The B Word! BUDGETS!!!!!!

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Well my friends, thanks for reading my blog the last couple weeks! This has been really fun to get started with and I certainly get to reflect back on how I'm doing on this journey with my wife and children and I also get to hopefully inspire others as I change myself and family.

As I stated in my last blog post we are going to talk about Budgets. (I'm going to capitalize the word Budget, because I want to drive home the importance of a using a Budget.) 

ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF DIVORCE ARE DUE TO MONEY FIGHTS AND MONEY PROBLEMS. (Not communicating or miss-communicating. Talk to each other, you did it once, do it again!)

I think Budgets are misunderstood, and a lot of people think that if they create a Budget, they can't do what they want with their money. 

Have you ever been in between pay periods and want to go buy something or do something as a family and you look at your bank account and only see a few dollars in the bank and wonder "Where did all of our money go?" I HAVE AND IT ISN'T FUN, IT'S DOWNRIGHT DEPRESSING!

After my wife and I read the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, I decided we are getting on a Budget. With my employer I am able to go to the company intranet website and see how much my paycheck will be, this is nice because as a family we can sit down and have what Dave call's a "Budget Committee Meeting". This is a meeting where we can plan, sit down, and TALK CALMLY about what bills need to be paid and where the left over money is going to go. IF YOU DON'T TELL YOUR MONEY WERE IT IS GOING TO GO, IT WILL DISAPPEAR! (I know your shaking your head up and down right now, if your not you've beat the statistics, congrats!)

I'm going to describe two Budgeting techniques that are commonly used. 

The first is what I call the ZERO DOLLAR ASSIGNED BUDGET.
- This is where you will sit down with a sheet of paper, and assign each and every dollar a category. For Example!
 Paycheck = $2,500.00 (all figures are arbitrary and for example only, adjust accordingly to your needs.)

Tithing - $250.00 (Tithe means 10%, In the Bible we learn about Christ's followers paying a tithe. I'm a firm believer in the concept of tithing.  I believe God gave me this money, I can give a bit back to him for large blessings in return. If you don't tithe, that's your belief, but you can give to a charity instead.)
  
Mortgage/Rent - $1,000.00   

Food - $300.00

Utilities - $ 150.00
(Notice I Budget for the necessities of life, Shelter, Food, Utilities before anything else? I then get to the other things in life.)

Insurance - $40.00

Car Payments - (If you unfortunately have a car payment) $300.00

Fuel for Car - $150.00

Phone Bill (Cell Phones/Landlines) - $150.00

Auto Repair Fund - $50.00

Credit Cards (If you have this evil) - $50.00

Clothing Fund (kids grow out of clothes more than adults) - $30.00 

Pay Yourself Fund - $30.00

Now you will see, we have assigned each and every dollar a category. The next paycheck you will have different categories, like:

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Medical Prescription / Co-pay Fund

More Credit Cards if you have them

School Lunch Fund

Appliances / Furniture Fund

Christmas Fund

Birthday Fund

(Each person's wants and needs are a little bit different, but the basic concept is the same.)

You will notice I have a Pay Yourself Fund, some might be wondering "What the heck is this?" Ahhhh, let me explain. Has your significant other came home with a new blouse, or a new gun, or whatever their addiction is and you think to yourself  "We can't even buy milk for the cereal, and you go out and buy a new blouse?" THIS IS THE FUND WHERE YOU EACH GET A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY TO SPEND ON YOU, NO QUESTIONS CAN BE ASKED BY EITHER PARTY AS LONG AS THAT PERSON HAS THE MONEY THAT WAS ASSIGNED TO THEM.

Pay Yourself Fund is my favorite fund, because I no longer go into the gas station to buy that Coke or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I find it is so much harder to part with that money, and if I want to save for Cowboy to build me another Cowboy Hat (check out his website at www.cowboysclassichatco.com ) I can save that money for just that reason and no questions are asked. HOW FUN IS THAT? (IT'S A PARTY TO YOURSELF!)

