I can't believe it's already the end of January. Didn't we just celebrate Christmas yesterday? It's scary how fast time flies. We are just about to wrap up a block at school already. That means projects and finals Wednesday. So Thursday we will get two new classes. I'm starting to get a little anxious because this means that the baby will come soon. We had a doctor's appointment Wednesday and all is well. We now visit the doctor every 2 weeks until March...then EVERY week! Yikes! I feel as if we are ready for her though. Hopefully God's not preparing us to have her early! Let's switch subjects...
Budgets! How many of you are on budgets? BJ and I have been blessed with knowing how important budgets are even before we got married. We were able to start our marriage with no debt, and then live by the "envelope system" every month...staying within our means. For us, it has been awesome! We simply have decided how much we make, then we split our money into different categories such as food, entertainment, auto, insurance, housing, medical, etc. You use cash for everything and when your envolope is empty...you're done until the end of the month! It sounds scary, but it has been so great. We don't hardly fight about money because it's either there, or it's not! I've been so encouraged lately to see how others in my family are using budgets! I would encourage each one of you to sit down, think about how much money you make monthly, and set a budget! A good book to help with this is "Money Matters" by Larry Burkett. I know it doesn't sound that much fun, but it's totally worth it. If you would like to ask us any questions about how to get started...we'd love to help out in any way. We are re-familiarizing ourselves with the whole system because we are down one job and have a new one on the way. I'll have to let you know how cutting $300 a month and adding a baby goes! But, we know that God provides and we feel it is so important to live within our means.
Please be praying for us! And seriously, let us know your comments!
5 comments:
My budget is pay the bills and buy what i want! and somehow it all seems to work out.. Dont know how but just does. Havent ran into any problems as of yet. I doubled my rent and I still live the way I lived before I did that.. God blesses me in that way. But I also dont go shopping very much and rarely have food in the fridge. Guess i should budget for that! love ya guys
The key is to do your checkbook religously. I never did and got in a lot of trouble. Now i take 5 minutes and write down everything!
I am very proud of ya'll for making the decision early on to live within your means and stick to it. It is a decision you will never regret. And you will never be a "slave to the lender." God does and will provide!!!
We have set shopping money (groceries, toiletry, diapers, wipes, going out to eat, etc..etc) - $100 per week. It works out pretty well for us. It is money for stockpiling as well since i use coupons. If needed - we can sure go several weeks without shopping. All because i buy more (coupon+sales) while staying within budget. And whatever leftover at the end of week goes into piggy, usually it is anywhere from $5 to $20. We do rebates whenever possible. The main thing - we are debt free. The goal is to become more of saving family than spending. At the same time not limiting having fun. Balance is important!
What's a budget??
Post a Comment