The last two weekends I went to airshows. First I went to the Jesse James Outlaw airshow, which was fun and a bit crazy. Last weekend I went to the Sound of Speed airshow. Which again was fun. I’m not going to talk about what went well during the airshow, but what I should have done better and what challenges I had with my gear.
Let me first start off by saying I’m not a morning person. I do not like getting up early, nor do I enjoy waking up right when my alarm goes off. That being said, as a hobby photographer and someone who goes to airshows, mornings work out well. Mornings produce incredible light, and crowds aren’t usually big at that point. If you want to photograph airshows, and specifically the statics, go early. You’ll reward yourself.
That being said, both airshows were 2 days. The Jesse James Outlaw airshow I was there right when gates opened, even though I wasn’t there exactly when I wanted to be. So that worked out. The second day of the airshow, I got there with plenty of time, but do feel like I missed a bit of light. The first day of the Sound of Speed airshow we were late. They had moved up the starting time about an hour, and with traffic, I missed a lot of incredible shots. On Sunday I made a point of getting there early, and it rewarded me. I was able to see a de Havilland Vampire jet that had just arrived, as well as talk to the people on site. The other suggestion is to go both days, as things change day to day.
Now onto the gear troubles. I shoot on a Canon 6d with either my 24-105mm or 100-400mm lens. My camera is not designed for aviation photography, as I run out of buffer a lot, even with the fastest cards. I only use the center autofocus point, since I want to control what the lens focuses on. This might be short sited on my part. I shoot most times thousands of photos and have to throw many out because they are out of focus.
I have found out recently that after 64 gb written, my 6d slows down. Canon recommends not going over a 64 gb card, so that Lexar 128gb card I found on a good deal is not recommended for my camera. That means more changing cards as action goes by. Don’t get me wrong, I love my camera. I was able to shoot images I never would have been able to before, specifically low light. I love the battery life, and the lightness of it. I love that it’s full frame and small. That being said, I need to find something that can improve my aviation photography.
There are mistakes you make, but learning from them is the best option. I love aviation photography and will continue to do it. Until I have the cash ready, I’ll keep shooting using my 6d.
]]>I was fortunate enough to see the B-29 Doc’s first flight since it was restored. Doc’s last flight was in 1956 and came to Wichita in 2000. I was in highschool at that time. I remember it being such a big deal when Doc was delivered to Mcconnell. Seeing Doc fly has made an impression on me that I will not likely forget. For one thing, Doc means a whole heck of a lot to a lot of people. It’s also a reminder that my photos are not for me, but the aviation community as a whole. I have been so fortunate meeting people, and strive to continually learn, which it was a learning session for me as well.
After seeing Doc fly we went to Dallas. Today we went through the Presidential Library of George W. Bush. He is one man I do look up to. Not because I agree with everything he’s done, but the down to Earth he portrays to be, and that he tried to do the best for the country. I’m not getting into politics here, but if I could meet the men I admire, he would be one of them.
As I have been doing photography, and even the trip to the Library has taught me, I can continue to learn and improve, but I was created the way I am. I am designed a specific way, and that is OK. Photography is an outlet for me, something I enjoy, and allows me to chase my dreams. I have no idea what the future holds, but I have many dreams. I don’t need to be the most outgoing of people, nor do I need to be the best at any one thing. Photography is about living the dream, and purusing it through thick and thin. For me, it resembles my life in persevering. I am exciting for what the future holds, and can’t wait to see it.
So, it is Memorial Day weekend. I am reminded and thankful for all those who have served. Without those who served I could not live the life of Freedom, nor having a safe environment to live in.
Retailers want you to believe that Memorial Day is a long weekend to get projects around your house done or cook up some burgers on the back patio. It is a day where pools open, and the unofficial start of summer. There is nothing wrong with that, but we forget that it’s about people.
Memorial Day is certainly about those people that serve in our military every day and those that once served. It is also about family and spending time with them. Even through thick and thin, and even when plans change suddenly, our families stick with us. Many times I’m amazed that they do.
I have to say thanks to my wife Susan for sticking with me, even during crazy times, and to all of my family. I don’t think I could survive this life without you all.
]]>Airshow Season has officially started. We first went down to the Sunflower Balloon fest in Anthony, KS. It's always a good time, and a fun small town
activity. One that that really impressed me was the HUGE kites! These were massive! One thing I really enjoyed was the B-52 simulator, no photos of that.After we left there we went to St. Louis where we went into the Arch, City Museum, and the Magic House. We finished it all off going to the St. Louis STEM airshow presented by Boeing. That was amazing! We saw the Canadian Snowbirds, F/A-18 demo team, F-22 demo team, Blue Angles, B-25, Corsair, and P-51 among others. On the ramp there was an F-4, a very strange looking Boeing 757 used to test F-22 electronics, as well as a Cobra and Huey! It was a packed week.
Coming up next will be the Salute to Veterans airshow in Columbia, MO. Shortly after that my wife and I will head to Vegas for a work trip (non-photography related). We should be home for a while after that.
I will say my photography has come a long way, and I'm amazed just how better I have gotten. If you are interested in any of my photography please reach out to me at [email protected].
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
During this Christmas season, set a budget, follow it, and you will be so much more grateful come next year. Imagine not having to pay credit cards next year? Imagine everything you buy is paid for! Retailers and credit card companies want you to buy a lot. Credit card companies also realize that most people don’t pay their balance in full, or doing a 0% for x amount of months deal, means you have to pay on time every month. If you miss one, you start earning interest, and most likely all the interest you avoided will be added to. Just be intentional with your money.
Christmas is a great way to give back. Check your budget and see if you can give a little bit extra as a tip, spend time helping families, or even give a large gift. Make sure it’s in your budget. My family and I have started giving 1 large tip a week. We never know how it will impact someone, but God has blessed us, and we feel we must bless others.
This brings me to my next subject. I know sometimes the Church hurts people, either by exposing their sin, not following their beliefs, or just being imperfect people. Jesus came to forgive us of our sins. He also said to love one another. I realize we aren’t going to agree with everything, but I do want to apologize for the Church not being a safe place for you, if you have been hurt by the Church, and that Jesus loves you. The real reason for Christmas to celebrate the life of Christ!
Have a Merry Christmas!
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
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Yes, you read that correctly! We are debt free! I finished paying off my student loan on Monday. I submitted the payment, and later that night it cleared. I walked out of work with my head held high. It was a beautiful day! The wind, the sun, and the sounds were so beautiful. It is a feeling I never knew before. I feel FREE!!! I owe nothing to anybody!
Where did we come from? Two years ago we started on Financial Peace University. I knew since before college I didn’t want debt. I didn’t understand it, though. I fell into the trap, brushed myself off once with help, and then fell right back in. We were $54,117.39 in debt, excluding the house. Before we sold it, the house was $145,000. So, that’s a total of almost $200,000 in debt!
