Category: Budget

How To Save $1,000 Fast + Easy (Weekly Savings Plan)

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

how to save $1,000 fast, weekly savings plan

A few years back I created a simple weekly savings plan that started in June to help families save a little extra money through out the year. Well that post went viral and it is one of my most re-pinned pins to this day.  Obviously I was onto something.  Families want to save more money without the stress of actually figuring out HOW to save more money.

For years we struggled with getting a grip on our finances.  It took a lot of money dates to get on the same page about our money, which I assume is something most couples struggle with because let’s face it – one is usually the saver and one is usually the spender.  You both have big financial goals you want to reach, but money is tight and it’s hard to get on the same page to start making progress.

Trust me when I say this..

You can do it.

It is possible to save money on a tight budget while paying down debt and still having fun.  If our family can do it then your family can do it.  We are not anymore special than you are, we were just ready for a change and we took a leap of faith.

Watch today’s video online or down below:

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Here’s how this weekly savings plan works

It’s simple.  Between now and the week BEFORE Black Friday you will put aside $22 into a savings account. That means for the next 46 weeks you be saving money on a weekly basis.  At the end you will end up with $1,012 to use for Christmas gifts, travel or to have in your emergency fund.

Why the week before Black Friday?

Saving money isn’t just about what you keep, but it’s about what you spend.  So by saving over $1,000 before Black Friday then you should be able to use that money to buy most of your Christmas gifts while they are on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  I usually make my Christmas Budget and Gift List in early November so I can tackle most, if not all, of my holiday shopping while sitting on the couch with my laptop.  I want to encourage you to try to do the same.  Have a plan and you’ll be surprised with how much money you can save!

Not sure how you’re going to find $22 a week for this weekly savings plan…

Most families eat out once or twice a week on average, so if you’re struggling to find the extra cash then cut back on how often you eat out or what you pick to splurge on (sometimes McDonald’s drive-thru is just as good as a sit down restaurant and a lot cheaper!).  You can even put yourself on an No Eating Out Challenge to help kick start you.

Print out the Weekly Black Friday Savings chart to check off as you progress. Having something visual can help keep you focused.

weekly savings checklist

Download your Weekly Black Friday Savings Checklist.

Weekly Savings Plan Tips:

Save More When Possible: if you find yourself with some extra cash at the end of a week, go ahead and put in your stash.  That way if there’s a week later down the road where money is a bit tight you will still be on track to reach your overall goal of having $1,000.

Involve The Whole Family: It’s important to make sure you and your spouse are on the same page with your weekly savings goal.  But more than that, involve the kids.  Let them check off the progress chart, talk about why you want to save this money, and see if they have any ideas to help find the $22 each week.

For more help in creating a weekly goal, check out my Sinking Funds checklist.  This tool can help you create the perfect savings goals to reach all those big financial goals you have.

How Much Your Eating Out Budget Should Be Each Month

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

how to set your eating out budget

Are you ready to rock your budget and FINALLY take control of your spending?

Well I’m going to break down my magic formula so that you can create the perfect eating out budget for your family… no matter your income level and no matter the size of your family.

This simple formula that I mention in today’s video will help you feel more confident in your budgeting skills and help you take better control of your money.

You can watch how much your eating out budget should be each month online or down below:

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For more tips, keep reading:

Take Home Pay:

Make sure you know how much your take home pay is each month.  The easiest way to determine it is to better understand your paycheck so you can have a better picture.

Know The Formula:

Once you have your take home pay then it’s time to apply the formula.  Simply multiply your amount by 5%.  For instance, if you’re net pay is $5,000 each month then your eating out budget should be $250 for your family.

How To Start Your New Budget Amount:

There are a few ways you can transition to your new budget.  One way is to simply keep track of your spending on an envelope or check register to make sure you don’t overspend.  My favorite way for beginners or those that struggle with overspending is to withdraw cash from your account each month.  That way you force yourself to use cash for eating out and will prevent yourself from overspending.

