Budget and Bills

Ok...
So yesterday I posted a video from rachelcruze.com which is a website/blog/vlog of Dave Ramsey's daughter. I loved Dave Ramsey and his passion about paying off debt, but I did not find it interesting to say the least. I was more motivated upon watching some of Rachel's vlogs that explained something so simply that it made me drop everything I was doing and created a whole budget for Keith and I. This is something that most people find stressful and I have been looking for an easy way to resolve this stressor in my life. 

I created the budget based on both incomes on a monthly basis. WellsFargo's online website allows you to search just deposits and it puts it in a list form where it can be easily printed. It made it easy to add up our monthly income for the last six months. I averaged the income and based the budget on that income knowing that I will have, at least, that amount of money coming in. 

I used the percentages and categories in her vlog to start out with, then customized it to our needs. We obviously eat more than the average couple, so I believe her percentage to be unrealistic... I adjusted it accordingly. Also, her budget was based on o% going towards debt which is where most of our income goes at this point in our budget. The whole reason for making the budget in the 1st place. 

Our plan is to follow Dave Ramsey's Debt Snowball Plan, after we save enough money in our savings for anything that comes up as an emergency. This is something that I did learn from him in his original book regarding finances. I did not find the envelope idea very helpful as everything is now digital. 

Another issue... being digital has its disadvantages though, so beware. As long as you monitor it closely you could save yourself some unnecessary expenses. We do not monitor as closely as we should and realized we were being over charged by our gym membership, but now that it is resolved we are getting money in return. 

Bills are another reason that I find it hard to monitor our outgoing income since most are paid online with automatic withdrawal. I started to write them down and check them off when paid, so I know when that money will be leaving the account. I also write down the varying amounts of different bills such as electricity, gas, or water to see if there are patterns to keep them at their lowest rates. Know that the amount is not always in your hands, but buying that $6.00 movie on OnDemand seems like a good idea at the time until you see that your bill is unexpectedly higher the following month because you did it five times...HA. 

Final Note: Things add up and it is so easy to swipe that debit card without thinking twice. We found out the hard way since we struggle on a regular basis. Being honest with one another and not playing the "blame game" is tough, but important to staying on track. Don't make it an argument because money is just a "thing". That is why I love that Dave Ramsey uses religion and Christianity in his devotions about finances. It is hard, stressful, but doable... and you CAN do it. 

Until Next Time...