What was the debt on? Other than the house, we had five credit cards, one of which was maxed out and one we used for a balance transfer (more on that later), car, and student loans. Before we started the debt snowball, we did manage to pay off one vehicle, stupid buy, and a Perkins loan for school. We were normal!
First, why was the car a stupid buy? I had gotten a loan for 72 months at 10% interest. I ended up paying it off early, but only by a few months. I should have saved up and paid for it. You live and learn.
Second, why was transferring so bad? When you transfer, they hit you with a fee. So, not only did I have to pay off the amount on the card, I now had to pay the fee! I could have paid things off a bit faster. Again, you live and you learn. Can you tell that I’m a bit stubborn and think I know what I am doing?
It took 2 years to become debt free, but we made it! It is possible! There were many times where we wanted to give up. There were many times we were at the end of our ropes and wanted to continue on with life. We made it! If we can do this, we can do anything we want!
What’s next? Obviously we are living in an apartment, so a house would be nice. The first step is to keep on the gas and build up the emergency fund. We are hoping by February. After that comes a down payment.
The more I study the more I am going to do a 15 year mortgage with at least 10% down. I would love to pay for a home in full, but I don’t think that is going to happen for this home. I am so ready to start investing again, and enjoying life. We can enjoy some of life now, but will be better once we can slow down a bit.
One thing about a house though, we can start a business. My photography can be run as a business then, and my wife can start up something, sewing or baking or both! Our city currently has a very broad definiation for business, and must get a business license. However, our apartment will not let us run a business out of our apartment. Thus, why I am not selling my work today.
There are things we are dreaming of, like going to Europe. I want to get flight lessons, but will wait until we get a house. I can’t wait for things, but must wait.
Our future is bright! We are out of Debt!!! You can be too!
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
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I was reminded of a very important thing this past weekend. The money we receive is not truly ours. It is God’s. This past Sunday in church I was sitting a few rows behind our lead pastor. He had just finished preaching, and was sitting down for communion and for the tithe. I saw him reach an envelope from his back pocket, a giving envelope, and place it in the offering plate. My first thought was, it’s interesting that part of his paycheck is going back into the church. He gets paid by the church. Then I was reminded that our money is truly not our own. It’s God’s. He only asks us to provide a 10% tithe to the local storehouse (church), and we have to be wise with the rest.
It was also reminded of me to ask, why we can’t do something. Sure, we aren’t buying a house right now, nor are we going on a European vacation. However, things like upgrading my computer and getting a new vacuum, are things that we could possibly do. What I realized recently is that by next year we will be ready to start looking for a house. We could also pay off the rest of the student loans in October.
The biggest obstacle is not being too stringent. I am a person that when I want something, I go after it. So, it’s easy for me to say, lets hold off on everything so we can pay off debt, save, and buy a house. However, I am also a spender. I get into the month and go, “I want that, but it’s not in the budget.” So the balance of being content with what you have, and what you want to do is very difficult.
If I worked a normal 8-5 job, I would have certainly gotten a second job and paid off things a lot faster. It would also be easier to be content as well, at least I would think. Being busy is better than sitting all weekend with almost nothing to do.
I admit there are things that are free, or little cost that we can do. We haven’t found a lot of that yet, but still searching. However, what we realize is that if we give ourselves just a little to live life, we can accomplish the big goals without much if any dely.
Yes, we wanted to be out of debt by end of September. It doesn’t appear that would happen. We would have to drastically cut our budget, and use our emergency fund. So, waiting 2 more weeks, or 4 depending on cash flow, isn’t a huge issue.
If you plan, set goals, and dream a bit, you can achieve things you would not otherwise would. Sometimes we have to make compromises, but we should always ask how we can do it without the compromise. Sometimes we need to look to see if there is a third option that would let us do both.
It’s been an incredible journey. There is so much more freedom not having any debt, which I already sense even though we aren’t fully yet. It also gives me much more confidence than I’ve ever had before, both with the determination but also the lack of worry. I no longer have to think that I must keep a job because of my debts, but rather I want to keep a job because I enjoy it.
If you are running a total to see how much debt we have left, $2350.
We are weird, and we won’t be pressured into buying something that people think we “need”. Time will come to buy a house, another car, and to have fabulous vacations!
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
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In the last post I shared the pressures that are on me financially from being the head of household. After a few days, I realize that it may have sounded a bit negative. I meant it to be factual, without emotion. I’m an emotional person, so that didn’t work.
I was reminded today that it’s not about me. It’s about God and his will. My family is also very important to me. I have to remember things are bigger than me, and that the money I earn does not belong to me. I am merely a trustee of God’s money.
All of the goals and dreams I have, getting out of debt, building an emergency fund, getting a house, upgrading my computer, getting a pilot’s license, and replacing my chair can happen. Yes, on today’s budget and logically thinking, it will happen as I mentioned. However, money is very illogical. Rather, sometimes you are blessed with more money, sometimes things turn different directions than anticipated, and there is no explanation.
What I am reminded of is to keep my dreams huge, build my goals on those dreams, and take steps to those dreams. Zig Ziglar said that “if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.” He also said “if you dream it, you can achieve it.” So, why am I limiting my dreams so much? I can set aggressive, but realistic goals. They can be completed.
For instance, I believe we will own a home within 10 years that’s $300k - $350k. I also believe we will find a home in 2 years that fits in our budget. I have to remember that God will open doors and close others.
Here is a crazy dream. Why couldn’t I at some point in my life get a commercial airline license? I know the FAA says no today, but if I can dream it, I can achieve it.
How about this? I dream of photographing B-25’s in the air over Kauffman Stadium! I want to be in the air with the “K” in the background.
How about this one? Going to Hawaii and flying my wife around some of the islands!
Stress is a big factor right now, because we are scrimping, but that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t dream. Dreaming is good, setting goals to get to that dream is awesome! We will achieve our goals, and it is possible that things will be quicker or different than expected!
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
]]>There are so many pressures for the head of the household. It is something I never realized before. There are many sacrifices that must be made for the good of the family, and there are many responsibilities.
It is my responsibility to work to provide food, clothing, and shelter. It is my responsibility to lead my family down the road of integrity and success. It is my responsibility to make sure our obligations are met.
I may not be the one to pay every single bill. I may not write the check for rent. However, it is still my responsibility to earn the income. This leads me to the first pressure.
