Category: Budget

How To Start A Budget (Budgeting Tips For Beginners)

How To Start A Budget, budget basics for beginners, budgeting help

Are you ready to finally start a budget?

So many families go through life living paycheck-to-paycheck, never taking the time to create a budget because they think it’ll be too hard.

Well it’s not.  You can create a budget in less than an hour just by following my proven steps.

The best part?

These steps are not hard.  They are not complicated.  They are direct, to the point and simple.  So what are you waiting for?  Another bill to come in to send you in a panic?

How about we make a few changes BEFORE that happens so when you get that next unexpected (medical, car repair, appliance repair, or something else) bill, you’re ready.

In today’s video, I’m sharing how to start a budget so that you can FINALLY start conquering your money woes and start making progress towards your goals.  You can watch the video online or down below:

Tweet this video.

Please remember one thing when creating your budget –

Budget mistakes will happen. You will under budget, overspend, over budget and not plan perfectly.  It’s okay.  It’s all about how you bounce back from financial mishaps that’s the key.

How To Start A Budget, budget basics for beginners, budgeting help

In today’s video we talked about a few steps to creating your budget (which is perfect for you budget beginners that need a few tips on the basics)…

Look at your income and your expenses.  Pull up the last three months worth of spending from your bank statements and your credit card statements.  Next, pull up the last three month’s worth of income and if you don’t know how to read your pay stub so that you can start planning your income – you’re missing out!

Categorize your expenses and income.  Next, you need to grab a few different colored highlighters so that you can quickly categorize your spending.  In the video, I mentioned a few different budget categories to consider, but you can always come up with your own that fit you best.

Create your financial goals.  You probably know by now that I am a huge fan of financial goals.  Having a target can really help keep you motivated and focused when it comes to money management.  It’s important you sit down with your spouse to create these money goals, too.  That way you both can be on the same page, working together.

Use a zero-based budget.  Have you ever heard of a zero-based budget before?  If not, they can be amazing tools when learning how to budget.  Basically, you want your income to match your expenses each month so that no money is left over.  The goal is that if you spend on paper first and assign a job to each dollar then you can make sure to have your money working for you.  This part of creating a budget is what usually trips people up so be sure to watch the video where I share what to do when your income isn’t enough to match your expenses.

Tweak and review.  Tweak and review.  The final step in creating a budget is vital.  A budget is not something that you create once and forget about it.  You have to constantly review it, constantly tweak it and constantly be willing to make changes when life happens.  Some months you will be able to put more money than planned in savings, other months you’ll have a car repair bill that eats away at most of your savings category.  It happens.  So you need to be prepared.  The best way to be ready for what life throws your way?  Review your budget on a weekly basis and track your spending each week.  That way you can make adjustments as needed to not spend more than your income.

Tips For Your Emergency Fund + 3 Ways To Pay Off Debt

Tips For Your Emergency Fund + 3 Ways To Pay Off Debt

I love talking about emergency funds. Something about them and feeling protected just makes me happy.  I’m pretty sure I can trace it back to the day we woke up in the middle of the summer to our refrigerator having gone out in the night.  Of course, it all happened right after I had bought groceries and it was miserably hot so my food was going to go bad within hours.

I was furious!  Not only was all the money we had just spent wasted, but now we had to go out and spend even MORE money to replace our fridge.

Luckily we had just hit a pretty big milestone – $1,000 in our emergency fund.  It had taken us months to get there and it felt so good to have it.  Honestly, I thought it was going to last longer than just a few weeks, but that’s how life goes sometimes.

We decided to go appliance shopping and went to a few different stores in our town, but weren’t happy with any of our choices.  We really felt they were too expensive for what we were getting and I really didn’t want to drain all of our savings account the first time we needed it.  So we decided to make a 2 hour drive to a bigger city to check out a scratch-and-dent store.  We ended up finding the perfect fridge (for us) on discount because it had a scratch on the side, which was fine with us because that was the side that was going to be hidden by a wall.

