Budgeting as a Free Spirit (Yeah, I hate that word too...)

Before I got married, I used to write down all my bills with pen and paper, pay my bills a

day before I got paid so I could see the money out of my account, then I would spend the rest of

my money on whatever I wanted, food, clothes, etc. This is the natural personality of a Free

Spirit (so I’ve been told). Now, being married, my personality remains the same but my feelings

about money, budgeting, and finances have changed for the better. My husband and I look over

our budget every night and I’ve never felt more comfortable, confident, and secure with my

finances. Let me tell you how I got here.

Almost 2 years ago, I had about 8 credit cards, a car note, and student loans. They would completely consume my paychecks. I was living with my parents at the time and still struggling. There would be times where I would catch up and have some money left to myself, but I would blow it on things I wanted. During this, I met Joshua, later became my husband. Joshua introduced me to the concept of budgeting and living debt free. “What?! I don’t have to have debt?!” That’s exactly what I said. That sounded nice but seemed like a lot of work. However, like my husband said, 

“Time is going to pass regardless of how you feel. So you could start now and work to be where you want to be in 2 years or you could let 2 years pass and still be in the same situation you’re in. Either way, 2 years are going to pass.” 

After hearing what he said, I got started. I started budgeting to the best of my ability and intentionally paying off my debt.

Like I said prior, I am a free spirit which means I really don’t care about a budget. Especially if it doesn’t benefit me. Nor do I want to have less money than I feel like I already have. In short, I do not want to be told what to do. However, a budget is you telling your money what to do! I get to do all the things I want to do because I’M TELLING MY MONEY WHERE TO GO AND HOW TO GET THERE! After a year and a half, and with the help of my husband, I no longer have credit cards nor a car note! And we're working on paying off my student loans. In total we will have paid off around $60,000 of debt!

Now, I will be honest. A budget does show light into areas that you may not be comfortable with seeing. For example, you may find that you eat out way more than you should or you have subscriptions you didn’t even know about. This is still okay! This allows you to find out what you need to change, make the change, and take back your financial freedom. If you took nothing away from this, take this:

Life is too short to be living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to get by, or hating the work you do. 

If you feel like this is you, reach out to a coach to get your life and finances back on track.

Let me know your feelings about budgeting by sending me an email at info@budgetful.com.

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