Chan's Personal Blog

Well, the fiscal year of 2004 has ended, and I'm getting organized for tax season. Lately I've been getting quite a few questions about how I manage my money. I am informally known as the International Bank of Chan as I unprofessionally give financial advice, and back in the day, I offered a "student line of credit" service. Anyways, the main assumption that a lot of people make is, oh he must have rich parents. Nope... we're not rich, and my finances are completely separate; I work for every dollar I make.

I recently started using accounting software, and I was able to generally figure out where my money went last year. It looks something like this:



I couldn't break down misc any further because I don't have the information on hand. It'd be interesting to see how much of the misc money is spent on food. This next year, I should be able to figure it out because I'm using the accounting software, and I'm tracking all my bills. It's amazing that tuition and rent eats up 50% of the budget pie.

So what is my secret for managing money?

The first piece of the defense doctrine comes from a quote I once heard. It went, "don't increase your quality of life as your earning power increases." An extreme example that we sometimes see is people winning the lottery and blowing all their money on fast living. Within a few years, all their money is gone, and they are left with nothing. In the end, it didn't matter if they won a million dollars, because they have nothing to show for it at the end.

Secondly, never spend more than you have. Debt is a double whammy because not only do you have to pay that back, but you have to pay interest on top of that. The debt interest payments can slowly decrease your net income each month. That debt payment is money better spent elsewhere in my opinion. Credit card debt is probably the scariest of all debts, as their interest rates are +18%. That's insanity. Kill off credit card debt as fast as possible before you are overrun by it.

Thirdly, I plan/save/invest some money for the future as I am a forward planner. If there is some large purchase in the future that is required, then I start saving money for it, and invest that money which makes that purchase a little closer. So, it's important to plan out your money ahead of time. More on investing at a later date.

The last part of the doctrine is actually founded on Biblical principals. Go ahead and roll your eyes, and raise those skeptical eyebrows, but this principle has served me well over the years. I am of course talking about tithing and donating money to the less fortunate. You reap what you sow.

This principal can be found in Malachi 3:8-10 New International Version:


It's interesting that God says to test him with your finances. Usually you're not supposed to test God like.... jump off a cliff and dare God to save you; however, this is one of the few places where God says, test me! I know many many people who can testify that by tithing and offering, God has been faithful in providing for them. It doesn't make you super rich, but their needs are provided for.

So, those are the four secrets of the International Bank of Chan. Those are the strategies that I employ for keeping balanced budgets.

Disclaimer: We do not provide professional financial advising, and we take no responsibility of any financial harm that may arise from taking this advice. We waive ourselves of any implied/explicit liability. Please consult a professional financial planner for more information.