The Cash Only, Envelope Budget!

Okay folks, it's definitely supposed to be cloth diaper Tuesday, but I decided I like randomness better, so I want to talk about MONEY and FINANCES! Yahoo. Everyone loves money, right?

Since moving on base, I've been lucky enough to meet some awesome people that I would've never met had we continued to live off base! Just last week, I was able to meet a sweet sweet mom to an 18 month old that live just a few houses down! I won't mention her name because I am just weird about mentioning other people when I don't have their permission. Okay, back to the story: In the short time since I met her, I have learned so much! She was talking of a cash only budget, and I just had to know more! Her and her husband attended the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class at their church last year, and she was gracious enough to share her knowledge and materials so that I didn't have to pay for the class!

If you know nothing about Dave Ramsey, GO NOW and research his baby steps and all of his financial advice! I am no expert, so I am not going to sit here and give you financial advice, but I will explain to you how the cash only approach with envelope system works! There is a little book, part of Dave Ramsey's materials that you can order on his website or on amazon.com. Here it is:

This is the inside! It has a place for your checkbook on the left, a notepad and pen in the center, and the right side has the envelopes, a coin pouch, and a place for your debit card, ID, etc.

Here are the envelopes!

Okay, I am definitely no expert on this, but I will tell you what I do know. Basically, you come up with categories of items that are purchased each month, most importantly, clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. Some of my categories include food, clothing, house misc., car repairs, blow money, etc. You can create as many as you need and use a separate envelope for each category. Sit down, figure out your necessary expenses, and dedicate a set amount of cash for each category. Once you run out of cash, that's it. No more blow money or whatever the category may be.

I am super excited about this because once I actually sat down and figured out the amount of money that we bring in vs. our bills, we had a lot of money left over that was just being blown on random, pointless things. Now that every dime is spent before it even reaches us, it's nice the money has a purpose, and now I am paying twice what I actually have to pay a month on our car to pay it off in about a 1/3 of the time as we have it finance for! YAHOOOOOOOOOO! All of that, and I'm still able to put a good chunk into savings each month!

Just a couple things I read in Dave Ramsey's book that really stood out to me:

"If you will live like no one else, one day you will be able LIVE like no one else!"

"A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children." Proverbs 13:22

Ohhhhh, and if you read his book and listen to his advice, you'll never take out a loan again! :)

Budgeting and crafting

Well folks, after nearly two months on the waiting list, we have a house!!! Yahooo. I am excited not only because we are so ready to be out of this house, but because once we get on base and have no bill that fluctuate, I'll really be able to budget better. It's so hard to budget when you have electricty, etc. that fluctuates every month! Our biggest budget issue is eating out. We really love to eat out. This could also be a getting healthy issue. Eeeekkk. So when we move on base, we will really be eating out a lot less because there really isn't much to choose from on base! We are thankful for that for sure! It will help our waistline and our bank account, and those are two things that could always use improving. The house we're moving into is smaller than the one we live in now. It's only a 2 bedroom, but really and truly, we don't have visitors anyway being all the way out here, so we the 2 bedrooms works. The living room is spacious, and the dining area is large enough for half to be dedicated to the kitchen table and half to be dedicated to either the computer or my crafts. I think Aaron and I are going to have a war over that half. heheheh. :) The laundry room is large which is where I could do crafts, but I don't want to be toooooo crowded in there. We'll see once we move in. The kitchen is tiny, bummer, but that does mean less to clean! The bedrooms are decent as well and both upstairs! So here is a picture for your viewing.

Speaking of crafting, I was at the Airman's Attic earlier this week where I found a shirt that said Fight Cruelty, Not Dogs. Well, you know me! I had to have it except it was a size XS, and we all know I am no XS! Even if i was in super good shape, my body build would NEVER allow me to wear an XS, so I turned it into a dress for Emma instead. I cut it up, made it a little smaller and shorter and added some straps and a ruffle from some fabric I had lying around. I am super happy with how it came out. Check it:

Obviously Emma loves it. :) hehe. Next week I hope to have another dress made and possibly a diaper also. I will share whatever it is, of course!