I, like many of you out there, have many moving parts to my life – 3 children, a husband, 2 dogs, a house, my career, hobbies, interests, meal planning, friendships – you get the picture – I am speaking to the choir here! And sometimes, the last thing on my list of “things to do” is manage my budget. By no means do Brett and I overspend; we generally have an idea of what is going in and what is going out, but sometimes I find myself in a panic because I have felt like more keeps going out than going in to our bank account. One way we have learned to really bring in the reigns is through the Dave Ramsey Envelope System for Budgeting.
It really is such a basic thing, but its effectiveness is really amazing. I get caught up in “just putting it on my card” and then my credit card bill comes in and I cringe. The Dave Ramsey envelope system is simply living off of cash. Each envelope represents what you spend money on (groceries, gas, coffee, clothing, presents, eating out) each month. Once you get paid, you put the money you are spending on each category in the respective envelope and take out ONLY money for that category during your budgeted time.
Holy Moly – we quickly realized how much “extra” we were spending during grocery shopping on items we really didn’t need, but wanted in the moment. Brett and I love this system and we have returned to it a multiple times during our marriage. I love that we have to agree on what money goes where and then have to work as a team to manage it. It really makes budgeting and living a black and white situation. Once the money is gone, then we are done spending in that category. Now, time to grab my budgeted amount for grocery and head to the store! 🙂
Find out more about how I am “Capturing Life’s Beautiful Moments” in my All Natural Light Studio and On Location as the Augusta GA Newborn Photographer and Augusta GA Family Photographer in the greater Augusta, GA area by visiting my website www.MaryBethsPhotography.com.
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