I don’t want this to sound selfish at all. I love my family, and realize I must make sacrifices for them. I am only one wheel in a giant cog, and feel so much pressure to keep spinning as faster as I can. Somehow I need to figure out how to earn more money to speed this process up. I don’t want it to be 3 or more years before buying a house. I’ve already had about enough of this apartment, with its thin walls, noisy pipes, small kitchen, and small size. I’m ready to work on a house again, and do something productive. Alas, that will be 3 years out. The pressures of being the head of the household.
Blessing,
Andrew Krob
]]>I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I get very large dreams. I want to become more than just a hobbyist for Aviation Photography, as in I want to do it as a side business. On top of that I want to get my Private Pilot’s License. I’ve also wanted to get my Masters in Business Administration with a focus on Finance or International Business. Lately, I’ve wanted to build myself a new PC, and someday I want to build one with all the top end parts. With all this, we are still working on getting the debt paid off, will build an emergency fund, and save for a house.
This leads me to prioritization. How do I prioritize all of this? First, let me say I am a BIG dreamer. I dream HUGE, and it takes me a while to come back down to Earth. I also can get obsessed with something. Usually, if I want something, I go after it. This is one reason I got into debt. So, I need to dream big, come down to Earth, and prioritize what I am going to do.
First, I look at what is best for my family and me. Even if you are single, getting out of debt and saving a 3-6 month emergency fund should be priority. So, my first priority is to get out of debt. If I can wiggle my computer upgrade in the middle of saving for my emergency fund, then I will. It depends on the budget. Since the computer will be around $2000, I may just wait until our emergency fund is built.
Second, I will figure out how much a house will cost and a down payment. I will figure out how many months or years it will take. I will then calculate what things like getting a Private Pilot’s License will cost me in regards to a down payment. I have to think of my family first, and put my wants second.
Third, I estimate what kind of residual income I will receive. I do think getting a PPL will help with my photography. My goal currently is to network with those in the aviation community. I would love to make money eventually, but that’s not my priority today. I also don’t want to give the expectation that building friendships is only about the money. It’s not. People are way more important than money.
What about this MBA? Well, I’ve looked at what it will cost me, $20,000 on the low end, and any ways I can fund the MBA. I have nothing telling me that I will make more money by getting an MBA. So, I’ve decided to wait. If it’s God’s will for me to get an MBA, it will be funded.
Prioritization isn’t just about the money. It’s about how much you have dreamed of doing it, what’s right for your family, and what benefit you will get. You also need to prioritize the budget to achieve your dreams. This thing is called a budget.
Don’t give up on your dreams! Prioritize them! Dream big! Dream huge! Figure a way to make them work, and don’t fall for false promises. You can do it!
]]>I’ve been at it for a while doing a financial blog. Though, it occurred to me that many readers may not understand why a photographer is doing a financial blog. So, I must enlighten you. Photography has been a hobby of mine for a long time. I got my first dSLR during our honeymoon. Ever sense then, it has been learning about all kinds of stuff. Now I have my process down and how to make my photos unique. I am still learning, but I am not longer a beginner.
I decided to set up my website around aviation photography. I have loved aviation from when I was very little. I remember going to McConnell Air force Base and seeing the Blue Angles. I remember getting tours by a couple of jet engine mechanics during career day. Boeing was on strike, so we got paired up with people on the base. Being from Wichita, I remember all kinds of planes flying overhead. It made me really want to go into some career with aviation.
Life took different approaches, and I fell back on something I was good at, IT. I do enjoy computers, and the challenges they give. I still continue to do IT. I never thought that one day the aviation community would come into my life.
During Bikes, Blues, and BBQ in Fayetteville, AR, they had an air-expo day where they brought in the B-29 FIFI. I was a kid in a candy store. I remembered seeing F-16’s take off, and just loved being around them. So, when I got a job in the Kansas City area, I found that the Commemorative Air force had a wing in the area. That started me on the path that I am on now. To continue to be around planes, to enjoy the aviation community, to respect our military and to create this website.
The date that I got to see FIFI was September 21, 2013. Earlier that same here, I noticed we were over drafting more than usual. I also noticed we were struggling paying some bills. So, I took it upon myself to build a ledger to figure out the flow of our money. That helped. In August that same here I started on the corporate version of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Pease University. We got out life in order, and started on the baby steps. In 2014, we moved to KC.
So, why do I have a financial blog on a photography website? Because, it’s what important to me. I love airplanes, I really want to fly, and without my finances being right, I will never be able to do that. I feel many photographers, and people in general, don’t understand money. I feel its part of my duty as a human to blog about these experiences.
Yes, I do plan to blog about other dreams. For instance, once I save enough, I’ll blog about my learning to fly. I will blog about my experiences doing aviation photography, and I might blog about my interest in computers. I know I’ll be all over the plane, but this is what interests me.
Dream big, and try! If you don’t, you may regret it.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
]]>The other day I received an email from Trulia. It was a notification of a new blog post. The title was “No Credit or Bad Credit: Which Is Worse?” Of course, it intrigued me. I was pretty sure, after have read other posts by them, that they were going to error on the side that no credit is worse.
Let’s take a look into some of their arguments.
The article goes on to say you should pull out a credit card at the bank to start building credit. There is one statement I do agree with in this blog post “That means you haven’t taken out any loans or lines of credit — again, a good thing considering that means you have no debt either!”
So, let’s look at their statements.
The article is talking about car loans and mortgages mainly, but there are other loans such as a personal loan. The question here is why? Why do you need the bank to lend you money? The obvious answer to this is that you don’t have a budget, and/or an emergency fund. A budget is crucial to telling you how much money you have, and helping you build that emergency fund. The emergency fund should be 3-6 months of expenses. With those two items, then personal loans, as well as loans for other types of things shouldn’t be needed.
The question here is again why? Why do you need a car loan? What happens if you lose your job as you have been paying back the loan? Will the car be repossessed? Depending on if you can work out a deal with the loan company. What’s so great about a paid for car that you paid in CASH? How about, you didn’t pay double the price! How about you OWN the car! If you lose your job and you OWN the car, you have transportation to interviews!
When we buy another car, we will be paying cash. I have bought 2 cars on loans, and my first car was cash. I love the fact that I own the car and owe nothing to anybody. When my net worth does eventually top $1,000,000 I will buy a new car. My guess is it’s going to be an Audi Q5, cash.
Some banks will consider your credit score to be the gospel. However, there is a thing called manual underwriting. They can get you a mortgage without a credit score, taking into an account you pay your bills on time, how much you make, and your net worth!
If I had 50% to put down on a house, will a bank that only relies on the credit score take that? What if that house is $1,000,000 and I have $500,000 in cash to put down? My thought here is no, they would put a greater emphasis on the credit score, not the cash.
