Right now I am teaching a personal financial planning course. It is a little outside of my areas of expertise so I brought in 2 guest lecturers. My students learned a lot from people in the finance industry as they teach outside of the textbook and more about real-world examples and application. The biggest lesson [...]

For any business cash is important, many people even say that “cash is king.” So when a business owner is looking at their cash position are they referring to their bank balance or are they looking at their statement of cash flows? Many small business owners do not use the statement of cash flows and, [...]

In the Arizona Republic, the Phoenix Metro area newspaper, there was an article in the business section about how math literacy is directly related to wealth accumulation. According to the article, if a couple can answer three questions correctly they are more likely to accumulate wealth than couples that do not get all three questions [...]

This time of year we are busy scurrying to complete holiday shopping, which could include gifts for your employees. The decision to pay bonuses or provide a gift requires careful analysis of the year-to-date results, promises/expectations of employees, and your cash position. Unlike the purchase of machinery or equipment, these payments do not return a [...]

A cash budget is more than a summary of your expected cash inflows and outflows. It is a planning tool for making sure you have cash to pay for daily operations, cash to pay for emergencies and determine the amount remaining for growth opportunities. In order to complete a cash budget you need a few [...]

What does your cash flow look like right now? Are you still worried about the economy? Have you been putting off purchases or hiring a new employee because cash is a little tight? What about that new computer you need because the one you are using is 2-3 years old? A friend of mine recently [...]

Financing is typically divided into two different categories, Debt Financing and Equity Financing. Understanding the different financing options is a critical step in a company’s financial planning strategy. Debt Financing involves borrowing money that will be paid back over time. The debt can be short term (less than one year) or long term (more than [...]

You need some new equipment or an new vehicle for your business. Do you lease or buy? The last blog post discussed the pros to leasing, which can be attractive when you don’t have idle cash available to make a down payment or the risk of obsolescence is high (i.e., when technology changes fast). It [...]

Is it time to replace an outdated computer, piece of equipment or automobile? If so, are you going to lease or buy the new asset? There are pros and cons to both options. The blog post on June 3rd will discuss the pros associated with buying an asset. When you lease an asset the transaction [...]