How I Survive The Budget

Hold on tight!

It's all a matter of mind-over-matter, keeping on budget, that is.  When it comes right down to it, if you have shelter, food, water, and electricity, you have what you need to survive.  (Perhaps electricity is a luxury to some, but not to me!)  With those things, you have much, much more than many people in the rest of this world.  I try to remind myself of this often.  It helps keep my wants in check. 

First of all, we have our budget on the computer.  My husband keeps track of it, although we worked together as a team setting it up.  I prefer to have a smaller set amount that I am in control of each week.  It helps me to know that I have "x' amount of money for the week.  When it is gone, I am done. Simple. Or at least that is the way it is supposed to work.  I am not always perfect.  (Don't ask me about feeding the birds.  *blush*  They are my one weakness.)

Our biggest expense weekly is food.  What money that is leftover is what we have for the week for non-food things we need.  If any is left, which is not normal, it goes towards the next week. 

For many years, while we were paying off debt, there would be fumes to live on for the rest of the week.  Now we usually end up even.  For awhile, ending up even would really bother me.  I'd think,"How are we ever going to get ahead this way?"  Reality is that we are not going to get ahead as long as we have kids! :-) 

One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard was simply,"If you don't have the money, don't go shopping!"  Wow, has that ever made the difference.  Truly, there is nothing that I need that can't wait until my budget starts over again the next week.  Oh sure, we might run out of things, but what is really so important going over my budget that I cannot wait a day or two or find an alternative already at home?   I've learned to get creative.  How many times do you run to the store for one thing and just get that one thing?  Also, going shopping just to look is looking for trouble.  Don't do it.  It is often better for my husband to stop on his way home for one item so that I don't go and find more things we "need" that are on sale. 

I remember being so depressed about our money situation, when we first got serious about our debt.  The budget was impossible, I thought. The only money I was allowed to spend was for groceries. That was no fun.  Once I got used to our budget, shopping became less of a thing I did for fun and more something I did so we had food and other things we needed on hand. It was not therapy! 

These days I have the opposite problem, I get grumpy when I have to part with money! I love the old saying of "Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without."   


I think I've said every thing that I can think of about living debt free for now.  I hope this helps someone.  Like I said before, it was a long process, but worth it.  Of course, it would have been great if we had been wise and avoided debt in the first place.  Unfortunately, experience is the best teacher and we probably would not have learned as much if we did not go down this hard road.  Hopefully our kids will learn from our mistakes.

~Jenn