Organize Your Money: The Big Picture
It’s January, so most of us are trying to get life organized for the new year. This week I will be sharing some simple ideas to help you organize your money. Click here to see all the posts in this series.
Today I want to encourage you to take a look at the big picture.
Many times when we think about our money, we think about the bills we have to pay or balancing the checkbook. In reality, our finances are so much bigger. Money is related to everything in our lives, and because money touches on every area, we cannot solve our money issues by simply looking at our finances. We need to integrate all aspects of our life together, and align our everyday actions with our true values.
Our family has been on a multi-year journey of integrating our values with our financial life. If you read the Living on Less Than $28,000 a Year series, then you know that we chose to live on one less-than-average income for many years so that I could home school our children (one of whom has Aspergers Syndrome–an autism spectrum disorder, and one with a severe gluten allergy). There were some unpleasant consequences of that decision such as having only one vehicle for a long time, living in a smaller house, etc., but we made those sacrifices with a higher goal in mind.
In the spring of this past year, we started thinking bigger, and began to see that maybe we didn’t have to live in an either/or situation. We started looking for ways to increase our income through part-time jobs, selling things we own and my blog. Through each of these avenues we were able to increase our income for 2012, but we also found that because the money came in a little at a time and we did not have a concrete overall plan, much of it was spent in ways that didn’t really help us advance our true goals.
Spending an extra $5 or $20 here and there doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up to hundreds and thousands of dollars over a year’s time. We realized that we were saying that we valued giving and saving, but we were not really living it out in our day-to-day lives.
So for 2013, we decided to take a look at the big picture of our life and our finances, and to make some specific plans for this year.
A few of our “dream big” goals for this year are:
- give at least $1000 this year to causes and projects we believe in
- increase our budget from $2200 a month to $3000 a month to accommodate things like medical/dental needs, clothing, Christmas savings,etc.)
- complete all necessary repairs on our vehicles
- add an additional $1000 to our emergency fund (more if possible)
- pay for a graduation party for our son with cash
- pay for a trip to a friend’s wedding with cash
We may not accomplish everything on the list, but we have goals to work toward, and as Zig Ziglar said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time!” By writing down specific goals, we are much more likely to actually accomplish them.
If you would like to join us on this journey to align your money with your values, take a few minutes this week to dream about how you would like your life and your finances to look, then write down some specific goals for this year. Don’t limit yourself by what you think you can do, or what you have done in the past. Think bigger!
Please Note: I am aware that many of you have come here because of a job loss or other financial difficulty. I encourage you to not lose hope and to not give up dreaming. Just because you are where you are now, does not mean that you have to be there next week, next month or next year. Dream about where you would like to be. Think about what would you like to be different–not just an increase in your income, but everything in your life. Pray for vision and purpose.
What are some of your goals and dreams for 2013? Leave a comment.
Click here to read the next post in this series: Organize Your Money Step by Step
You May Also Enjoy:
Be Inspired
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
With the extra 2% coming out of our checks as well as insurance hikes expected in September, we have had to look at our budget and see what can be cut. I am so thankful that we sat down and wrote out our expenses for the year in EVERY category of our lives so we can handle the unexpected. We have thought about where we want to be, but not always in terms of how we will arrive at that point. Thank you for making me think about how I want my life to look, not how much I will have to spend.
I want to retire and be able to travel.
I want to be able to help my children to go to college and get married.
I want my children to have responsibilities around the house to make them into better people.
I want to be able to pay cash for our next vehicle.
I want to take my children to Disney World and Washington DC.
I want to save a little each pay check instead of viewing the “leftovers” as a way to get more things. Right now I seem to spend it because it is there. For example with groceries, I have a certain amount of cash and it gets spent because I will stock up on something or buy a treat. I need to take out a little each time and put it away. If there is a deal I need for our weekly menu then it will be there, but if not, I can put it towards long term goals.
Thank you again for making me think! I want to write my goals down and break them into smaller pieces. I found a neat family style weekly wire bound calendar and would like to write my short term goals in there so I am seeing them each day when I check to see who has to be where. (There is also a spot for a menu, notes, to do list and a column for each person (upto 5) for each day of the week to track activities. I keep it open to the current week on my desk.)