Next you will notice the AUTO REPAIR FUND. How often does the car break down? Not very often, but when it does your having the "OH CRAP, HOW AM I GOING TO AFFORD THIS?" moment. How often do you plan for your car to break down? Same answer, not very often. If you plan for it and you have the funds saved up that repair will be paid for before it happens. It's an awesome feeling, trust me it's worked with my family.

Okay, the second Budget is the ENVELOPE BUDGETING SYSTEM! I love this one!

This system was used a very long time ago. I tried to trace the origins down, but was unsuccessful. The nearest I could find, was back before credit cards were used people would actually save for things, yes I know that sounds crazy, but it actually happened!

What people would do and my family and I do now, is we take the paycheck and stick the CASH in the envelope assigned to the categories for example:

The Tithing envelope would get the amount assigned in the Budget meeting

Mortgage/Rent Envelope would get it's assigned amount

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Food Envelope would get it's assigned amount.

ETC., ETC.

Once that amount in the envelope is spent, it's spent. IT'S GONE!

There might be times where you have to adjust your different categories for different reasons, for instance there is a case lot sale at the grocery store and SO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR SPOUSE and say "There is a case lot sale at the grocery store, I am going to adjust here so I can have some extra money for this case lot sale".

When you start your budgeting you will find that the amount allotted for Groceries isn't enough or it might be too much. It will take a few month's to get it right, but keep pushing through. DO NOT YELL AT YOUR BUDGET MEETING, talk calmly and YOU BOTH MUST AGREE! Men, let her have the say so on the Groceries Budget amount, especially the groceries. (She will think your king of the world if you do this.)

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Life will be much more enjoyable when you live on a Budget, much less stressful and certainly not as depressing. A BUDGET IS NOT A PRISON CELL!

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

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THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON

BY: GEORGE S. CLASON

When I was about 13 years old, I remember my brother Trent coming home from school saying we needed to read this book called The Richest Man In Babylon. He said his religious instructor told them they should all read it, I remember him buying this book and I saw it one day on our bedroom floor and tried reading it but never got past the first 5 pages for some reason. (probably because I wasn't a reader back then, although I probably should have been.) About a year and some odd months ago, I picked up this book and it's set back in time, and gives phenomenal stories about how to achieve personal financial success and some great tips anybody can learn from. I certainly wish I would have read it at such a young age, I'd probably be millions of miles from where I am at today.

This is a quick read, and can be finished in a couple of hours. Most libraries have this book, if not they can get it for a nominal fee for you or you can get it on your kindle or nook to have forever and read again and again as I have.

FRIENDS I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK AND YOU COME BACK NEXT WEEK! (Next week's post will be postponed by a couple of days!)

COWBOY UP AND 
 FIRE YOUR DEBT

Get Your Emergency Fund On!

It seemed like whenever I would get a little bit of extra money saved up something would happen, the kids would get sick so I would need to spend money on prescriptions, or even worse, the appliances would draw straws between each other and one would decide to quit working, or the car would need repairs.

So the cycle would start over and over and over again. NO SAVINGS AT ALL! After reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. The first thing I did was get what Dave calls the Emergency fund together which he recommends $500.00 if your single, if you have a family get $1,000.00 dollars as quickly as possible. Keep this money liquid, which means keeping it in a safe at home if you have one, or in a savings account at your local credit union or bank.

According to a article posted on the Blaze 33% of American's do not have an emergency fund of at least $1,000.00 to use on emergency expenses. This is frightening, I was one of these people! According to the 2012 Census Bureau Report there were 313.9 million people in America, so I was one of 103.5 million Americans who didn't have an emergency fund.

