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You are here: Home / Fundamentals / It’s NOT a Curse Word – BUDGET

by Stacy  3 Comments

It’s NOT a Curse Word – BUDGET

Budget. Yes, I said it. Budget, budget, budget. It’s really not a bad word. I know most of you out there got the shakes when I said it……budget. Did you know a budget can actually make your life easier? You tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. You’re not wondering if you’re going to have enough money through the end of the month – you’ll KNOW you have enough because you wrote it down and planned it out. I’m just here to make your life easier. Trust me…..just do one. Try it. If you hate it, you can quit.  Okay, you probably will want to quit at first, but don’t.  Give it a few tries and it WILL WORK.  Then you’ll love it. You’ll love me. By the way, if you love me, I really enjoy Skittles, M&Ms, and other various candies.
If you’re married, you need to do your budget together. Trying to do it alone just won’t work. You can try to make it work, but eventually something will backfire. Backfire is scary. It makes you jump. Heavens to Betsy. If you can’t get along about money, then you have serious issues. Dave Ramsey suggests seeking marital counseling if you can’t agree about money. He says the problem isn’t money, but the money is a symptom of the problem. Do your budget together. Guess what? You’re going to fight the first time. You might fight the second, third, and fourth too. But maybe, just maybe, around the 50th time you do it there will be no fights. Work together. Try to avoid decking each other. The kids are watching. Wait until they go to bed for that.  My husband says to most couples he counsels that they should go home and have big fight about money…and then make up. 😉
Here is an example of a budget that my wonderful husband provided. Click on it to see a bigger example. This example budget takes a monthly household income (TAKE HOME PAY) of $1,800 and spends it all on paper. Of course your budget won’t look like this, but it’s a good place to start. It gives you an idea of what to list and write down. Every person will have a different budget. Joe Blow will have a monster truck payment while Jane Doe will owe her life savings to Macy’s. Every month you’ll do this budget together. Every month. You can’t just do a budget one time and then let it live forever. If you love it, set it free. Oh wait, that doesn’t apply here. Anyway, each month will be different. You might get a raise, you might get docked; you might get an inheritance from your rich uncle. Also, not the same payments are due each month. Perhaps your insurance is only paid three times a year. Oh, and every month will be different for gifts – Christmas always comes in December by the way. Gas is another one that will be different. You need more money for more driving. I like to state the obvious.
You’re going to write down how much you make, spending only the NET (TAKE HOME) amount. Don’t spend the GROSS amount……then you’d be in the hole. If you do this, take a shovel. Shovel = more money. While doing your budget, you need to spend every cent on paper. Every cent. EVERY CENT. Don’t leave $23.84 just roaming around. If you do, you’ll think “Oh, I have some extra money in my account.” Then you’ll spend $50.29 because you thought you had extra. If you write it all down, you know that it’s accounted for. If that means you have to make a space for “Unallocated Monies” then do that (notice this category is in the example budget above). Get that amount out in cash……then you can see it in your hand. I have this much. I don’t have any more.
Stick to your budget. It doesn’t do any good if you make it and then file it away. Don’t frame it. It’s not a work of art….unless you’re a nerd (I love you honey!) then you might want to frame it.  USE IT. You spent time on it, don’t you want to put it to work? Most of the time couples feel like they have more money when they do a budget because they can actually see on paper where their money is going. They don’t wonder why it’s July 27th and they’re out of cash while there are four days left in the month…..where did it go? They’ll know where it went! Isn’t that a relief? Shew! It’s a relief to me. Living on a budget is a type of security to me. I know how much we have. I know we have enough. There is no guessing. Nice.
Warning!!! It’s not easy the first time. It’s not easy the second time. It’s going to take several attempts until you feel like you know what you’re doing. Barry and I have been doing a budget since Day 1. Now that we’ve been married for seven years, it takes us less than 10 minutes each month to do our budget. We don’t fight any more over the money either. We’ve worked it out. We negotiate. I listen to his wants/needs and he listens to mine. It’s like a dance. A dance that I can actually do without breaking a body part. So, you should expect to have a few little (or big, that’s okay too) spats when you start doing a budget. You’re two different people with two different personalities. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Girls rule, boys drool.
Barry and I use a lot of the budget advice from Dave Ramsey. We’ve followed his plan from the beginning and it works great for us. We just love Dave. He’s great. Dave! Dave! Dave! But if you don’t like Dave (weirdo) then you could use the advice of Crown (NOT Crown Royal, Crown Financial Ministries). Here are the two links for further information since I’ve only scratched the surface. I hope I didn’t leave a scab. Please don’t quit reading because I talked about money. This isn’t church you know.  Check back tomorrow for more!http://www.daveramsey.com/http://www.crown.org/

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About Stacy

Stacy is a Homemaking and Business Mom Mentor, the author of two cookbooks, creator of multiple e-courses, seasoned life coach, and comedian extraordinaire. Her first priority is her husband and her children - family first. She presses on each day because her calling is to teach, train, and mentor other ladies to have their dreams. She believes if it’s not easy, you won’t do it – because she’s lived it. She’ll bring YOU the awesome so that you can get your home back into control and watch your business soar. For tips and easy strategies, you can follow her on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the content above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I may receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Comment Policy: I love reading your thoughts and input on what you read here. I'm sure we'll disagree sometimes and that's okay! In those cases, do what's right for you and yours. As with any form of communication, only post comments that move the discussion in a positive direction.

