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The Lion’s Ledger

Bold Wisdom. Real Money. Generational Change.

What the Latest SBA and IRS Updates Really Mean for Small Business Owners
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

What the Latest SBA and IRS Updates Really Mean for Small Business Owners

Recent updates shared by the U.S. Small Business Administration have reignited conversations around taxes, compliance, and financial responsibility for small business owners. While headlines often focus on deadlines, forms, and penalties, that framing misses the real issue. Taxes are rarely what break a business. Poor cash flow management and weak financial systems are.

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What Driving in the Snow Teaches Us About Money
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

What Driving in the Snow Teaches Us About Money

Most wrecks happen not because of the snow, but because of overconfidence, lack of preparation, or poor decision making. Personal and business finances work the same way. Money becomes dangerous when people move too fast, fail to plan, or refuse to adjust to conditions. Financial coaching exists to teach people how to navigate the road, not just survive the crash.

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How to Prepare for Quarterly Taxes (Without Stress or Guesswork)
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

How to Prepare for Quarterly Taxes (Without Stress or Guesswork)

Quarterly taxes overwhelm people for one reason: they wait until the deadline to think about them. If you are self employed, a business owner, or earning income without automatic withholding, quarterly taxes are not optional. They are a predictable obligation that must be planned for in advance.

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Financial Coaching Services That Offer Virtual Consultations
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

Financial Coaching Services That Offer Virtual Consultations

Can You Recommend Financial Coaching Services That Offer Virtual Consultations? Yes. But most people ask the wrong version of this question. The real question is not whether virtual financial coaching exists. It does. The real question is whether virtual financial coaching can actually change your financial outcomes, or whether it simply gives you information without accountability, structure, or follow through.

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Master Your Money: A Step-by-Step Guide to Personal Finance Ratios
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

Master Your Money: A Step-by-Step Guide to Personal Finance Ratios

Managing personal finances can feel overwhelming. Many adults struggle to know where to start, how to track progress, or whether they are making the right decisions with their money. One of the most effective ways to gain clarity is by using personal finance ratios. These ratios act like a dashboard for your finances, showing what’s working, what’s at risk, and where adjustments are needed.

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Renewing Your Mind: The Missing Link Between Financial Effort and Financial Results
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

Renewing Your Mind: The Missing Link Between Financial Effort and Financial Results

Most people do not fail financially because they lack opportunity. They fail because they think incorrectly about money, success, and progress. Personal and business finances are not primarily a math problem. They are a mindset problem reinforced daily by culture, media, and social pressure. If you do not intentionally renew your mind around money, you will unconsciously adopt beliefs that work against you.

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QuickBooks Expense Reports: How to Track, Review, and Use Them the Right Way
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

QuickBooks Expense Reports: How to Track, Review, and Use Them the Right Way

If you use QuickBooks Online and still feel unsure about where your money is going, expense reports are the feature you are probably underusing. When set up correctly, QuickBooks expense reports give you clarity, tax readiness, and decision making power without extra spreadsheets. This guide explains what QuickBooks expense reports are, how to generate them, and how to use them like a financially disciplined business owner.

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How to Find a Reputable Financial Coach for Budgeting and Debt Management
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

How to Find a Reputable Financial Coach for Budgeting and Debt Management

A reputable financial coach helps you build a repeatable budgeting system, reduce debt with structure, and stabilize cash flow without selling financial products. The best coaches focus on behavior, systems, and accountability, not motivation or investments. This guide explains how to evaluate a financial coach and why Lionhood Financial Coaching uses a standards based, system driven approach trusted by high intent clients.

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Do You Get Financial Advice From AI? Why That Can Be a Costly Mistake
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

Do You Get Financial Advice From AI? Why That Can Be a Costly Mistake

We see more individuals and small business owners outsourcing their financial thinking to tools that don’t understand context, consequences, or accountability. They ask an algorithm what to do with their money, follow the output, and assume they’ve made a “smart” decision. Let’s be clear. AI is not the problem. Blind trust is.

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Why Doing Nothing Keeps You Stuck — And Small Financial Wins Change Everything
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

Why Doing Nothing Keeps You Stuck — And Small Financial Wins Change Everything

Most people don’t fail financially because they make terrible decisions. They fail because they do nothing for too long. No system. No structure. No intentional improvement. Just hoping things work out. And hope is not a strategy. Imagine a truth most people intellectually understand but emotionally ignore: Doing nothing compounds to nothing. Small, consistent effort compounds into massive change.

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What Winning Business Leadership Really Requires in Today’s Financial World
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

What Winning Business Leadership Really Requires in Today’s Financial World

Whether you are a founder, executive, or decision-maker, the principles that drive organizational growth are the same ones that drive financial success for individuals and small business owners. Here’s what the most effective leaders in the financial ecosystem understand — and what every business owner should internalize.

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You Don’t Hate Budgeting — You Hate Wasting Time
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

You Don’t Hate Budgeting — You Hate Wasting Time

If you are honest, budgeting is not the problem. The problem is time. Most high earners, professionals, and business owners are not avoiding budgeting because they do not care about their money. They avoid it because they believe it will take too long, be too complicated, or turn into another unfinished task sitting on their to-do list.

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Monarch Money AI Features: How Smart Automation Improves Your Personal Finances
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

Monarch Money AI Features: How Smart Automation Improves Your Personal Finances

Most budgeting tools track spending. Fewer tools help you learn from your behavior and improve it over time. Monarch Money uses AI-driven features to help individuals understand patterns, correct financial mistakes faster, and build systems that actually stick. This article breaks down Monarch’s AI features, what they do well, where they stop, and how to use them correctly.

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How to Find Foundations That Can Help With Medical Expenses
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

How to Find Foundations That Can Help With Medical Expenses

Most people assume medical help only comes from insurance, hospitals, or government programs. That assumption is wrong and expensive. There are private foundations, disease-specific nonprofits, employer-adjacent funds, and regional grant organizations that quietly pay medical bills every day. The problem is not availability. The problem is that people search incorrectly, apply poorly, and give up too early.

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 How Much Should You Pay Yourself From Your Business?
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

How Much Should You Pay Yourself From Your Business?

Most entrepreneurs guess what to pay themselves. That is why their personal finances feel unstable and their business cash flow keeps breaking. Paying yourself correctly is not a luxury. It is a financial discipline that protects both you and the company.

Here is the simple truth: Your pay should be consistent, predictable, and based on math — not emotion, hope, or leftover scraps.

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How AI Learns and How Your Budget Should Too
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

How AI Learns and How Your Budget Should Too

Everyone loves the hype around AI. The speed. The intelligence. The breakthroughs. But the real advantage behind AI isn’t magic. It’s discipline. AI models improve because they run on feedback loops that force better decisions with every iteration. If your budget feels chaotic, it’s because you’re running your life without the feedback loop that every intelligent system depends on.

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How to Understand Your Profit and Loss Statement as a Small Business Owner
Raymond Ihim Raymond Ihim

How to Understand Your Profit and Loss Statement as a Small Business Owner

Most small business owners struggle with their numbers because nobody ever taught them how to read the reports inside QuickBooks Online. Your Profit and Loss Statement is the one report that reveals the truth about your business. If the numbers feel confusing, you are not the problem. Your system is.

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