My Personal, Financial Victory

 "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty" (Proverbs 21:5).

I am going to present a mini-series on budgeting for the next few days. I don't trust just anyone with budgeting advice, and I don't expect you to either. That's why this post is my success story.

Before I got married I had over ten thousand dollars in the bank. Now, this may not seem like a huge amount, but I was 21 and a full-time student working a part-time job, and I had purchased two cars during my driving career. That money was especially helpful because my husband had all but drained his savings account to purchase my beautiful engagement ring.
When we first got married we didn't budget at all. We were both in school full-time, and we worked part-time, so the money was not rolling in. We ate out probably 3-4 times per week, rented movies, went out to movies, went to concerts, bought Starbucks, I know...crazy, right?
Soon, our savings began running out. That's right about the time I found out I was pregnant. Now, we were planning this pregnancy, but there's nothing like seeing the plus sign on the end of that stick to start the money signs ticking off in your brain.
Our ultimate goal was for me to be a STAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom), and we knew that money in our savings account would never be a given for us; it was time to make a plan.
I am a planner. I always have been and probably always will. So, I wrote out a rough budget for us to follow. I didn't really have any experience in budgeting, nor had I done the adequate research, but nevertheless, with diligence (and my husband working his bottom off), we were able to save a little money last summer.
This year is where I really want to share my success (and the Lord's faithful hand) with our finances. Now be prepared, some of these numbers may cause your jaws to drop, but I swear that they are the truth.
About two months before our son was born I quit my job. We were then a one income family from about the middle of January 2011 to the present. Our grand total of income (before taxes) last year was $16,000.
Besides our normal monthly expenses, we also had to get not one, but both of our cars repaired.
Our plan was to use our savings to supplement my husband's monthly income, and let our savings dwindle down until this summer when my husband would work obscenely long hours to build our savings back up again (my husband is getting his PHD). After budgeting pretty consistently for several months we were able to save about $5,000 over this past school year. Yes, we have to be careful about the money we spend, and we do have to track each dollar, but we haven't lived in a cave for the past eight months either. We've eaten out some, my husband and I went on a three day vacation, and we have been able to buy birthday gifts, share money with others, and still buy some frivolous items as well.
This is a testimony of the fact that if you track where your money is really going, and do something to keep monthly costs down, it is possible to save money even on a miniscule income.

I will soon share some of my advice for budgeting. Watch for updates!