We purchased our new fridge, paid cash and still had money left over in our emergency fund.  It was a good day!

Over on my IGTV, I’m sharing how we ended up making our emergency fund successful – it’s all about the location of the account and our solution might surprise you!  Plus, I’m spilling details on three different ways you can tackle your debt – debt snowball, highest interest rate first, and one more that could be the answer you need to make progress.  Hop on over to IGTV to check it out!

pay off debt using debt snowball, highest interest rate first or picking the one that annoys you the most

As you can tell making your emergency fund harder to get to is key when it comes to self-control.  I love the idea of using a bank across town so that I can still get to it within minutes if I really needed it, but I can’t easily transfer money into my checking.

You should be able to easily setup a portion of your paycheck to go directly into your new bank.  Just check with your HR department on adding a second checking or savings account to your direct deposit.  The system we use at our office allows me to specify a different bank account and a percentage of each paycheck to deposit.  I recommend starting with only 5% at the beginning to make sure you won’t miss it, but slowly increase it until you reach 10% or an amount you’re comfortable with.

If you’re employer doesn’t allow for that then you could easily write yourself a check each month to deposit into your separate savings account.

In the video, I also talked about three different approaches to paying down your debt.  Most everyone has heard of the debt snowball technique – starting with your smallest balance and working your way from smallest to largest.  A second method is starting with your debt that has the highest interest rate.  By knocking that one out first you end up saving more money in the long run because you will end up paying less in interest.  The final way we mention was all about using what motivates you the most – picking the one that annoys you the most and just getting it over with.  That way you can use that motivation to kick start you and keep you moving forward.

Easy DIY Lip Scrub For Soft, Smooth Lips

diy lip scrub, make your own lip scrub

A few weeks ago I shared over on my Instagram Stories a go-to beauty product that I’m loving lately.  I had so many questions on it, so I thought I would let it live on over on my YouTube channel.

This lip scrub is super easy to create because it uses only 2 ingredients!  After using it, my lips feel smooth, moisturized and even a little fuller. WIN!

You can watch the video online or down below to see what to include in this DIY lip scrub:

Tweet this video.

As you can see, I’m all about saving money and not spending a fortune on beauty products.  That’s why if I have a problem I love finding a DIY solution using items I already have on hand.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial as much as I do!

Should You Do A Spending Freeze? (Plus Tips For Doing One The Right Way!)

should you do a spending freeze

Curious if your family could benefit from a spending freeze?  There are a few questions you should answer:

  • Are you struggling with overspending right now?
  • Do you wish you had more money in the bank?
  • Do you not have $1,000 in your emergency fund today?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you should consider doing a spending freeze to get you back on track.

A spending freeze is great because it forces you to stop mindlessly spending and actually focus on what your goals are.  The best part about spending freezes is that they are completely customizable.  You can easily make them for as long or as short to fit your needs.  Plus there are some rules you need in place BEFORE starting your spending freeze to help you ease into it nicely and recover from it effectively.

In today’s video I’m sharing if you should do a spending freeze and tips for doing it the right way (with ways to get prepared fast and easily).  You can watch the video online or down below:

Tweet this video.

Resources mentioned in this video:

Why You Should Consider A No Eating Out Challenge

How To Save $1,000 Fast

How We Cut $14,000 From Our Budget Last Year

Ready to get your emergency fund fully stocked?  Well grab our 6-Month Emergency Fund Savings Plan to help you conquer your rainy day fund once and for all!

How To Cut Your Grocery Bill Right Now (Quick Tips To Save More Money)

how to save money on groceries, how to cut your grocery budget

One of the easiest ways that you can quickly save money is in your grocery budget.  It’s true!

I hear so many complain how their grocery budget is stretched thin, but when we take a closer look at what their buying, where their money is going and how they are meal planning then I can usually help point them into a light bulb moment.

So many families feel as if their grocery buying is almost set in stone.  That they can switch brands or they have to buy certain snacks, drinks, and items each week or their family might revolt. While I get to a point because we always have a box of cheez-its on hand for our little man, I also understand how overspending can really deter you from reaching your financial goals.

