Sorry to sound so rude, but I have a question for you.

       Why do you read what I write on Provident Planning? What are you looking for? Why do you come here? What do you need?

       I’m asking because this is often a very one-sided thing for me. I try to figure out what people need to learn or want to learn, and then I write the articles to provide that information. (OK, so sometimes I just write stuff because I can’t think of anything else. But most of the time I do put a lot of thought into the articles I write.)

       So I’m asking you to help me make Provident Planning better. Help me make it something that meets your needs. Help me make it amazing! I can’t do it without your help because I don’t have all the answers.

       What do you need to do to help me? Simply leave your answers/suggestions in the comments below or contact me directly. Again, I want to know why you’re here, what you need, and what you’re looking for from Provident Planning. Also, I’d appreciate any ideas you have to make Provident Planning better. What would you like to have on here that I don’t yet? What could help make this site great?

       Remember, I need your help to do this. Without you, this website is just me talking to myself. Thank you so much for your help!!!

       Last month, I posted an update about how my wife and I are raising a cow for beef. This is a summary of our activity and costs for month 7. As always, let’s first check Bambi’s growth. Here he is at six months old:



       And here he is at seven months old:



       My friend, Konrad, came down this past month with a weight tape (basically a tape measure that helps you estimate how much a cow weighs). Bambi’s up to at least 420 pounds now (probably more like 430-440 today). That means he’s been gaining about 2 pounds a day since we got him, which is excellent – especially for the breed of cow he is (75% Jersey/25% Holstein). Today, I’ve got an extra bonus for you. I took a short, one minute video of Bambi about a week ago while he was out eating some grass:

Costs & Time

       It still takes about the same amount of time to take care of Bambi every day. I should be able to speed up the process a bit since it’s warming up. Right now, I have to take his water bucket to the spigot to fill it up. But since Spring is coming, I’ll be able to run a hose to the bucket and fill it up in place. That’ll save me a couple minutes every day.

       We spent a bit more this month because we needed to buy feed, hay, and straw. However, we won’t need nearly as much hay or straw for the rest of Bambi’s life because we’ll be able to let him graze outside. That will cut back on our costs a bit. Here are our costs for this past month:

• Feed – $40.81

       

• Hay – $36.00

       

• Straw – $5.00

       

• Total Spent this Month – $81.81

       

• Time – 7 hours

       And here are our total costs over the past seven months:

• Cost of Bambi – Free!

       

• Castration & Dehorning – $16.00

       

• Milk Replacer – $45.54

       

• Miscellaneous – $46.87

       

• Feed – $201.16

       

• Hay – $88.00

       

• Straw – $20.00

       

• Medicine – $5.00

       

• Total Spent – $422.57

       

• Time – 63 hours

       So after seven months we’ve spent a total of $422.57 and 63 hours raising a cow for beef. So far it’s working out to about $1.99/day and around 15-20 minutes/day to raise Bambi.

       I’m trying a new method for cleaning out his pen this month because it was very difficult the last time I cleaned it out. He tends to pull his hay into his straw, which then gets matted down with his manure and urine. The result is a stinky, impenetrable pile of muck that takes a long time to clean out. So now I’m taking just a couple minutes each day to fork out a little at a time so it doesn’t get so bad.

       Despite the frustration I had cleaning out his pen the last time, it helps me appreciate the value of physical labor. Most of my work is mental, and there are few tangible results at the end of the day. But when you clean out a pen full of poop and put in fresh straw, you can see (and smell) the results of your hard work. That’s satisfying in a way that publishing a post on here isn’t.

       That’s it for this month. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. And make sure you sign up for free updates to Provident Planning if you’re interested in knowing what it takes to raise a cow for beef!

       The What Would John Templeton Say? website is holding a blog contest asking bloggers which of the economic vices John Templeton described is most responsible for the recent economic downturn and which of his economic virtues is most important to the economy’s rebound. This is my response.

Moral Relativism – The Root of All Vices

       Envy, greed, pride, and intolerance have all contributed to the recent economic downturn. But to assign any one of those as most responsible is to ignore the root cause of them all. It is moral relativism that brought the economy to its knees. The lack of belief in an absolute truth – in a clear right and wrong – has deteriorated the business and personal ethics in our society.

       You see, if there is no absolute truth, then there is nothing inherently “wrong” with envy, greed, pride, or intolerance. Envy without truth lets us blame others for our own mistakes and ignore our personal responsibilities. Greed without truth allows us to ignore what is best for others because we need only look out for ourselves. Pride without truth puffs up our ideas of who we are, what we know, and why we don’t need help. And intolerance without truth helps us ignore the observations and warnings of others. Without an absolute truth, we practice these vices without thought as to their consequences or our responsibility to others.

