Well here I am a month into the new year. One of the resolutions that Hubby and I made together this year is to get out of debt. My other resolution was of course to lose weight but I already talked about how that is going? Not good. Let's not talk about that...back to money.
This year and into forever Hubby and I have vowed to take control of our money. Have a substantial savings. Be ready for any emergency should it arise. And strive for total financial fitness and freedom.
Sounds like a lot and completely out of our reach. Right? But not so. For the first time ever in my life I feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I feel hope. And the reason for this is Dave Ramesy. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE his book The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
Anyway, you are going to see me refer to Dave Ramsey a lot when I talk about money because this is the system we are using to get out of debt. Dave talks about the 7 baby steps. The first one being to start an $1000 emergency fund. That is the step hubby and I are at. Kind of. We are actually a little behind because this month we have been focusing on getting a budget together.
Believe it or not in the 12 years we have been together we have NEVER had a budget. NEVER! I know some of you may be totally shocked to read that. But I am proud to say that on January 1st we sat down together and put together a real budget. And I am even prouder to say that we stuck with it. We listed all of our expenses and committed to not spending ANY extra money. And so far we have stuck to it. So it is almost the end of the month and from the looks of our budget we are going to be pretty close to completing baby step 1 the $1000 emergency fund. How exciting is that? I feel so accomplished when I achieve a goal.
Budgeting is such an easy process but yet so difficult. The reason being it requires you to be totally honest with yourself and your spouse. You have to come clean with your spending habits and be ready and willing to totally work as a team with your spouse about money. And I think the hardest thing is to look at yourself and recognize what you have been doing is wrong and not working. So you need to want to make this change and make it a priority.
I am excited about this change in my life. I love being able to look at an excel spreadsheet and actually see now where my money is going. It is awesome. And like I said I feel for the first time ever that I am not going to die in debt.
Of course I love talking about sex, marriage, and relationships but I think it is equally important for women to talk just as much about money. Especially since money is one of the number one things that couples fight about. And plays a prominent role in the huge divorce rate in our country. So I feel that we need to control our money and not let our money control us.
Hubby and I are just in the beginning steps of our financial fitness plan. I look forward to sharing our progress with you. I hope you can learn and be inspired from our experiences.
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Wishing you and hubby the very best with your budget and financial fitness plan!
Thanks for linking up at Friday Follow! It’s such a grand day to meet you, so here I am…your newest blog follower.
~ Lynn
http://www.middayescapades.com
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Stopping by from Friday Follow!
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Way to go! Hubby and I have used a budget system since we were married. Trouble is…we are horrible with it! SO, you are off to a great start! We just had this conversation too. We need to do more saving and less spending. Most of our overspending goes to food: groceries and eating out. Plus I have a problem with shopping that I am really working on. Maybe we can keep each other in check, eh?
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My hubby and I need to do this SO bad!!! I mean, REALLY bad. Both of us totally suck at money. Both of us are total spenders!!!
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FRIDAY FOLLOW ~ GLAD YO MEET YOU
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Following you from the Friday Follow.
http://stacievaughansblog.blogspot.com
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Good luck with this one. Not so easy but do’able.
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Happy Friday Follow!
http://www.mannland5.com
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Budgeting is important, necessary…and so not sexy to talk about! Budgeting has such a negative connotation…people think that it means not having any money or penny-pinching or restricting your lifestyle. That’s so wrong! I feel like budgeting empowers me; by managing my money, I can make sure I get the things I want and not waste anything. I consider it a sport, a challenge, a hobby, and fun, rather than thinking, “Oh, I can’t afford this.”
It’s great that you have your husband on board! My husband and I have completely different attitudes and approaches towards money, and, you’re right, those differences can cause a lot of problems. We’ve come up with a rather unique idea for agreeing to disagree, plus we’ve divided the financial management so that he does some of it and I do some of it. (I do the household management and medical, and he does the monthly bills [mortgage, etc.] and investments.)
Don’t think of your budget as a chore or a drag–have fun with it!
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Great goals we all should try! I am from Friday Follow.
