The Good, the Bad, and the Budget...

As Project Money draws to a close and we all spend the next few weeks gathering our thoughts and working our individual budgets, so too does this year draw to an end. That leaves us with many thoughts about the wonderful things we have learned and accomplished this last 7 months, where we are going and a gentle reminder of where we have been. Mistakes we have made that allowed us to be Project Money candidates and things we have learned to accept and see as accomplishments.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; depending on your income level you will spend between $143,790 - $289,380 per child from birth to 18. This doesn't include college! It does include an amount for child care but not an amount if one parent stays home full-time, like in our house. We were grossly under prepared for this cost...though we wouldn't trade it for the world and obviously the financial prospect didn't freak us out too much with Cree as we added Chay and Coen to our family. However, better preparation would have allowed a much smoother transition that we wouldn't still be paying for today almost 8 years after the birth of our first child. Being on a budget way back then would have allowed us to put significant amounts of money away to use as a buffer during slim months, instead of credit cards.

Credit cards are a different story. Some say ignorance is bliss. That however, is only until you wake up and realize your reality of keeping the blinders on. This is how we operated for many, many years. And by we, we really mean Kari as she is the free-spirit of the family. We can say we are pretty happy to hear that these companies can no longer sit on College campuses and give away free stuff if kids sign up for cards. Being 18 and having no idea what the ramifications of having several cards meant, Kari simply saw them as a way to get the things. Oh and they said something about building credit..."that's good I can build credit"...LOTS of it. By not fully understanding and taking the time to learn and ask questions we entered into a big world of credit cards and car loans and spent every month barely treading water. We did this for years; and, it is exhausting especially once you want to redirect your attention to parenting. 

All we can say is budget! Some people hate that word...feel restricted by it...Kari sure did so we renamed it “the spending plan”. So if you need to rename things to get started then do it. Just start! Interestingly though halfway through Project Money Kari had the epiphany that she thought of everything as what she was going to "spend on" and never used the words "save for". So today we use a budget. A budget that in all its restrictive glory is amazingly freeing. Knowing every month where our money is going, how much we have and how much we are keeping through saving and investing. Most importantly though is the budget has allowed us to look forward to 2010 and start to save so we can cash flow a roof project and a trip to TX to watch my brother graduate. 2010 will still bring some visits with our Coach Don, because he ROCKS! And staying accountable to someone who knows our story is important to us.

So in the end this whole blog boils down to if we could go back in time...talk to our... "younger selves" we would try to get through our young thick heads. "Save. If you save now, get on a budget, take off the blinders and look at what is going on, learn about finances, you will be leaps and bounds ahead. Life won't always be smooth. There will be bumps and huge snow ruts to throw you off course but the knowledge and budget will be your friend and your future!" I don't know if we would  have listened but I would like to think we would have at least had our eyes opened a bit more. So if you have kids, talk to them about their finances, about the importance of a budget so they can spend, save, and give with confidence and with an attitude of gratitude!

If you haven't done it yet make a budget. One you can live with and try it...stick to it and experience the freedom of knowing.

Good luck to all our Project Money friends and to everyone who has played along and followed our stories.

This week and from now on we are celebrating our budget.

Comments

[Val Smith]

It was fun to meet your family last night! You are really blessed to have'a quiver full of arrows' -my friend told me her third little one was the cream in the coffee. I was impressed by your comment of wanting to give some next year. I like the saying, 'Cast your bread on the water and it will return to you..."
It's neat how your coach has taken such a interest in your family. It's amazing how just knowing other people care can give us all courage to keep going.

God bless you as you continue your journey,
Val Smith (Rachel's mom)

[Rachel]

It is so interesting -- as you put so well, "A budget that in all its restrictive glory is amazingly freeing."

My financial coach, Scott Hoerth, says to always have a plan. At first I thought a plan would restrict me but it has actually enabled me to do more of the things that I want to do :)