If you’re willing to overspend a few dollars here and there then eventually those few dollars will start to grow.  That means less money towards debt payments, college funds, vacation funds and other sinking funds.  That’s why when a reader asked,

“What can I do to really cut my grocery budget without spending hours and hours each month?”

I was ready to answer.

I am assuming by hours and hours she meant coupon clipping and price matching… so that’s what I’m going to go with.

In today’s video I’m sharing my one trick on how you can cut your grocery bill right now and actually spending LESS time each month on groceries.  You can watch online or down below:

Tweet this video.

Let’s recap my grocery hack:

Organize Your List

Make your grocery list in order of your store.  You probably know your local store’s layout better than most employees, right? So try to make your list in order of the store’s aisles.  That way you can spend less time back tracking, which means you’re more likely to stick to your list and will spend less time in the store.

Start At The Back

When you first go into the store, head straight to the back.  That way when you’ve crossed the last item off your list, you’re in front of the checkout.  In the video, I mention why this trick is magically when you have little ones ‘helping’ you.

How To Cut Your Grocery Bill

Set The Right Budget

Make sure your grocery budget is set to the right amount.  I have a fast rule to help you get started.  Having a guideline on how much you should be spending can be really helpful when you’re comparing your grocery budget from month-to-month.  Also, make sure you know what’s all included in your grocery budget.  When I meet with clients, one of the easiest ways to detect if their budget is off by asking what all they include in the grocery category.

Need more help?

grab budget success checklist

Do you need a little more guidance on setting your family’s budget? If so, grab my Budget Success Checklist.  This 9-step guide will help you create a flexible budget for your family.

The Easier Cash Envelope Method To Stop Overspending

The Easier Cash Envelope Method To Stop Overspending

It’s been a crazy few weeks around here – sickness, tax season, all. the. things. that have seemed to pop up out of nowhere.  But that’s life, right?

You can plan, be organized and yet, one thing can turn everything upside down.  For us – we’ve all be fighting some sort of bug and have just passed it back-and-forth the past few weeks.  It hit hard and has lingered for awhile now.  Anytime you’re sick, it just seems to throw everything off.  Your housekeeping goes to the wayside (hello dirty dishes in the sink!) and even your budgeting can take a backseat.

Then when you start to feel better and get back into the swing of things, it can be hard to really get back with your finances.  Usually money is the last thing families want to mess with – who wants to balance their checkbook, update their budget and track their spending from the past few weeks?  No one.

The Easier Cash Envelope Method To Stop Overspending

It’s easy when you feel good to stay on top of it all, but once you’re sick then it’s hard to get that traction back.  That’s why I wanted to share with you an easier way to handling your budget – I call it the easier cash envelope system.  It’s an oldie, but a goodie.  It’s one of my most watched YouTube videos of all time and for good reason.  I share some great tips on sticking with your budget without the hassle of updating or tracking and without the hassle of going to the bank each week to withdrawal cash.

You can watch the easier cash envelope method video online or down below:

As you can see, this video is all about keeping things easy on yourself.  We’ve been using this method for years it makes a huge difference.  It’s easy to just login to your bank, transfer money and take care of what you need to take care of.  By having separate accounts for your highly active budget categories (think grocers, gas and eating out) then you can transfer your budgeted amount and then forget about it.

Still want to see the big picture?

chief financial officer, budget template, easy to use budget

Grab our Chief Financial Officer template.  This bundle helps you create a flexible budget once and for all.  No more stress or worry over every dollar spent.  Now, you can keep track of everything in one spot and see how you’re doing overall.  I’ve also included our best selling Sinking Funds spreadsheet to help you save for those irregular bills that come only a few times a year.  The best part? The Sinking Funds spreadsheet can also be applied to vacations, down payments, and more to help keep you motivated to becoming debt free.

How To Overcome Financial Disappointment (How to Bounce Back From Money Mistakes)

how to overcome money mistakes, how to bounce back from a financial mishap

Are you tired of making money mistakes month-after-month?  Do you just want to be in a groove when it comes to your finances?

