Let’s get real. Money stress sucks. And I don’t mean just a little bit. It sucks – sucks the life out of everything and everyone it comes in contact with.
Want to know how I know?
Because I’ve lived it. I’ve been there done that got my t-shirt, and I don’t ever want to come back.
Maybe you feel the same way?
I know that for my family, we felt this stress every time we weren’t living into our values. Every time we found ourselves chasing something other than the life we truly wanted to live.
Yes, I know, it’s all the rage right now to have everyone, and anyone tell you how to “manifest your destiny” and “you deserve to have the best life possible” and the list goes on and on.
But guess what?
Nothing happens until you put that action into place. Raise your hand if you have a budget. Now, keep your hand raised if that budget is written down – like on a piece of paper or on your computer. Okay, now once more, hold your hand raised if you actively manage that budget – meaning, you track your expenses and adjust your budget as necessary throughout the month – not just at the month’s end.
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Not going to lie here. We’ve been the ones to have a “budget” but that budget was just in our heads, and we had no real idea what our money was really doing. And we’ve been the ones with a perfectly written down budget, but we never looked at again.
And we’ve been the ones to not only have a written down budget but a working budget – meaning we’ve been actively managing and paying attention to our budget almost every single day.
Here’s the thing, I’m not judging you if you don’t have a budget and I’m certainly not judging you if you have a budget but haven’t even looked at this month.
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I’ve been there. I still sometimes find myself there. I get you-you aren’t alone in this camp.
But also know how incredibly stressful that is. I know what it’s like to live in that static. I know that suffocating feeling. Trust me. Money issues will happen all throughout your life. You can’t predict the future.
You don’t know if you or your spouse will be laid off one day – sure maybe that’s ten years away, but regardless, you don’t know any of that for a fact.
Just like you don’t know if a significant medical crisis is headed your way or a serious car accident.
We aren’t fortune tellers. And these types of money issues can and unfortunately sometimes do happen.
I’ll never forget when my husband called me from work to tell me that I needed to get our 8-month old son in the car and ready because my husband needed to go to the hospital.
He had fallen out of a two-story window and landed on the driveway below. To say that it is a miracle that he only shattered his left wrist and fractured his right elbow is an understatement.
But I’ll also never forget the relief we felt knowing we had the cash to pay for his emergency surgery. Granted we didn’t like draining our emergency fund, but knowing that we were able to avoid credit card debt was an incredible stress reliever during a very stressful time in our lives.
So what I mean is that even though stress is a part of life, money stress doesn’t have to be a reoccurring theme. You can indeed live your best life – within a budget.
I want that for you, friend. I truly do. And I know you can have it. You tell me, what is one thing you plan to do this very weekend to make the most out of your finances? Write down your budget? (see this post here for a quick way of creating a budget) Or maybe it’s going through all of your transactions this month and verifying that your budget is on target? Or is maybe figuring out how to beef up your savings or pay off a looming debt?
Whatever it is, comment below and tell me! I love cheering you on!
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Money controlling you? I know the feeling. My family has been living this real life on a budget for a long time and I can tell you that there's never a perfect season, but with a few changes you can start to reign in your money issues.
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It helps me to check my bank accounts daily and make a running list and budget to make sure that my financial goals are staying on track. But 100% money stress is the WORST.
Jessica,
Thank you for your honest approach about a budget. I find myself budgeting in my head and then at the end of the month looking to see where all the money has gone. I see that you check your budget daily. As a Christian, I sometimes feel like I am making money an idol by thinking about it and stressing about it. I really need to set up a budget so we can make better use of our money, time, and values. What are your thoughts? I
Hey, I think there was supposed to be a link where it says:
“Write down your budget? (see this post here for a quick way of creating a budget) “
Thank you so much, Blair, for pointing that out! You’re correct, there is supposed to be a link there! Here is the correct link: https://jessifearon.com/2016/05/the-quick-start-budget.html and I apologize for forgetting it!