Ready To Get Your Budget In Gear?

chief financial officer, budget template, easy to use budget

Grab the Chief Financial Officer template over in the shop so that you can easily manage your family finances.  This one-stop tool will help you budget your money effectively, track your spending and check your progress towards your goals.  You can grab it for 50% off right now until January 1st.  Just use code CFO2019 at checkout.

How We Save $14,000 Each Year (Money Saving Tips | Minimalism)

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

How We Save $14,000 Each Year, minimalism money saving tips

What would you do if I told you that in 2018 alone we saved over $14,000?  Would you believe me?  Would you be curious about how we did it?

Well it’s true.  This past year thanks to a few mindset shifts and new habits we were able to save over $14,000.  Actually, it was closer to $14,700 in savings.

Think about what your family could do with an extra $14,000 each year.  Would you be able to finally become debt free?  Start saving for your retirement?  Or even start putting some away each month for your children’s future college expenses?

That’s exactly what we did with our savings, which I talked about in a previous post where I detailed our top 5 monthly expenses.  It’s a pretty nice feeling to not stress about bills and to know that one day when we’re ready, we’ll be able to retire without having to stress or worry.

In today’s video I’m sharing the 8 money saving tips we started this past year and how that added up fast.  You can watch online or down below:

Click to tweet this video.

For a quick recap of our top money saving tips, keep reading:

Cable.  We cut the cord and have never looked back.

Meal planning and eating out less.  In the video I shared tips on meal planning and how that was a game changer for our budget.  I even talked about we prefer to use our slow cooker to keep us on track with eating out less and less each week.

Child care for our son.  This is a huge money saver each month for us.  We opted for an in-home sitter that treats our son like family over an over-priced daycare.

Christmas and birthday gifts.  Spending money on the holidays and birthdays can really add up.  That’s why years ago we implemented a gift budget system and have really stuck with it over the years.  We also make sure to use those credit card reward points to help us save even more.

Make sure to watch the video for the rest of our money saving tips and ideas.

Holiday Savings Tips

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

holiday savings tips, money savings tips

It’s that time of year again – time to bust out our naughty and nice lists, check it twice and make sure all of our loved ones are taken care.  But this year, let’s make a deal that we’ll create a plan, stick with it and not do more damage then we can actually afford.

I recently saw some statistics from Chime that I thought was pretty shocking.  The fact that on average it takes someone 4 months (FOUR MONTHS) to pay off their holiday debt is beyond scary to me.  The point of Christmas is to give and to be together, not to dig ourselves into a financial hole that it takes until Spring to get ourselves out of it.  I mean, let’s face it, we all have some pretty big financial goals and if we’re wasting four months a year to just recover from Christmas then we’re never going to get ahead.  If you haven’t heard of Chime before, they are a second chance banking company helping individuals build better money habits.  Check out some other statistics they discovered:

holiday savings tips

That’s why I wanted to share some holiday savings tips with you today.  That way you can become more informed, better prepared and not be just another statistic.  In today’s video I’m sharing my four holiday savings tips to get you off on the right foot this Christmas season.  You can watch online or down below:

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Here’s a quick recap of your holiday savings tips to get you started:

MAKE A PLAN

Create a plan for what, who and how much.  I shared last year how to create a holiday budget and planner (or you can grab it over in the shop).  But the basics of any good plan to save money is to know what you need to buy, who you need to buy for and how much you want to spend.  This plan needs to be created BEFORE doing any shopping.

SET YOUR BUDGET

Once you have your plan in place then you can create a budget.  Make sure to include all the small details, too.  Don’t forget about the gifts to buy for family, friends, co-workers and so on.  Include any dishes you have to make, which means ingredients and grocery trips that will need to be made.  Christmas wrapping paper, cards, and labels and such that will need to be budgeted for.

SHOP THE DEALS

This time of year, your best bet to find the most money saving deals will be online – or at least that’s where you need to start.  So once you have your plan and your budget that’s when you need to do your pre-shopping.  Take time to look online for any sales happening or to find the best price for what you want to buy.  Make sure you don’t walk into a store without doing your research because that’s when overspending happens.

