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.

Flexing my organizational skills!

Just relocated across the town I live in. Have 2 kids & a husband. Just launched my own home-based, internet-managed business. What does this all mean?

In RE: to my home:
1. I still have a little bit of stuff to put away.
2. I have a house to decorate, but need to paint before I do that.
3. Find a smokin' deal on some coffee brown, low-back leather sofas.
4. Keep my awesome kitchen counter (off from the garage) decluttered.

In RE: to my kids:
1. Need to plan out park days better.
2. Need to schedule daily story/activity time regularly.
3. Got to get more energetic & creative.
4. Get out of the house more (backyard, museums, playdates, etc.)

In RE: to my husband:
1. Schedule date-nights w/ him.
2. Continue our brainstorming mornings.
3. Work cooperatively w/ him.

In RE: to my Beachbody Business:
1. Listen to training calls & watch training webinars.
2. Place an order of marketing tools.
3. Find the health-oriented/desperate to lose weight people.
4. Execute my program & get in the best shape of my life.

Now, the hard part...I need/want to do all of the above NOW, and I still have things like laundry, grocery shopping, family bbqs, and day-to-day chores. All the while, I need and must keep my time with the Lord as the #1 priority to help everything else flow & happen. This week, I need to flex my organizational ability.

For me, this entry above has helped get it out of my head & in front of my eyes. Next step is to make a realistic list of things I need to focus on just this week. And then daily, put one of those items on my to-do list. For me personally, journaling and writing out all the stuff I need and want to do helps. Sometimes when I read what I've written, I am able to cross out the non-essential stuff & then highlight the high priority items.

I think it's Dave Ramsey who has coined the phrase "On Paper - On Purpose". I've lived like this for quite sometime w/out a catch phrase. But nonetheless, we all know that when we write down our goals, we are more likely to achieve them. So look at your everyday 'to-do' list as a 'List of Goals for the Day'. Try it yourself & see what you get done this week. Got my list going...now to get my time organized, my mind flexed & focused! Let's get 'er done!!!!