How in the world do stay at home and make ends meet?
How do you and Paul never fight about money?
How is it your are always shopping?
How does Hannah wear boutique clothes? etc...etc..etc...
My answer.....The Gauthier Budget, God, and Smart Shopping
When I was single I was spending way too much money. I depleted my savings account and woke up one morning with $23 to my name. Needless to say it freaked me out! I realized there was no way that $23 was going to get me through the next week until I got paid. So I had to suck it up and ask my brother if I could borrow $250. Of course he graciously gave me the money and I paid him back the very next week but I was devestated! I had never EVER had to borrow money from anyone. I could not believe that my first time out on my own and I had blew all of my savings! I was now living pay check to pay check!!! So I decided I had better make some changes. I sat down and made out a budget that helped me get back on my feet. This is the budget that Paul and I use today! I hope this helps you guys as much as it has us!
The Gauthier Family Budget
My rule of thumb for our budget is.......
50% Goes to Bills
10% Savings
10% Tithing (most important)
10% Groceries
10% Paul's Allowance
10% Kimberly's Allowance
Ok so here is how I break it down so it is easy to keep up with.
We have four accounts. Three checking accounts and one saving account.
Checking #1 For Bills and Groceries
Checking #2 Paul's Account- personal expenses
Checking #3 Kimberly's Account- personal expenses
Savings Account
Paycheck #1
10% in the savings account
10% to the church
10% to Paul's Acct
10% to My Acct
10% left in the Bill Acct for Groceries
(with groceries I keep a weekly running total to make sure that I do not over spend)
Paycheck #2
Goes to all of the bills.
Paycheck #3 (usually twice a year)
Twice a year we will have a five week month and Paul will get paid three times. On those months I will add money to the groceries and our personal accounts for the extra week and use the remaining money for vacation and Christmas.
Bonuses, Tax Returns, and Raises
Bonuses and Tax Returns go straight to savings.
Raises we add to our tithing and the rest usually goes to our personal accounts.
So lets start with Checking #1 (The Bill Acct)
This is our main account. Paul's direct deposit goes here and all the bills and grocery expenses are paid from this account. Note that we both have access to all the accounts and have debit cards for our personal account and the bill account. That way if Paul is on his way home and I need him to run by Publix he will have a way to pay for the groceries without using money from his account. We usually keep some extra mon ey in this account as a buffer since all the accounts are linked to it for overdraft. (because we all make mistakes right)
Next Checking #2 and #3 Paul and Kimberly's Account
This is what I call our blow money We each get 10% per month. This amount must last us all month. This covers all of our personal items. Gas, out to eat, movies, clothes, video games, etc....etc....etc... With each of us having an account and the same amount of money this eliminates the "who spent more fights" we each have the same amount and when it is gone it is gone.
Savings Account
Your first goal to any savings account is to save up at least 6 months salary for emergencies. So when we made the decision that I was going to stay home when Hannah was born we decided that we needed to pay off our cars and have at least 6 months salary in savings. We were blessed that God helped us achieve that goal before Hannah was born. So now what ever we put into savings goes to Hannah's college fund. I am happy to say with the help of this budget and my cooperative husband we have doubled our savings since we got married! I came to the conclusion that if I treated the savings account like a monthly bill it was much easier to let go of that money and forget that it is even there.
Using Cash
Now I know that many people are taught to use cash and I don't disagree with that method, it just doesn't work well for us. If I have cash I seem to spend it more so than I would using my debit card. Plus in today's world I really don't like carrying around a lot of cash. I also run into problems with paying for gas at Sam's because you can only use a debit card.
Credit Cards
Are a death trap! Stay away from them. Actually run from them. My suggestions, if you don't have the money for something you don't need it! Save up then buy it. We only have one credit card and it always carries a zero balance. It is good to have one for items that can not be purchased on a debit card like rental cars but when you use it pay it off immediately! Here is an example of how I stay away from credit cards. Once Hannah started running around my point and shoot camera would not keep up with her so I decided to upgrade to a more expensive camera. I had a few months before Canon was releasing it so I decided to have a garage sale to raise the money instead of putting it on the credit card and saying "I will pay it off next month" With credit cards next month never comes!
Shopping
As most of you know I am Mrs Cheap II. I never pay full price for anything! If I find an item I am interested in I call my wholesale guy to make sure that he does not have it then I hunt in stores and online for the best price. I don't just run to just any store and pay full price on big purchases.
Example: When Hannah was born I fell in love with boutique clothing but knew there was no way that I would be able to afford to purchase them for her. So I decided to buy a sewing/embroidery machine. Now when I bought this machine I didn't even know how to sew on a button straight. But as you all know when I want something bad enough I don't stop until I get it. So once again I saved up and waited and waited for a local sewing store to get in a used machine that I could afford. Finally the day came, they got in a Brother ULT 2001!!! I bought it, took it home, and played with it until I was sewing and monogramming. I wish I would have been able to have taken some sewing classes but at that time Hannah was just a baby and mom was still working so it was hard to find someone to watch her while I went to class. I just learned by trial and error and phone calls to my sister and mother in-law for help.
