I’ve been thinking about posting a little bloggy on money, mainly on budgeting, and thought January is a good time to think about our budgets, debt, and goals regarding money. This will just skim the surface of money talk so feel free, as always, to leave your comments with any advice or thoughts to add!

Let’s talk about debt. Because no debt= financial freedom, and that’s a good place to be in. Click here to read the rest…

First, you need a plan. It doesn’t matter if you have $100 or $10,000 to pay off, with a plan in place that you see often you will pay off your debt much, much sooner. The plan should be broken down into specific measurable goals such as exactly how much you’ll pay a month to erase the debt, what you will give up in order to obtain your goal faster, etc. It’s also really important to remember that even an extra $10 here and there will help pay off debt faster and adds up quicker than we tend to think- so don’t hesitate to deposit that extra$10 if that’s all you have to pay toward your debt on a given month- it’s better than nothing! When it comes to house payments or other long term payment plans, try to pay a little extra a month so that over time you are paying less interest and paying off your house much sooner. Again, even $10 extra a month can save you lots of money over time. If you have multiple areas of debt to pay off, prioritize them by the amount of interest you will be paying over the long term and start hacking away at the largest amount with the highest interest, this way you’ll be saving yourself money on interest you might not have to pay if the debt is erased sooner.

Budgeting- your best friend or worst enemy? I was lucky enough to witness my mom who diligently budgeted and kept careful track of all the money that was spent in our household. I am not as organized and have developed a less detailed budget, but one that works really well for us. All this to say, different people need different ways of keeping track of the money they earn and spend and unless you find a system that works for you, chances are you won’t be able to stick with it.

Several ideas that help keep spending at the amount you determine it should be:

*Take out the spending cash you each need for the month and put it in an envelope, not to take out more when it’s spent but to wait until next month. This makes you (if you stick with it) keep more careful track of what you are actually spending on non-essentials during the month and makes you stick to that amount.

*For several months or on an ongoing basis keep each and every receipt to keep track of exactly where your money is going. I divided mine into envelopes in categories so that it was easier to see at the end of the week or month what we spent in each area. If you don’t typically do this it is very eye opening and one of the fastest ways to figure out where you are overspending and where you need to cut back. It only works for couples if both are willing to save the receipts and make changes where needed so communication is key here!

*The most important thing to have in place, whether it’s done on a fancy software program or just some copied and pasted cells on a word document is to have a typed out budget the you look at and review often. The looking at and reviewing often is the important part, how it looks and how involved you make it depends on your personality. The budget should list your income and each area you pay money into, including rough estimates of food and gas budgets, and categories such as gifts, entertainment, etc. if these are areas you only have a certain amount for. I do my budget sheets in three month chunks and fill in the boxes after I’ve paid bills so that I can easily keep track of what’s been payed and how over or under our spending is. I’ve gotten our grocery budget down to it’s bare minimum and don’t save receipts or record each month, but only because I did save receipts for a while to figure out how to get down to the amount I have to spend every 2 weeks when I do my shopping and stick to that amount or less. Any extra money from this or another area gets put into paying off debt, which is usually just our house payment.

*Generosity- I can’t write a blog post about money without talking about the joy in giving! Really- this is an area that Andrew and I endeavor to live freely in, because we view our money not as our end goal in working and living, but as a means to live the life we feel called to live, and this includes helping people when we can with it. We have a long ways to go in this area because theres not a lot of extra cash flow, but having a spirit of generosity regarding money helps keep our attitudes in the right place. One of the biggest ways to detach ourselves from money is to see people who are living in total poverty. Most of us don’t know what total poverty looks like in America, but to witness it firsthand is life changing, humbling, and puts life into perspective in a way nothing else can.

More resources-

*Secrets to successful budgeting

*Living a Better Life e-zine with budgeting tips, money saving advice, and more.