What Is The 80/20 Budgeting Rule (How You Can Stop Tracking Your Spending and Still Save)

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

What Is The 80/20 Budgeting Rule (How Much To Spend and Save Each Month)

Have you heard of the 80/20 rule before when it comes to budgeting?

It’s a budgeting technique that’s thrown around from time to time and it can be pretty useful to those that really hate the idea of tracking expenses.

In today’s video, I’m diving into the 80/20 rule and how it can help you family finally conquer your money woes.  The 80/20 rule is a simple budget system that allows you to pull 20% of your take home pay right off the top for savings and then the rest is fair game to pay bills, buy groceries, and do everything else you want.

Be sure to watch the video to see more about this budget and how it could work for your family.  You can watch online or down below: 

Tweet this video.

In the video, I talked a lot about your take home pay.  It’s important you understand how much money you actually get to bring home each month so that you can more accurately plan.  Here’s a breakdown of the 80/20 rule:

Take 20% off the top

The first step in implementing your new 80/20 budget is to immediately take 20% of your take home pay and put it into a savings account.  This 20% is for your emergency fund and your future sinking funds, i.e. property taxes, vacations, and annual bills.

Spend the 80% wisely

The remaining 80% is for the rest of your monthly expenses.  It includes your monthly living expenses – rent/mortgage, utilities, cell phone, insurance and so on.  It also includes your discretionary spending – groceries, eating out, miscellaneous.  Finally, the 80% should also cover your minimum debt payments for loans, credit card bills and so on.

If you have any money remaining out of the 80% at the end of each month then that money should be applied to debt or put towards  your sinking funds.

Grab The Checklist

grab budget success checklist

Ready for more help in creating your dream budget? Grab the Budget Success Checklist to help.  We’ll walk you through each step in creating a budget – from understanding your expenses to estimating your income with accuracy.

What To Do When You Overspend Your Budget

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

What To Do When You Overspend Your Budget

Most of us have overspent a time or two when it comes to our monthly budget.  It happens.  That’s life.  Even those of us that have the best of intentions – going to save more money this month, only going to buy what I need, no shopping for new clothes, eating at home all week long, and so on.  Despite our best efforts, it happens.  There are so many reasons we overspend:

  1. Forget to track some bills or spending
  2. Don’t calculate our expenses correctly
  3. Get our due dates mixed up
  4. Don’t realize just how much we are spending

Overspending happens to everyone, but not everyone really understands how to recover when it happens.  Recovery is really the essential part to get back in the black and out of the red.

ASSESS YOUR DAMAGE

Take a minute (or two) to figure out the damage done.  Ask yourself these questions:

  1. Did you overspend on your credit card, write a check that you didn’t track, or swipe your debit card without knowing how much you had in the bank?
  2. Did you overspend for a day, a few days, a week?
  3. How much did you overspend by? Less than $100, less than $1,000?  How much overall did you go over?

The easiest way to determine the correct answers is by reviewing your credit card statements and bank statements.  I love using a check register (like this one over in the shop) to help us keep up with where our money is going.  I can easily reconcile our spending to our bank statements and credit card transactions.  It’s important to honest with yourself because the last thing you need is to be short money when a bill comes due.

GET BACK ON TRACK

Alright, now you have an understanding of where you went wrong and how much damage you may have done.  Now it’s time to get back on track.  Make sure you’re tracking your spending on a regular basis, checking your online banking and recent credit card transactions.  Make sure you’re using a budget that works for you.  We love our Chief Financial Officer Bundle at our house.  This budget has helped us pay off over $40,000 worth of debt in under three years.  We can easily track our expenses directly inside the template and have it automatically calculate how we’re doing.

If you’re not using a budget, now would be the good time to get started.  You can learn more about how to create a budget in an earlier blog post.