Let’s talk about financial disappointment and making money mistakes.

They happen.  It’s part of life, but learning how to bounce back is key in overall financial health.

In today’s video, I’m sharing how to overcome financial disappointment so you can bounce back from those money mistakes.  You can watch online or down below:

Tweet this video.

Here’s a quick recap from the video:

Learn to be proactive instead of reactive.

Do you find yourself recovering from mistakes more often than you would like?  Well you might be reactive in your money decisions instead of proactive.  To easily change your mindset, you should start to think about the what-ifs and how to better prepare for them.

One of the best tips is to find all the education you can in areas you struggle – listen to podcasts, read blogs, watch videos, do what you can to better yourself.  Not everyone thinks of money the same way.  When we were paying off over $40,000 in debt we had a lot of experts with varying opinions on how we should save, budget, attack our debt and so on.  We read a lot of books, read blog posts and learned as much as we could.  The best thing we did is take all of this advice and find the golden nuggets that really clicked with us.

Move Forward.

You need to find a way to move forward after a mistake is made or a mishap occurs.  The first thing you need to remember is – DON’T PANIC.  When you start to panic that’s when you’ll be more likely to make a mistake that will cost you even more in the long run.  Take a step back.  Distract yourself.  Let yourself think it over before reacting.

Reverse it.

Can you return the item, cancel the contract, stop the order?  If you can then that should be your first option.  However, that doesn’t always work so you need to make a list of all your available options.

Can you sell it, can you shorten the length of your contract, can you lessen the options for a smaller fee?  Make a list and then start to move forward.

Create a plan.

Once you survive a financial mistake or mishap, it’s time to create a plan.  This plan needs to be in place to help you recover faster the next time something happens.  More than likely the mistake wont’ be the exact same; however, having money in an emergency fund can help you get back on your feet faster.  In the video I talk about how you should approach the amount you should have in your emergency savings account.

how to overcome money mistakes, how to bounce back from a financial mishap

Need Help?

grab 6 month emergency fund plan

If you don’t have a funded emergency fund then you should grab my 6-Month Emergency Fund Savings Plan.  This guide will help you create a monthly savings goal and find ways to quickly save.

 

How Not To Worry About Money (Tips For Financial Stress Motivation)

How Not To Worry About Money (Tips For Financial Stress Motivation)

Do you worry about money?  Be honest with yourself.

Have you have had an anxiety attack over a forgotten bill or maybe an unexpected expense?  Perhaps your income was considerably lower than you budgeted for and that sent you into a panic.

It happens.

The best thing you can do is learn how to control your emotions about money so that you stress less and find the motivation you need to reach your goals.

I’m sharing my top three tips on how not to worry about money so that you can reach financial peace.  You can watch the video online or down below:

Tweet this video.

Remember, there are three main steps to help you reduce your financial stress:

Plan For The What-Ifs.

Make sure you’re prepared for the unexpected.  That’s when having an emergency fund is the best tool in your toolbox.  It can help you bounce back from an unexpected expense so much faster.  You won’t have to adjust your normal monthly spending, you won’t have to buy less groceries and you won’t have to do less just because your car needs to be repaired.

This is also a great time to plan out your sinking funds.  Having a sinking fund to help plan for those once-a-year bills (like property taxes) is great, but you can easily adapt your sinking funds to help create a maintenance budget for your family.  That way when your 10+ year old washing machine finally goes to appliance heaven you have a home repair sinking fund with enough to cover that new washer.

Have An Open Dialogue.

It is so important for you and your spouse to be on the same page about money.  Now it may not always be easy, but it can be a huge relief to have someone to talk to.  When you start to feel the stress of money pile on, have a conversation with your partner.  You can probably vent your emotions, they can listen and be the logically sounding board you actually need.

Be Forgiving.

