Our Budget

So we have been using our budget for almost a month now. Not so long, I know, but hey you gotta start somewhere right??? Truth be told this is really our second budget. We tried using one on mint and while there is a lot I like about mint (automatically records non cash transactions, all accounts are linked over the internet, etc.) I don't like it as our budget. We do still use it to basically see our accounts in one place.

We are trying out the YNAB software which I like a lot. Now it is a lot like a spread sheet. You manually record your transactions, which I like. I like it because you know what's in your account, and you are aware on what you are spending. Its just a much more intimate way to budget. YNAB also has a mobile  app so you can record your purchases as you go. My favorite part is it links your account on the cloud so I can record something at the store and the hubs can see that transaction right then so we are all on the same page! Its been working out pretty great!

YNAB isn't just software they also have their own philosophy and their own set of rules, but their website talks all about that.

Back in the day I hated the idea of budgets. Not too sure why. My guess is I felt bad for spending all our money that the hubs worked so hard to make for us,(Stupid I know.) or  i wanted some freedom in my spending without being accountable for it, or maybe I didn't want to spend time keeping track of what I was spending. All I know was I didn't want a budget.

After buying our house I didn't like looking at our checking account. I missed what it was. As soon as I felt like we were getting close to building it up, we'd have an expensive month and there it all went. Finally the hubs and I agreed, it was time to hold ourselves accountable. The hubs is also ready to start investing for our retirement and the sooner we start the better, but we need to free up cash first.

So now we have our budget and I love it! The things that turned me off to budgeting  before seem silly now. Now I know the money the hubs makes is ours and its my job to get the things we need. That being said I can also make sure I make that money last as long as we can. I have freedom to spend whatever I want. I just have to plan ahead for it, which is great because if I am willing to wait for it, then I know its worth it. If I have to have something and can't wait, we have money budgeted for that as well, just not a ton. And with YNAB it doesn't take much time at all! We talk about our budget twice a month or so discussing money and our budgeting categories, then with the app I record it all right away which takes two seconds literally!

So far so good and I am pleased to say we are pretty on track for this month and its been fun and exciting! Wish us luck!

Enjoy!

The Start of our Financial Journey

Our finance journey has begun! Well, I guess we've always been on a finance journey, just like everyone, but this is the start of us really watching where our money is and where it is going and what it can do for us.

I guess I should start with the beginning of our finance journey. It started when The hubs and I got married. We had nothing. No money no jobs....nothing. We had our house with a low payment thank goodness. (Right around $400.00). No car payments, and we'd keep our AC at 83 degrees. Yikes. But we found jobs, (making around 8 dollars an hour each both part time.) and lived cheap! We also had wedding money that saved us. Then I got pregnant with Billy Goat and I wasn't going to work after I had him. The Hubs was going to school full time so he couldn't work more. Our only answer was for him to get paid more. Luckily for us he was a rock star at what he does and he started his internship which paid well. 

After The hubs graduated and we were pregnant with June Bug we wanted to move to a better location. We found a nice fixer upper biking distance to work and put a bid on it and got it. (Thanks to the money The hubs got from work and our parents giving us some cash to tide us over until we sold our original home.) We sold our house and did well, paid our parents back and put everything else into fixing up our new home. Now we are trying to build our bank account back up. And that's where we are now. 

I also want to pat The hubs on the back for working his hiney off at school. He graduated early and didn't have to pay a dime thanks to scholarships. Now he is starting his master's degree that his employers are paying for. So I really feel we are ahead of the game. :-) 

Anyway, here we are starting a budget and looking at investing options. We are doing the YNAB (You Need a Budget) budgeting software and I seem to like it so far. I will write more about that tomorrow.

Enjoy!

The Beginning

I'm a 20 something wife to an amazing, slightly nerdy, but perfect guy (The Hubs). A mother to two great kids  (Billy Goat our almost 2 year-old and June Bug our almost 2 month old.)...who happen to nap at the same time giving me a nice break during the day. :-). We love our life even when it is chaotic and we wonder what we were thinking starting our family so young. (You know those moments where we are ready to go to church, load up June Bug to find out she had a huge blowout. Rush to clean her up, change her, clean up the mess to see Billy Goat dumping out his church bag....all the while I'm trying to get those roll dough balls in the fridge so we can eat pronto after church. And Daddy is looking at me like its my fault because if I hadn't made the dough before church we would've been at church already...)no regrets at all and we love it!

What made me decide to start this blog is like I mentioned above Billy Goat and June Bug nap at the same time and recording my life seems like a great time filler. Also me and my husband are starting a new journey on budgeting and investing. This new thing fascinates me and I am extremely excited about it. I Googled LDS finance bloggers and got nothing. While I am no expert I am excited to share our experiences. While I am interested in finances that is not my life. I'd love to share my everyday life of cooking, cleaning, juggling two kids, finances, church, among other things! 

Enjoy!