UPDATE YOUR BUDGET AND PLAN

The reason I love my holiday planner and budget so much is that it actually works as a checklist.  You’re able to easily see who you need to buy for still, how much money you’ve spent and my personally favorite, a gift tracker – that way you can see what gifts have been bought, shipped, received and wrapped.

Where We Spend Our Money (Our Top 5 Monthly Expenses)

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

OUR TOP MONTHLY EXPENSES

So, you’re trying to get your budget in check before the holidays so you can end the year on a high note and not struggle to gain momentum in 2019.  I get it.  Trust me.  Especially after learning how it takes most families an average of four months to pay off their holiday debt.  FOUR MONTHS, friends!

That’s bonkers!

This time of year I share a lot about setting up your Christmas budget, shopping the deals and saving the most amount of money you can, which is great.  BUT… if you don’t have a good foundation to start on then you aren’t going to get very far.

That’s when today’s post hit me – I should be sharing where are money is going.  Now I’m not going to get into too many small details; however, I think it helps to see how others spend their money.  I’m pulling back the curtain and spilling the beans on our top five monthly expenses – the nuts and bolts of our monthly budget.

It’s hard to imagine where the bulk of your income should be going when you’re just starting your budget.  If you’re like me then you want to make sure you’re getting it right, understanding where your money is going and that you aren’t making too many costly mistakes.

You can watch our latest video on how much we spend on our top monthly expenses and why.  You can watch the video online or down below:

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Now before you go re-doing your monthly budget there are a few things to keep in mind:

EMERGENCY FUND

Do you have an emergency fund started?  If not, then that’s step one.  You need a minimum of $1,000 in an emergency fund that’s off limits to most of your expenses (except emergencies, of course!).

DEBT

How much debt do you have?  If you still have quite a bit of credit card debt, loan payments and store credit cards then that’s the second place you start.  There are a few different ways you can attack your debt, so make sure you find the one that fits your family the best.

RETIREMENT

Once you have most of your smaller debt payments paid off then you really need to start working on your retirement.  As I mentioned in the video, there is where I differ from others.  I believe in starting retirement sooner rather than later.  So watch the video for my best tips!

LARGER PURCHASES

I’m a huge, HUGE fan of sinking funds.  That’s how we were able to pay cash for our new furniture and for all of other larger purchases.  So make sure you plan for those fun trips, maintenance expenses, and larger purchases in your monthly budget.

Need More Help?

Grab my Budget Success Checklist to get your budget in check before the end of this year.  This nine-step guide is perfect for helping you determine where your money is going and create a clear path to reach your goals.  I’ve even included a free budget template to get you started.

How To Keep More Money Instantly

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

How to keep more money instantly

Raise your hand if you want to keep more money instantly each month!

**raises hand**

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “is that really a question? Who doesn’t want to have more money?”

And you would be right.  I haven’t come across one person who tells me that they don’t want any extra money, especially this time of year with the holidays so close.

Let’s just think about what you could do with more money each month – would you be able to pay down more debt?  Start your holiday budget a little earlier so you can breathe easier?  Finish funding your emergency fund?  What would you do?  In today’s video I’m sharing with you my go-to tips and advice for how to keep more money instantly without having to put any more stress on yourself or drastically cut your spending.

You can watch the video online or down below:

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Here’s a quick snapshot of what we talk about in the video:

CLEAN

It’s time do a little deep cleaning on your spending.  Print out banks statements for a month or two to go through.  Grab a highlighter and a pen so you can make notes.  Highlight any spending you aren’t sure what it is or any expenses that you don’t need to be spending.  For instance, check out our subscriptions.  Do you really need that monthly subscription box or gym membership that you haven’t used in months?  Just by going through your spending, you’ll be able to have a full picture of where your money is going.

MAKE A LIST

Take a few minutes to create a list of all your opportunities.  These include any ways you can possibly make more money – now this doesn’t mean going out and finding a second job, but easier methods of increasing your income.  Clean out closets and sell unwanted items, savings from canceling those subscriptions from step one, finding a new client or two to on-board, selling your services (I sell my budgeting coaching program), create templates to sell (like I do in my shop), and any other ideas you may have.