PAY YOURSELF BACK

Sometimes you get cheated the most when you overspend.  You aren’t able to save as much as you had planned or maybe you aren’t able to make the kind of progress you wanted on your debt.  On the other hand, maybe you spent money that you didn’t have and now your credit card balance has increased.  You need to create a plan to help you pay down the amounts you overspent.  If you’re using a budget you can easily create a sinking funds category to add to it.  Simply add up the total amount you overspent during that time and make that your new savings goal.  Divide by how many months (or weeks) you would like to take to get back to ground zero.

FIGURE OUT YOUR TRIGGER

What’s one of the most important steps that most people forget about?  It’s figuring out what went wrong.  A lot of us have a trigger that sets us off when it comes to spending.  Can you trace your spending back to a specific mood, day of the week, or event that happened.  Were you in a good mood and feeling good about yourself so you decided to splurge on new clothes?  Were you feeling overwhelmed by everything around you and decided to go crazy at The Container Store? Did you get some bad news and that’s what set you off to not feeling like cooking for an entire month?

Determine what set you off so that you can take necessary steps next time it happens.  Being able to recognize the behavior is key.

GO BACK TO CASH

If it helps you to control your spending while you get back on track, switch to cash.  Using cash is a great way to stop overspending.  Once your cash is gone, that’s it.  We have used cash for our eating out and groceries when we find ourselves overspending from time-to-time.  The easiest way to make cash budgeting work for you is to find the categories you tend to overspend in.  That way you can keep it simple and not feel too overwhelmed with having to figure out cash budgets for everything.

Ready for more?

grab budget success checklist

Grab our Budget Success Checklist to help you create a workable budget to help prevent overspending.  This guide is a must for anyone wanting to take better control of their money.

 

Personal Protection Tips with Damsel in Defense (My New Business Goals)

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Personal Protection Tips with Damsel in Defense (My New Business Goals)

Are you ready for more personal protection tips?

Lately, you may have noticed that on Fridays we share self defense tips and new ideas from Damsel in Defense.  Usually I go live over on our Facebook page every Wednesday morning to share something that is relevant to working women, to busy moms, and so on.  A few weeks ago I shared more about who Damsel in Defense is and how we got started.

I may have even shared some of our big goals for 2019 along with my personal goals for my business.

Watch the video online or down below:

Tweet this video.

staging your home for protection

If you’re looking for help when it comes to protecting your home then grab my Staging Your Home For Personal Protection guide.  This great guide will you learn new techniques for locking your home, guarding it and teaching your little ones what to do if something should happen.

Save Over $1,000 for Christmas With A Weekly Plan

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Save Over $1,000 for Christmas With A Weekly Plan

Hey there! I have a question for you… and I want you to really think about it before answering.  Ready?

Are you still trying to recover from the holidays?

And be honest… did you dip a little into your savings?  maybe put a few gifts on a credit card?  or what about just feeling like you’re still running in circles?

Most of us would say yes to one of those questions or maybe you just feel that your progress has stalled since the start of the holiday season.  Maybe you were saving more money each month and somehow the funds just aren’t there anymore.  It happens.

When we get out of habits or when life happens, we tend to revert back to our old ways.  That’s why I created a new challenge to help you get your finances back on track.  Plus, this challenge is geared towards the 2019 holiday season, which means you will hopefully be better prepared and quicker to recover.

A few weeks ago I talked about how, on average, a family takes FOUR MONTHS to recover from the holidays.  But here we are in February and most of us (me included) are still trying to make back ground in what we lost through November and December.  We were fortunate enough to have enough money saved to pay for all of our Christmas gifts and even travel, BUT somehow the amount we put back into savings each month has slowly decreased month-by-month.

And I’m not happy with it.

You see, like you, we have big dreams and goals.  I know that without saving the right amount each month that we have our sinking funds set for is a big no-no.  It may not hurt us immediately with our finances, but it’s frustrating when you realize you won’t be able to reach your goals in the time frame you want.

That’s why this new challenge is perfect.  

In today’s video I’m sharing with you how you can save over $1,000 between now and the week before Christmas.  This money could be used for Christmas shopping or holiday travel …. or it could be used to help you get the new year off on the right foot.

