I will be on vacation until January 2014. Until then enjoy your Holiday’s! Remember you don’t have to go into debt to enjoy the holiday’s.
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Living life debt free is not as hard as many people make it out to be. It is as simple as living on less than you make, maximizing your income, and keeping your expenses low. “Did he just repeat himself…?” Yes I did with a reason. This is where many people truly lose the battle when it comes to debt. Either they do not know how, or they just refuse to do it. From my earlier article, Life without credit cards , I briefly discuss what it is that I did to get control of the man I shaved with every morning. A budget! Many, however shy away from this term. I will tell you that budget is now a four letter word. Here are three tips to creating a budget that will work for you.
Tip 1: A perfect budget does not exist. If you are like me, and you are/were trying to create a plan that you can live by week to week or month to month without ever looking at it again, stop it! The perfect budget does not exist. You will need to adjust during the month. When I started, things would always come up in the middle of the month that could not wait. In order to make things work and to not write bad checks, I had to re-visit my budget and adjust payments for the next cycle. As time went on, fewer and fewer things fell outside the written budget parameters. I was also able to free up enough funds to create a catch-all line item on the budget. Plan on revisiting your budget at least twice per month to make sure you are on track (at least in the beginning).
Tip 2: Create a budget with all bills in hand – As you sit down to create your budget, the worst thing that you can do it to start the process without all of you information. You wouldn’t start building a building without blueprints, right? Your budget is your financial blueprint. As Dave Ramsey, a well-known financial adviser, says, It is “… you telling your money what to do”. Gather all of your bills, add them to your budget. This way you know you are accounting for everything.
Tip 3: Make sure you pay yourself. This is what it looks like for me. God first, then Me, then you. That is, First I give according to my faith. Second, I pay myself. Money for spending/entertainment, savings, and dining out. Then I pay bills. I don’t expect everyone to have the same payment outline as I have. However, whatever you do, as long as you pay yourself, you will make sure your credit card free life will last.
Are these the only three tips that you can use when creating your budget? By no means. Please, don’t take this as the golden rule for budgeting. Everyone will have varying situations. These three tips however, will help you to create and stick with your budget. Remember, your budget, like you is a work in progress. As you go you’ll find better ways to do things that will fit your needs. The key thing to budgeting is to stick with it!
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Corey Stokes 