Author: Douglass Gaking

Doug is a certified business educator and music educator. He currently teaches businesses and computer science at Avon High School in Avon, Indiana and is the director of IGNITE Winter Percussion in Shelby County, Indiana. He was a band and choir director for 13 years and continues to judge and clinic with ensembles. He performs drums and percussion, composes and arranges music for concert band, marching band, and percussion ensemble, and teaches and writes about business, finance, and economics. He has a B.M. in Music Education from Butler University and an M.B.A. in Economics from Southern New Hampshire University. He is also an avid reader and a lover of art, history, science, and nature, especially birds and other wildlife.
Personal Finance

The Net Worth Budget

Douglass Gaking1 Comment

You know that you need to budget, save, and pay off debt. Your parents, your teachers, your friend who is a financial advisor, and the morning news show you watch have all told you so. You made a list of bills and expenses and subtracted them from your income, figured out how much you had left, and maybe put some of that into your savings account every month. You’ve been doing that for awhile and don’t seem to be getting anywhere. The savings always gets spent, or somehow the money never makes it into savings in the first place. Something always comes up. The student loan debt seems like it is never going to go away, and saving up to buy a house is never going to happen. It’s time to look at a new approach to budgeting. Continue reading “The Net Worth Budget” →

Education · Personal Finance

Budget Breakers

Douglass GakingLeave a comment

I have been wanting to put this lesson together for awhile. I created an annuity spreadsheet to calculate the long-term impact of various spending habits. What would your retirement income look like if you brewed your coffee at home instead of going to Starbucks or drove a sedan instead of an SUV? When you replace small spending habits over a 30 year period and earn investment returns on the savings, the difference can be tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Check it out: