to my budget.  Without an emergency fund these events can take me further into debt.
  • Good insurance.  Life comes full of risks.  Insurance provides protection from those risks.  Health, car, life and disability are essential types of insurance for families.  Without insurance you are at risk of severe losses financially.
  • Good communication with my spouse about money.  Being able to discuss money issues in a civil manner is priceless in a relationship.  Money talks can be among the most emotional conversations in a marriage.  I don't have a magic prescription for this one.  My wife and I do good to have 50% of our talks fall under the 'civil' category.
  • A stable job.  In today's economy this is a true blessing.  I'm fortunate as a public school educator to have a job that is pretty stable.  My heart goes out to dear friends who have fallen on hard times and unemployment.
  • Contributing to my retirement.  As a public educator I am among those who have a pension available for retirement.  Having 5% automatically deducted from my paycheck makes retirement a 'hands free" experience for me.  Not having a choice in the plan keeps me honest.

There you have my definition of financial peace. Does your definition differ from mine?  Please comment on what it means to you.