It used to be that I would spend all my money up! I would buy clothes, I would eat out, etc. I wasn't really saving anything.
Come Andy... he is a saver. He may be not so much a saver but more so a cheapskate. He just doesn't like to spend money.
Come job far away... I used to live an hour and fifteen minutes from where I worked, and it was hard for me to get to the bank. I went a couple pay periods without cashing my check, and bam! I was ahead! I couldn't spend my money because it wasn't in the bank.
Come the wedding... We started saving money for the wedding and that was the biggest to date I saw my bank account get.
Come a budget... Before we got married, we sat down and wrote out a budget.It has been a LIFE CHANGER!Never could I have imagined saving so much money. You could say that we follow Dave Ramsey's principles. We follow them kind of loosely, but we have the same goals: pay off my student loans, have a good sized emergency fund, save for retirement. It's working! It was amazing to pay cash for the 2006 jeep liberty that I just got! They were pretty amazed at the car dealership themselves. It wasn't because we have tons of money, but it's because we spent it right. We don't eat out as much. We plan out our meals (more on that later). We give ourselves each a little bit of personal money each paycheck. We pay our bills, we budget gas, we budget birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, etc. We contribute to savings. I now purposefully spend. I only have a little bit of personal money, and I need to make it count. I use my little allowance for when I want to eat out or when I want some new clothes. (We don't budget for clothing because we own a resale store) If there is something I particularly want, I need to save up my money.
It has worked wonders! I highly recommend that you check out Dave Ramsey (daveramsey.com). This budget has helped Andy and I start out in a strong marriage. It has made us focus on communication. We don't need to fight about money because the way we spend it is all laid out in front. We decided together that we would make decisions together. What a great way to be.
I know I am going to go into more detail on areas of this budget, but this new way of life is just amazing!
2 comments:
So true rose. Here in a couple months all our bad debt will be gone. Of course we didn't buy a car with cash, but we have cleaned up our finances and will have a whole new budget. I hope to get to yours and andy's level someday.
Yeah, Dave is awesome!!! When you and I met, I was at the worst of my financial bad behavior. 6 months later I replaced my Audi A6 with a used Ford Escort that I paid cash for. I can relate to his Jaguar story! I sold my really nice motorcycle and waited two years before buying a used Kawasaki with cash (after emergency fund was set and investments were working.) Those little sacrifices (as well as steak dinners out and lattes) over a few years put me in a great position today.
Now I make the best steaks in town right at home for about nine bucks. My coffee is better than Starbucks at thirty cents a cup. Also I feel just fine driving a few year old Prius because it reflects who I really am, not what I want people to think I am. Funny how your entire life perspective can change when you are financially healthy!
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