How does this sound? Save up! I have decided that if we were to get a mortgage, it will be a 15 year fixed. I can’t justify putting myself into a 30-year and spending so much time trying to pay off the house. I also want to force myself to pay it off in 15, instead of trying to pay it off in 15. What I really want to do is figure out a way to pay CASH for the house. I know that’s a lot of money, but I would prefer to put the money towards retirement.
This statement shows a lot of ignorance. Having a bad credit tells the banks if you can pay on time or not. That is true. Having no credit score makes them guess. Also true. However, which is more likely to pay a bill on time, someone who has $30,000 in the bank and a paid for car, or someone who keeps forgetting what that one card was that they seem to believe they owe? Most likely a bank will deny someone with a low credit score than someone with no credit score. This is only opinion, but if doing manual underwriting it is the most logical.
This is one of those semi true statements that is really stupid. There are apartments that base your ability to pay on your credit report. I am not sure what our apartment did, but I know they had to look at my offer letter to even consider my ability to rent the apartment.
Since I don’t have experience with this, I don’t know much. I have heard that if you can fork over first and last month’s rent, then there is a greater chance of getting into an apartment.
What makes this really funny is this scenario. If I have $1,000,000 in my net worth, and I recently got a job in a different city, so I had to move. I go to the apartment complex to rent for a few months while I get my house sold, or buy a new one, I won’t be able to get it. So, even though I can buy one of your buildings, I still can’t rent from you?
Usually the utilities require a deposit, which they will refund after a year. From my research it appears you might have a high deposit if having a bad credit score or no credit score. Since it’s been a long time ago since I’ve had no credit score, please check with your utilities on how to proceed.
So, what is a credit score? We’ll it’s a debt score. It tells nothing about your net worth. Yes, this is true. Take a look at fico.com. There you will see 30% of your score is how much you owe, 35% is your payment history, 15% is length of credit history, 10% is types of credit, and 10% is new credit. So, it’s all about spending, and not saving or investing.
So, my conclusion is it’s better to save up, pay cash, stay out of debt, and don’t worry about a credit score. I think way too often we get into serious trouble with credit, and it takes years to recover. My wife and I had $54,117.39 in debt, credit cards, car loans, and student loans. In 2 years we have knocked that down to just below $5,000. We will start the rest of the journey this year. Yes! We are weird! We like it that way! We dream big, but we will be forever changed in our way of looking at money!
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
]]>First of all I want to thank each person if they visited my eBay metal print sale. I certainly learned that my marketing is not very good. I got 79 views on it. Either my prices were too high, or I just don’t know how to publicize it. It’s not a big deal though, just wanted to pay off student loans. If you do want a metal print of the DC-8 above, please contact me.
Secondly, an update on those pesky student loans. It is $6400 and plan to be done by the end of September/early October! Really looking forward to being out of debt. Yes, there are other financial goals that we will pursue after that, such as buying a house. It will all come in time.
On another note. I got my 3rd class medical! I can officially start learning how to fly! The only thing is, cost and time. One step forward. This is a big deal for me, because I am a type 1 diabetic. No, sugar did not cause it. It was genetic. Anyways, I talked to one medical examiner who said it would be “reams and reams of paperwork.” I was also under the assumption it would require 4 years of medical records. This was not the case. Yes, it was a few hoops to jump through, but not bad. I still have to submit my records for 1 year, but that will be easy. Then I renew every 5 years.
If you want to learn about Type 1 go here. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/type-1/?referrer=https://www.google.com/
If you are curious, I’m on an insulin pump and using a continuous glucose monitor.
Blessings, and Prosperity,
Andrew Krob
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/331608057936?
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
]]>Beyond the Christian community, I see Greece has been in trouble again, China's economy is struggling, and the stock market has overall not been so good this year.
What does this mean? We'll it means that the press is doing a very good job is portraying what's wrong in the world. My opinion? I do believe in Christ. I do believe he will come again. Whether you like it or not, that's my opinion. However, I do not believe the world is going to end tomorrow. I maybe wrong, but I don't. Instead, I am going to hold my opinions, live like the world will go on, and do my best to lead my friends and family.
I recognize other people have differences of opinions. I am not one to judge you and your opinions. I think everybody has a right to their opinion, and I have the freedom to believe what I believe.
My only wish is that we were out of debt, so I can concentrate on saving for retirement. Right now would be a great time to invest, while everybody is freaking out. Then again, anytime is a good time, just more bang for your buck when people are going crazy.
The thing you have to do is realize the world will end someday. It might be tomorrow, but to make plans for the long haul. I'm not saying be ignorant, just realistic.
Blessings and prosperity,
Andrew Krob
]]>Airshows are great spectacles, with lots of sound and some incredible piloting. My heart grieves for the family, and they are in my prayers. The whole aviation community is affected by this tragedy.
My hobby is aviation photography. It is not my profession, but I am close to the aviation community. These tragedies can and do happen. It has caused me to think about what I would do if I witnessed it.
As a photographer, my job is to photograph the show. Even if I am not making money on my photos, it’s still my job to have a visual reference to what occurred. If I can keep my eye to the camera, most likely I would have gotten most, if not all, events leading up to the crash.
With the images I have, what would I do with them? Some people would say give them to the media. That might be for some people, but I’m not the media. I am a photographer who happens to be in the aviation community.
I am not here to make money on tragedies. I am here to work with the aviation community, share my photographs, and inspire people. Therefore, I wish to publicly say that my photography, in the event of a tragedy, will not be released until I get the approval of the family and/or the airshow. If there is a code in the aviation community that I am not aware of for such events, please let me know.
Again, my prayers go out to the family and the rest of the aviation community,
Andrew Krob
]]>During this time of paying off our debts, it’s become hard to have them staring me in the face. Most of my life after college I barely looked at my student loans. It didn’t mean a lot to me then. I was very comfortable in paying the payment. It’s just a small payment right? Even during the time of paying off other debts, credit cards and cars, it wasn’t a big problem. We would get to it later. Student Loans were our biggest debt. Using the snowball method, it was our last debt, so why be concerned about it?
Well, now I am concerned about it. We have been hammering it hard. It won’t go away quickly. Which has opened my eyes to many things. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s glorious! I’m still a mile or more back treading through nasty water filled with bugs to get there. We will celebrate when we finally see daylight. Boy, will we celebrate! No debt though!
What things have I learned, and continue to learn? The biggest thing is patience. Getting into debt for me took 7 to 8 years. It didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t wake up one time and go, where did this debt come from? Why should paying it off be done overnight? It can’t! We have been on this journey 22 months so far. We have had some dramatic changes. Now that we are on the last debt, it’s so easy to be frustrated that we still are in debt.
We could have been out of debt a bit faster, but you make mistakes in life. Debt was a huge mistake. We are overcoming it! I have more financial sense now than I ever had. I don’t know everything, nor will I ever know everything. What I do know is money takes time.