Your saying to yourself how the heck can I do this? Look around your garage, your house, for free stuff online and sell it! You'll be shocked what people will buy! When I started selling things one of the things I sold was a broke down truck that didn't run on eBay, and a guy from Oklahoma bought it and had to pay a shipping company to come get it, he probably paid as much for the shipping as he did for the truck. I had to pay eBay a small fee, but I had a national audience. When you post things for sale be completely honest, if it won't run tell them, if it has dents tell them, that way it won't come back to haunt you later down the road. As George Washington said "Honesty is the best policy." 

My wife would sell and still does through Facebook groups, clothes that are in good condition that no longer fit our kids, or shoes she hasn't worn in a long time. And I say if I haven't used it in at least 2 years, another person will probably want to give me some money for it.

On the Dave Ramsey Show people ask just what are emergency's. I'll share two thoughts, one of his and one of mine because everybody's emergency is a little different. Ordering pizza on Monday night because nobody want's to cook is not an emergency! (just saying.)

- My wife's father is a insulin dependent diabetic and lives in New Mexico, if something happens I can put her on a airplane headed for New Mexico within a hour. If something happens to my parents I have enough money to put gas in my tank and start driving to their place in Wyoming to help out. These would be considered an Emergency in my family.

- A faulty transmission would be an emergency according to Dave Ramsey.

An Emergency is anything that can't be planned for, life's unexpected events. CHRISTMAS IS NOT AN EMERGENCY! IT COMES EVERY YEAR ON THE SAME DAY! IT NEVER EVER CHANGES!

Rather than having the "OH CRAP, WHAT DO I DO NOW?" moments you won't be beat down and the emergency won't be much of an emergency. Before I had my Emergency savings if something happened I would have to pull out the credit card and hope that I would have the money to pay the payments on the credit card from month to month. (we'll talk about that evil in another week or two.) Now once your out of debt you will be able to save for at least 3-6 month's of savings. This will ensure you will be able to live for an extended period of time through either a job loss or extended sickness.

President Gordon B. Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said this in his address to members of the church in the October 2005 General Conference, "We can set aside some water, basic food, medicine, and clothing to keep us warm. We ought to have a little money laid aside in case of a rainy day."

Since getting my emergency fund and keeping it there for only emergencies I haven't had the stress or disappointment I faced in past times when things would randomly arise, when the black cloud of life would follow me around. Around Christmas time I walked into a wholesale big box store and I was looking at all the big huge t.v.'s they always have sitting right out front when you walk in, (by the way they don't just do that by happen stance, it's a marketing ploy my friends. DON'T DO IT!) anyways I was looking at these t.v.'s and thought to myself, I have enough money in the emergency fund I could be walking out of here with just about anyone of these huge t.v.'s but I'm not doing that anymore, today in my world that would be CRAZY!!!!! A T.V. STARING AT YOU IN THE STORE IS NOT A GOOD USE FOR YOUR EMERGENCY FUND!!!!!!! DUMB DUMB DUMB IDEA!!!!!!

So friends next week I'm going to go over BUDGETS and the different systems there are to use budgets with, one is very very old and I am a huge personal fan of and use. I heard the other day while listening to the audio book Debt Free Living by Larry Burkett, that just because you balance your checkbook don't mean your living on a budget. SO NEXT WEEK we'll cover that.

So until then sell anything you think of "One man's trash is another man's treasure!" so get your emergency savings fund in place and I'll see you next week. 

REMEMBER COWBOY UP

 AND 

FIRE YOUR DEBT!

P.S. I think next week I'll recommend some books to read as well, because well, I've become quite the avid reader. Readers are leaders and leaders are readers! BOOM!

Why I'm here!

Hi, I'm Brandon Mitchell. I live in, work in and love the state of Wyoming! I have a beautiful and phenomenal wife and 4 wonderful children. 

In my short married life I've been out of debt twice, only to find myself back in debt before the end of the year. WHY?WHY ME? I didn't learn about the most misunderstood tool we all use on a daily basis, MONEY! I was a consumer.

