Guest post from Chelsea of Stay-At-Home{MADE}Mom
Before I got married (or cared much about my where my money went), I was a financial disaster. There were many times when I didn’t have money to pay my basic bills, overdrew my bank account on senseless purchases, and stressed about how I was going to make ends meet.
I had no excuse. I worked full-time and had no credit cards or loans. And even though I was paying my own bills (including rent and college expenses) my problem wasn’t a lack of money, it was poor stewardship.
I started dating my now-husband who was going to school (debt-free) for accounting. If anyone could zoom in on my financial blunders, it was him. Around this time, I also started reading MoneySavingMom.com and I learned about a very handy tool: a budget!
I’ve had a very different life since. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.
Here are ten ways my life has changed since I learned to budget my money.
1. I no longer wonder if I will eat.
This isn’t as bad as it sounds. Even on my lowest days, I could have easily afforded beans and rice. I simply chose otherwise.
2. I pay my bills on time.
I rarely paid my bills on time before. Whether I lost track of due dates or was short on money, it just didn’t happen.
3. I no longer incur late or overdraft fees.
These add up so quickly, it’s insane. Thankfully, it’s been awhile since I had to pay one.
4. I no longer pay full price for groceries.
I used to walk into a store with no plan or budget and buy whatever I wanted. The bill was huge and the groceries short-lived.
5. I no longer get harassed for money.
If you don’t pay your bills, eventually people will start calling, sending letters, or even knocking on your door to get what’s owed.
6. I can afford what I truly want.
If I want something, I’ve learned it is attainable with hard work and saving. Just two years after setting up a budget, my husband and I were able to pay cash for our entire wedding.
7. I can freely give.
Christmastime isn’t stressful, tithing is a priority, and I can give to those in need without hesitation.
8. We have a back-up plan.
It’s called an emergency fund, and it rocks.
9. We can live on one income.
Because of our current lifestyle, our family of 3 can comfortably live on $500 a week.
10. We are now asked for financial advice.
Woah! Never saw that one coming six years ago!
It’s scary to think of where I might be today, financially, if I had not chosen to quit messing around with my money. If you regularly experience any of the hardships I did, I would encourage you to take an honest look at your spending and set up a budget.
Trust me, you can do it! Living in the bondage of poor financial decisions is no way to live.
Chelsea is a 24-year old stay-at-home mom and wife. She is passionate about living simply and debt-free while encouraging others to do so. She blogs at Stay-At-Home{MADE}Mom about being a mommy, creations she makes by hand, and how she does both on a budget.
Audra says
I have always been bad with money. It comes and goes so quickly with me. My husband and I have thousands in debt and we are struggling to pay it off. I was making myself sick thinking about money and debt but now that we have a budget, a plan and an emergency fund, life is much easier. We fight less, we work hard and it shows. Our money now goes to paying off debt that we shouldn’t have ever gotten. We no longer use credit cards and will hopefully be out of debt in 3 years. Great post!
Tricia says
I must admit that I have not done well budgeting. What I have learned is that by having money auto drafted from my account , even I could prepare for the unexpected. Recently we have been hit by a number of unexpected expenses…broken air conditioner, medical expenses, etc I was happy to have an e,ergency fund.
Ally says
I think it would be neat to see a blog post of someone’s actual budget, it’d be cool to compare.
Shelly says
I am always amazed at what you can do with so little income when you have a plan for your money. I know so many other families who make much more than we do but have difficulty paying their bills. When asked how we do it we always answer we budget. The answer we usually get back is “oh, that won’t work for us”. I don’t know why so many people are afraid to budget it is freeing rather than restricting.
We can afford so many of the things we want now. In our no budget days we just purchased what looked good at the time not thinking of what we really wanted. I am glad those days are behind us.
[email protected] says
Great article. Life is not fun when you’re worrying about all those things you mentioned. Even though a budget can be hard, it’s worth it! Life is hard enough without having to worry about money, too!
Tracy @ Hall of Fame Moms says
We are just starting a real grocery budget now that we have the cash to do so since my husband’s new job set off a positive chain of events- all praise to the Lord for answering prayer!
We were so strapped for cash that we have been using credit cards for gas/groceries for years – and yes I was using coupons, sales, etc (AND I work from home blogging & providing part-time childcare). But even at Aldi’s its cash or debit card. If you don’t have the cash on hand or in the bank, no Aldi’s for us.
I tried getting us on a $35 budget about a yr ago- didn’t work. We are shooting for $50-70 a week for our family of 4 now. I do have some posts about my $35 experiment at my blog halloffamemoms.com
Amie says
Good job! I made a LOT of financial mistakes, but I have been trying to budget on my own for a few years now and have saved $1000 in emergency fund. I’ve been following this blog for a while and checked out Dave Ramsey and watched a few episodes online. It gave me the encouragement to persist with my reluctant husband. My husband grudgingly gathered his bills and then we put everything together. It was awesome. We saw that we could easily pay off a credit card this month and most of another one next month. When my husband saw that, he got a big smile and said, “I guess having a budget isn’t so scary afterall.” It will take us a few years to get out of debt, but now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I am so excited.
Em says
I agree 100%. We started a full fledged budget last July. One year later we have paid off thousands in debt, paid cash for Christmas and other holidays including children’s birthdays, are able to have a car repaired and work on the house without occuring debt. I am able to sleep at night because I don’t worry about thet “Ifs”: if I’ll be able to pay bills on time, if we can go out to eat, if we can buy a gift for someone, if we can stock up a good deal at the grocery store or if we can make a donation. I am not saying the answer is always yes to these questions, but more often than not, it is, because I know how much we have in each area to spend and how much is saved for the bigger purchases!
Mackenzie says
Good for you! Budgeting is definitely a hard goal to stick to. I have times where I struggle with that one myself!