Whether you have $10,000 in debt or $100,000 it will take time. It’s not a walk in the park. It is a difficult journey. People will think you are insane. Let them believe that. Eventually some people will be on the same path you are.
For us, we will be debt free around November, at our current rate. We hope to be done sooner than that, depending on what we can squeeze from the budget. Yes, if you’ve been following my other pieces, we owe $8,400 on my student loan. That means we are paying over $1600 per month! Yes, we are going gazelle intense at this thing. Sometimes I don’t think we are going fast enough, but unless we change a few things, which frankly we can’t do, we can’t squeeze any more out.
What I realize is we were normal, car payment, student loan, and credit cards. I don’t want to live “normal”. Abi-normal, for my Mel Brooks fans, is where I want to be.
This has also given me light into the future. It takes time with money. The younger you can start, the easier it is. I feel like a missed the boat a bit, but I’m on a jet ski catching up. It takes time to build the emergency fund, build a down payment, and invest. One should not invest for anything less than 5 years. Investing is long term. It’s not like going to the casino and winning $500 the first night. It’s about gaining multi-thousands of dollars, if not millions, over 20 to 30 years. You have to have patience.
One thing I have learned in this whole situation is that I dream big, I put goals, and I am the visionary. I can’t stand doing the day to day money transactions. I want to be able to swipe my debit card, and pay for something without concern about how that fits into the budget. I want to think long term. I want to get a house, pay for my son’s college when he’s old enough, and to give like no one else.
The only way I can keep my mind sane on these money goals is because of my wife. She’s the one that keeps track of what we are spending. We do a budget every month, and discuss. She’s the one that tells me where we are at in a particular category. Without her, I could not do it.
You see that I do Aviation photography. One of my dreams is to have that as a side business. However, I can’t do that until we are in a house. So, I am eager to be debt free, but as with this whole blog post, have patience. It will come. Doors will open, and we will walk through.
Blessings and prosperity,
Andrew Krob
]]>Most people know credit card debt is bad. A credit card can be as low as 8%. I found references to the highest being 29.9%. So, let’s say that a person has $6, 000 on one card. At 8% using a minimum payment of $100, it will take 6 years and 5 months to pay off. That’s a total of $7,688 of interest alone! What about at the 29.9% interest rate? With $6000, we must make a minimum payment of $210. This will take us a shorter amount of time, 4 years and 3 months, but we pay a whopping $10,619 in interest! That’s $2,931 more, with a shorter payoff period! Do you really want to lose 7 to 10 thousand dollars to the bank?
Credit cards a bad, and the banks suck our money? What about car loans? I’m not going to talk about leasing due to I do not completely understand it. Car loans are on average $27,000, 67 months, at 4.04% (60 month instead of 67 months). So, let’s do some calculating. That would mean your month payment is $450.82, paying off in January 2021. The amount of interest paid would be $3,204.77. So you have now paid $30,204.77. Let’s say you bout a $27,000 Chevrolet Impala. After 5 years it’s now worth $17,983. So, now you still owe 6 months on a car that has dropped $9,000. That’s a $12,221.77 difference between what you paid with interest and what the car is worth!
I have to have a car! It’s my transportation! I agree. My wife and I own 1 car. Our situation is she is a stay at home mom, and I use the car for my daily commute. Yes, it can be difficult, but it’s really been nice. We will buy another car eventually, but we will pay for it with cash!
Let’s take it one step further. Instead of paying $450.82 on the car, let’s save it. If you are buying the same $27,000 car, it will take you 4.99 years, 6 months shorter than the loan, to buy the car outright. Of course, you can buy a less expensive car. What happens if you throw that $450.82 into a mutual fund averaging 12% over 5 years? That comes out to be $38,492.04! That means the car you have paid $30,204.77 for could have made you $8,287.27. If you let it sit there for another 10 years, without contributing to it, that would be $119,550.40!
If you really want to get crazy with this, watch this YouTube video!
I’m not against mortgages. It is a fact of life that houses are expensive. Most of us do not have the time to save thousands, hundreds-of-thousands, or millions of dollars to pay full price for a home. At this point, I don’t have a strong conviction over 30 year, or 15 year mortgages. A 15 year will lock you into a higher payment, but get the house paid off faster. A 30 year, can offer you some added flexibility when things are tight, or in emergency situations. My advice currently, and this might change, is to stick with a 30 year mortgage paying on it as if it were a 15 year. This takes discipline, and thus locking it into 15 would force you to do it. Once my wife and I are ready to buy another house, I will write about the process and what we decide to do.
Many financial companies don’t see student loans as bad. It gets you an education, which is good. It doesn’t affect your credit score the same way. It’s usually at a very low interest rate. The average student loan debt is $29, 400 in 2013. At a 5% interest rate with a 30 year term, that’s a payment of $157.83 per month with a grand total of $27,417.20 in interest! Almost as much as the original amount!
From what I have heard, and pretty sure will experience, it takes on average 2 years to become debt free. What if you took that $157.83 and invested it in a 401k over 30 years, average 12% interest? That comes out to be $511,923.22! So, if you took 2 years to pay off your student loans, you would pay a total of $244.85 in interest. Over the next 30 years you would come out with $484,506.02 at the end of the 30 years! So, which is better, paying a total of $56,817.20 to your loan company, or making $484,506.02?
This is why I’m against debt. The banks are in it to make money for themselves, because they understand interest. Most consumers want lower interest rates, but still want loans (from my observance). Why spend the extra money? Save it for yourself! Get out of debt, and start investing. This should be not be an afterthought, give as well. Giving makes you feel good, and helps society in ways that you would not have otherwise. As a Christian, God calls me to tithe 10%. It is my way of giving back to what I have been blessed with.
Yes, these thoughts seem so out of reach for many people. I only paid for 1 car with cash, and that was a $1200 car. I will save my money and pay for my next one. We have no credit card debt, and are paying off that student loan. I’m not going to sit back and watch my future go to shambles because of debt. We will move forward and become debt free, and we will return to being homeowners!
Blessings and prosperity,
Andrew Krob
Note: These are my opinions and calculations using various free calculators. Please consult a financial advisor or tax professional for more information.
]]>I started off my 20’s in England doing Discipleship Training School with Youth with a Mission. I had raised money and used that money to finance my trips. At the time I was not great at budgeting, but I knew how to save. If only that kept up. When I came back to the states I found myself not doing anything. My dad said I either needed to get a job or go to college, which ended up being a very good kick in the pants. My mom found a scholarship for me to apply for, which got me to college.
