The other day a dear friend said to me, “Tracy, I really like your budget plan but it just takes so much discipline.” I honestly sat there a little speechless. I had really never thought of it that way, but as I thought about it and chewed on it a little I could really see where people might think that. There is a lot of structure to budgeting, and when you have lived without structure in your finances it can feel like it is going to take a tremendous amount of discipline to succeed. So for the next few days, …
Between the Envelopes
I had a reader ask me, “Are you allowed to use money from one category for another if you have left over cash in an envelope?” She went on to say that her husband had put his foot down that there would be no stealing from the envelopes! If they were going to do the envelope system then the money had to be used for the purpose that they had designated. If they do not use it this month, then it has to be left in the envelope for next month. Now, I confess, I steal from my envelopes all …
Debit Card Users? Anyone?
Does anyone use their Debit Card anymore? They were such a novelty when they first came out. I used to use mine all the time in college. It was as easy as a credit card, and without the hassle of a check. I just made sure to write everything into my bank account ledger, and balanced my account regularly. They truly seemed liked such a brilliant invention… until people started having their bank accounts wiped out because someone had stolen their debit card information. Scary. Very scary. So scary that I stopped using my card… for everything. Actually, I will …
Books, Blogs, and Blessings
My husband and I actually got to go on a date on Friday night, and we had such a fun evening walking around a book store. Not super exciting to most people, but to us just being by ourselves together and getting to look at books was such a treat. I sat with a huge pile of finance books, and Matt had a huge stack of books of graphic design and other topics, researching and learning and having a wonderful time. And after a whole stack of books, I was just so struck at how complicated writers love to make …
Corralling Your Credit Card
So I feel your heart torn… why give up the convenience of your credit card for all of that paper money? It is just so easy to swipe and go. It is also almost impossible to buy something online without one, or to rent a car. There are many reasons for having a credit card in our society. Credit cards also help your credit score in demonstrating your credit history. How old your card is, and if it has been kept in good standing are two variables that help to determine your credit score. You can keep your card in …
Change to Spare
What my children love most about my wallet is that I always have change. Like most kids they have a fascination with change and money and love to carry it around in their “purse” (for Ava) or piggy bank. And while your kids may love all your extra change too, if you do not find a way to utilize this change it really is like wasted money. The abundance of change is a definite side effect of the cash/envelope system. So what do you do with all that extra change? If you are a woman, it just makes your purse …
Cash, Credit, or Bank Card: A Plan for Discretionary Spending
One of the questions I get so often is “How do you keep track of your grocery money?” It is probably about groceries because most of my friends are Moms and staying within a budget with groceries is a huge part of our world. Grocery money, Gas money, Entertainment, Gifts, Free money, and just whatever categories you have in your budget that you don’t automatically pay as a bill, are really the most challenging thing about budgeting and the areas that most people overspend the most on. I consider these categories as discretionary spending, because it is money that you …
Time to Rest
Sometimes the best use of your resources is not to use them at all. I laughed the other day when a friend of mine said, “The best way to save money at the grocery store is not to go.” It sounds so simple, but it is so true. The more you go, the more you spend. I try to limit my grocery shopping trips to only once a week because it is the best use of my time and I also spend a lot less money then visiting the grocery store every other day. There is always “something extra” that …
Practicing Your Payday Plan
Payday! Yea! For my husband and I, yesterday was payday and I thought it might be helpful to walk you through exactly how I use my budget. I realize that not everyone receives a salary or is paid on the 15th. There are a multitude of different pay cycles which I have written about and you can find here. However, all of us get to sit down and pay our bills, no matter when or how you get paid. So, I want to take you through that process using a budget. Some of the steps, I haven’t discussed yet, but …
Preparing an Outline
I spent some time this past weekend looking through my blog. I have now been writing almost everyday for the last two months and I just felt like I needed to remember what I have said and what I haven’t said. Don’t get me wrong, there is still SOOO much more to say on the topic of finances and budgeting, but I really don’t want to miss something. Anyway, the organizational system on “blogger” is not fantastic, so I thought that I would do a blog just to lay out what I have written about. If this is your first …