When you are a family of nine living on one income that was cut three years ago during a big season of layoffs, finances are very, VERY important. Our budget is pulled tighter than Nancy Pelosi’s face. We have little to no room for error and yet we have big goals. Expensive goals. Can that work in a family like ours? Of course it can, with proper planning and attention to detail.
First, I have a love/hate relationship with coupons. Because we eat mostly whole foods and fresh produce, we can’t use a lot of coupons. I am a coupon queen but I won’t buy things I don’t want my family to eat. And if you’ve noticed, most coupons are for things that are highly processed and less than ideal for human consumption. Where I do use coupons and get a good savings is on things like toilet paper and toothpaste. I also get good deals on diapers, now that I’m back in the diaper buying season of life. Another way I save a lot of money is through my organic produce co-op. I also buy in bulk for long term storage, and I try to cook from scratch more often than not. All these things keep my grocery budget as low as possible.
To keep track of our money, I have a bill book. I can look back and tell you the amount of my power bill from August of 2005, should you want to know such a thing. How I organize my bill book and keep track of everything is beyond the scope of this post, but without this type of detailed organization of my monthly bills, I would be lost.
Those are my tools. So, what are my resolutions? My goals for this new year are to increase my emergency fund by $5,000. I would also like to start a separate savings for a new car. My van will be needing replacement in the next few years and it’s time to start the process of saving.
I have some goals toward increasing our income and putting any additional income toward our even bigger goal which is to buy a large parcel of land somewhere and build a giant debt-free farmhouse to fill with grandchildren. This is a ‘way off in the future’ goal (the house, not necessarily the grandchildren), but I’m planning now on ways to bring in money to put toward that goal.
One way I plan to do that in 2012 is to take on more transcription work. I do a little transcription on the side for fun money now. With a more concerted effort, I could make substantially more. I’m adding a little extra work at a time to gauge the impact on my home and family, which always comes first. Also, we are hopeful that Mr. P will bring in additional income through his set building business. This year we plan to put any set building money toward our emergency fund first (with a goal of eventually reaching one year of income in our emergency fund) then our long term savings goal.
I am also working on an ebook and some other writing projects that will hopefully turn into added income to put toward these goals.
My financial resolutions are based on last year’s goals, what I met and what I didn’t. I use my successes and failures, reevaluate and make my plan for the coming year.
Because personal finance is a topic of particular interest to me, I have a few websites that I really love and that have shaped my financial goals. Money Saving Mom is the single best resource out there for coupons! I learned all I know at Crystal’s feet and she has some great articles and advice for planning and saving on a shoestring budget. She’s a wealth of information.
Passionate Penny Pincher is another great website to get the latest deals. I check her every week for my Publix deals and drugstore deals. She has some video tutorials if you’re new to coupons.
The Simple Dollar has loads of great information on saving, investing, increasing your income and a host of other personal finance topics. This guy is a little too liberal in his politics for my liking, but you won’t know that until you’ve read him a long time. His website is sharply focused and he doesn’t deviate from good finance topics very often. You’ll love his rags to riches story so be sure to read that first.
And last but certainly not least, there is the extraordinary Dave Ramsey. All his products are terrific and he transformed our financial lives when we first found him a decade or more ago. If you are just embracing budgets, saving and living debt-free, Dave is a good place to start.
Setting goals is essential in your personal finances because if you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time.
Other posts in this series:
Jubilant January!
Resolutions: Spiritual Growth
Resolutions: Home Management
Resolutions: Health and Fitness
Resolutions: Personal Motivation
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What? Other sites?
Well, I have to give people SOMETHING for getting all the way to the end of one of my posts.
I highly recommend mint.com. It allows you to keep track of all your expenses across all your credit cards, bank accounts, mortgages, car loans, etc. I’ve been using it for a bit less than two years, and it has helped me immensely in knowing WHAT I spend, WHERE I spend it, and ON what I spend it.