During college, to pay for room and board, I took out loans. This equated to a lot of money, read my previous post for more specifics. Also, I had credit cards, and was amassing debt. I thought I knew what I was doing. It was only a small payment. I then started to struggle with paying the credit cards, and transferring balanced around to make payments. During this whole ordeal, one year I had some extra cash from my student loan. I thought I’d throw it in a CD for 6 months. Brilliant! I got a very small percentage, don’t even remember what it was, with a 5% interest on my loan. Oh by the way, I was also accruing interest from the credit cards.
Eventually I cried for help! My parents came rushing in to pay off all my credit cards, though I had to make monthly payments to them. I was very grateful for my parents. I could not have dealt with that craziness during college. Did I learn my lesson though? Only for a short time!
Upon graduating college, I got a job with a Fortune 100 company. Blessing, you betcha! I made good money for a recent graduate. I rented my first apartment, cooked my own food, and dealt with my finances. I tried to budget using Microsoft Money. I couldn’t stick with it. I bought a used SUV, 2005 Mazda Tribute, and started accumulating some credit card debt again.
I thought I had everything under control. I was making payments just fine. Though, one thing lingered over me. I wanted to marry my now wife. I didn’t want to go into the marriage with credit card debt. I wanted to be debt free. So, I scheduled a meeting with an Ameriprise financial guy. He looked over my income and expenses and said that I was better off than a lot of people. I actually had money to spare! I didn’t even know it! After the consultation he told me there was a fee for continuing to use his services. Well, I didn’t want to pay the fee.
What did I do then? Well I bought a new TV with an HD-DVD player. Stupid, right? We got married, and thanks for all the family for the expenses of the wedding. Neither of us knew how to control money properly. We replaced my wife’s car with a 2008 Honda Accord, used, and racked up some more credit card debt.
Arguments started becoming more focused on finances. We had over drafted twice, which usually I only did that once per year, and we came to our senses that we really didn’t know what was going on. Early in 2013, we had an argument about finances again, and I finally said “You know what! I was a business major. I can create a ledger to track out expenses and forecast our cash flow!” That’s what we did! For months we tracked our expenses and income, moving around payments to make sure we didn’t overdraft. That August I took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace, which introduced me to a budget that wasn’t complicated, retirement, and a bunch more things. I also worked with a guy who was very good with his finances, and got me on the right track.
With all that said, if I could go back and change something in my 20’s what would I change? First, I would see if there was a way to work instead of taking out student loans, or building credit card debt. If I was graduating today and already had all that debt, what would I do?
The advice I heard, and didn’t heed, was when you get a job, live like you a poor. You will have extra money. I would have used the money to become debt free, and then invest in my retirement. I would learn how to budget. For me, and the way it should be, is design a budget that fits YOU. Look at my budget post for more information.
If I was debt free, I would start investing in my retirement immediately. The more time it takes for my investments to grow the less I have to invest initially. It’s huge. Just do some calculations on an investment calculator.
The things I am proud of during my 20’s are starting to get out of debt, investing in my retirement, and really starting to understand money. I don’t blame anybody for not teaching me the ins and outs of money, and I have so much to learn. Two years ago I made a goal of being a millionaire in 10 years. Will I reach that? Right now I’m not sure. My focus is to get out of debt, and we are so very close.
If I had to redo my 20’s, the thing that I would do is run away from debt. Live like I was poor, and invest.
My plan currently is to get out of debt, build a 3 – 6 month emergency fund, save for a down payment on a house, if not save for a house, and then work on my retirement. I want to be a multi-millionaire when I retire, and I believe I can do it. When I finally retire, early or at the normal age of 65, I hope to be healthy enough to travel the world. I want to visit as many countries as I can. I don’t want to sit, I want to move.
If you are the least bit curious where you fit in this financial puzzle, check out www.personalcaptial.com. They give you a free tool to show your net worth. Much easier to read and not as much marketing as www.mint.com. I have just recently learned of personal capital, so not familiar with how they make money. Though, I find it much cleaner to look at everything at a glance. Ultimately, though, I would still use my spreadsheets to track. Tools are great, but do what makes sense to you.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
]]>In my opinion defaulting on a student loan is an ethical issue. First, you took out student loans with a promise to pay. You may not have understood exactly what you were signing up for. I didn’t either when I signed up for it. If I was a mortgage company, or other institution that provides loans or credit, you would be a high risk. I would rather not lend you money. How can I trust you in job responsibilities or paying your bills? If you default on your student loan, what other promise are you going to break?
The author has a solution for this. Before defaulting grab as many credit cards as you can and find a stable place to live. So, if you are going to default on your student loans, you must go down in a blaze of glory! Fill up the credit cards, stop paying your bills, and forget your rent! You can always use that money for something else, and isn’t Comcast or ATT evil anyway?
So, I’m clearly established as anti-default on the student loans. What’s my story? Well, after I had done some missionary work with Youth with a Mission, I enrolled in Sterling College. I was able to get a full tuition scholarship, but that did not pay for my room, board, or books. So, thinking everyone took out student loans, and not knowing any better, I did. I took out a total of $23,521.21 over the course of 4 years.
I loved the college, and if I did not go there I would not have met my wife. However, I know believe I could have done other things to reduce or eliminate my student loans. If I knew of a way to get rid of my student loans completely, I now would have chosen that.
During college and afterwards, I, and eventually my wife, got into much debt. We had 2 cars with loans, 4 credit cards, 2 of which were maxed out. Here’s a surprise, we had $15,000 on one credit card! We also had a house with a mortgage of 150,000. I did refinance it to under 4% and we had $145,000 left on it. At the time we started tracking we had $54,000 in debt plus the house. At that time the student loan was $19,000.
What did we do? I knew I wanted to change, even before I got married. I was encouraged to take Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University in the corporate class. I did so. We had already started figuring some things out about our finances before, I was a business major after all. We put together a ledger to track our expenses and try to forecast cash. The class solidified the budget, as well as ignite our passion to get out of debt.
We attacked the debt using the snowball method. This is where you put extra money towards the lowest amount of debt first, say a credit card that has $100, and then move to the next. If you don’t have extra money, check your budget to see if there is extra spending. If not, I would suggest checking out Dave Ramsey’s website.
How much have we paid off, and are we debt free? Well, we are not debt free yet. We have $9,800 left on the student loan. We have paid off everything else, and sold our house. That’s $44,258.94 of debt, plus $145,000 for the house totaling $189,258.94 paid off!
Our plan is to get rid of the student loan this year, help us out if you wish! We both have a strong desire to buy a house, and I am being told directly and indirectly to buy a house since interest rates are low. However, living with no debt, or very little debt, makes me not want to go back. I can only dream right now of things we should do, or will be able to do.
Am I against student loans? I am torn with that since I met my wife at college. However, I do believe school can be done without student loans if you work hard. I’m not sure I could have handled a job during school, but that may have just kicked me hard enough to graduate debt free.
