"The scariest moment is just before you start."
- Stephen King
I have been creating custom budget sheets for over 10 years now. It all got started a few years after I got married and had a few kids. We always seemed to be struggling, we were the epitome of “too much month at the end of our pay” and we were getting frustrated. Well, the frustration continued as there were NO great tools on the market to do what I needed. So, I decided to just start creating something myself, as I am sure most of us have at one point or another. Man, those first couple of budget spreadsheets were EXTREMELY rudimentary, nearly comical to what I have today but, they were humble beginnings! My budget sheets evolved slowly at first but, as I dug in and started to learn more about the functions and how to combine formulas…...A monster was created! I became enthralled with everything these tools could do and I just kept pushing more and learning more. Until recently my budget sheets were still fairly elementary. These past few years I jumped in and mastered everything that I could. I became a certified Google Sheets expert. I added all this knowledge into my budget sheets and created what we have here today. I started testing it around and people were impressed and started using my budget over their old one. The idea was born! I know these tools will add value to your journey in becoming financially independent.
Being Optimistic:
Google gives the definition of Optimistic as “hopeful and confident about the future.” If you’re here you have this outlook as well in some form or fashion.
“An optimist understands that life can be a bumpy road, but at least it is leading somewhere. They learn from mistakes and failures, and are not afraid to fail again.”
- Harvey Mackay
It is my firm belief that we should be building our budgets and managing our money in a way that is very different from what everyone else is teaching. We all have our own unique situations and circumstances and our financial tools should be in line with that. There are a bunch of systems, methods, strategies, and theories out there today and most of them have great aspects to them and amazing fundamentals that we should use but, I have yet to find ONE that works for everything or every time. The exact way Dave Ramsey says to do something may not work for you. The same goes for Suze Orman, Tony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, David Bach, Neale Godfrey, Miranda Marquit, Ramit Sethi, the little startup blog you just discovered, or any other person that gives money advice. All of this may not work and that’s alright! This is where Optimizing FI comes in. If we are going to be ourselves with our money, then we should be using tools for our budget that accommodates this. It will be easier to stick with because it is based on who we are. We do not have a particular system and will not make you build your budget to meet one and that’s exactly how it should be. Your budget is your budget and will be different. The methods you use to manage your money should be different as well. What you spend your money on will be different. How much you save and where you save will be different. Your goals will be different as well. All of this is simply you being you with your money as it should be.
I believe that you can reach financial independence at any income level. The fact is that financial independence is not an income thing as so many would have you believe. Think about it, we all value things differently and we all have varying ideas of what being wealthy means. This leads me to the point that you don’t have to wait until you’re a millionaire or retired or working a job making six figures. Financial independence can be yours now. You alone determine what it means to be financially independent, not a number and definitely not someone else's system! This is why it’s my goal to not only provide you money management strategies and principles, but to also show you how to make them ALL uniquely your own and modify them to fit who you are. Basically, I want to provide you with the knowledge on how to build your optimized budget to be natural and get you the financial goals you are after.
Tools Created with a different approach!
01.
Create your optimizing budget around your values, your situation, and your plans for your future.
02.
Use your optimizing budget to show you where your money is going and what unnecessary debt should be paid off.
03.
Use your optimizing budget to fund your financial independent life, both now and in the future.
04.
Continue to modify and adjust your optimizing budget as your life starts to become financially independent.
The Spreadsheet Life!
Here at Optimizing FI we have focused our attention on the tools needed to live a financially independent life with a primary focus on what we believe is the core of it all, your BUDGET!!
Working with You
We want to build custom sheets that offer unmatched value.
Technology Driven
We are certain there is more leverage and capability in technology for creating budgets!
Advanced Formulas
We have streamlined all the functionality of our sheets by leveraging the best practices
Value Focused
We only succeed when the tools we provide give you unprecedented value and clarity
FEATURES & SERVICES
Services We Can Help You With
Sheets Done 4 You
We can take all of your information and plug it into our sheets and send you the completed fully functional set.
Customize
Even though we have covered a variety of options we know you may need something slightly different and that's a good thing.
1-ON-1 Coaching
We have worked hard to make the setups simple and intuitive but, that does not mean there will not be any help needed.
LET US KNOW
Tell us what you are looking for.......
We are always looking for ways to enhance our users experience and we also understand you may have ideas about existing tools and even some new ones. Please be as specific and detailed as possible.
"Become so financially secure that you forget its payday."
- Unknown
English