St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.
Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.
Nov. 28 Becket Federated Church, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.
Dec. 5
Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.
We're trying out blogs to offer shorter, easy-to-find news. Let us know what you think.
Send press releases and announcements to info@iberkshires.com. Need to contact someone at iBerkshires? Here's how.
Mammography Dispute The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.
iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.
Financial Bullett Points: Creating a Household Budget
By Brendan Bullett iBerkshires Columnist 05:02PM / Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Brendan Bullett
As a financial adviser, I work each day with my clients to help them organize and allocate their financial resources. In this column, I hope to use my available resources to offer you some possible solutions to assist you in meeting your financial goals.
Given the economic events of the last 18 months, one of the most important ways to make sure that you and your family are on the right financial track is to establish and maintain a realistic household budget.
It is very common for people to ask the question at the end of each month, "Where did my money go?" The best way to answer that is to create a household budget. A budget is essentially a financial plan that looks at money coming in and going out during a certain time period. I feel that the easiest and most manageable time period to use is a monthly budget.
However, before you start to create your budget, the first thing that you want to do is make a list of your financial goals. You may want to break this list into two categories, short-term goals and long-term goals. Short-term goals may include buying a new car, taking a vacation, or doing upgrades to your home. Long-term goals may include saving for your retirement or saving for your child's college education. Once you have determined your goals, you can start to create your budget to help you meet them.
The first step in creating a budget is determining your income and expenses. To track your expenses you should create two categories, fixed and discretionary. The fixed category should include anything that occurs on a regular basis such as your mortgage or rent and utility bills. The discretionary category may be a little harder to come up with. You may have to look back at your bank records to see where you spend money on such things as food and entertainment. Please keep in mind that any money you save should be included under your discretionary expenses. Determining your income should be somewhat easier as most people have a set amount of money they earn each month. This can obviously fluctuate if you work overtime one month or earn an unexpected bonus.
Once you have figured out all of your income and expenses, compare the two totals. To meet your goals and have a healthy financial future, you should spend less than you make. If you are currently doing this then you are on the right track and just need to decide on the best way to spend your extra income. If you are spending more than you earn, you will want to evaluate your expenses, especially the discretionary category. This is not a cause for great concern. Instead think of it as the starting point on your new financial map.
It is important to monitor your budget on a regular basis and make updates when major changes occur. However, please don't feel that every penny of every month needs to be accounted for. Your budget needs to be flexible or else it will likely not work. As we all know, unexpected expenses are a part of life!
My last suggestion is to make sure everyone in your family is on the same page regarding your financial goals. Everyone needs to do his or her part in order for the budget to be maintainable. Regular family meetings can help make sure your budget is a success.
Remember, in rough economic times one of the most prudent courses of action is to head back to the basics. The foundation to a healthy financial future is to create a household budget and do your best to stick with it.
Brendan Bullett is a registered representative of and offers securities through True North Financial Services Inc., member FINRA, SIPC, and a financial adviser with True North Financial Services Inc., and a registered investment adviser. For questions or comments, he can be reached at 413-664-4025 or bbullett@truenorthfs.com.
I enjoyed your article and believe you gave very good advice. But, living on a budget is not an option for people who are out of work. And unfortunately some of those people did not earn enough when they had jobs to "save money for a rainy day."
from: eleanor
on: 05-17-2009
Is this the same firm that is part of Mountain One that in paying Dick Alcombright to run for mayor?
from: Lovers in NA
on: 05-09-2009
That post from Paul Murphy gave me a good chuckle. They must be drinking buddies or something....
from: Allen Harris
on: 05-08-2009
Mr. Bullett, your writing style is amazing and your insights make me breathless. Can't wait to read your future articles! Are you single? Keep up the good work
from: paul murphy
on: 05-07-2009
Very insightful article Mr. Bullett. There are definitely a lot of simple things people can do to improve their financial awareness that most people overlook. I will be giving it a shot this month, and I'll be sure to let you know the results!
from: Tommy Bullett
on: 05-07-2009
Good sound advice that I'm going to try. I bet many of us live pay check to pay check...something that we can't afford to continue to do in this unstable economy.
Thanks for the Bullett.
from: Heart
on: 05-06-2009
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