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Comments

  1. Eva says

    January 4, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    Haha! Justin and I fought tons over the budget for a loooong while. lol After a couple of years, things have finally calmed down. That’s because there’s no extra money to fight over. 🙂

    I could not live without my budget. It is my guide on what we can do each week. I made my own Allocated Spending Plan in Excel so that I do not have to pay for a service. So, my budgeting is free now! Can’t beat that! Of course, I needed the initial guidance and it was all worth the money we invested.

    Oh, and although Dave Ramsey’s FPU class really helped Jusin and I, I really don’t like him. I don’t like the fact that he calls people idiots and we definitely disagree on everything politically. But, I’m really glad he has helped so many people despite that. I’m glad you’re sharing what you’ve learned with others!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      January 4, 2011 at 1:45 pm

      I know several people don’t like Dave, but he is obviously answering God’s call on his life. And as for the “idiots” part…..he just states it like it is. LOL There ARE idiots out there.
      We use Excel too. It’s a great program for budgets if you know how to use it!

      Reply
  2. Sherry says

    January 4, 2011 at 11:21 am

    This is an awesome give away!!

    Reply


Hello! I’m Stacy!

I believe God created you to be the hero of your home. You CAN manage your home instead of it managing you. That’s why I empower women with simple solutions for their homemaking needs – because if it’s not easy, you won’t do it. {Read More…}

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➡️Just a subpar mom letting Jesus lead the way.
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This page is on sabbatical 🤍

Stacy Myers: Redeemed
Hey guys - just a wee note. Our family has entered Hey guys - just a wee note. Our family has entered a season of silence and solitude. After so many changes last year, we finally just needed it as we seek what’s next.
If you need me or wanna chat before I’m back, you can always contact me via email which is the quickest way to get a hold of me. Stacy@humoroushomemaking.com
Trashy Pizza Date Night ❤️❤️ Trashy Pizza Date Night ❤️❤️
There might have been a few pairs of undies that I There might have been a few pairs of undies that I’ve come across from my kiddos that I thought: nope, ain’t worth it.

And pitched them. Don’t turn me in. 🤣🤣🤪
Instagram post 17950327165660081 Instagram post 17950327165660081
You’ll either love this tip or hate it. 🤣⠀ You’ll either love this tip or hate it. 🤣⠀
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If you hate it, just scroll on by. 🤍 But it was helpful to us. 🥰⠀
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Often, I have a hard time getting my kids to remember things I’ve taught them, like how to properly clean a toilet or clean mirrors. “I forgot.”⠀
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You know what they don’t forget? Stuff they watch on You Tube. 🤪🤪⠀
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So I went to You Tube and sourced kid videos about cleaning the bathroom. The kids all watched them. ⠀
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Now they’re all cleaning their own bathrooms. Boom. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Worked for us. ⠀
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** Just search on YT for “kid cleaning videos” and see what you find. Different parents have different parameters for what they allow. Barry and I screened videos first but each person can find their own. ❤️🤍
Time to add your own! I’ll go first! Girl, stop Time to add your own!

I’ll go first! Girl, stop hustling.

I’ll go again! Girl, eat a cookie. 🤣🤣
Did you have a stinky 2021? Or year before that? O Did you have a stinky 2021? Or year before that? Or month?⠀
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Hard times can make us or break us.

Our family experienced some big changes and shocks and pruning (removing) in 2021. Some days I didn’t want to get out of my house or my bed.⠀
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But already we are coming out of darkness into His wonderful light and I can see - I can see the benefits of hard times. ⠀
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New beautiful growth and hope. ❤️⠀
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What is one benefit YOU have experienced from hard times?
This culture has nothing to offer our family.⠀
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I lived for too long believing that hustle was to the benefit of this family. ⠀
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God’s call upon our life isn’t to hustle and grind our days away while we prove our worth and see our success. ⠀
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No, friends. It’s God’s desire that when people look at you and me, they don’t see US or what WE accomplished but instead say:⠀
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Wow, only God did that. ⠀
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The Myers aren’t building an empire. We are building our family, day by day. Tiny moment by tiny moment. 🤍
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