The Early Years: From Wedding to Waffles

Have you ever wondered why it is traditional to give engaged couples so many presents? Why do they need 12 of those very expensive goblets? Is registering for a drill or a waffle maker really necessary? I can remember registering for my wedding and feeling so horribly guilty when selecting my china set. In the end, I opted for an every day set of dishes instead. I didn’t want my friends and my parents friends to have to pay for those dishes. “I can buy them later if I want them,” is what I thought to myself at the time. …

Behind the Vacuum

I had an experience with a vacuum cleaner yesterday that started me thinking. My two year old son, Luke, is a fearless, rascally boy who loves dismantling the vacuum, but for some reason it scared him yesterday. As I was vacuuming under his kitchen chair which was littered with dropped veggies and crumbs, he kept yelling and running away. I was watching him in sort of amazement because first of all, Luke is fearless. Second of all, he never does that with the vacuum. However, the thought that really gripped me is that usually when he is scared of something …

Budgeting Review – Directions for the Journey

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to speak at a ladies retreat in New York with my mom, Beverley Sheasby. We ended up having a lovely time with the people there; however, in the middle of a harrowing car ride to the retreat, we both doubted that we would even make it to the conference in the first place. Our flight arrived at Newark airport and we were picked up by three very sweet ladies whom we had never met before. The plan was to then drive to Long Island Beach where the retreat would be held. …

Budgeting Review – Balancing Your Budget

If you have come this far and have determined your budgetable income, and all of your monthly bills and expenses, then it is time to balance your budget. This blog will walk you through that process, as well as give you some great encouragement along the way. God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. As we face your budget today and try to determine how to bring balance. I just want to remind you of that verse. This is the time that many people want to get into fear when …

Budgeting Review – Practicing your Payday

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. Today, I want to take you through that process using a budget. Some of the steps I haven’t discussed yet, but …

Budgeting Review – A Plan to Stop Juggling

You have determined your budgetable income, and made a list of your bills, expenses and even discretionary categories, so today is the big day. This blog is going to help you to plug all of that information into a spreadsheet that will change your financial life. It is so simple to use and understand, and yet it is the key to budgeting success.One of the most difficult things about juggling finances is that you feel like you can never stop. Some people are constantly dropping balls, others just put some of the balls down until they can afford to pay …

Budgeting Review – “Expenses – Cash, Credit,or Debit”

Discretionary money, or money that you spend at your discretion, is very often the downfall of budgets and kings. It is the money that you spend at a whim on clothing, or groceries, or a latte, on eating out or gifts for people, that many times will kill your budget. So, how do you manage that money in a way that it won’t destroy what you are trying to establish in your budget? I am so glad you asked 🙂 The following is my favorite plan for discretionary money and I hope it will help you to tame your spending …

Budgeting Review – “Expenses – Finding the Holes”

In the last few days we have reviewed how to determine your budgetable income to be able to plug it into your budget. As you have seen, there are so many different scenarios for this, but I hope that you were able to find your situation in my scenarios and develope a plan that will work for your income. Today we are looking at how to determine your expenses. In your budget, you are going to list all of your bills and expenses and the following blog is going to help you to do that. God bless.Have you ever felt …

Budgeting Review – “Self Employed and the Power of Percentages”

This blog is a little long, and I apologize for that but I combined two of my previous blogs, so as not to split up the topic. If you are paid by commission, this blog will also be very helpful to you. This is the last blog under the section of our outline for a.Determining your budgetable monthly income. Self-employment can be a liberating, extremely rewarding way to earn your income. Many people who are self-employed are doing exactly what they love and want to be doing. They are their own boss, set their own hours, and consequently have a …

Budgeting Review – “Salary and Commission”

A friend of mine emailed me this question concerning her budget that I wanted to share with you today. It goes back to the section I did on income, but I am sure that many have you have very unique pay cycles and I thought this might help you in your effort to set up a budget. This really gives a great example of how you can adjust a budget to fit your particular needs. A budget is not meant to control you, it is meant to assist you, so change it up until it fits the income cycle, bills, …