How do you do it?

We have had many people ask us how our family survives on our small income. My husband is currently going to school and works full-time as a CNA. I stay at home with our son full-time so his income is our only income. People wonder how we manage to survive AND are still able to put money away in the bank. I am always getting asked for tips on how to save money. This is how we do it:

1. We keep a budget: This is the most important part of being financially fit. You have to know exactly how much you are bringing in and how much you are spending. You have to give every dollar a name and follow your budget religiously.

2. We have to have self-control: For example, we each get 25 dollars a month for our personal money. This is for my clothes, make-up, crafts, ect. and his fast food, Dr. Pepper, ect. If we spend our money for that month, it is gone.

3. We have no credit cards: There is no reason to have one. We get by just fine with our debit card and we never go into debt to buy something. Everything we buy is cash-flowed. We even plan to pay 100%  down for a car next year. The only loan we will probably ever get is for our home someday.

4. I research deals like crazy: I usually will not buy something unless I am sure I have found the best value. Many of these deals will be posted on the blog,

5. We donate money to our church: I am a big Dave Ramsey fan and he made a good point about charitable donations. He believes God will not place money into the hands of those who He knows will not do anything good with it. I also believe this. I also know that our family is blessed when we give back.

6. We have an emergency fund: We currently have emergency savings that we build on every month (about 4 months worth.) If my husband were to lose his job, (not that we plan on it because he rocks at it) we could survive for 4 months while he was looking for another. OR if we were to have some sort of medical emergency, it would also help out with that. You never know what life is going to throw at you so it is best to be prepared.

7. We spend less than we earn: Sometimes it can be hard to do this on our tight budget, but usually we are able to add to our savings each month. We know that we will never accumulate any wealth (our goal is to have 1 million saved for retirement) if we are spending everything that comes in, no matter how large or small our income is.