Budgeting 101

Budgeting is something that most people are somewhat familiar with, but they get lost when trying to do so. They will set limits and expectations-- then sadly end up failing. 

Before we begin... I would like to say something...

I am no expert! I don't really know who Dave Ramsey is or much about him.. I hear he really likes snowballs, but I do know about Larry Beardslee & he taught me how to budget. No expert here-- just writing for some friends and followers who have been wanting to get on a more strict budget! 

 I don't really know who Dave Ramsey is or much about him.. I hear he really likes snowballs, but I do know about Larry Beardslee & he taught me how to budget.

A lot of people talk about budgeting but then can't seem to get themselves out of the hole that they honestly dug themselves. We happen to live in an era where we are practically bombarded with pre approved credit cards as soon as we are of legal age, people buy vehicles they can't afford and houses they can barely make payments on. I'm all for living it up-- heck yea! I love buying new clothing, having a night out on the town, going to a movie and just swiping that credit card... but I don't like how it feels when it comes time to pay the bills. 

Growing up, my stepfather was disabled and my mom worked- at one point she worked two jobs. It was really hard. I remember overhearing arguments about money all the time-- it is something parents do-- and honestly most couples have probably fought over money at one point or another, I know my husband and I have. Larry made an awesome decision that has impacted my whole adult life the day he sat me down and taught me how to balance a checkbook. From there he taught me how to write checks and even how to make a spread sheet to keep bills organized. When I started working and actual job, he taught me how to only keep a small amount out for fun or to spend however I wanted and made me save the rest.. Oh did I ever get the biggest attitude every single time I got paid-- but this was a good thing because I learned that I didn't need to blow my entire check. When I was 16, (with the help of my parents) I was able to buy my first car. I also got my first bank account and learned how to make car payments (with cashier's checks every month). 

I moved out of the house when I was 18 and had to figure out how to make enough money to pay for my car insurance, my gas, and some food. I lived at my grandmother's house for about 6 months, then Thomas and I lived at his parents house for about six to eight months before we moved out and got an apartment with our friends. When we were saving for the apartment, a lot of the tools Larry taught me came into play. I was able to buy kitchen supplies, bathroom supplies, apartment decorations, honestly, I pretty much bought it all-- looking back on that I could kick myself, because we were too young to get an apartment with roommates at that time-- but it was a great learning experience for us! After about a year we moved into a house and rented it from my husband's aunt and uncle. I was unable to work for a while (this was about 6 months to a year before healthy by choice was born!) so I began to try to budget all the money we had. I'm not ashamed to say that we had foodstamps for about six months until we were able to afford our own food. I think we got about $150 a month and that really had to stretch. It was then I began gardening and shopping at the farmer's market to get more for our money! 

Now we are 25 years old and the biggest debt we have is our house and my car (which we plan on paying off at least a year early). Right now, we are looking to pay off the new windows we just had installed in our home. If everything goes right, we will be able to have the windows completely paid off in 1-2 months. We both have great credit scores. I wish we had more in our savings account, but we are doing our best-- hey we don't really have any needs, so we are good! 

Here are a couple things that Thomas and I do that help us save money:

• Organized budget
• Agree on the organized budget (this is key)
• Buy used
• Sell things we aren't using (no use it in cluttering up our house)
• Search for the best deal.
• Have a costco membership (our membership pays for itself)
• For essential oils, we use young living. How we get FREE oils without having to hassle people for sales-- we are signed up for essential rewards. Every month we purchase at least $50 worth of oils (which is easy) and then we get 10% back in rewards points. Once we have enough rewards points we purchase the more expensive oils-- like sacred frankincense, jasmine, etc. If you want to purchase essential oils you can learn more here.
• We have an amazon prime account. With this we can watch shows & movies, rent kindle books, and get free 2 Day shipping on items that are "prime eligible".

Below I put together a little video for you! 

In case you missed it in the video--- Here are the steps to budgeting:

1. Gather all your bills and debts
2. Figure out when each is due-- write it down (in order)
3. Figure out when you are going to get paid. (some people get paid weekly, once a month, every time they work, etc)
4. Figure out the MINIMUM you will make (this is great if you don't work on salary)
5. Next write down when you get paid (have a separate sheet of paper for each pay period)
6. Now-- match the bills due to each pay period. 
7. Next PAY YOUR BILLS
   1. You can set up "bill pay" through your financial institution so that you can pay your bills directly from the app on your phone. (This is my favorite because then I know exactly when my money will be given to the biller)
   2. You can write checks. 
   3. You can go pay cash if that is accepted
   4. You can get cashier's checks. 
8. Now figure out how much money you have left. 
9. Go fill your gas tank (Also figure out how long this tank of gas will last you & then set aside money for the next tank if possible. You can also pretend that the half way mark means empty-- this is great so you won't ever run out of gas).
10. Figure out how much you have left. 
11. Now make a meal plan and grocery list. 
12. Go grocery shopping-- WITH CASH. (When you shop with cash you usually won't go over budget. This is because all you have is the cash. Shop around, use coupons if you can to get the best deal)
13. Now figure out how much you have left for entertainment, fun, savings, etc. 