In my opinion, there is a better way to fund education. I don’t believe everyone should go to college/university, as it’s not everybody’s strong suite. However, I am not opposed to a publically funded program to provide education or workers training. That’s only if my taxes don’t increase. How about reducing the defense budget just a little?
The USA is a nation of abundance. We have many struggles, but we live in an economy that we can make much more money. I don’t believe in income equality, as there will always be different standards of living. I do believe that no one needs to be poor. I believe we can feed our citizens, provide them decent healthcare, and a good education. I believe the USA can be the top in education and in health.
How do we solve the student loan crisis? PAY THEM BACK AND STOP BORROWING! If everyone would pay their student loans back, the interest would stop accumulating. This would no longer be the cash cow it is today!
How about this novel idea? The population of the USA is $318 million, and the student loan debt is 1.2 trillion. If everybody put $3.76 towards that debt, our country would stop the crisis. Even if half the people wrote checks to the government for the student loans it would be $7.53 per person. I’m not advocating a government program, since I don’t trust the government to handle money appropriately. I’m advocating as a citizen of the USA to help other citizens get rid of their student loans. Do we want more active citizens? A happier lifestyle? What about more money in the economy? If you say yes, let’s tackle this student loan problem head on. Pay your student loan, and let’s build a better life!
Blessings and prosperity,
Andrew Krob
]]>I worry that this is going to affect both my skills in business, as I want to be in management, and in photography. When I do make friends they are usually close and I have them for a very long time. However, I worry that by not being a social butterfly, I will miss opprotunities, not succeed as much as I could otherwise, and limit myself.
One thing I do is I have to force myself to talk. I don't mind being in front of people, but don't really enjoy group conversations.
Any advice would be helpful.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
]]>Hi all! I am taking a bit of a break away from how to run a photography business. Instead, I am going to share with you what I have been doing the last few weeks.
I've had the opportunity to go to the Sunflower Balloon Fest in Anthony, KS. It was fun, but the weather got to it. We went out Friday night for the balloons to do a glow. That did not happen due to wind; however, one balloon did inflate. Another pilot was testing his propane burners, and then started having some fun. This is where I got my favorite shot.
We woke up early on Saturday morning to see if they would do a flight. They inflated two balloons at that point, but the wind was still more than they wanted. Saturday evening we again went back out. One balloon inflated, but still wind was a factor. Finally, we woke up early on Sunday to see if they would fly. This time the wind was very still. Sounds good right? Well, no. There was rain moving in and the ceiling height was too low to fly. It was probably a good thing they didn't fly, since the rain moved in very shortly after that.
This past Saturday I went out to Columbia, MO for their airshow. It was a lot of fun. The weather held off, and the planes took to the sky! The only rain I hit was coming back in KC, and it was a downpour. It took me over 2 hours to get to the show. I parked in the advised parking garage, waiting for the 3rd bus to come to pay my $5 to get me to the airshow. It drove me, and the rest of the passengers straight to the gate. Once in I surveyed the land, and bought some food.
After I had bought some food, and before I could eat it, the Canadian Snowbirds took to the skies! Wow! They were impressive. Very tight formations, and very quick planes.
I finally got to see an A-10 Warthog in person. Ugly, but beautiful at the same time. I would love to hear the Gatling gun, but alas it was on static display. Hopefully, I can get a better photo at Whiteman AFB next month.
Another plan I got to see was a C-17. That is a huge plane!
In addition to all of these, I got to see an Osprey! I have always wanted to see one, now I wish I could get up close!
The last show was an F/A-18. Surprisingly it was one of the loudest planes at the airshow!
I had a fun. I got a little sun. So, trying to adjust for that the next round.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
All images are Copyrighted, All rights reserved.
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my view from today.
]]>here's what I am photographing this weekend.
]]>Think tank bag and 3 legged thing tripod ready for shoot.
]]>photos are registered
]]>The class gave me challenges that I would not have tried otherwise. It has made me grow as a photographer, even though some of the class was basic settings.
Here's a shot that I did with a shallow depth of field. This was my Canon 6d with 50mm f/1.8 lens. Lens was manually focused to the closest it could be. This was shot at 100 ISO, F/1.8, 1/6 sec. I was using a Manfrotto Pixi tripod, as at the time I didn't have a full sized tripod. I had a white seamless paper, with a mini-LED rope light (which causes the blue line). I was using 1 flash with a grid. Look at the behind the scene photo for more.
Behind the Scene:
Here's another I did shooting very fast shutter speeds with a flash. This was using a drop of water from a medicine dropper. The flash had a gel firing directly down. I had the flash on high speed sync. I shot this at ISO 100, F/4.0, at 1/4000 sec. This is a simple setup, look at YouTube for videos, but it's a lot of trial and error.
Both of these were a lot of fun. Certainly stretched me a bit, and made me want to try new things. One thing I found that I do love doing, and have loved for a while, is teaching people. I love sharing my knowledge. Teaching is just one of the ways you get better.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
]]>I'm going to be posting on some exciting things that are coming up. The first thing, I have a change to try out a ProPhoto Medium Format camera! It will be very cool. That will happen towards the end of the month, so expect some things to come out of that.
Right after I do that, I'm going to the Columbia, MO airshow. Should be a lot of fun. Lots of planes, including the Canadian Snowbirds! I'll be posting previews shortly after the event.
In June, I'll be going to the airshow at Whiteman AFB. The Thunderbirds should be there!
Almost forgot, I'll be going to the Sunflower Balloon Fest in Anthony, KS on May 8. Even Balloons are aviation!
Onto my main subject.
As a photography, do you register your images with the copyright office? If not, it's fairly easy to do, and doesn't cost that much. At the time of this post, it's $55 for registration fee. This will copyright your images, so if they are used anywhere else besides what you have licensed them for, it can be enforced.
I just went through and copyrighted some of my images, and plan to copyright all of them very shortly. There are many reason I have decided to register copyrights, but I will refer to The Copyright Zone. They have some great information, and if you go over the KelbyOne, they have classes. They may have classes elsewhere, so check them out.
So, have you registered your copyright? If not, seriously look into it. You don't want to be caught with your pants down or worse.
ASK?
]]>Wealth is determined by all your accounts, including retirement. The big question becomes, what is wealthy? To each person it is a different answer. Some, it maybe $500,000, others it would be $500 million. Most photographers aren't going to do the Peter Lik thing by selling a $3.5 million photo. Chances are you may not even get the $1.2 million from a lawsuit.