No matter if you’re in a service-based industry or product-based industry make sure to watch the video to get my one tip on increasing your sales.

FOCUS

You have a clear vision of what you’re spending and you even created a list of how to make more money.  Now it’s time to get to work.  Pick three things to start focusing on and get started.  If you pick cancel a subscription service and find two new clients then that’s great.  Once you check one item off your focus list then replace it with another idea of your income list.  Keep going until you have checked everything off.

 

 

 

How To Switch To The Cash Envelope Budget System (Three Ways To Make It Work For You)

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

How To Switch To The Cash Envelope Budget System (Three Ways To Make It Work For You)

Are you ready to make the switch to the cash envelope budget system, but aren’t a big fan of carrying all that cash every day?

Well today, we’re going to go through four steps you can adapt the cash envelope system to fit your family.  These steps can be adapted to fit your family, any income level and any goal that you have.

Make sure to watch today’s video for more details on each step.  You can watch How To Start The Cash Envelope System Without Cash online or down below:

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Here’s a quick summary of each step:

STEP ONE: Decide when to make the change

The first step in switching to the using cash envelopes is deciding when to make the shift.  Will you do it now?  Next payday? Will you wait until the first of the month?  In the video I share how you can make the shift at any point.  However, you need to make sure that all your bills are paid and taken care of between the change and the next payday.  You can use a bill tracker to help you ensure all bills are paid.

STEP TWO: Decide which categories you will use cash for

You don’t have to use cash for every single budget category, but you need to ask yourself two questions before making that decision:

  1. Do you normally overspend in this area?
  2. Can the overage be controlled with cash?

If you answer YES to these two then you need to be using cash for that category.

STEP THREE: Choose your tracking system

Tracking your spending is vital in making sure you reach your financial goals.  There are multiple ways you can easily track your spending, which I go through in the video.  If you aren’t sure why you should be tracking – check out my post that explains why it’s pretty smart to do.

STEP FOUR: How to deal with overspending

Let’s face it – we’re all human and we all make mistakes.  But the key is how we bounce back from those mistakes, right? So when it comes to budgeting you need to have a plan or system that gets you back on track when you overspend.  When it comes to using cash, it becomes pretty simple – if you don’t have the cash then you can’t spend money.  However, in the video I go through multiple tactics to the cash envelope system that you need to understand when overspending occurs.

For more help, check out these posts:

HOW MUCH YOU SHOULD BE SPENDING ON GROCERIES

WHY WE HAVE MULTIPLE BANK ACCOUNTS

WHY YOU SHOULD SETUP AUTO PAY FOR YOUR BILLS

 

 

How To Change Your Money Mindset To Start Attracting More Money

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

how to change your money mindsets

Did you know your money mindset can actually affect how much money you make, you keep and you save?

When you think about money what comes to mind?  Do you have a positive relationship with money?  Or is it more of a negative one?

I want to share with you four tips on how you can easily start shifting your financial mindset so that you can attract more of it and stop spending so much money from month-to-month.  These tips are the cornerstone in creating a healthy relationship with money so that you can stop letting it have control over your life.

In today’s video, you can learn these four money mindset shifts and how you can start incorporating them into your daily life without any frustration.  Actually these money mindsets will help you create healthy money affirmations and help melt the money stress away.

Check out today’s video online or down below:

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Here’s a quick summary of the four money mindsets you should be focusing on:

Change Your Wording

Enough with the negative self talk.  It’s time we start thinking, talking and believing more positively when it comes to money.  Learn the simple word shifts you need to start in the video.

Change Your Perception Of Your Value

It’s time we start seeing our worth for what it really is.  We are valuable.  We create value.  We give value.  Make sure you charge not only for your time, but for the value you give.

Have A Giver’s Heart

Be willing to give to others, to make life easier for them, and to be loyal to those you love.  When you’re willing to give then you’re opening yourself up to receive more.  Check out the ways you can start having a giver’s heart without giving away your money.

Take Ownership Over Your Financial Journey

Stop playing the blame game when it comes to your financial journey.  You need to realize that only you have control over your choices and the outcomes.