This month Thomas and I decided we wanted to pay off the new windows we had installed in our house as soon as possible. So we decided to do a 3 week spending freeze.

This is how we did it:

1. Took a Freezer, Pantry, and Refrigerator Inventory
2. Figured out what was the oldest in each place.
3. Made a meal plan that used up the oldest first. 
4. I made a list of meals that could be made with most of the ingredients we have.
5. Next we figured out how much money we wanted to save after paying our bills and made a budget for:
   1. Groceries (this includes toiletries, pet food, kitchen supplies, etc)
   2. Health (chiropractor visits, supplements, medicine, copays)
   3. Gas 
6. I made a list of everything we needed to pick up from the store. 
7. I went to the store with cash in hand! (I went to the commissary because many items are less expensive. I also went to Costco.. I steered clear of Target because I didn't fully trust myself not to wind up looking at things we didn't NEED).
8. I came home and put everything away! 
9. Now we are challenging ourselves to not spend on anything else! 

So here is a fun disclaimer-

If you plan to do a spending freeze or no spend week or month... be careful. Don't completely bleed your pantry and freezer dry. I keep my pantry and freezer stocked with many versatile things.. and I happen to know how to cook pretty well! You can order my cookbook here-- there are tons of versatile recipes (many of which I created when we were dirt poor, it is a worth while investment that's for sure).

It took me a long time to stock our pantry and freezer appropriately. It is something I wish everyone knew how to do & would do! 

I also have a CSA and a Milk Share. 

This means I get a box of fruits/veggies & eggs from a local farm every week. This helps cut down on spending. When totaled up it is about $27 per week. It is more cost effective for us because everything is organic, eggs are fresh and free range! The milk costs $30 a month for about 4 gallons. I make yogurt, cottage cheese, paneer, kefir, and butter from the milk. 

Here are a list of items I keep in the house at all times 

Pantry

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Black Strap Molasses
• Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (buy this in bulk)
• Sugar/Coconut Sugar (buy in bulk)
• RAW honey
• Flour (wheat, all purpose, almond, etc)
• Lentils & beans (garbanzo, black beans, kidney beans, green lentils, black lentils, red lentils)
• Diced or Crushed Tomatoes
• Tomato Sauce
• Coffee
• Tea Bags or Tea Leafs
• Gelatin 
• Canned Soups (usually lentil or black bean)
• Bone Broth
• Coconut & Avocado Oils
• Steel Cut Oats
• Rolled Oats
• Almonds & Walnuts
• Popcorn Kernels
• Canned Salmon, Tuna, and Chicken
• Noodles
• Rice/Quinoa
• Various spices (curries, pepper, garlic, cinnamon etc)
• Home canned veggies, fruits, and jams

Freezer:

• Butter (at least 3 weeks worth)
• A few freezer meals (chili, cilantro lime chicken, burritos, etc)
• Chicken Thighs
• Whole Chicken (at least one)
• Liver (lamb, chicken)
• Ground Sausage
• Ground Beef
• Frozen Pizza (hubby's favorite snack)
• Bacon 
• Frozen Fruit (bananas, mixed berry, and mango are my favorites to keep around)
• Frozen Veggies (Peas, broccoli, and cauliflower are my favorites)
• Roast of some sort.

​
Refrigerator (this changes week to week but these are things I always have on hand. This is refrigerator/counter)

• Sweet potatoes
• Onions
• Garlic (I ferment mine)
• Sauerkraut
• Carrots
• Hot Sauce
• Eggs

---

From the above list you can make a lot of things (and more)

• Meatballs (ground beef and spices)
• Roasted chicken with veggies & rice (whole chicken with some frozen veggie and rice)
• Bone Broth (from the left over bones of the whole chicken)
• Chicken soup (broth, leftover chicken or chicken thighs, peas, noodles, spices)
• Salmon Cakes (or tuna or chicken) (page 61 of my cookbook)
• Marshmallows (page 82 of my cookbook)
• Hash (sweet potatoes, coconut oil, sausage)
• Sourdough bread (literally flour, water, salt)

I hope this is helpful! With a little bit of effort and planning-- you can empower yourself to save money, make healthy meals on a budget, and pay off your debts! 

If you have any questions-- please leave them below! I love to hear from you!

Other great budgeting posts

http://smallnotebook.org/2012/07/01/no-spend-month-start-here/

http://blissfulgal.com/why-you-need-to-complete-a-no-spend-month/

http://www.healthybychoice2012.com/blog/healthy-on-a-budget

http://www.healthybychoice2012.com/blog/living-healthy-on-a-budget

​http://www.believeinabudget.com/5-tips-for-a-no-spend-day-or-week-or-month/