As for buying clothes, I NEVER go to the mall. TJ Maxx, Marshall, and Ross has the same thing for half the price. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE outlet malls! They can save you a ton of money. For Hannah, I hit boutique warehouse sales and year end sales. I also barter with local consignment sales to get in before the consignors and the public. That way I get first pic of all those smocked dresses and designer items that someone paid full price for! I also get all of her play clothes from garage sales. You just can't beat .25 to .50!!! Once she has out grown her clothes I put them in my garage sale before putting them in the consignment sale. That way I don't have to pay the 30% commission rate. Now just because it is in my garage sale does not mean I give it away! I ask the price that I would consign it for and will go down 30%. If it still doesn't sell then it goes to consignment. This year I am actually going to try something different. I noticed that I have about 6-8 ladies that always come to my garage sales. So I got their info and now I will be have a private pre-sale for them so they can get first pic. So if you are interested in being on the private pre-sale list please let me know! I should have a sell coming up next month!
Paycheck #2
Goes to all of the bills.
Paycheck #3 (usually twice a year)
Twice a year we will have a five week month and Paul will get paid three times. On those months I will add money to the groceries and our personal accounts for the extra week and use the remaining money for vacation and Christmas.
Bonuses, Tax Returns, and Raises
Bonuses and Tax Returns go straight to savings.
Raises we add to our tithing and the rest usually goes to our personal accounts.
So lets start with Checking #1 (The Bill Acct)
This is our main account. Paul's direct deposit goes here and all the bills and grocery expenses are paid from this account. Note that we both have access to all the accounts and have debit cards for our personal account and the bill account. That way if Paul is on his way home and I need him to run by Publix he will have a way to pay for the groceries without using money from his account. We usually keep some extra mon ey in this account as a buffer since all the accounts are linked to it for overdraft. (because we all make mistakes right)
Next Checking #2 and #3 Paul and Kimberly's Account
This is what I call our blow money We each get 10% per month. This amount must last us all month. This covers all of our personal items. Gas, out to eat, movies, clothes, video games, etc....etc....etc... With each of us having an account and the same amount of money this eliminates the "who spent more fights" we each have the same amount and when it is gone it is gone.
Savings Account
Your first goal to any savings account is to save up at least 6 months salary for emergencies. So when we made the decision that I was going to stay home when Hannah was born we decided that we needed to pay off our cars and have at least 6 months salary in savings. We were blessed that God helped us achieve that goal before Hannah was born. So now what ever we put into savings goes to Hannah's college fund. I am happy to say with the help of this budget and my cooperative husband we have doubled our savings since we got married! I came to the conclusion that if I treated the savings account like a monthly bill it was much easier to let go of that money and forget that it is even there.
Using Cash
Now I know that many people are taught to use cash and I don't disagree with that method, it just doesn't work well for us. If I have cash I seem to spend it more so than I would using my debit card. Plus in today's world I really don't like carrying around a lot of cash. I also run into problems with paying for gas at Sam's because you can only use a debit card.
Credit Cards
Are a death trap! Stay away from them. Actually run from them. My suggestions, if you don't have the money for something you don't need it! Save up then buy it. We only have one credit card and it always carries a zero balance. It is good to have one for items that can not be purchased on a debit card like rental cars but when you use it pay it off immediately! Here is an example of how I stay away from credit cards. Once Hannah started running around my point and shoot camera would not keep up with her so I decided to upgrade to a more expensive camera. I had a few months before Canon was releasing it so I decided to have a garage sale to raise the money instead of putting it on the credit card and saying "I will pay it off next month" With credit cards next month never comes!
Shopping
As most of you know I am Mrs Cheap II. I never pay full price for anything! If I find an item I am interested in I call my wholesale guy to make sure that he does not have it then I hunt in stores and online for the best price. I don't just run to just any store and pay full price on big purchases.
Example: When Hannah was born I fell in love with boutique clothing but knew there was no way that I would be able to afford to purchase them for her. So I decided to buy a sewing/embroidery machine. Now when I bought this machine I didn't even know how to sew on a button straight. But as you all know when I want something bad enough I don't stop until I get it. So once again I saved up and waited and waited for a local sewing store to get in a used machine that I could afford. Finally the day came, they got in a Brother ULT 2001!!! I bought it, took it home, and played with it until I was sewing and monogramming. I wish I would have been able to have taken some sewing classes but at that time Hannah was just a baby and mom was still working so it was hard to find someone to watch her while I went to class. I just learned by trial and error and phone calls to my sister and mother in-law for help.
As for buying clothes, I NEVER go to the mall. TJ Maxx, Marshall, and Ross has the same thing for half the price. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE outlet malls! They can save you a ton of money. For Hannah, I hit boutique warehouse sales and year end sales. I also barter with local consignment sales to get in before the consignors and the public. That way I get first pic of all those smocked dresses and designer items that someone paid full price for! I also get all of her play clothes from garage sales. You just can't beat .25 to .50!!! Once she has out grown her clothes I put them in my garage sale before putting them in the consignment sale. That way I don't have to pay the 30% commission rate. Now just because it is in my garage sale does not mean I give it away! I ask the price that I would consign it for and will go down 30%. If it still doesn't sell then it goes to consignment. This year I am actually going to try something different. I noticed that I have about 6-8 ladies that always come to my garage sales. So I got their info and now I will be have a private pre-sale for them so they can get first pic. So if you are interested in being on the private pre-sale list please let me know! I should have a sell coming up next month!
Now I will be the first to admit that I am a shopaholic but now I am a smart shopaholic! I search, search, search for bargains and it really does pays off! Now that I have let you in on some of my secrets I now you can be a smart shopper too!
Well guys, I hope this answers your questions and helps you become a budget friendly family!!!
Well guys, I hope this answers your questions and helps you become a budget friendly family!!!
Hugs and Prayers!
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2 comments:
Thank you for sharing this!!! I am going to show this to John and see how we can adopt these ideas for us!
Thanks for the great advice and insight.
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