Since I achieved my goal of paying my Target Visa card off last month, this month I threw a huge chunk of change towards my Capital One card!

$632 to be exact.

It was pretty much all the extra income I made from surveys and my blog and I am going to use the snowball method from this budget post to pay it off within the next two months.  

I can't wait! 

My Debt Snowball Progress (January)

 
So my goal was to have my Target Visa card paid off by January 1, 2014.  And I did that last month. But this month I ended up throwing $575 at my next one... Capital One.   It was all blogging money I had saved up.

It's super easy especially because I use the snowball method I mentioned in my budget post.   

My goal is to pay this off by June and I totally know I can do it. 

My Debt Snowball Progress (December) and A CARD PAYOFF!!!

So my goal was to have my Target Visa card paid off by January 1, 2014. In order to do that, I would have to be paying AT LEAST $367 a month on that card using the debt snowball method I mentioned in my budget post. Well, it suddenly occurred to me, why not try to exceed that amount every month?! So I did!

And guess what, I JUST PAID IT ALL OFF!!! My final payment was almost $800!

I basically just added up all my Christmas money, blog income, and some ebay money and I did it!!!!

HOORAY!!! My next goal is to have my Capital One card paid off by June 2014 and guess what I KNOW I can do it!

My Filofax Budget Envelope System

Do you remember when I featured my guide to being on a budget? One of the things I explained was how to create an envelope system for your different spending categories so you can use cash only and track where every dollar goes. I've been using that system for years now and it has been working like a charm! I find that every time I open my cash envelope system at a store, the cashier always tells me what a great idea it is and asks me how I did it. Thanks to all those compliments and questions, I decided to put together a post showing off how I made my envelope system. Enjoy!

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How to Budget for the Holidays

While I thoroughly enjoy the Holiday season, it can be chaotic and disruptive to my disciplined spending and to my budget, which is why I always plan ahead and set up a Christmas budget!! So I decided to share some tips with you and some instructions on setting up your very own spending plan!

Some Holiday Budget Tips:

*$* Gather all of the items you have that are new, unused and can be regifted. Put them all in a box (as you gather them or all at once) and make this your gift box where you can go to pick out gifts for people for almost any occassion.

*$* If you have a large family, suggest setting up a drawing so each member gets assigned just one person to buy for. And set a spending limit.

*$* Start saving a Christmas Spending fund a year in advance by adding $5 to an envelope every paycheck. It all adds up!!

*$* Home made gifts are a great way to save money and give a personal touch to any gift. I'll feature some next week so be sure to subscribe so you don't miss anything!

*$* Services can make a wonderful treat for family members. Get crafty and design a paper coupon voucher good for 1 car wash/lawn mowing/weed pulling, etc.
And here are some step by step instructions to create, plan, and execute your Holiday shopping and spending plan.


1. Make a List
Write down the name of every person you need to have a gift for.

2. Determine your spending limit.
Look at the amount you've saved up in your envelope and either divide it by the number of names on your list...or break down the amount per person on a one by one basis. If you want to budget more for your closer family or friends, now's the time to figure that out. Write the amount next to each person's name.

3. Decide on a gift for each person.
Does each person get a handmade item, a service coupon, or an actual monetary valued gift? Write down 2-3 gift ideas for each person if you can think of that many. Try to think of things they need. If you know your parents need a sofa cover, list that! Even regular everyday household goods make nice gifts. And..this is the important part..... go through your Gift box from the tip in the beginning of this post and shop it to see if there's anything you can regift to any family members or friends.... this is where the aunt of your boyfriend/husband/partner gets easier to shop for!

4. Plan out your shopping map.

This is the fun part for those of us that love planning and organizing EVERYTHING. First figure out what stores you are going to for each gift and write those down next to the gifts. If it's a crafty DIY item, write down the supplies you need and the stores you can get the supplies at.

5. Plan your actual shopping trips.
Decide what days you will do your online shopping and your in store shopping. Try to get it all done at once or in 2 -3 days. This way, you aren't rushed and you aren't stressed. If you can get multiple items at one store, that's a great idea for knocking out your list in one trip. If you want to take advantage of coupons or sales so you can make sure you get an item that your friends/family want, at the budget-approved cost..then this is the step you will do your research at!

6. Get some envelopes!
Place each persons cash in an envelope with their name on it. On the outside of the envelope write down the store and the item or items for them. When you end up shopping, make sure you group everything together by store and day.

7. SHOP!
Stick to what's on your list and what's in each envelope. When you get a receipt place it in each person's envelope. Take advantage of coupons and sales and DON'T use a credit card!

8. Plan a crafting and wrapping day.
This is when you will make some of your gifts and also when you will start the wrapping and packaging process. And if you're like me, you won't have to spend much on wrapping supplies because you stock up when it's on sale and you utilize gift bags, some of which you save from gifts you've received in the past!


