Wednesday, January 13, 2010

First Week

Well, we've been on our new budget for a little over a week now.  It's only been a week, but I feel like I've learned so much. 

1.  I learned just how irresponsible we can be with our money when you do not keep track of our spending.
2.  I learned TO keep track of my spending.  It really opened up my eyes to where our money was going, and why we felt like we were always short.
3.  Giving ourselves (Tim and I) a cash 'allowance' has really forced us to think about what we are spending our money on.
4.  Cash allowances have also GREATLY decreased the use of our debit card.

All in all, I think we can say that we feel relieved and proud of ourselves.  With spending money more wisely, we also believe we are honoring the Lord more - which definitely leads to more blessings.  They will not necessarily mean more monetary funds, but I (for one) have such a greater peace knowing we are honoring God with our finances.  Truth be told, the way we spend our money can definitely be a witness to those around you. 

Hope you all are having a good week.  Halfway to Friday.  I, for one, am very excited.  Will keep you posted on whatever we learn, as I know we have a LONG road ahead of us.  Being on a budget one week definitely doesn't make us experts, but I'll try to encourage you each week by what our family learns.

1 comment:

nicole said...

Good for you that you've already learned so much from just 1 week! For the first couple of years of our marriage I kept track of every dollar we spent and earned in this large, color-coded, multi-sheeted spreadsheet broken down by a couple dozen different categories! It was VERY time consuming, but it definitely taught us a lot and allowed me to see trends over time in our spending that we needed to correct. I no longer do that, but having done it I feel that I know what our spending habits are and our weak spots. We've never tried sticking to a strict budget (just learning from our current spending), but I think what you're doing is great!