Financial Focus

January marked the beginning of our financial journey following Dave Ramsey's principles.  A few weeks ago we set up our first budget and now that February is here we are officially putting it to use. I think I've shared before I always felt we did a pretty good job handling our money, but my eyes have been opened this past month.  Being held accountable for every dollar you spend changes your perspective a bit!  We definitely have room for improvement.

For two months I have written down each purchase we've made.  I divided them up into categories and added the totals up at the end of the month.  This gave me a good idea where our money was going and helped us plan our budget.  December was a very big spending month, so January gave us a much better picture and that's what we have based our budget off of.

Our budget is zero-based meaning every dollar is accounted for.  As we work through the baby steps created by Dave Ramsey any extra dollars will be filtered to meet our goals in each step. Right now we are on step 2:  paying off all debt (except the mortgage).  Therefore, at the end of February, any money leftover will be applied to our debt.  The ultimate goal?  To have money left over to apply to that debt.  If not?  To not spend more than was brought in this month.  

It is much easier to live within our means when we put the credit cards aside and check in with each other frequently.  Right now there is little room for splurging of any kind, but that's ok.  It is going to take discipline, sacrifice, and communication to meet our goals, but it will be worth it.  

Moving past the thought of "I deserve this" or "Just this one time" really helps us stay focused.  Just because we want something doesn't mean we need it.  America thrives on instant gratification and it may be difficult to wait.  Rewiring our brain to think differently can be challenging, but by focusing on the necessities and forgoing the wants, we are setting ourselves up for financial freedom.  This is a great lesson to model for our children and we hope to teach them the value of money and how to make financially responsible decisions from a young age.

Wherever you are in your journey, I encourage you to read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.  So many of us live with an enormous amount of stress stemming from, you guessed it, money.  Life doesn't have to be this way and the principles in this book really do make sense.  We are just a few of the millions of people who have heeded his advice and taken steps to improve our financial situation. It is certainly nothing fancy, but it makes sense.  

It may sound odd, but my husband and I are excited about this journey.  It is refreshing to have goals and a concrete plan to work on together.  Our lines of communication have improved greatly and we feel really good about the future.  We're ready to get it done in 2015!