I’m a spender.  So Money Saving Monday is as much for me as it is for you.  We will learn how to be “good stewards” over the finances that God has blessed our families with. 

First we need to start with a budget.  Below is an article on how to create a budget and maintain one also.  After you read the article click the link on my sidebar that says, “Gather Little By Little” it will send you to a popular  blog written by a Christian man that gives great financial advice and information.  The main reason I am referring you to this website is because he has a GREAT, SUPER, WONDERFUL, budget template that is FREE!  You can also click on this link to go directly to the template http://www.gatherlittlebylittle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/glbl-budget-template_v1_1.xls.  I will be working on my budget some time today.  Happy Budgeting!

Creating a budget is the first step to successful money management. How can you manage your money if you don’t know how much you have or what you’re spending it on?

A budget has two parts, income and expenses. The object is to keep your expenses at or below your income. Sounds easy, but as we all know, it can get a little tricky sometimes.

STEP 1: LIST YOUR EXPENSES
OK, get out a sheet of paper. Yes, now. If you wait until later, you might never get to it. Got the paper? Good. Use the following list as a rough guide to list your expenses.

If you are not sure of the amount, go back through your checkbook for the past few weeks or months to get an idea. For items you pay cash for, such as fast food, think about how many times per week or month you normally spend money on that item and how much you pay each time.

If you’ve been making your list, it’s probably pretty long by now, but stop for a minute and try to think of anything I might have missed. Is there anything special you need for work? For school? Do you have a hobby you spend money on? If you buy a new lens for your 35mm camera every year, you better put it in your budget.

STEP 2: ADD IT UP
Now that you have your list of expenses, go ahead and add them up. Figure all expenses as a monthly amount. For example, if your property taxes are due once per year, divide the amount by 12 to get a monthly figure. If your expenses are lower than your take- home income, skip to step 4. If not, continue on to step 3.

STEP 3: CUTTING BACK
Most likely, you have more “I wants” than you have money for, or you wouldn’t be reading an article on how to create a budget. Deciding what to cut is the hardest part of making up a budget.

Start by determining how much you need to trim. To do this, subtract your income from your expenses. If your take-home pay is $2000 per month and your list of expenses came to $2200 per month, you need to trim $200 per month. The figure may seem daunting at first, but if you look hard enough at your expense list, you can usually find a few items that are easy to cut.

I can’t see your list, so I can’t tell you what to cut, but here are some suggestions.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CUTTING BACK

• Eliminate cable/satellite service or cut back on extra subscription channels.
• Switch to a free Internet access provider if you are paying for internet access.
• Cut back on smoking if you can.
• Cut back on caffeine if possible. Drink water.
• Take lunches to work instead of eating fast food.
• Shop around for cheaper home and auto insurance.
• Use coupons and online services to save money on groceries.
• Rent videos instead of going to the movies.
• Turn down the water level on your washing machine and dishwasher if it is adjustable.
• Turn the lights off.
• Turn the heat or air conditioning down while you are not home.
• Don’t overheat or overcool when you are home. If you can stand it at 80 degrees in the summer, don’t turn the A/C to 67.
• Find a bank with a no-fee checking account if you don’t have one.
• Research the 10-10- access codes for long distance. You should be able to get long distance for about 5 cents per minute.
• Talk on the phone less. You have a free ISP, right? E-mail as many people as you can instead of calling. Talk everyone you know into getting ICQ so you can chat or send messages back and forth.

STEP 4: WRITE IT DOWN!
You’re almost done! You know how much money you make, and you have trimmed your expenses to match that income. Now what? Write it down. Wait, let me say that again in case you missed it – WRITE IT DOWN! If you don’t, you probably won’t stick to it.

I have a section in my daily planner for my budget. There is one page for each paycheck. At the top of each page, I write the date that I will be paid. Below that, I list everything that needs to come out of that check.

To do this, you need to divide your expenses as evenly as possible. If your largest bills are all due at once, move some up and pay them a little early, rather than trying to fit them all into the same pay period.

SAMPLE BUDGET
As promised, here is a sample budget to use as an example. This sample is based on a bi-monthly pay period with a take-home income of $2000 per month.

FIRST PAY PERIOD

• Car payment $292
• Car insurance $139
• Day care $200
• Electric $50
• Natural gas $60
• Phone $45
• Personal debt $40
• Cable TV $34
• Groceries, etc. $80
• Gasoline $40
• Spending money $20

SECOND PAY PERIOD

• Lot rent $332
• Investments $200
• Day care $200
• Credit card $80
• Groceries, etc. $80
• Gasoline $40
• Water $20
• Gifts $10
• Car maintenance $10
• Spending money $20
• Kids’ allowances $8

Well, that’s all there is to it. I hope you were able to put together a budget you can live with and stick to. Just one more little tip: When you’re trimming down the extras, try to leave at least one or two items you do just for fun. Otherwise you may end up feeling deprived and toss the entire budget out. Good luck!

Below is a copy of my daily schedule.  I try to follow this as much as I can to establish routine with my children and myself but as we all know life brings changes so I oftentimes “tweak” it to suit my household.  As for today, I’m not feeling very well so I won’t be doing a lot of this but its okay:)  Lord’s willing it will be done tomorrow:) Have a Blessed Day!

Block 1- Begins @7am

1. Everyone Rises

2. Wash and Dressed

3. Start a load of Laundry

4. Breakfast and Read Proverbs

5. Table Chores

6. Potty Training

7. Quick Clean House (Make up Beds, Take out Trash, Spray and Wipe Baths)

Block 2- Begins @10

1. Do Homeschool with Amber & Autumn (sing songs, letters, numbers, shapes, colors, animals, read story)

2 Zone clean (girls play with toys)

3.Lunch

4. Tidy up

Block 3-Begins @1

1. Nap time for girls

2. Devotion Time

3. Phone Calls

4. Read book

5. Take care of some chores/laundry

6. Computer Time

7. Dinner Prep

Block 4-Begins @3

1. Take Elijah off Bus

2. Light Snack for Kids

3. Cartoons for kids while I do #4

4. Cook

Block 5- Begins @5

1. Finish Dinner

2. Sit at table and Eat Dinner

3. Kitchen Cleanup

4. Kids Bath time/Pajamas on

Block 6-Begins @7pm

1. Read children stories

2. Kids brush teeth/Go Potty

3. Prayers

4. Daddy or Mommy blesses/prays over kids

5. Lights out for kids at 8pm

Block 7-Begins @8

1. Finish kitchen cleanup if not finished

2. Sweep and Swiffer

3. Tidy up house

4. Take Shower/Lotion/Floss/Grooming

5. Time with Emmanuel

6. Watch Tv/Read Book

7. Read Bible/Pray