The Mom, Wife, Dream Life

Setting a budget is not always easy, but it doesn’t have to be difficult, so long as you maintain active and continuous communication! Budgeting as a single person is hard too, having to tell yourself ‘No’ to that cute sweater, or reminding yourself that bills are a necessary part of adulthood. While budgeting as a couple is also hard, at least we get the support and reminder from the other person, rather than having to rely just on ourselves. 

From the small purchases to the big ones, it is all important to add to your budget to stay financially stable and comfortable. There will be days, weeks, months, and perhaps even years when your budget is considered tight, or more difficult than others, and that is perfectly okay! Budgeting is a healthy and normal part of life that everyone gets to experience in their lifetime, somehow or another. 

Why is it important to create a Budget?

As a kid, growing up, I never really paid that much attention to what my parents budgeted, and that’s probably because they didn’t discuss it with us kids. There was no reason for them to do so, as it wasn’t our place to know the details of the budget. What I did know was that my parents took good care of us kids, whether it was through rough patches in our lives or more enjoyable times, we were always loved, cared for, and had our basic needs met. 

My parents struggled on and off with finances, mostly due to schooling debt and having to move unexpectedly a few times, but they always held fast to their love for each other, their faith, and staying optimistic, if not for us kids’ sake. There was never really a time when we didn’t have what we needed, and I truly believe that’s because my parents learned to communicate with one another better about their finances, and they put their trust in God to help them do so.

Is it common to struggle financially?

Everyone struggles with something at some point in their lives. Most of us struggle with something throughout our whole lives, and it changes each day. If you don’t struggle with anything, good for you. I’d like to meet you and learn your ways, because I am not at that point in my life, and probably will never get there in this life. One in four people struggles financially, that’s 25% of the world’s population! That’s a good chunk of people who have similar financial struggles as you and me.  Some may be way more drastic than others, but regardless, it’s still something most people deem difficult. 

What do we do in our lives to budget effectively?

One thing that Ethan and I do to help us stay financially stable is to keep an emergency fund. Whether that’s cash on hand or in a secure bank account, both are viable options for an emergency. There have been a few times in our life together when we didn’t have a clue how we were going to provide for ourselves, but somehow, through the grace and miracles that God put into our lives, we were able to make ends meet. A lot of this came down to how much we were making and what we were putting our money towards, aka budgeting. Our budget has grown since we got married almost 4 years ago, but it’s still an active part of our lives that we continue to change and adjust.

Do we use an online budget to build our dream life?

Budgeting can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. It can be as easy as downloading an app and having the app tell you exactly where everything is going and how much you still have after paying all your bills. This is easy, but can also be a trick to get you to pay for their services, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of trying to save and spend less money? I think it does, but some people enjoy technology doing everything for them. That’s okay if that’s what you want, but if you are like me and my husband, you want something you don’t have to pay for, something you can add or edit anytime you’d like. We’ve tried multiple online budget sheets and templates. None of them seemed to be exactly what we were looking for, so Ethan, being his techy, spreadsheet knowledgeable, podcast budget listening self, made one to our standard. 

Our budgeting spreadsheet is similar to other templates, but more tweaked into what fits us best. If you want to look at our budget template or want to try something new, I’ve attached a template of the one Ethan made that you can now use for free. 

How do we utilize the budget in our daily lives?

Budgeting can be difficult, especially when there are bills to pay, vacations to save for, school debt, vehicle payments, house loans, and the inflation of groceries. Budgeting for all of this, plus more, can be overwhelming and often a frustrating conversation to have with your significant other. Ethan and I talk daily about different aspects of our budget. Some days we will focus on things we want to save for, such as parts for the truck or chickens to put in the backyard, while other days we focus more on spending. We will talk about what we could be doing better to limit our spending and increase our earnings. This is a constant conversation in our home, as we want to be fully aware of our limitations and goals regarding our finances. 

For the most part, almost every single conversation we have about our finances is met with understanding and respect from the other person. We have worked hard in our marriage to get to this point, and we will continue to work hard for it, as we believe financial understanding and budgeting are a key blueprint in shaping our dream life as a family of four. 

Here are some things that we do with our budget that are helping us build our dream life as a family of four:

• Set aside one day a week to go over our goals for the week
• Meal plan every week so that grocery bills are not so high
• Save Save Save! Have/create a savings account at the bank. Or if you are old school, keep a savings envelope full of cash and put it somewhere safe that you will remember.
• Automatic deposits into savings accounts, from your paychecks directly to your savings account. Makes it quick and easy, keeping you from having to remember to add to your savings account.
• Do not touch your savings account! This is the whole point of a savings account is to save, not spend!
•  Emergency Funds are a must. No matter how much you are putting into it each week/bi-weekly/month, it is so so important to have. Have/create an emergency fund at the bank, and/or have a cash emergency fund at home in case of unexpected instances.
• Save Receipts and add them to the budget at the end of each week/month
• Set high expectations/goals for yourself and your significant other/family to uphold
• Stick to your budget (this is KEY), and doing so will become a habit after a while.
• Don’t eat out all the time, make food at home; this is where grocery/meal planning comes in handy.
• Give set amounts to spend money on, such as: Necessities (food, gas, clothing, diapers, wipes, formula, etc.), hobbies, date nights, family home evening activities, and more.
• Invest! If you have a 401K, a Roth IRA, or a separate retirement fund, invest in those! 

As you can see, there are so many things that you can do to budget and save and be financially stable/independent. There’s more that we could add to that list, but those are the biggest things that we do that work for us. They truly do help us stick to our budget.

What are the necessary things that you do to help you stick to a budget? Do you think budgeting is easy or difficult? What advice or tips would you have for other people who are struggling to budget and get/maintain financial stability?

“A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.”

McKenna Sanders

The Mom, Wife, Dream Life Blog

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