This budget planner is designed to help you set and meet your financial goals. It is part of our low-stress goal setting series where we are setting intentions for our year and then creating actionable steps that evolve with the season of life. If you want to read more about it, you can visit the first post here – Vision Casting and Goal Setting – Any Time of Year.
When most people fill out their New Year’s Resolutions, money usually makes it onto the list – make more, spend less, save more. We are doing things a little differently this year, choosing to set big intentions that don’t change and then setting more fluid actionable steps that can change with the season. If money is on your mind, may I suggest an intention to include on your list?
Financial Freedom.
To me, financial freedom means not feeling burdened by finances, but the specifics may change with the season. Maybe during Quarter 1, it means cutting out Starbucks or Fast Food or cable. Maybe in Quarter 2, you also put a little extra into savings or retirement or start chipping away at lingering debt. In Quarter 3, you could set a budget or try a “spending freeze” so that Holiday spending doesn’t throw you for a loop. And in Quarter 4, you track every income and expense so that you have a clear financial picture when you start setting goals in the next year.
I don’t know what the specifics will be for your family.
I know, budgeting is not a fun topic. It’s not as flashy as a master bathroom renovation or a living room re-design. It’s not as cute as a fall front porch. But my heart behind creating this blog is to encourage you to live a life you love. And for me, that includes not being stressed out by money.
It’s not that I need to increase my income, it’s that I need to live comfortably within my means.
I’ve talked before about what it means to live on one income – and how we don’t just survive, we thrive.
A big part of that is knowing what money is coming in and what money is going out each month. So, we analyze our budget, set boundaries, and track our spending.
Today I want to share a couple of printables to help you achieve your goals.
Click Here to Download the Bill Tracker
Click Here to Download the Budget Tracker
If financial freedom is something you want and you want to learn more about how to make it happen, I would highly encourage you to find a church that is offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. It’s not sponsored, and I’m not making any money from mentioning it, but it is a game changer. We don’t follow his practices to a T, but the concepts have been transformative for our finances.
And listen, if you’re trying to change the way you think about finances and you have any questions, please ask. I’m an open book when it comes to money. I’ll warn you that I am a certified spendthrift (some would say cheapskate), so you might not love everything I have to say, but I’ll be totally honest and help wherever I can.