Moms and Budgeting

Moms, have you ever wondered where the family income had gone? As a homemaker, we mothers most often are the ones in charge in budgeting the family income. The family income’s source may be from the husband only or from the both of you. With this, there are times, we found our income as insufficient for our necessities. Thus, the need for us to look closely into our family’s financial resources and budget. Moms, it would be good to include your husband in the budgeting process. Find time to sit down together as you do it.

Let me share with you below some insights that I learned from author and YouTube guru on family financial matters Rachel Cruze about budgeting from her book, “Live Your Life Not Theirs: 7 Money Habits For Living The Life You Want”:

According to Rachel Cruze, “the budget’s primary job is to tell your money where to go. It’s time to change the outcome of your life by developing new habits. One of those habits has to be building and living on a budget.” She suggested making a budget before the month begins. You need to create a new budget every month. And you have to keep modifying your budget because every month is going to be different.

Cruze said to write your budget down. “Don’t rely on your memory. You could write it on paper, computer or your cellphone. It should be accessible for you to review it throughout the month.”

She suggested a zero-based budget. “You have to account every single money. Put your income at the top of the sheet. And below will be the itemized expenses category such as your giving (tithes), savings, debt payments (hopefully none), utilities and all the pesky little things that sneak up unto us throughout the month.” Cruze said that “we should do our best to plan ahead, and spend that income right down the page until we get zero. When you hit zero. You’re done. You don’t have to keep spending because you don’t have enough money left.” She also reminded not to leave any money without assigning it to a category expense for it will just disappear. Every dollar (peso in our case) has to be accounted for.

Furthermore, Rachel Cruze said that “your budget doesn’t have to be complex. Just organize it into three simple areas: give, save and spend.”

On giving, it could be your tithes to the church or you could give to a charity organization or persons who are in need. If you are financially hard up you could start giving in small amounts but always include it in your budget. It’s not the amount you give but how you give, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

As for saving, you could be saving for an emergency fund (Cruze suggested that said fund would be $1000 or an equivalent of P50,000. Start saving little by little for it or it depends on how much you can afford. It’s important to have an emergency fund for unexpected medical expenses or immediate house repairs such as leaking faucets, and the like). On the other hand, you may be saving for your retirement, a college education for your child, a car replacement next year or a vacation in the future. Think about where you should save and decide how much each are you going to budget for your savings.

For the spending area, it’s where you list all your expenses. Cruze said that you have to cover four areas before you spend for other things. These areas are (1) food, (2) housing/utilities, (3) clothes and (4) transportation. After the said areas where covered you may include paying for your debts (if you have). Choose how to spend your money. For you to live the kind of life you want to live, you have to make choices.

On that note, moms, I hope you find the above insights helpful in budgeting your family income. We must put into practice the art of budgeting so that we will be able to live within our means. Budgeting according to Rachel Cruze is biblical, she cited Luke 14:28 that says “Suppose one of you want to build a tower, won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to build it.” This is the same with our finances, we have to know where it should go. And the better way to do it is through proper budgeting.

For more information about money matters try to get hold of Rachel Cruze’s book or try watching her videos in YouTube.

A heartfelt thanks to my good friend, Joy To-ong for introducing me to Rachel Cruze’s book and videos.

“A budget isn’t just tracking expenses throughout the month. It’s being intentional with your money ahead of time.”- Rachel Cruze