Watch how to save $1,000 for Christmas online or down below:

Tweet this video.

As you saw in the video, the goal is clear.  Have $1,000 the week before Christmas.  I try to keep things simple by having one amount that you need to save each week – $22.  Most of us can easily squeeze $22 a week out of our current budget.  Maybe we don’t go through the drive-thru on our busy night and instead start a slow cooker meal.  Maybe we pack our lunch for the entire family for the week and save MORE than $22.

Just remember – you got this!  The goal isn’t to stress you out about your money, but to help you create a workable target.  Keep your goal small – $22 a week.  Don’t focus on having to save $1,000 in a few months that can seem overwhelming.  Just focus on $22.

Need More?

grab 6 month emergency fund plan

Grab our 6-Month Emergency Fund Savings Plan to help you knock out your emergency fund.

What To Pack In Your Car For Winter Travel With The Family

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

what to pack in your car during the winter

 

Are you prepared for the colder temperatures that are headed your way?  Over on our Facebook page this past week, I went live to share some great items that you should have in your car this time of year.  The hope is you NEVER need any of these items, but the goal is to be PREPARED in case you get stuck on the highway due to bad weather, come out of the office to a car that won’t start, and so on.

You can watch today’s family travel tips online or down below:

Click to tweet this video.

 

staging your home for protection

Grab our Staging Your Home for Personal Protection guide.  This guide will help you make sure your home is protected.

 

Tips for Building Your Emergency Fund

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

tips for building your emergency fund

One of the biggest things I hate seeing with families who are finally ready to tackle their finances is getting side tracked by emergencies.  That’s why I find having an emergency fund so invaluable when it comes to your financial foundation.

How Much Do You Need?

It’s recommended to start with $1,000 as a minimum in your emergency fund.  Having at least $1,000 in a separate account earmarked for those unplanned emergencies is a great way to keep you on track.  Think about it – what would happen right now, today if you walked into your house to find your washing machine had gone out?  How would that mess you up?

Think about it…you would no longer be able to just start a load of clothes before dinner.

Which means you may have to haul everything to the local laundry mat or even to a family member’s house… then wait for your laundry to get done just to haul it back home.

You may have to hire a technician to make a house call to try to fix your washing machine.

If that doesn’t work then you will probably have to spend the money to invest in a new one.

Where would the money come from?  Would you have to put it on a credit card?  What about opening a new store credit card?

That’s a lot of stress, a lot of frustration and a lot of disruption.

Now think about having $1,000 sitting in an account untouched.  Now something happens.  You don’t have to think about the extra money or going into debt.  It’s there ready to be used.  Now instead of putting off getting a new machine, you can easily head to the store, pick one out and schedule delivery.

Should I Have More Than $1,000?

There a couple of different reasons you might want to have more than $1,000 in an emergency fund.  First, you have a large family with a high deductible health insurance plan.  I love having enough money in an account to cover half of our insurance deductible.  So, when you have several children (more than 2) and have a high deductible plan then aim to have at least $1,000 plus your family’s deductible in a savings account.

The second reason is when you have your debt paid off.  Once you have your debt paid in full (except your mortgage) start putting back extra into your emergency fund.  The final goal would be to have 3-6 months of living expenses saved.

For more tips for building your emergency fund be sure to watch today’s video either online or down below:

Tweet this video.

Resources mentioned in this video:

How To Save $1,000 Fast and Easy

The Right Dining Out Budget For Your Family

Money Saving Tips: How We Save Over $14,000 Each Year

 

Want More Help?

chief financial officer, budget template, easy to use budget

Grab the free 6-Month Emergency Fund Savings Plan to help quickly build your emergency fund.  This one-stop guide will cover the basics of why you need an emergency fund and simple, out-of-the-box ideas on finding the funds for your new account.

Sweetheart Special To Keep Them Safe

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

give the gift of personal protection

Each Wednesday I go live to share a new Warrior Tip with you.  It’s one of my absolute favorite parts of my week.  Sitting down at my kitchen table to share a new idea for personal protection or one of Damsel in Defense’s latest product releases with you.

