Budget Time!

[Shell]

I am moving into my new home next week and will be starting my budget. How many of you are already on a budget? Anyone willing to post there's so I can get some ideas?

[Jenna]

Hi Shell,

Congratulations on your new home! Please tell us about it!

We don't actually have a "budget". We just never spend more than necessary. We pay all our bills on time and what is left gets used to buy clothing and other items that don't have a regular schedule of purchase. We just never spend more than we have!

We are trying to get to a point where we can give a full 10% to charity/church. We also put a set amount into a contingency fund for things like car repair, education fund for our kids, etc. Usually there is nothing left after all that! That is fine with us, we are not trying to get rich or live an elaborate lifestyle. We just want to live without worry and borrowing.

Hope this helps! Do tell us about your new home!

Jenna

[Shell]

Well, I was very excited to move into our new home. It is not large but, the backyard is on a golf course and has a great view of the mountains. So pretty!!!

I also really love the family room/kitchen. We must have looked at a 100 homes and the one thing that was really important was a nice kitchen.

Now the bad news, the home is almost ready and I was so excited about moving in. I am sure you have heard about the pig farm in British Columbia where everyone is looking for dead hookers bodies? Yup! I am one house away from that!!!!! Our real estate agent told us not to worry about the mess as they were going to build townhouses there and then this happens. There is CNN and Amercia's Most Wanted right in front of my house. I see my new dream home on the news almost everynight!

The good news is, instead of the property value going down . . .it has gone up! So many people come to look at the pig farm they love the homes around there and are buying them up!

[Dawn Wright]

Hi Shell,

One of mine and my hubby's hero's is Dave Ramsey. Because of him, I quit my job (I made more money than my hubby (he made about 20,000 at the time)), bought a house and became debt free in less than two years (including family debts that never get paid off). It's been four years and we are still debt free. Dave's books are easy to read, quite a statement coming from the "free spirit" side of a marriage. Check out his web site, http://www.financialpeace.com/ and see if he can help. He is an encourager with finances, not a brute. My hubby teaches a financial class at church now. We were "morons with money." My hubby tells people that not many people were as good at messing up finances as we were. Now we get to counsil people and we have seen so many become debt free and living within their means and being happy doing it! It's great! I hope you take a peek at the web site. If I can be of any help, lemme know. Budgets are like getting a raise when you make a "real life" budget.

Later Gater!

Dawn

This is my first post and I'm not sure how it all works. So if it looks like I don't know what I'm doing it's because...wel...I don't.

;-)

[ajrsmom]

Hi Dawn

Which book would you recommend to start out with ? Our Finances arent exactly a mess but they could be better and we have debts that I would really like to erase.

Can I ask, do you work for him now or are you such a big fan because his system worked so well for you ?

[Dawn Wright]

Hi ajrsmom,

I am such a big fan of Dave's because his plan works. It's easy enough for total money flops, like my hubby and I, to do and succeed. I have never worked for him but have met him once at one of his seminars. I've been to two of his seminars. My desire is to go each year just to keep on track. I'm a shopaholic and need discipline.

I would suggest starting with Financial Peace. You can usually snatch it up at eBay for about $10.00. The library tries to keep one on the shelf, too. We give it as a wedding gift, sometimes. More Than Enough is good, too. But, I would start with Financial Peace first. Did you check out his web site?

Later Gater!

[Holiday]

Hello Shell,

I have been wanting to get a budget together for years and really felt the need to do it with the birth of my first child. One day I discovered an internet link to a new book called "BudgetYes!" The website is www.TulipTreePress.com. I purchased the book (it's only $19.95 plus shipping--a total of about $25.00--and has a money-back guarantee) and officially started our budget this month. So far, I feel so much more in control of our finances and am excited and motivated to save for our financial goals! The BudgetYes ideas were so easy to implement that I had the budget up and running in 1-2 days!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to set up a budget!

Good luck!

Holiday

[Crafty Amanda]

I agree Holiday, Budget Yes is an excellent book! In fact, I carry several of the author's articles on this site under the money section: http://www.thefamilycorner.com/dir/Finance

[Nikita2776]

Hello, congrads on the new home

I like to say as far as budget, I go over my budget bills over and over I estimate how much extra besides bills I am going to spend and try to not go over. I try to stick some money in a stash away account to try to have some emergency money to lean on! I shop at Walmart and buy their Great Value products that are cheaper and just as good as other products. I do hope this has helped

Mrs. Richardson

[kahana]

I was going to also suggest Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey, but I see someone else has already beaten me to it. I used to keep my family on a budget and then I got out of the habit. I just read Financial Peace during the month of February and found it very inspiring and full of great information - especially for people who have never done a budget before and who really don't know where to start. I found the book at my local library and also found The Financial Peace Planner (a workbook of sorts).

Good luck!