If you’re ready to keep more of your money, check out these great posts:

How to read your paycheck stub to keep more of your money

How to instantly fix your budget in 5 easy steps

Time management tips for working moms

Ready for more?

Grab the 9-step guide for Budget Success

Grab the 9-step Budget Success Checklist to help you create a workable budget that fits your family. Take better control over your money, your spending and your saving so that you can do more of what you want.

Setting Goals and Digging Deep

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

setting goals, goal setting tips

How good are you at setting goals?

Be honest.  No one is listening.  How good are you at setting realistic goals and then creating the path to reach them?

Most people are great at creating goals and dreaming big, but it’s the mapping out the steps that most struggle at.

So much of our time is spent grinding away at the daily tasks that we spend any free time we have dreaming of the perfect dream…

Losing those last 20 pounds…

Creating a side income that actually pays some of our bills…

Moving to a different house with more storage…

Being able to do all. the. things. for our kids…

Changing our style to look a little more put together and a little less like the struggle bus…

Or something entirely different.

Let’s take it back a few steps and create a workable plan to reach any goal you can dream of.  Sound good?

Let’s get started.

Watch today’s video where I’m sharing how to break down any goal you can dream of into actionable steps AND create a system to check in with your goal periodically to track your progress.

You can watch online or down below:

Click to tweet this video.

Step One: Dream Big

it’s time to create that big, outlandish goal.  Make sure you write it down somewhere that you see on a regular basis.  Jot it down on a post-it and stick it your bathroom mirror, make a list in Google Drive, email it to yourself and leave it unread.

Step Two: List Out Your Steps

In the video I go into more detail about listing out your steps, but the basic idea is to write down all the steps you need to take to reach your final goal.  These steps will become mini goals along your journey.

Step Three: Set Deadlines for Your Mini Goals

Once you have the steps you need to reach your big goal, it’s time to create a deadline.  It’s a lot easier to take your smaller goals (or steps) and create shorter deadlines.  That way you can easily follow your process and track your progress.  This works great for larger goals like losing 20+ pounds, paying down your debt, saving for a larger purchase, and so on.

Step Four: Check In With Your Big Goal

As I talked about in the video, I love the idea of checking in with your big goal on a regular basis.  As you cross your smaller, mini goals off the list make sure you’re still on track to reach your big goal AND that your desire hasn’t changed.  Check in a monthly or quarterly basis that way you can redirect yourself if needed.

Check out these other posts for more inspiration and help:

How To Afford More For Your Kids

5 Ways To Instantly Fix Your Budget

How To Find The Time To Chase Your Dreams

Ready for more?

grab your cross stress off your list guide (1)

Tired of feeling overwhelmed from all. the. things. on your to-do list?  Then grab my Cross Stress Off Guide.  This easy-to-follow exercise will have you feeling more relaxed, calm and ready to take on the world.  This guide is perfect for busy moms looking for ways to get more done in less time.  Grab yours HERE.

How To Afford More For Your Kids On A Budget

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

How To Afford More For Your Kids On A Budget

Alright, last night I asked my Instagram followers what they wanted to see today.

You spoke. I listened.

In today’s post I’m going to be sharing just how we afford all the fun we do with our little man while on a budget.

Honestly, we weren’t able to do as much as we can now just a year ago. We also know that in a year we plan on being able to do even more. It’s all about making progress around here.

This time last year J was in school full time and we were living off just one income.  We were surviving, but not necessarily thriving.  We had to carefully watch what we spent to make sure we had enough to cover all of our bills from month-to-month.  Luckily we had done some pretty heavy planning before he back to school, so we never went without.

But now life is a little different – we’re back to being a two income household, which means a couple of things:

  • we get to do more
  • we get to save more
  • we’re still acting like we’re living off one income for the majority of our bills

But if you’re ready to afford more for you kids while on a budget then you’ve come to the right place.  We’re going to go over the steps we’ve taken to make sure we can do more for and with our little man while still making progress towards our bigger financial goals.