This past week I went live over on our Facebook page to share a little Valentine’s special with you.  It’s a great deal that’s only on sale for the month of January.  So if you’re trying to find that someone special a gift (or need to leave a hint for someone so they know what to get you) then be sure to check out today’s video.

You can watch the video online or down below:

Tweet this video.

Resources mentioned in this video:

Damsel in Defense has a Sweetheart Special with a pink Get A Grip stun gun, Violet Breakaway Braid, and Polk Pouch O’Pepper Pepper Spray.  This special is on sale throughout the month of January and will be delivered by Valentine’s Day if ordered by the end of the month.

Create your personalized keychain system and travel system to fit you.

Learn the benefits of a stun gun with this Get a Grip stun gun training.

READY FOR MORE?

staging your home for protection

Grab our Staging Your Home for Personal Protection guide.  This guide will help you make sure your home is protected.

How To Inventory Your Freezer, Fridge and Pantry

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

how to inventory your freezer and pantry

It’s no secret that I am a fan of keeping things simple in order to save money.  Honestly, it’s a lot of the meaning behind this blog.  I have found that when you keep things simple and easy on yourself then you’re more likely to follow through and stay motivated.  I think that’s why I love easy meal planning ideas and ways to keep our grocery costs down.  Because I hate going to the grocery store and I hate wasting my money by throwing away spoiled food.

Did you know that you can save so much money each month just by having a simple solution to tracking what you have in your freezer, fridge and pantry on the daily?  It’s true!  Just think about all the times you dug in your freezer for one thing to find something else you couldn’t locate a few weeks earlier.  It happens.  A lot.  That’s why I want to help you learn how to inventory your freezer and your pantry to help you save more money this year.

In today’s video I’m sharing the steps you need to follow to easily inventory your freezer and pantry (and keep it up).  You can watch online or down below:

Tweet this video.

  1. Take Out What You Have – empty your freezer and cabinets and lay out the contents.  Now you may want to start with your freezer then come back to your cabinets  so you don’t have stuff everywhere.
  2. Clean Your cabinets and freezer
  3. Take inventory – use this free Freezer + Pantry Inventory download to take stock of what you have and how many you have
  4. Put it back in order – put what you don’t use often on the bottom and then go from there
  5. Now do your pantry or kitchen cabinets
  6. Make sure to keep your inventory sheet handy so you will update it regularly

freezer inventory template

Make sure to grab your Freezer + Pantry Inventory.

For more details be sure to watch the video.

Resources mentioned in this video:

How To Set The Right Grocery Budget For Your Family

What To Include In Your Grocery Budget

Tips For Buying In Bulk

Ready for more?

grab budget success checklist

Grab your Budget Success Checklist to help you conquer your budget.  This nine-step guide will help you create a workable, flexible budget to fit your family.

Our New Family (DIY Decorating On A Budget)

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

family room update on a budget

Ever get an itch to start a new project, but you’re not quite sure where it came from? Well that’s what’s been happening around our home for the past few months.  We’ve been purging – a lot, organizing everything I can get my hands on, and even transforming a few of our rooms.  It all started when our old couch finally bit the dust, luckily we knew it was coming and had been saving for awhile to replace our furniture.  Been when the couch finally went, so did a lot of other pieces around our home.

You see what started as a simple – “oh let’s go buy a new couch!” Ended with us buying a couch, a recliner, and a dining room table.  You’re probably thinking, “That’s not a big transformation, Meredith.” And you’d be right.

BUT…

Getting rid of the couch prompted us to sell…

a desk
an office chair
a full bedroom set – bed, dresser, night stand and all
a dresser
and lamps

It also forced us to throw out…

a coffee cart
broken couch
broken dining room table

We had been using the bedroom set for mainly storage so when we sold it faster than we anticipated it forced us to start using the floor as  a shelf.  That drove me crazy and I needed to find a new home for all these things.  So that’s when I decided to clean out every single closet in our home – J’s, the coat closet, my closet, the linen closet, and the medicine cabinet (the only one I skipped was Dent’s and that’s because I had just done it a few months earlier).