I had the same exact problem previously–I saw any extra money as money to spend instead of money to save, but with our goals written down and posted I am doing much better at saving those little bits. Glad I could encourage you too!
We want to continue to pay our oldest two kids’ college tuition (they pay books and both hold jobs and are saving) allowing them to continue debt free.
We want to pay off our car, and perhaps purchase a 3rd car with cash to make college logistics easier.
We want to take a trip to DC and stay with my brother, and a trip to GA to visit my sister.
To help make these things happen, I want to can more this summer, and specifically target my garden to give us the most bang for the buck. This has tremendously helped our grocery budget.
We want to limit our driving around to one or two days a week, batching our errands.
I want to sew more for us, and possibly take on more alterations this year.
I want to Try the “cooking with nothing” concept more… Looking for food sources I might over look….bartering with our neighbor for their extra apples, etc and making use of our pantry and freezers first, only shopping when absolutely necessary. The less I’m in the grocery store, the better.
Love that you are using your sewing skills to make money Julie! The garden is a great idea too. I just haven’t been able to go there yet–lol!
This year we would like to:
-pay off all of our non-student loan debt (we will tackle student loans next year!)
-pay cash for a family weekend away
-continue to build our emergency fund
and I would like to start a small from-home business for an additional stream of income
My hopes & prayers are to one day own a home. I would like to think it was possible for 2013, but we have a Junior in High school which means college and that takes $$$ so I keep preaying for the direction we need to stay afloat.
We’ve been trying to budget for years. Reading your blog has helped to put A LOT into perspective. This year, our short term goal is to make and emergency spending acct, and our long term goal is to put back enough for a deposit on some land
I am so glad that the blog has encouraged you Amanda. Thanks for letting me know.
Two thoughts…my sewing earns me about $60/hr…if you sew, it’s a great way to make some extra income. The studio where my girls dance gives out my name along with recital costumes, for those who need help with alterations….so many people don’t sew, and can’t even do a simple hem. It’s very low stress sewing, because its not like its a wedding dress or anything. I turn down anything that makes me feel stressed.
Along with the garden, I will continue to buy produce when it’s at it’s peak harvest and local farms have a glut. I bought 100 ears of corn for $20 and blanched and froze it all. I buy tomatoes to can when they are 25 cents a pound, and likewise peppers. Having those things on hand can really help…and if you time it right, you can save a lot of money. But, we live in south NJ, and have easy access to actual farms…so no mark ups thru produce vendors.
Also, Tova: http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/blog/college/what-about-college/#sthash.96hMHi2l.dpbs I laid it out how we are doing college on the cheap…under $20k for a four year degree…total. Don’t let what everyone else is doing make you think you have to spend an arm and leg and go into debt for college! I have two in community college right now, on finishing this year and will transfer to Rowan University. He has a 4.0 GPA, and we are hoping for some scholarships, but mostly, by living at home he was able to keep his part time job and will have enough money to pay for half his tuition at the bigger school. We will pay the other half…and he will live at home still, which is a huge savings. Community college costs about $3500/year here, and you get $2500 back thru the American Opportunity tax credit…making the actual tuition cost about $1000/year. Not that it’s a small amount, but far smaller than most people are borrowing for a year in college. HTH
My financial goal this year is to quickly get my EF up to $3K, and continue building up my “slush fund” for smaller incidentals so I don’t need to dip into my EF for “small things”. I’d also like to really watch my grocery budget and stay under budget each week!!
I have a simple goal: to have more in savings in December than we do in January, and to continue to be debt-free other than mortgage. Based on my husband’s income, we have $19 a week “leftover,” but our budget does not include home repairs, medical expenses, or any gifts or holiday expenses. It does include our tithe, mortgage, utilities, health/home/car/and life insurance, and a meager $200 a month for groceries. Some goals I have to save or make money this year are:
-potty train soon to be two year old
-not waste as much food
-buy less snacky foods and make my own instead
-improve my gardening skills!
