Budgeting

Greetings! 

Well, June is upon us. We have survived tax season (minus a few hairs) and it’s time to look forward to the rest of the year. Summer tends to be a slower time of the year, where most people focus on family and vacations. So, we aren’t going to hit you with a topic too heavy this month and instead will focus on one of those everyday kind of things that really pays dividends if paid attention to: budgeting. People fall into two camps on budgeting: either you do it or you don’t. If you already love a good budget, we hope we will provide you with some more resources. If you are not budgeting, we hope you’ll find something here of interest that may inspire you to take action.  

  • Listen: Do a Google search for budgeting podcasts and you’ll come up with more than you can handle. What to start with? What ones are good? That’s where we come in. We have listened to a ton of these and here are a few of our favorites. You Need A Budget. Yes, our darling software has its own podcast as well. If you aren’t using YNAB, why not? Another podcast we really love is The Budget Couple. It’s really down to earth, relatable, and the episodes are around 20 minutes each (so it doesn’t eat up too much of your day). No matter how much money you make or where you are on your financial journey, you’ll find something to take away from this one. Lastly, we have the Clark Howard podcast. This is another podcast that delivers great content across a range of subjects that affect everyday life.
  • Watch: So, you’ve tried everything, right? Budgeting is just not for you, right? Maybe yes and maybe no. Maybe you just haven’t found the right style of budgeting yet. This video outlines 6 style of budgeting. It’s got a bunch of great information in it and a cool animation style, so it is worth your investment of 15 minutes. 
  • Read: This month, we might have been better off changing ‘read’ to ‘do’, because what good is a bunch of knowledge if you don’t act on it? It’s easy to listen to a couple of podcasts and watch a YouTube video or two and feel like you’ve done something good for yourself. It’s a lot harder (aka better) to actually take some steps and enact some changes in your life. Practical Money Skills is a website chock full of resources with a section all on budgeting. There are quizzes, articles, and calculators to help you get this piece of your finances in place. Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention another resource that many people love, Mint.com. It’s been around forever and speaks for itself. If you are looking for an app and like the price tag (free!) then Mint might be for you. Just don’t tell YNAB you heard about it from us.

We hope your summer is full of fun and some relaxation. As always, feel free to share this newsletter with your friends and family and reach out if you have any questions. Is there a topic you would like us to delve into in a future newsletter? Please let us know and we will be happy to consider including it.

P.S. Ben, Deb, and their two girls are heading on an epic road-trip adventure covering the western states – you can follow their adventures here!

Make it an amazing month!
The Bona Fide Family

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Bonnie Martinek

Administrative Assistant
Bonnie (Ben’s mom!) is a mother of 9 and a grandmother of 17. She has lived in rural Indiana her whole life and has a master’s degree in Special Education. In her own words, she’s done a little bit of everything but is a master of none (teaching, construction, manager of a corn maze, CNA, farm work, cashier, auto bodywork, and the list goes on!). Widowed in 2019, she is reinventing herself through her work in the day-to-day operations of Bona Fide Finance and client relations. Bonnie loves getting to know our clients and is happy to serve them well!

Deb Martinek

Relationships Specialist

Deb has been with Bona Fide Finance since its inception in 2015 and long before that with her support of Ben studying for the CFP designation and the dream of starting the business of helping individuals and families meet their financial goals.

She fills the Relationships Specialist role – Deb is typically the first encounter our new clients have as she walks them through our service offerings and introduces them to the map of financial literacy.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University and a master’s degree from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Deb lives in Bismarck with Ben and their two young daughters, is a card-carrying member of the CDL club (read more about those adventures here) and is happiest reading an epic novel, solving a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, or working in her kitchen where she can serve love to the people in her life through quality food (clients enjoy her holiday shipment of homemade goodies each December!).

Ben Martinek

CFP®, EA, CSLP®, RICP®, Founder and Advisor

Ben Martinek, CFP®, EA, CSLP®, RICP®, is the founder and lead advisor at Bona Fide Finance, an independent, fee-only firm dedicated to helping doctors, young professionals, and growing families take control of their financial future. With a deep understanding of student loan debt—having tackled his own—Ben specializes in guiding clients through debt repayment strategies, smart investing, and comprehensive financial planning so they can build wealth with confidence. Ben’s passion for financial planning comes from his desire to provide honest, objective advice tailored to each client’s unique situation. He loves seeing the impact of his work, whether it’s helping a family pay off student loans years ahead of schedule, setting up an early retiree for financial freedom, or giving clients the peace that comes from knowing their finances are in order. His clients appreciate his thoughtful, high-touch approach, often saying that working with him has changed their lives.

Before launching Bona Fide Finance in 2015, Ben’s career path was anything but conventional. The fourth of nine children, he grew up in rural Indiana and initially pursued a path in academia, earning a B.A. in philosophy and classical languages, followed by a master’s degree in philosophy. Along the way, he explored careers in construction and truck driving—logging over 600,000 miles across the U.S. with his wife, Deb—before finding his true calling in financial planning.

Now based in Bismarck, North Dakota, Ben and Deb stay busy raising their two daughters, Edith and Virginia. Since their truck-driving days, Ben is happiest on a long road trip—preferably behind the wheel of his TDI Volkswagen Jetta. He enjoys sailing on Lake Sakakawea, camping in their vintage ’90s pop-up camper, and smoking a pipe by the grill. A lover of strategy board games, he favors Clans of Caledonia (mostly because Deb refuses to play Risk with him). When he’s not working with clients, he can be found smoking meat, gardening, hiking, or diving into The Lord of the Rings or Dune. Ben also serves on the school board for his daughters’ Montessori school and is actively involved in pre-marriage ministry in the Bismarck Diocese.