I had a job that paid pretty good. I was literally getting credit cards and calls from banks offering me $10,000.00+ limits. HECK YEAH! I'll take that money! I can buy new appliances, build a garage, redo things in the house, etc. etc. I was keeping up with the payments, everything was going great. I WAS LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM! or so I thought.

Things changed in a split second, on January 1st 2012 I was hurt in a work related accident and spent 2 months healing up at home. Our income was slashed by 40%, workman compensation only paid out 60% of our monthly income. WE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO SAVINGS AT ALL! DUMB, DUMB, DUMB! I was so consumed by spending that I didn't care enough about myself or my family to live on less than we made, and my debt to income ratio was too high to save any money for the inevitable or a rainy day!

After I was healed up and back to work, we were already behind on bills and the calls started coming in, and I was becoming depressed, severely depressed. The bill collectors wanted money, but I didn't have any! My ecclesiastical leader met with my wife and I, he was willing to pay for us to go to counseling through church donations. I would have went but didn't have money to put in my gas tank to get me there. I even changed jobs and made more money but still was just barely treading water. 

Thankfully through this period in my life, my sweet wife and a phenomenal friend whom I'll refer to as Cowboy, (because by all definitions he is a stellar example of what a man should be to his family and a true Cowboy friend.) helped me out and stuck by my side. I remember Cowboy always saying things about this Dave Ramsey guy, who I listened to off and on through the years but couldn't bring myself to adhere to his teachings and studies. Cowboy would always say "CASH IS KING!". I just blew it off, because deep inside I knew, but thought I was too far gone and could crumble at any moment.

One night my sweet wife, came into the living room and said your oldest daughter is in the bedroom crying wanting to know why your always so sad. That pierced my soul and saddened my heart! After my wife went to put the kids to bed, I went into the bedroom and knelt down and pleaded with my Father in Heaven to help me through this dark depressing spot in my life. I had not lost faith in God and knew through my faith that I could get an answer to my prayer. I just hoped it would be a quick answer! 

As I was driving down the road the next morning, it was as if I was hit by a 2x4 across the head, a voice as clear as day said "The reason your so depressed is because your buried in debt, you cant breathe, you can hardly sleep. Get out of debt and you will know true happiness and peace by adhering to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ!" I picked up the phone and called Cowboy and asked if he had that Dave Ramsey book. He said it was at his shop! Perfect I would be driving by his shop in a few hours! When I stopped by Cowboy's shop, we spent the next three hours talking about debt, the bondage it has on people and the destruction it can do to a person and their families! I took that book home read it in two nights and then my wife read it in a week (she likes all the fiction mystery love tales).

I then took the step and started selling as much as I could, I sold our camper, our broke down truck and anything I could think to sell. NOW UNDERSTAND, GETTING INTO DEBT DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, IT TAKES TIME TO GET OUT OF THE DEBT HOLE! 
So we are still climbing out, but we are not stopping, we are learning how money works, and how CASH IS KING, about ourselves and what successful people do and becoming successful ourselves.

IF YOUR SICK OF THE WEIGHT DEBT WEIGHS YOU DOWN WITH, IF YOU ARE TIRED OF THE PAIN THEN FOLLOW ME, AND LETS FIRE YOUR DEBT!

Lets do this journey together! 

We are going to learn what over 80% of successful self-made millionaires do, we are going to learn about credit card companies, loans, the history behind them, and why our grandparents and great grandparents never lived off of these things! If they didn't, why do we have to? 

WE DON'T AND WE WON'T FOLLOW THE CROWD ANYMORE!

We'll learn how to live off of a BUDGET! 

Banks, and loan companies and credit card companies are in business to make money! Your not their friend, your their next paycheck! 

Along this journey you will also learn about yourself and your relationships will get better and stronger than ever before.

TUNE IN WEEKLY FOR NEW POSTS!

TOGETHER WE WILL COWBOY UP AND FIRE YOUR DEBT!