However, if you put the recommended 15% of your income into an IRA or Roth IRA, you will have at least a million to retire on. Is that Wealthy? You tell me. Is it difficult to invest 15%? If you are debt free and have your emergency fund, look in your budget. According to the IRS, you can put $5,500 into an IRA. If you have a spouse, each of you can have an account, even if your spouse is not working. So, that brings the total up to $11,000 a year. You can contribute the same amounts to a Roth IRA, which is tax already taken out.
Let's say you invest $11,000 over 30 years at a 15% interest rate. That would equate to $4.8 million in your retirement account! That's just saving $917 per month, or $30.13 per day.
I am not a full-time photographer, so I don't completely understand the challenges that a full-time photographer has. What I do know is that you need to secure your own retirement. Do what you can so you can retire with dignity.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
I am not a financial advisor, nor a CPA. Please talk to one of them for more information.
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Now that you have a fully funded reserve/emergency fund, are debt free, and have done all the paperwork, Excel or otherwise, it's time to invest in your business and life. This is the point where you start buying some equipment that can help you grow, investing in mutual funds or stocks, and funding your retirement.
For personal, use 15% of your income towards the retirement. First, if you are working somewhere else, take the 6% match that they offer, then put the remaining into a Roth IRA. This will give you after-tax dollars to use. It will also start you on the right track for retirement. If you are self-employed, max out your Roth IRA and put the rest into an IRA. This will give your maximum benefit of taxes.
For photography, not only invest in your company, but invest in yourself. Plan to go to conferences, take some classes, and get your brand known. Make the most out of it. Enjoy life, but budget accordingly.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
I am not an investment advisor, nor an accountant. Please check with them before making any financial decisions.
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A cash flow is exactly how it sounds. It's a record of your cash, incoming and outgoing. If you put all your bills into a cash flow at the time they will be going out, you can start to predict where shortages and overages will be.
For example:
Jan. 1 - income of $1500
Jan. 1 - Rent of $500
Jan. 13 - Electricity of $70
Jan 15: income of $1500
Jan 23: Gas of $40
Putting this all in here's what we see
Item | Amount | Total |
Income | $1500 |
$1500 |
Rent | $500 | $1000 |
Electricity | $70 | $930 |
Income | $1500 | $2430 |
Gas | $40 | $2390 |
You will do this for all the items in your budget. This will get larger, but keep after it. It's a good thing to keep track of, and essential to not becoming a slave to the bank.
If you have irregular income, this is even more essential. This will also force you to call people if you haven't been paid within 30 days. You have a 30 day pay clause in your invoice, right?
Shoot me a line if this doesn't make sense to you, and I can help you.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
I am not a financial planner, or a certified professional accountant. Please contact them for any advise you need.
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Isn't budgeting hard? Don't I need to use some complicated software program, or make a crazy spreadsheet to do it? Isn't a budget to prevent me from having fun? Well, Ye...Urm...I mean NO!
A budget is a very simple tool to tell YOUR money where to go. You make the categories, you define how much you want in them, and the key is to stop spending in that category when you reach the amount. If you must go beyond the amount, a meeting with a spouse or accountability partner is needed.
A budget must also be 0 balanced. This means every dollar you make has a place in the budget. There is no excess money in this plan. It doesn't mean you can't save, it means completely opposite.
Budgets must be in your business and your personal life. Do what works for you and stick with it. It will take you a few months to get the hang of it. Once you do, it will become even more simpler. Remember though, every month is different.
One of the coolest things about budgets is that you can break things up into "monthly payments." I don't mean putting it on a credit card, or financing. What I mean is say you want to spend $500 for Christmas. Take $500 over 12 months, you will save $41.67 per month.
Here's an example of a household budget.
Total Monthly Income after tax: $1,200
Expenses:
Rent: $400
Utilities: $300
Groceries: $200
Gas: $100
Gifts: $200
Here's an example of a photography budget
Income: $3000
Expenses:
Studio: $1000
Utilities $300
Advertising: $500
New gear: $300
Payroll: $900
Create your own categories, and put in your own numbers. You will be amazed at what things you are spending your money on.
Doing this post make me think, "I don't have a budget separate for my photography. I should create one." So, I'm still learning.
For some budget forms check out Dave Ramsey's website.
Blessings,
Andrew Krob
I am not a financial adviser, nor a CPA, so please consult with them if you have any questions for your own personal situation.
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Are you in the reserves? No, I'm not talking about military. I'm talking about Cash Reserves. Do you have any?
Cash reserves are the emergency fund to business. Your photography business should contain cash reserves. I recommend 8 months expenses for the amount in your Cash Reserve, based on a recommendation from Investopedia.
So, what are Cash Reserves? They are low interest accounts that are used for emergency purposes, or int he event cash is required in a quick manner. Cash Reserves are not just for the leaky roof, the failed memory card, broken camera, or broken lens. It can be used for lucrative opportunities.
If someone is selling their photography business and offers you 30 cents on the dollar for the equipment, but only gives you 3 days to make a decision, what will you do? This is where the Cash Reserve comes into play. You can easily determine if it's a good buy for you based upon what you have in your cash reserves.
When these opprotunities come up, don't spend the entire amount of your Cash Reserves. That would be setting yourself up for failure. What would happen if an emergency comes around and you spend all the money?
In order to determine how much of Cash Reserves you can use for lucrative opportunities, let us do a quick calculation. You need $14,000 in your Cash Reserves. You have a profit of $4,000 a month. So, it would take you 3 1/2 months to build your Cash Reserves back up. That means that you can use 4 1/2 months of Cash Reserve, or $7,875, for this opportunity.
The Cash Reserves can also help you get through the slow months. If your business trickles down during winter, use some of your Cash Reserve to make it through. Make sure you replenish it when business picks up, so you that you can use it next year.
Now that we have gone over debt, let's look at a way to protect yourself. I'm not talking insurance, but rather an emergency plan. Is this different than the $1000 emergency fund? Why, yes it is.
The $1000 is to cover the emergencies that are run into while getting out of debt. What about the larger emergencies, such as water damage, water heater goes out, HVAC system breaks down? That's where this emergency fund comes in.
Save 3-6 months of your income and place it in a Savings or Money Market account. I know the interest rates are not very good, but Savings and Money Market accounts are easy to access. In business terms this is called liquidity.
According to Wikipedia, liquidity is "In business, economics or investment, market liquidity is a market's ability to facilitate an asset being sold quickly without having to reduce its price very much (or even at all). Equivalently, an asset's market liquidity (or simply "an asset's liquidity") is the asset's ability to sell quickly without having to reduce its price very much. Liquidity is about how big the trade-off is between the speed of the sale and the price it can be sold for. In a liquid market, the trade-off is mild: selling quickly will not reduce the price much. In a relatively illiquid market, selling it quickly will require cutting its price by some amount.[1][2]
50mm F/1.4 |
16-35 F/2.8L II |
50mm F/1.8 |