       The absolute truth that comes to us from God, through the Bible and the revelation of Himself through Jesus Christ, teaches us that envy, greed, pride, and intolerance will destroy us. His truth teaches us that love, hope, contentment, diligence, humility, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control are the keys to success – in our personal lives and in society as a whole. Because of the prevalence of moral relativism, we reject such absolute truth and we have suffered the consequences.

       Consumers driven by envy, discontentment, and greed bought houses they could not afford. Realtors, banks, and financial institutions driven by greed encouraged consumers along and extended credit where they should not have. All of us suffered from pride in denying our need for help or the possibility that we made major mistakes. And intolerance closed our minds to the voices who cried out with warnings against all these vices. These all played a part in the economic downturn, and they all stem from moral relativism.

       Without God’s absolute truth, we neglect to consider the dangers of envy, greed, pride, and intolerance. We succumb to our desires and ignore responsibility. Until we learn that God’s Truth is absolute and absolutely right, we will continue to fall to these economic vices. This recent downturn is clear evidence for our need of Truth. But there is hope!

Integrity – The Key to Recovery

       The key to a true rebound is integrity. Without integrity, no economy can exist. Integrity is essential to creating a trusting environment where people can work together, use their various gifts and talents, help each other, and rely on each other to keep their personal responsibilities. If we neglect integrity, we will not experience a lasting economic rebound.

       Just as moral relativism is the root of the other economic vices, so is integrity the fountainhead of the other economic virtues of cooperation, creativity, charity, and adaptability. Integrity recognizes God’s absolute Truth and our responsibility to honor that Truth at all times. The connection from integrity to all other virtues is then easily formed.

       Love leads to cooperation and charity. Love wants to work together to achieve the good of all people. Love looks to the needs of others – especially those who are the most helpless. Likewise, contentment and kindness develop generous giving in our lives to the advantage of all.

       Diligence and faithfulness yield the creativity and hard work necessary for entrepreneurs to flourish. The drive to meet others’ needs and provide service have been the start of many businesses. And no business can survive without those as their primary motivation factors. Economic rebound will flourish under this creativity, and that creativity requires the diligence and faithfulness that result from integrity.

       Finally, hope and self-control help us adapt to the situations we find ourselves in. If we do not find new ways to meet our needs, to contribute to society, and to learn from the past while looking to the future, we will not recover from this economic downturn. But the hope that comes from God’s Truth will encourage us and help us press on to a brighter future ruled by integrity instead of ignorance.

       Moral relativism contributed in many ways to the fall of the economy. But integrity can contribute in many more ways to our recovery. The power of integrity – of holding to absolute truth and doing what is right – can overwhelm the destruction brought on by moral relativism. Through integrity we can conquer the obstacles we face by working together, finding solutions, meeting needs, and pressing forward. God’s Truth is the key to helping us do these things and will unlock our society’s potential to rebound from this setback with astounding success.

       This post is an entry in the Spring 2010 blog contest sponsored by What Would John Templeton Say?. The site, which examines the philosophies of this legendary stock picker, has invited any blogger to respond to a series of posts on what Templeton called the ”Economic Virtues and Vices.” The contest is open to all and further information can be found here.

       Readers who know me personally may already be aware that I launched my financial planning firm in January but most of you probably aren’t. I didn’t announce it on here yet because I was busy with the trip to Haiti and a number of other things for a while. But I’ve finally launched a business website and I wanted to share it with you.

       The name of the business is Provident Planning, Inc. (just like this blog), and you can find out everything you might want to know about what I do and how I do it on Provident Planning’s business website (or you can click the green button at the top right of this page). Basically, I’m offering financial planning advice on a fee-only basis (hourly or flat fee). I also offer tax preparation at an hourly rate.

       I was trained as a financial planner and worked in wealth management before starting Provident Planning. But I was tired of only being able to serve the wealthy and not having the ability to fully incorporate my faith into my work. So I’ve set up Provident Planning so I can work with people from all backgrounds and can include faith discussions in my work.

       That’s the announcement to let you know I’ve officially launched my business. Now for the giveaway!

       In exchange for your feedback, I’m offering one hour of financial planning advice (a $100 value!!!) over the phone to one random winner. During the phone call, you’ll have the chance to ask me any questions you might have about personal finances. You won’t have to share any personal details (like SSN’s, account numbers, full name, etc.) if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. If you’re not sure what I can help with, then make sure you check out the “Services” page on Provident Planning’s business website. Here’s what you can do to enter:

1. Visit Provident Planning’s business website. Then leave a useful comment on this post with a suggestion for improvement or a question you have about my business (that wasn’t answered on the FAQ page). – worth 3 entries

 

2. Tweet about this giveaway. Your tweet should say “Win a Chance for Free Financial Planning Advice by Giving Your Feedback on Provident Planning – @providentplan” (link points to this post) – worth 2 entries

       You can only do each of those things once, but you can do both of them to get a total of 5 entries in this giveaway. Duplicate entries will not be counted (e.g., you leave more than one useful comment).