Well, there you go... if you follow a budget, it will be a much smoother process.


But that's not all..... Here are some other items that cost money around the holidays and here's how you can save on them:

Food 

Make your own when you can, and try to make things from scratch using what you already have in your pantry. Plan out any meals or party contributions in advance so you don't have to rush all at once and buy everything. When the pressure is on, you don't make as wise of purchasing decisions. 

Cards

Take advantage of some discounts on popular sites such as SnapFish, Cardstore, or Walgreens where you can design your card, include a photo, customize text, and get a discount. They are always running specials! Try to keep your cards flat and simple so you don't have to break the bank on postage. Also, deliver cards when you can instead of mailing them. It's nice to get mail still so why not toss it in their mailbox when you know they aren't home!? 

Decorations 

Make your own or use Pinterest for inspiring ideas. Recycle what you already have by using it in different ways. Remember... decorations are only temporary so don't break the bank on them and AVOID the displays in stores or else you'll cave and buy a bunch of stuff you don't need. 

Hopefully, this post helps a lot of you with the next few weeks! Please let me know if you have any budgeting questions or any tips (comment below with your own tips!)

And be sure to check out my new book, Fixing Your Finances on Amazon!

3 Benefits of a Clothing Fund in Your Budget

If you haven’t even thought of controlling your spending through an envelope system,  it’s not too late to start.  Just because you are on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t buy anything for yourself.  When I originally wrote about it in My Guide to Being on ABudget  I made sure to explain that one of my expenses I allow myself each month is clothing.

Using a clothing envelope has many benefits:

It forces you to plan your spending.

If you only get $100 for each season, you will pretty much map out where you wanna go and what you need to buy that your wardrobe lacks.     Think about it….have you ever bought multiples of the same type of shirt or jeans?   If you only have a certain amount available to spend, you are much more likely to skip over that nice black tshirt, considering you already have 3 at home.  You would much rather spend your money on something you don’t have.

You will make smarter spending decisions. Instead of buying those $80 shoes, you’ll notice that you start looking for the best deal on a particular style of shoes.   This means less impulse buys.

You will use coupons.

Next time you see a coupon for 20% off an item from your favorite department store, you are more likely to take advantage of it and really think before you decide what item to spend it on.

Have you started using a clothing envelope yet?

5 Reasons You Don't (DO) Need a Budget

I've written about how I stay on a budget and it's important to know that a budget doesn't mean that you can't manage money or won't be allowed to spend it.  A budget is simply controlling and tracking where your money goes so you efficiently and effictively spend or save each dollar.  

Below are 5 major reasons that some of my Facebook friends gave me for why they don't need a budget. And below each reason is why they still may need one.

1. I have a lot of money and I don't need one.
Well, just because someone's on a budget doesn't mean they do or don't have money. Wealth is a state of mind.   Wealthy people still track their money.  In fact, wealthy people don't have less stress when they have more money, but they have less stress because they know where all their money goes. REMEMBER: Budget does not mean LIMIT SPENDING... it means TRACKING SPENDING!!!


2. I'm too lazy.
The more you put this off and procrastinate, the worse it'll be if a crisis ever happens, and by crisis I mean life.  We all have had those moments where life is derailed for a bit and we lose track of our daily and weekly schedule and routine, even with money!

3. I don't have the time to budget.
You don't have the time NOT to budget!  It literally will take a few hours or  a couple days to just do the work.  And once you do it, it's done and the only thing you'll ever have to do is maintenance and updates here and there! 

4. I'm scared to see what my situation really is.

Okay...and once you see, you can make the adjustments then and there on paper or on your database, and see how your situation ISN'T so bad.  It's never as bad as you imagine if you aren't already tracking it.  Just trust me on this one!

5. My current "Method" works fine.

That's fine if it does, but then you should never ever have a situation come up where you don't have any money to put towards an emergency that arises.   That's why I also say that by budgeting for unexpected expenses you will always have money put aside in an emergency fund, a mini savings fun for your car, your home, and whatever else you need to save for.  A healthy budget always allows room for some emergencies.   Besides... your current "method" can already be your budget, you just call it something besides the B word!


Have you heard the news? I have published a book all about finances! Check it out on Amazon!




What reason do you have for NOT needing a budget? 

Be sure to join my Facebook group, Fixing Your Finances, to help you with your finance journey along the way.  

My Guide to Being on a Budget

This post was originally published in 2013 but gets updated yearly.

 

The feeling of having debt is overwhelming and when you're trying to work on paying it off as one of your financial goals, it can be chaotic if you don't have the other aspects of your finances in order. A major aspect is creating and living by a budget, not to restrict your spending in an unreasonable way but to assign every dollar of your money a job whether it's to be spent, saved, or put towards debt.

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