Money Mutterings

The dawning of a new year always brings financial change to the front of my mind.
There's not better to start something new than at the beginning of something: new week, month, year.
It's like hitting the restart button and the past truly feels like the past!






Several years ago we went through Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover program and paid off all our debt in less than two years.
We weren't "overspenders" necessarily, but we spent everything we made and somehow over the years had added a camper payment, car payment, continued student loan payments...you get the picture.
The plan has you spending CASH, paying down your debts, smallest to largest, getting an emergency fund set in place and most importantly, BUDGETING!

Fast forward and our spending has morphed into a modified version of the Ramsey plan.
Still not adding debt (unless you count our new house, yikes!), still budgeting but somehow our cash use has dwindled.
And I got a Target credit card.
Oh, did I mention credit cards are taboo? Not a great plan? Should really not be part of your life even if you do pay it off at the end of every month?

But  you save 5% by having a Target card!?!

Now I'm not at all saying I'm glad Target ended up being hacked and some psycho has my info and probably yours.
I love Target and will keep shopping there.
One thing will be different though: I closed my Target credit card.

Here's why:
I try to diligently buy what is on my list but inevitably, I spend beyond what's budgeted.
The amount owed at the end of a week or two always took me by surprise and had me scrounging to figure out where to take money from.
And I don't like living that way.

So, I have a new plan.
It's time to go back to the old plan.
The Ramsey plan with cash in envelopes, every dollar spent on paper first, no credit cards, no impulse spending.
Because it worked and it's wise.
It's not my money, it's God's.
It's harder to buy a shirt with God's money than with my own since I have a closet-full.
Sometimes I need to bring my wants into check because I have ENOUGH.
So do you.

There are two other changes I'm making.
It was time for a new budgeting/banking software so I'm trying out YNAB (You Need a Budget).
The guy who came up with this budgeting software did a bang-up job and BONUS- we can see our budget and enter transactions from our phones!
Now hubby and I can BOTH know in real time how we are doing.
Makes for much shorter budget meetings.

I'm still trying to figure it all out but I think I'll be recommending this software.
There is a link that will get you $6 off the software, it's $60 full-price with no monthly or annual fee.
You can also do a free 34 day trial so if you do, let me know what you think!

Change number 2 is to get rid of all my Subscribe and Save items at Amazon.com.
Really it's a good idea but again, somehow when the amount for those items were debited from my account I was always surprised and it just messed things up.
Theoretically I'm saving money with subscribe and save but I think I could just go without instead.

What do you do to save money?
Do you spend much time on your budget?
Did you close your Target card???

Oh, one last thing...I read on the Debt Proof Living website that if you sign up for Target's free credit monitoring you are agreeing to not hold them responsible for stuff on down the line.
I didn't read the whole thing, she goes in-depth, but it did give me pause and I decided for now not to sign up.

XOXO,
Tember