This might be the hardest step of all, but it’s the most important.  Mistakes will happen.  We’re only human.  We’re going to spend too much, buy something that doesn’t work out, and we won’t make as much as we planned.  It happens.  It’s how you treat yourself in the process that’s key.  Learn to be forgiving – to yourself and to your partner.

How Not To Worry About Money (Tips For Financial Stress Motivation)

Find Out More:

Learn my fool-proof tips for getting on the same page about money with your spouse.

Learn how to become debt free while still living life.

Check out my tips for building your emergency fund fast.

Follow these steps to save $1,000 fast and easy.

Ready for more?

Grab the Sinking Funds Checklist to help you create a plan to save more money in less time.  Sinking funds are a great way to break down those big expenses that comes just a few times a year into more manageable monthly goals.  The best part about sinking funds?  You can easily transform them into a savings tool to help you get ready for your next family vacation.

How To Pay Off Debt and Still Have Fun

how to pay down debt and still have fun (1)

Let’s talk about the dreaded “D” word today – DEBT.

There is this huge misconception about getting out of debt and having to live this rigid life where you never get to do anything fun UNTIL your debt is paid off.

That’s just simply not true.

You can still have fun, still live life and still be spontaneous even when you’re determined to get out of debt.

In today’s video, I’m sharing my tips for paying off debt while still having fun.  These tips are super simple to follow and will help you keep motivation.  You can watch online or down below:

Click to tweet this video.

SAVE FIRST

Make sure you have a fully funded emergency fund first and foremost.  This emergency fund is a life saver when the unexpected happens, and trust me, it will happen.  So make sure you have at least $1,000 in your emergency fund before even thinking about anything else.  Also, make sure you shouldn’t have more than $1,000 in your savings account.  There are times when you might need additional money in your emergency fund – large family, expecting a baby, planning to move, and so on.

GET FOCUSED

Make sure you know what your end goal is. Are you planning on becoming completely debt free – mortgage, cars, student loans, everything?  Are you planning on getting the small stuff out of the way so you can start planning for your future?  Just understand what your end goal should look like.  Make sure to talk it out with your spouse so that you’re on the same page, too.

When you’re trying to become debt free, you should know what amount you need.  This means understanding your current balances, interest rates, minimum payments, and so on.  That way you can continue to focus on the progress you’re making.

how to pay down debt and still have fun (1)

BE CREATIVE

Do your research when it comes to having fun.  I know, I know – research and fun doesn’t always go into the same category.  But hear me out.  You can easily have fun around town, weekend trips and activities for your kiddos with a little bit of creativity.  Find free or reduced entry fee days to parks.  Find the cheap days at the movie theater.  Look for free concerts that your kids would love.  Plan fun date nights while keeping within a budget to force each other to think outside of the box.

When it comes to your social life, invite friends over or arrange for a monthly pot luck with friends.  You can easily rotate whose house you go to, each person preparing a dish to bring and then you can have a fun night in.

PLAN AHEAD

Plan your vacations in advance.  One hiccup most families face is vacations.  Now some experts will say you should have lavish vacations until your debt is paid for.  Or they say you should plan staycations to save money.  Now all of these are good tips, but I have a different mindset.  You see, I believe in making memories now, when your kids are little and when you have the chance because you never know what the future holds.

Now don’t get me wrong you shouldn’t be going into debt just for a vacation, but you can easily plan and save for one.  Pick a location about 2-3 years in advance, do your research and start saving.  You should save for the cost of staying at your destination, travel to and from, food, excursions, activities, and souvenirs – all of it.  That way you can easily pay cash the entire trip and not go into debt.

The biggest takeaway is that you can still have fun while paying off debt.  A budget doesn’t have to restrict you, it gives you freedom to live and to stress less.  Don’t charge your credit cards and spend money you don’t have just to have a good time for a day.  Plan ahead, make smaller sacrifices now so that you can enjoy yourself freely later.

READY FOR MORE?

grab budget success checklist

Grab the Budget Success Checklist to help you create your dream budget.  This guide will walk you through the steps you need to understand your expenses, track your spending and create a budget that will ACTUALLY work for your family.

