In my last post, I talked about the starting point and how you need to start somewhere. After you can face the truth about your finances, the next step is laying out clear a plan.
We have to become serious about our decision to tackle our finances. Making a split second decision isn’t going to be that for you. However, it can start there. Taking the time to think of a well thought out plan is worth it. I know that when I am making a big decision, I start to think about it constantly. Sometimes to the point where it consumes my thoughts.
When Ben and I reached a place where we came to the truthful reality about our finances, we needed to have a plan to work by. After the church course, I felt that God was pursuing us to become completely debt free and not only that but be knowledgeable on how to help others become free too.
We were introduced to the book by Dave Ramsey “The Total Money Makeover” and it transformed our lives dramatically. We didn’t live by the book 100% but in the beginning we tried to make it our goal to follow it as closely as we could. These are a few plans and goals we had. I am not telling you this is how you should do your finances. Every goal or plan may not pertain to your situation, but I encourage you to read them.
1. The first goal we agreed on was a no brainer. Get. Out. Of. Debt.
2. Create a plan to do that.
3. Save and pay off one debt at a time while paying off the minimum on the other cards.
4. Be on the same page. We knew that if our plan was to succeed we needed to be in agreement on the things we bought, food,clothes, and other expenses.
5. Trust each other. Without trust you can not succeed. Trust isn’t something where it just comes instantly. Trust is something that forms over time. If you break the trust once or twice don’t condemn yourself and your partner shouldn’t either. Admit what happened and move on. Try to not make the same mistakes again.
6. Get an a accountability partner. If your single this will help keep you accountable to your finances. If your married your spouse will help but you also should get another couple in to pray and help you be accountable.
7. Emergency fund in the beginning they said to save 1,000 dollars. Once achieved you can build it during or after your debt is paid till you can survive 6-8 months without an income.
8. Plan for future finances, house, and kids/grandkids. Yes even in our late 20s and 30s we are thinking about our financial security for our grand kids.
9. Save for down payment and/or pay for house in full.
We both have the best intentions of making our goals work. However, it was a struggle to be on the same page and stick to our plans. We still had the credit cards and I would be very tempted to just over look or ignore how much we had in the bank.
We were making progress and eventually saved our emergency fund and put our credit cards in the freezer so we wouldn’t use them.
Eventually, after a month or two after ben asked me to handle the finances, we got ride of the cards. In addition, because I started to handled the finances I saw where and how much we were spending. It helped me realize where we were having flaws and how we were spending money. It helped get us on the same page to get us more closer to our plan.
It’s great to have a plan and it may be hard to stick by it in the beginning especially if you are like me and have to discipline yourself but keep at it and do not give up. I now enjoy planning way more than I used to and I even challenge myself to not spend beyond our means.
What plans have helped you? Comment your answers below 🙂
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Bethany Munson 
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