Waiting until it's too late...

Why do we wait until it's too late to get disciplined?

Why do we wait until we are behind on our bills to get on a budget? Why do wait until we're diagnosed with diabetes to start watching our sugar intake? Why do we wait until a presciption for high cholesterol, high blood pressure is given to try to watch what we eat? Why do we wait until our spouse is ready to walk out on us to change? Why do we wait until our kids have no desire to spend time with us, to make time for them? Why do we wait until we are dying to pursue God?

Why do we wait until it's nearly too late?

• There are 20-something year olds that I see eat a ton of sugary foods. I warn them to change now so that they don't get diabetes in their 40s.
• There are 30-something year olds that I see drink alcohol liberally. I warn them to give it up or cut waaaaaay back now, so that their liver doesn't fail them in their 40s.
• There are people who have been smokers of 10+ years. I warn them to give it up now to avoid lung cancer in their 60s....COPD in their 50s.

There are warning labels on every thing. Why do we not heed the warnings?

I have finally come to the point of wanting to cut back on caffeine (2-3 cups of coffee in the early a.m. + a tea most afternoons). I don't drink the Monster, Rock Star, Red Bull drinks. I don't drink sodas all day. I'm not as bad as some, but am looking to the future realizing how delicate my kidneys really are.

What about your heart? Are you taking in too much fried food now? You may not have any health problems now, but if you don't give up the fries, pizza, burgers, and chips now...a heart attack may really be around the corner for you in your 50s, 60s, or 70s.

In terms of your finances, do you have plan in place to get out of debt? Are your credit cards maxed out because you refuse to tell yourself 'no'? Are you living paycheck to paycheck w/out an emergency fund? I was blessed to hear a friend's plan of paying off their home a.s.a.p. Is that a reality for you?

I heard this weekend that the gov't says we may go BACK into a recession. Did we even get out of it? Did unemployment really drop??? Or has it continued on the rise? 

Why can't we just admit that our country is really in a depression??? The country's credit rating was even dropped in the last couple weeks right? If it was declared we were in a depression, would that affect your spending & saving???? Or is the gov't going to wait until it's too late & half the nation is starving to declare a depression?

I want to sober us up in the fact that WE CANNOT WAIT UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE to make changes!!!

• We have to stick to the budget TODAY!
• We have to stick to the diet TODAY!
• We have to stick to the workout regimen TODAY!
• We have to give up the alcohol/drugs/junk food TODAY!
• We have to pursue a relationship with God TODAY!
• We have to make time for our spouses & kids TODAY!

This is my plea for you to make healthy changes across the board: in your finances, your church attendance, your nutrition, exercise, and family.

Any goals you been procrastinating to pursue, pursue them today!

Stop procrastinating TODAY &

make a change while there is still time!!!!

 

Is this you??? Putting off until tommorrow to stop the procrastination?
Don't let one more day go by! Get serious today!



Pay Day = Budget Day

Yes, a budget! What is that? Do you have one? We do. We got it from a powerful/life-changing book and APPLIED IT! The book is: Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. (You can get a copy for $10 @ www.daveramsey.com). (Young people get this book, you need it now, not later. Retirement is a real thing to plan 40 years in advance for!!!)

Here's the routine for our pay day here in our home: I get my husband's payroll check, STRAIGHT to the bank, deposit it, WITHOUT cashback at this point. Next, I go home, and double check my budget sheet that I created a couple days prior to pay day (just in case something has come up).

Here's what I do to prep for my budget:
Step 1: Gather up all bills from my special "Current Bills Due" folder at my desk.
Step 2: Fill in the dollar amounts in these catagories:

First are the things we pay by check:

• TBBC (money insurance, first right?...for some who don't know what this is: tithe)
• Additional Giving
• Life Insurance
• Mortgage pmt.
• PG&E
• Gas Co.
• Water Co.
• ATT
• Gardener
• Car Insurance
• Gym fees
• Debt (which we've wiped 1/2 to 2/3 out in the last couple years by sticking to a budget)
• Shakeology/BB Biz (now paying for itself, I may add)

These are the catagories that I get cash out for. The thought Dave Ramsey has is, take the cash out, don't use your debit card because, when you walk into Target w/ only $40 for the baby's diapers & formula, there's no cash leftover to buy that cute tank top 'on sale'. If it's not budgeted for, then don't buy it. Now if you NEED clothes, make a catagory & give yourself a budgeted amount & STICK TO IT! Here are the catagories that we pay cash & avoid debit card use on:

• Gas (a certain amt. for me/a certain amt. for husband)
• Groceries
• Toiletries
• Jacob's needs
• Daniel's meds/needs
• "Allowance for husband"
• Jen's phone (I seriously live on a pay-as-you-go phone. I use my home phone 99% of the time & save)

And that's it. There are times like this week, we have to add: Car Maintenance, and Clothing for Daniel. And month to month, there may be a Kaiser catagory, or a special thing like: Air Duct Cleaning, like we did this week.

The beauty of a budget is that you can start a catagory for an expense you know is coming in a month or two. Like this month, I'm saving for my suburban tags for July. I haven't received the bill, but I quickly look at my tags to see that they expire in July. So, I plan. This way a bill that is expected, is NOT a financial emergency.

I add up all the expenses, minus it from the income to confirm that I have enough. I always know what we have left over after all our needs are filled in. What to do w/ this money? Throw it at the debt, save for something you're going to need like: car, appliances, furniture. Why finance those things, when you can save & pay cash, get a better deal because people make deals for cash...and save yourself a ton on interest right? (GET THE BOOK & READ IT!)

So the budget sheet is filled in & the check is in the bank.

Step 3: Balance checkbook before I even begin paying out.
Step 4: Write out/pay bills.
Step 5: Make 'cash item list'.
Step 6: Go to bank for cash.
Step 7: Go shopping with my lists for Target/Walmart, Costco, etc!
Step 8: STICK TO THE LISTS! :)

This is how we live. Pretty simple & basic math. You don't need a BS in Accounting to live on a budget.

Now the key is to NOT spend all my grocery money at the store the first day I get paid so that in a week when we need fresh produce, I have CASH for that. There will be times that there's a little miscalculation in what I need, but I try so hard to NOT use my debit card.

The philosophy behind using the card is 'it's unlimited'. Oh, I have the extra $50 in the bank so I can buy this - thing I absolutely don't need & will only use/wear once.

If you do this budget, you will find that you DO have the money you need for the month typically. You tell your kids/employees what to do, why not tell your money where to go & what to do so that you control your spending!

I might point out that I am strategic w/ my bill paying too. Say we get paid the 1st, so the bills due from the 9th thru the 23rd, I pay the first week of the month. The bills due from the 23rd to the 8th of the next month, I pay at our mid-month pay day. This way my bills are ON TIME. The wonder of this is, I only sit down & balance my checkbook 2X/mo., always aware of what I have - this avoids ISF fees, right? And I only pay my bills 2X a month, never wondering when a bill is coming in or if I'll have enough. This provides me peace of mind, and more time w/ my kids. I avoid: paying as I go, trying to always find time every couple days to sit alone & scream at the kids as I try to crunch number to make sure some money is there for this one bill, right? Who wants to do that 2-3 times per week? This budget system keeps my time managed better too. I know what days are pay days, so I build time into my schedule to do all this in advanced.

This is how we live and we live pretty stress-free over finances. We know we make enough to live on. Now, if we are broke & in a bind, who's responsible? It's easy to figure out in a quick discussion :) So I try my hardest to tell myself & KIDS "NO" so that we can have some peace & liberty in our lives.