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Happy Friday Follow – Rita @ http://one2try.blogspot.com/
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Hopping by From Follow Friday!!!
See you around.
Valerie @ http://www.WalkinInSunshine.blogspot.com
& http://www.RocksInMyGarden.blogspot.com
I also spy the SITS button-Here’s some EXTRA LOVE!!!
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I hear that on my weight “loss” resolution has been less than successful. So tackle that budget!!!
New follower from FF!
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Hello from your newest follower. Love the look of your blog and look forward to reading more!
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Stopping by from Friday Follow! I am a new follower.
Join me and link up for Furry Friday Follow at My Pet Savings!
Kristy
http://www.mypetsavings.com
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Love the name of your blog.
Stopping by from Friday Follow and following you here and on Twitter.
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I am a Friday Follow!!!!!
sarahsblogoffun.blogspot.com
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I’m a new follower from “Friday Follow”! I’d love for you to come visit me!
Have a great weekend!
~Shelley
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Friday Follower:) My husband and I went through Financial Peace University with Dave last year and found it to be very helpful! We view money very differently, so it isn’t always easy to manage our finances together. Hang in there:) I found, with Dave’s help, that we simply wasted money on things we never really needed and hardly even wanted! Crazy! Wish I had all that money from all the Starbucks back!
Shea
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Stopping by to follow and say hello with Friday Follow. Wishing you and your family a fantastic weekend.
Felissa
http://www.felissahadas.blogspot.com
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Stopping by Friday Follow.
And became a follower.
Have a nice day.
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Hello!! I’m following you from the Friday Follow.
http://panperfocaccia-grianne.blogspot.com/
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Happy Friday Follow. I look forward to seeing you at my blog!
Liz@TheHaltonMom
http://haltonmom.blogspot.com
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Stopping by for follow friday, have a great weekend.
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Dear Heavens, I am giving up luxury items for Lent. It will be something hard for me to do, and it will be good to spend less.
Popping over to say I am a new follower from Friday Follow.
http://terra-del-sole.blogspot.com/
Warm wishes!
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Budgeting is hard. Sounds like you are on the right track. Stopping by from SITS!
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Happy Friday Follow! I am now following your blog! I would love for you to follow mine, too!
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I am now following you from Friday Follow. Have a great Friday
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I am stopping by from Friday Follow. I am now your newest follower. Have a great weekend
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Hi I’m new from Friday Follow!
I’m looking forward to reading your blogs!
Have a great Friday
-Jami
jamibalmet.blogspot.com
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Way to go! I have a friend who is working on a new budget and they are doing the Dave Ramsey class. They are working hard on it too. I grew up in a budget minded household and my hubby is a big saver. I can say we have absolutely no credit card debt. (We have a mortgage and a car loan)…but that’s all. We also live on $100 fun money every pay day…that takes us out to dinner once a week and if we are out of money we stay home. It works well for us…$50 each is not much for 2 people for 2 weeks but we do it!
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Happy Friday! I am stopping by from Friday Follow, and I am your new follower!
I’m really looking forward to reading your blog. Come by my blog at http://fraizerbaz.blogspot.com/
Take care!
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LADIES!!!!!! Thank you so much for all the bloggy luv today! I am working my way to visit all of you. Welcome new followers of This Mama Works It! You are going to have a blast here!
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Hi, TMWI!
Found you from the blog hop. Your site looks like a lot of fun and I think you might be just crazy enough for me to follow and read.
-Casey from http://www.thestarnesfam.com
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This Mama Works It! Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
hahahaha yes I love to get crazy over here!! Thanks for checking me out!
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How exciting for you! Isn’t it amazing how every little dollar adds up?
I am now following from Friday Follow
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Hi, I’m your newest follower. Thanks for joining this week and posting. I’m switching over to WordPress so my blog is down. I’ll be back soon though.
Happy Follow Friday!
Tami
http://www.heartsmakefamilies.com
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Happy Friday Follow! Be back later to actually read more.
Holly
http://www.504main.blogspot.com
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From Friday Follow. Hello and have a great Friday.
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