-sell a few things we don’t need
-continue to look for tutoring students and look for other ways to increase our income
-plan and stick to our plan of how we’ll spend and save our tax refund
Thanks for sharing your ideas and experiences with us.
Our family goal is to pay off a loan, then start saving for a new vehicle that will fit our (soon-to-be) family of 4. I track every penny and did last year as well. It’s grouped into 4 categories (in excel) Groceries, Gas, Eating out, Bills (mortgage, loans, phone, electric, etc), and miscellaneous. My last goal this year is to get the miscellaneous under control. We spend too much there. We live on 2 teacher salaries and are struggling, but breaking even. My husband took on an extra job at the night school 3 days a week so we can make bigger payments on that loan. I would like to know how to train him a little better. He sees some of the our money as “I am working the extra job for the extra money, I should be able to spend a few dollars on _____”. I don’t know how to get him out of that mentality without guilt.
I would give him a set amount out of that money that he can just blow. You still have the benefit of the extra money, but he doesn’t feel like he isn’t benefiting from all that hard work.
With every paycheck:
We tithe 10% to our church first and foremost.
Another 10% is paid to ourselves (savings).
All of our debts are paid (the minimum amount due).
All of our monthly expenditures are budgeted for, and that money is set aside.
Every cent left over goes to the highest interest debt. Once that debt is gone, the money usually earmarked for it will go towards the next highest interest debt, and so on until all of the debt is gone. Then that money will go to a mutual fund where it can begin earning interest.
We should be debt free by December with a fully funded emergency fund, and a growing investment! Stoked about that!
I spent the last year paying off credit cards and I’m down to the last two with the highest balances. My goals for this year is to rebuild my baby emergency fund (normally its 1000, now its just over 400, had several small emergencies at the end of the year I need to recover from) and pay off one of my big credit cards.
For those of you saving for college, also consider the option of trade school. I grew up in a household where my going to college was a given, my parents demanded it. So I did. I have two degrees (earned 15 years apart). So when it was my daughter’s turn, I encouraged her to pick an art program (the KC art institute saw some of her work and chased her for a couple of years). Instead, she decided to study to be an esthetician. She did brilliantly in school and just graduated. She is currently waiting to take the state boards. Total cost of her program was around 15k and she was done in a single year. That was because she only missed two days of school that entire year. She was very determined. Some of that was covered by Pell grants.
With the resurgence in manufacturing not only in the US but in other countries who have finally realized that it doesn’t matter how cheap the widget you make in China is, if the consumers in your home country don’t have a job, they won’t buy it.
I’m not saying that’s the only way to go, but its an option that is out there.
For 2013 I would like to:
-Up my charitable contribution by 2% of my salary more per month.
-Save enough to have a 3 month emergency fund.
-Start contributing 3.5% of my salary to my Roth IRA.
-Pay cash for a trip to the shore with my kids.
-Pay off my car.
-Start an account for a down payment for a house.
-Start an account to help my son pay for a car, go on a trip to Spain for his Spanish Class, and take him on a trip when he graduates from high school (3 years).
This is an ambitious list and I might not get it all accomplished but I like to aim high. This works for me.
A thought for the college students or so to be is Upromise. http://www.upromise.com/guest/2207183944 You can print coupons to grocery store shop online etc. SAve on the things you budget for and earn money towards college. I buy clothes for kids and presents online and it counts toward college. WE have 4 kids so this helps alot.
I would like to save money and take my newborn daughter to meet my parents. We live in different states and I would need to fly there. My parents haven’t been able to visit me due to ongoing medical problems. I’m a stay at home mom and money is tight.
I would like to:
- Pay down as much credit card debt as possible
- Have an emergency fund of $1500
- Maximize my earning potential by doing freelance writing, selling ebooks, consultant work, etc.
- Fly to Canada to visit my best friend.
I am new to following your blog, but already in the past couple of days, I have found several ideas that I could put into practice. Thank you so much.
I am so glad! Thanks for taking the time to let me know Heide.