“Hey honey, I have $25,000 worth of credit card debt,” I told my husband. I was ashamed and embarrassed that I had hid my spending habits from him. But really, I hid behind spending, that was hidden behind my depression and anxiety, that was hidden behind trauma. And until I got to the root of my own spending and what was causing it, I was going to go around and around that pattern of mishandling money! And I wanted more for my family! So I went to therapy, sought classes/mentorship/accountability! And it was life changing, and through the power of Jesus, and years of failing and failing, and then paying off over $65,000 worth of debt that I’m able to share with you 5 Tips to Start Winning with MONEY TODAY!
Start with a BARE BONES BUDGET!
What is a BARE BONES BUDGET? A bare bones budget is what is your budget if you cut out everything that are non-necessities. So you simply have: housing, food, electricity, transportation, bills and expenses. No extras. No fluff. In the event of a job loss, how much does it cost to run your household on the bare minimum? We were unemployed for 9 months, so this first step was a necessity for us! God provided, and we stuck to the bare minimum! And this step is crucial for operating on a bare minimum for a bit to create margin in your budget!
Next, write out your budget and finance goals! Do you want to go on vacation!? Do you want to save $50,000. Do you want to buy a house! Do you want to invest more? Write it out! Write the vision and make it plain!
Alright, now it’s time to write your actual budget. Not your Bare Bones Budget. What is your current Monthly Operating Budget! How much does it cost to run your household? With cable! With your subscriptions. With all the amenities that you currently use! What is the number?
The next part of winning with money is ENVISIONING what you want your monthly budget to look like! So let’s start dreaming! What would your dream budget look like if you put in vacations, massages, nails, all the things! How much would you need to make each month for your Dream BUDGET! Let’s start dreaming, envisioning, praying for that!
Now that you have written out your Bare Bones Budget just in case you need to move towards that in the event of a job loss, reduction of income, or just to reach your goals faster, now I want you to look at your Monthly Operating Budget AND figure out what you need to cut completely out of your budget! These are the things that you just need to cut out! What are the things you need to slice in half? These are the things you don’t need to get rid of, but you can slice it so that you can create margin in your budget! And what are the things in your budget you need dice! You can keep it in your budget, but just dice it….make it smaller. CUT/SLICE/DICE!
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