What Does Financial Wellness Mean (and How Do You Achieve It)?

What Does Financial Wellness Mean (and How Do You Achieve It)_What Does Financial Wellness Mean (and How Do You Achieve It)_

What exactly does financial wellness mean to you?

It can vary from person to person, family to family.  your version of financial wellness could be a complete 180 from your best friend, your neighbor and even your sibling.

The idea of being financial well simply means have less stress when it comes to finances.  Having more confident in your spending and savings. Being self-sufficient to pay your expenses, meet your goals and so on.

How can you gauge your financial wellness?

Determine your debt-to-income ratio.

This ratio tells you how you’re doing overall with the amount of debt you have.  Your debt number is the total amount of debt you have – mortgage, credit cards, car loans, store cards, personal loans, student loans, medical bills, etc. Divide your total amount of debt by your total amount of income.  What’s your number?

Is it high?  Is it pretty low?

The lower your ratio, the more income you have in comparison to your total amount of debt.  You should be striving to lower your debt-to-income ratio number.  You can accomplish this in two ways: lower your total amount of debt or increase your income.  It’s safe to say the easiest and quickest way to consistently lower this ratio is by continuing to pay down your debt.

Put numbers to your goals.

Do you have a big financial goal in your mind?  What is it?  Say it out loud or to yourself right now.  Are you trying to save for a home, a new car, a vacation?  Whatever your financial goal is you need to put a number to it.  How much are you trying to save?  What amount do you need to become debt free?

By putting an actual number to your financial goal then you will be able to track your progress, which will help you keep your motivation.

Enough income to meet living needs.

Another financial wellness gauge is by seeing if you have enough income to meet your current living needs.  Do you make enough to pay your monthly bills, your debt payments and still have a little left over?  If you are making enough to pay all of your bills, still have a little fun and put aside money into savings then that’s a good sign.

Fully funded emergency fund.

Is your emergency fund actually funded?  This is crucial to help lessen any financial stress you may be feeling.  You never know when something unexpected is going to happen so having an emergency fund can really pay. There are times you might need to have more than the recommended $1,000 in your fund, so be sure to do your homework.  

What Does Financial Wellness Mean (and How Do You Achieve It)_What Does Financial Wellness Mean (and How Do You Achieve It)_

So, you’ve gone through each of these gauges.  You’re feeling pretty good about each one, so how do you know when you’ve reach financial wellness?

It’s a feeling.  You will feel accomplished, less stressed, self-sufficient and more confident.  You will start to notice you have more money in your account from month-to-month.  You’re getting into a routine with paying bills and not letting anything slip through the cracks.  Your savings account balances are increasing and you’re finding ways to prepare for your future.

Those feelings are pretty great, right?  Doesn’t everyone want to feel more money confident and less financial stressed?  There are ways to get there – to achieve financial wellness: 

By creating and updating your budget on a regular basis you are giving yourself more freedom with your money.  You need to be the one telling your money what to do to help you, not letting your poor choices dictate and control you.

If you don’t have a budget or think your could do better, then grab my Budget Success Checklist.  This 9 step guide can help you create a flexible budget to fit your family.  It will help you go through your spending and your income to make sure everything gets a spot in your budget.

Understand your spending.

Do you know where your money goes?  Most know where the big hunks go, but not the smaller transactions.  The $5.00 here, the $10.00 there.  You should be tracking your spending so you know where your money is going. There are a few ways to easily track your spending – check register, cash method, envelope method.  The idea of tacking is to help you become more aware.  When you have awareness then you can make better choices.

Set goals and review them.

As we mentioned above with putting numbers and amounts to your goals, you need to actually take the time to set them.  Setting goals is a great way to test your progress. How close are you? How far away are you?  What was your time frame to reach your goals? Are you going to make it?

Ready for more?

grab budget success checklist

Are you ready to create a better budget to help you along your financial wellness journey?  Grab our Budget Success Checklist to get started.  This nine-step guide is perfect for learning more about your current spending and expenses so that you can create a flexible budget to fit your family.