In the end we ended up selling a few items, donating over 15 bags to our local Rescue Mission and throwing out another 10 bags of pure trash.  It felt good.  We decided to make our guest room into a playroom for son and the only thing left was the family room.  But much to my disappointment the couch that was delivered was the wrong one and the dining room table was on back order.

So instead of taking 4-6 weeks, it took over 8 weeks for us to get everything.  I’m not going to lie – I could have hugged the delivery man when he brought in the RIGHT couch that day!

Also, I discovered that we needed to do something with our dog kennel.  It was big and ugly.  The only purpose it served was holding the dogs while we were away.  We have two kennels, this metal one and a plastic one.  We used to keep them in the eat-in part of our kitchen before we got a table, but they wouldn’t fit any longer.  So we had to find a new place.  On Pinterest I noticed a great idea for turning one into a side table.  That led me to go to Home Depot and purchased a piece of plywood and a few pieces of 1″x2″ trim.  I even found a nice associate to cut the pieces to my right measurements (I went late at night when they weren’t that busy).

I glued the trim to the piece of plywood and then used a few brad nails to secure it.  After it was put together I took a few coats of high gloss white paint to it and that’s it.  It sits neatly on top of our kennel and works as the perfect side table.

A few weeks ago I started cleaning up from Christmas and realized that I never showed off our new frugal family room makeover.  I call it frugal because the only new pieces are the couch and recliner, which I mentioned how we saved for already, AND we did purchase one new piece of artwork.  The rest came from other places in our home, hand-me-downs from my mom and a little creativity.

P.S. If you notice Sir Rines III standing in the corner – don’t even ask!  He was a wedding present from my sister and brother-in-law.  J loves him, I hate dusting him and Dent thinks he bites! But he stands guard when no one is around, so I guess we’ll keep him! HA!

Blessed Artwork from Small Wood Home (around $30)

Console Table from Amazon (less than $65)

How To Protect Yourself While Traveling (Three Travel Systems You Should Have)

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Affiliate Disclosure: I am grateful to be of service and bring you content free of charge. In order to do this, please note that when you click links and purchase items, in most (not all) cases I will receive a referral commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to continue to offer you lots of free stuff. Thank you!

how to protect yourself while traveling, travel safety systems

What the heck is a travel system?  I talk about them a lot on the blog and over on Instagram Stories, so it’s only natural that I get questions about what they are.

A travel system is a group of tools you can easily use to better protect yourself while away from your home.  Now, there are so many travel systems that you can create so they really are a versatile self defense tool.  In today’s video I’m sharing a few general safety precautions that everyone should know no matter if you’re a busy mom, working woman, or an empty nester.  Plus, I’m sharing three travel safety systems for you.

You can watch the video on how to protect yourself while traveling online or down below:

Tweet this video.

Keychain System

Does your keychain work for you?  You need to have a great system that can carry your pepper spray, striking tool or personal alarm.  A good keychain system is the most under utilized safety precaution most people don’t even know about.  You can easily pair your personal protection tools with a breakaway keychain to have at your fingertips.

Flight System

Do you fly a lot?  If so then you will need to change up your travel system.  I recommend carrying a tactical ink pen that can pass through TSA, but it’s also a striking tool.  Plus, I love having a personal alarm that doubles  as a pretty necklace.

Road Trip System

Another great system is the one for your car.  I talked about the Junk in the Trunk a few weeks back, which is a great roadside emergency kit that holds jumper cables, tool set, first aid kit and more.  Plus, you should also have a charged battery in your console or glove box, I love our Road Trip that is rechargeable and also has a seat belt cutter and glass punch, too.  I also recommend having a stun gun in your glove box that can be used if you get stranded or have to park far away.

What are some other great travel systems you would like to see?