Budgeting

In our introduction post I failed to mention that out of the 13 years Brian and I have been married I would say we have lived by a budget about a year on and off. Dave Ramsey's strategy is to learn how to budget and save, and with the two you can get out of debt. After hours sitting and going through the piles of bills laying around the house, I developed a very rough draft budget for our family. Brian did not have any input into this budget, against Dave Ramsey's advice. In FPU (Financial Peace University) it is recommended to sit down together and budget as a couple, it is both partners responsibility to take ownership and participate. Living on a budget is very hard in the beginning, so don't expect things to be perfect because you have everything written down. It is also said that it takes about 3 months for you to get all the kinks worked out, and in our case it may take more than that.
I want to add that my husband is not the reason for our financial problems, he is a wonderful, hardworking man and father. However, we do manage money completely opposite thus the reason I didn't include him in the first rough draft budget. I have since learned to include him in the budget because I should have in the beginning, I am still learning to work as a team with our money.
 In April I sat down and configured our debt poster that sits right above my head at our desk. I included our debt, our budget, our financial goals, and some great bible verses that are truthful and encouraging at the same time. I read some where that making your goals visible helps keep you focused and on track, I also feel like it holds us accountable to whoever sees it, sometimes being transparent in areas of struggle in your life can be of a benefit.

 I got out our sophisticated bill payment book (five star notebook from Wal-Mart). In this I have each and every bill listed with the due date, balance, and payment information listed. I have found that this note book is instrumental for us to pay our bills on time, and it allows me to look at the next paycheck/bills to come. I would recommend using a tool to help stay focused and organized. There is also the option to do your budget on the computer such as excel spreadsheets. My brother Greg showed me how to start one, however I have just found that for me I have to have something tangible in my hands.

I want to tell you all that before April of this year, I hadn't checked our bank account, or balanced a checkbook since 2012. I was foolish in my decision to live that way, I think that had I cared more about the money I would have done those things, instead of putting all that on Brian, and honey if you are reading this I am sorry for letting you deal with this mess on your own! So with that I want to encourage all of you all to look at your money very frequently. My husband would tell you that I'm obsessed with the budget book, but that's how I like to deal with it at this time. I look at our checking account at least daily on line, along with looking at the mail everyday, sorting out the junk from the bills. We also get paid every week at our jobs so I plan the next paycheck out a week in advance and pay bills each weeks as needed. Ultimately everyone may like to do this part a little different, but please check your account daily. We do participate in online banking, and any bill that I have that I can pay electronically I do. Again what ever works best for you to pay on time is fine. The most important key for me is staying organized. So I have two expandable folders, one for bills paid, the other for current bills along with a folder for tax documents. This is so important when tax season comes around and you are rushing around trying to find all the papers for filing. Stay organized. This container is home to items needed to complete our budget such as a calculator, highlighters, whiteout and etc.

Again it's whatever works best for you, but these are the things that help us.