Make A List

The first step in trying to afford more is to make a list. We have a dream list of all the things we would love to do with our little man. You need to do the same. Here’s a snippet of our list:

  • gymnastics
  • private preschool
  • Baseball/ T-ball
  • Day trips
  • Vacations
  • Summer camps
  • And more

Once you have your list that’s when you need to start planning. How much is each activity going to cost? What age do they need to be to start it? Where is it going to be?

We prioritized our list into one he was able to do right now at 2 years old. We know he’s still a little young for baseball and summer camps, so we don’t have to worry about those right now. But we do have him in gymnastics and we love taking day trips to new places.

Take A Good Look At Your Budget

Next, you need to take a good look at your budget to see where you can squeeze out some extra money.  For instance, we realized that not eating out about three times a month was all we needed to cover the cost of gymnastics.

Once you determine where you can get some extra cash then you need to decide if it’s actually feasible to make the cuts.  For us, we had to weigh the thought of eating out three more times in a month with the idea of our son being more active with other children.

It really was a no brainer, but it may not be that easy for you.  So make a pro/con list.  Talk it over and then make a decision.  The best part about making decisions?  You can always change your mind.  So don’t worry about making a mistake.

affording more for your kids

Plan Ahead

If you’re wanting to make more day trips, road trips and be more spontaneous then you need to plan ahead.

I know, I know.  How do you plan ahead to be spontaneous, Meredith?

Well I’m going to tell you… You need to juts understand and accept that you’re going to do things on a whim so you need to be saving for those.  Now you don’t have to plan for each specific trip to the zoo, pumpkin patch, or road trip but just know that you will take them.

What has worked for us is having a category in our sinking funds earmarked for miscellaneous activities.  This category is for all the last minute trips and fun activities we come up with.  We don’t put a lot towards this category every month and it’s the first to get cut on tighter months, but we have been able to build a little stockpile without much effort.

Decide how much you can easily put back each month for those just-for-fun trips.  It may only be $20, but doing that for a few months could make for a really nice trip to the zoo or to the pumpkin patch.

Be Smart After Spending

This is one of the most important parts of being able to afford more – you have to be smart after a purchase.  On the weeks following a road trip you should be cooking at home more, not eating out, and using what you have on hand instead of going grocery shopping.

Try meal planning every two weeks so that way you know with certainty that you have enough food to prepare dinners and even lunches on those weeks following.  Make sure you aware of your spending so you don’t go over budget.

Spend Gifts With Care

If you ever receive cash or gift cards for birthdays and holidays then make them stretch.  We take on a hoarder type mentality.  We want the money to last as long as possible so we tend not to spend on eating out and other expenses that we already have budgeted for.  We like to save this extra amounts for more fun occasions.

Reward Points

Sign up for reward points or see about earning cash back with your credit card.

Now, I’ve talked about using your credit card before so if you haven’t seen that post I highly recommend checking it out to make sure you don’t throw your entire budget out of whack.

For example we use our credit card for gas and groceries then pay it off each month. At the end of the year we take our reward points and cash them in. That’s usually the majority, if not all, the money we spend on Christmas gifts.

So try to save your reward points and give them a purpose. If you want to take a family trip every summer then save your reward points for that occasion. Make your reward points your spending cash while on vacation.

Try to earn free nights at hotels to save money.  Most hotels have reward programs that are free and you earn points for staying.  In the next few weeks J and I will be traveling to Kansas City for free (except the cost of gas and food).  He earned free tickets through his work and I had enter a drawing at a local hotel and won enough points to cover a night at a hotel in Kansas City.  So this trip that we thought and planned to cost us quite a bit, suddenly just got a whole lot cheaper!  Which means the money we were setting aside can be used for other fun activities with our little man.

Don’t Over Do It

Be mindful of how much you can actually afford and how much your little one can do.  For instance, when the time comes for your little princess to start dance lessons then drop them from gymnastics or go back through these steps to see about finding the money to afford both in your budget.   We know that when the day comes that Dent is ready for a new activity and we’re still in this financial position then we would cancel gymnastics.

However, I know and you know that the goal is to continue to earn more and save more. So that we can have the hopes of being able to do all. the. things. our little ones want to do.