I’ll admit that I struggled with this for years, but as my family grew I quickly realized in order to succeed I had to have control of our finances. How could I expect God to bless me with increases when I couldn’t manage what He’d already given me?
First, I had to commit a plan and realize that I would have to sacrifice some things from time to time in order to get what I wanted in the long range. That meant cutting out eating out as regularly as we did (lunch and dinners) and sacrificing some of shopping splurges – even if it was an awesome sale!
Secondly, I had to figure out what worked best for me. There was some trial and error during this phase. I began reading and studying different budgeting and debt management plans – Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, etc – to find one that worked best for my family’s situation. I ended up doing a combination of different plans and strategies that I’d read up on.
Next, I had to write things down. This was the hardest for me, because I had to see in black and white just how much money I had coming in on a regular basis and how much I owed to different people. Definitely an eye opener!!! I used an Excel spreadsheet to list all my debt, minimum monthly payments and a running tally of how long it would take me to pay off what I owed.
I make pretty much the same amount each pay period, so I was able to make a monthly spreadsheet showing what was coming out of each paycheck. Sometimes I had to split up payments between paychecks so too much wouldn’t hit one check. I set up a direct deposit to my savings account (at a bank that I don’t have easy access to) so I wouldn’t have to worry about making that transfer myself. It wasn’t a large amount but it was something! When I got paid, I made all my payments immediately! Once that was done, I withdrew my set spending allowance for the next two weeks.
My debt spreadsheet was sorted from low to high and whenever I could I would make additional payments. When something was paid off, the funds that I normally paid on that debt was applied to another debt (Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball to some extent).
I will admit that once I began seeing in black and white my debt going down (and my credit score increasing) it became, dare I say, FUN! Yeah, the inner nerd in me came out in full force!
In today’s economy, managing your money and debt is essential. Find what works best for you and stick with it. It’s okay to splurge from time to time – just make sure those splurges done infringe on the necessities your family needs. That’s where a savings account and emergency fund comes in.
Divas, share your best budgeting and debt management tips. We can all learn from one another!
Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!
Divas With A Purpose has become a source of inspiration and motivation. It's about women being driven, inspiring, victorious and having a plan of action to become the best them they have been called to be. With collaboration, we are making our way through this thing called life as women, mothers, sisters, and friends.
yes yes yes! I used to keep track a few years ago of what i actually spent. Kept all receipts but eventually let it go. I just started 2 months ago on a spreadsheet. and hubby is not really cooperationg so incoming funds is kinda off. But I am trying my best. Now since i just closed out May. i am sitting here in shock at how much money we actually had and yet we are still in debt household bill wise.
ReplyDeleteSo at some point this weekend i will sit hubby down and we will discuss where we need to cut. I am in a situation right now that it would be sooo beneficial if i can get our finances right, we could save a lot. And really that is what this arrangement was supposed to be...money saving tactic.
I have about a year that i won't have to pay rent. My goal is to pull our credit report and start paying off what we can. Then hopefully by the time next year rolls around we will have a lil nest egg and better credit to make a better move.
Well good blog. And I am sure your information is going to be beneficial to someone.
Sounds like you're off to a great start! Getting the hubby on board is definitely a struggle! Mine still really isn't, so I've had to set my budget on what I bring in and what bills I handle. Since he wouldn't sit down and combine our finances, I was forced to split the bills into "his" and "mine" so I could have some control over where my funds went.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pitching in!!!
I agree this is a great post. This is one area of my life that I have worked on and still am trying to master. I have faith one day it will all come together :-) I too have read Dave Ramsey's book, Suze Orman and countless others...why am hearing my father's words "buy you books, send you to school and you still don't learn nothin'!" Knowledge without action is not worth anything. I guess I have struggled with sticking to the various plans that people outline. I need something simple enough that I will stick with it. My goal now is to pay off my debts...again because I have before and then got back in...and improve credit score.
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