GPS

"Plan your work- then HUSTLE!"

This plaque was a loving gift from my grandmother and hangs above my stove- a great reminder as I prepare meals to PLAN and GO! Not much is gonna get done if I just hustle throughout the day without a plan!!

Like anything in life, having a goal is great but without a plan, that goal will never come to fruition. Athletes have a goal to win...and a plan to get there. Pilots have a goal to get to a destination...and a map to get there. Students have a goal to graduate (or at least pass a class!)...and a plan of studies to get there. When I have a goal to be somewhere on time and no clue how to get there...I use my GPS! A wonderful gift from my husband when I moved from the country of South Carolina to the city of Philadelphia, PA!

And a GPS is exactly what I use to get out of debt- Goal, Plan, Save!!!

The P of my GPS can sometimes be the hardest part- 'cause plan equals BUDGET!

Before Dave and I were even married, we both separately kept track of what we spent for 2 months. At the end of two months we came together and compared how much we spent on what. It gave us a rough idea of what to plan for when we got married. Once we were married, we made a budget. And when I say budget, I mean budget! Every penny has a job! We make our money work for us instead of us working for our money!

About every 6 months we will sit down and reevaluate the budget. A budget should be mobile. fluid. not set in stone. However, in order for a budget to work, we have to stick to it. No more money in "Entertainment" for the month? No eating out. No more money in "Food" for the month? Become creative in the kitchen.

 



 In order for us to have our budget at our fingertips, I have it ALL on paper. That's right! Good ol' fashioned pen and paper! When you write it in ink, it makes it sink in a little deeper! I have binder with a piece of ledger paper (like that thing in your checkbook that no one...except for me...uses anymore) behind each tab. Any time something is purchased in that category, it is written in the ledger. Remember, every penny has a job!

 

 

And, in order to make my money work for me, I need to know how much money I have. So, we use Crown Financial and Dave Ramsey's systems- the cash or envelope system. Every two weeks, the budgeted amount of cash goes into the envelope and when the envelope is empty...well, it's empty! No swiping the card, no putting it on credit, that category is closed.

 

Now, like I said, a budget is fluid. It needs to move with changes in life. If an emergency comes up, we have an emergency fund. But unless we stick to the plan, we will never reach our goal!

 

Today, I am going to follow my GPS, make my plan, then HUSTLE!