Budgeting

I feel so fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful and dynamic group of ladies!  We are reminded in Matthew 6:25-34 that God loves us and will provide for our every need.  He instructs us, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you are well" (Matthew 6:31-33).

This week we talked about how each of our families handle budgeting duties, and we shared our best practices and lessons we have learned along the way.  We covered the budgeting worksheet attached to the previous post.  Here is a synopsis of how I budget:

Each month, I sit down and prepare a budget for the following month.  I use a spiral notebook (old style).  I open in prayer to the Lord, asking for His blessing and direction for our finances.  I list out our income for the month and calculate our monthly tithe based on our gross income.  Then, I continue listing our expenses for the month beginning with housing, utilities, groceries and ending with negotiable expenses like clothing and personal care items.  I try to be as specific as possible as I budget.  Giving each dollar a name helps me to prioritize our spending.  In years past, we have used the Dave Ramsey system to pay off our debt (both credit card and vehicle payments).  I highly recommend this method if you have consumer debt.  It has freed us in so many ways!

Often, I am discouraged or stressed at the end of the process, so I often end by writing a prayer in my budget notebook.  I tell God that I trust Him and ask Him to help me be a good steward of the gifts He has given us.  I ask Him to take away my stress as I am reminded, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matthew 6:34). 

After completing the budgeting process, I write a check to get cash out for all of the budget items not paid by bank draft or check (i.e. tithe, mortgage payments, utilities).  I have purchased a plastic coupon organizer and labeled it with the following categories for monthly spending:
          Groceries
          Miscellaneous groceries (Target/WalMart type expenses)
          Dining Out (Family meals)
          Lunch money
          Miscellaneous 

Under the Miscellaneous category, I paperclip and label money for various spending categories such as clothing, personal care, postage, etc. The contents of the miscellaneous tab vary from month to month.  I also separate the money behind the other tabs into the cash needed for each week.  This keeps me on budget each week, which is key to sticking to a budget.  When the money runs out, the spending stops.  This is extremely hard.  I recommend keeping a small amount of money in your budget to pull from for emergencies or sudden and necessary expenses.  Otherwise, when these expenses arise, you will have to re-distribute money from one of the other spending categories.

I would love to spend time with you talking about your budget or going into more detail on how the Franke family handles this process.  I would also love your feedback on what has been shared.  Next week, we will be talking about couponing and grocery shopping.  We have agreed as a group to begin a Coupon Exchange at Parkway.  We will be starting a box or envelope on the Women's Ministry bulletin board soon!  The Lord is working among us and I am blessed!