       All entries must be made by 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time on Monday, March 8, 2010. The winner will be chosen through a random drawing using the integer generator on random.org. I’ll update this post on Monday evening to announce the winner. The winner will also be contacted by e-mail to get their phone number and set up a time to talk, so be sure you use a valid e-mail address when you leave a comment. If the winner is via a Twitter entry, I’ll send a direct message to get your e-mail address. The winner must respond by 9:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 10th, or I’ll select another winner. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!

       After 9 months and over 200 posts, Provident Planning has had 20,000 visitors! To celebrate, I’m giving away $20 in cash to you, my readers. Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten this far. Thank you so much!

       Since this isn’t a huge giveaway, I’m not going to make it difficult for you to enter. But I’d also like to get some feedback from you. So here’s what you can do to enter:

1. Fill out the form at the end of this post. – 3 entries

 

2. Tweet about this giveaway. Your tweet should say “$20 Giveaway at Provident Planning – @providentplan”. (The link points to this post.) – 2 entries

 

3. Include a link to this giveaway in a blog post. If your blog doesn’t send pings or trackbacks, make sure you email me (paul@providentplan.com) with a link to your post so it will get counted. – 3 entries

       You can only do each of those things once, but you can do all three of them to get a total of 8 entries in this giveaway. Duplicate entries will not be counted (e.g., you fill out the feedback form below more than once).

       All entries must be made by 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time on Monday, March 1, 2010. The winner will be chosen through a random drawing using the integer generator on random.org. I’ll update this post on Monday evening to announce the winner. The winner will also be contacted by e-mail to receive the $20 cash via PayPal, so be sure you use a valid e-mail address in the form below. If the winner is via a Twitter entry, I’ll send a direct message to get your e-mail address. The winner must respond by 9:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 3rd, or I’ll select another winner. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!

And the Winner Is…

       With only three entries, everyone’s odds of winning were quite good. But congratulations are due to Donna! She won the random drawing, so I’ll be emailing her to confirm. If she doesn’t reply by 9:00 PM EST on Wednesday, March 3rd, then I’ll select another winner through a random drawing. Thanks to everyone who participated (all three of you!), and make sure you enter the next giveaway. If I keep getting so few entries, you have great chances to win!!! 😛

       Last month, I posted an update about how my wife and I are raising a cow for beef. This is a summary of our activity and costs for month 6. As always, let’s first check Bambi’s growth. Here he is at five months old:



       And here he is today at 6 months old:



       It might be hard to tell, but Bambi is still growing steadily. He should be somewhere between 300 and 400 pounds. (I can’t weigh him to know for sure.)

Costs & Time

       Again, there haven’t been any huge changes in the amount of time it takes to care for him. It’s pretty easy right now.

       We didn’t spend much money this month because I had stocked up before we left for Haiti in mid-January. We only needed to buy a little medicine. (You’ll find out why in a minute.) We’ll have to spend a bit next month to buy more feed and hay. Here are our costs for this past month:

• Medicine – $5.00

       

• Total Spent this Month – $5.00

       

• Time – 7 hours

       And here are our total costs over the past six months:

• Cost of Bambi – Free!

       

• Castration & Dehorning – $16.00

       

• Milk Replacer – $45.54

       

• Miscellaneous – $46.87

       

• Calf Feed – $160.35

       

• Hay – $52.00

       

• Straw – $15.00

       

• Medicine – $5.00

       

• Total Spent – $340.76

       

• Time – 56 hours

       So after six months we’ve spent a total of $340.76 and 56 hours raising a cow for beef. We’ll need to buy feed and hay next month, but that won’t cost too much.

       We had a small scare with Bambi this month. He didn’t eat or drink anything for 3 days. I called our friend, Konrad, who gave us Bambi back in August. We checked Bambi to see if he was sick, but he seemed as healthy as ever. Konrad had some medicine for gastrointestinal problems, so we gave that to Bambi for two days in a row. He finally started eating again after the second day on the medicine. This just highlights the risk you have when you are raising an animal. It could get sick and die on you at any time. Yes, medicine or a vet could fix some things, but there’s always the chance that the animal can’t be saved and you’ll lose it. Lucky for us, the medicine we gave Bambi only cost about $2 total (but I gave Konrad $5 though he didn’t want anything for it).

       Also, we’ve had a lot of snow this month. It’s not especially fun to go out to the barn in 15 MPH winds and blowing snow to feed Bambi. But it has to be done. This relates to what I wrote last month about finding someone to care for the animal when you are gone. Unless you can automate the feeding and watering, someone has to be there every single day. Even when that can be automated, someone should be checking in on the animal to make sure it’s still healthy. These are factors that aren’t easily figured in to time and costs.

       That’s it for this month. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. And make sure you sign up for free updates to Provident Planning if you’re interested in knowing what it takes to raise a cow for beef!