After Trimester 2

I have learned a lot, and am very thankful for my knowledge about money. I was introduced to Dave's teachings before I took Financial Management B, and it was really cool to expand that. I started reading his book "Total Money Makeover" and really liked it, so I figured I would give this class a try. I put my self on a budget before this class and used the envelope system. Now I use a variety of the forms Dave recommend. For example, I now use the Breakdown of Savings form to keep my account more organized and so I do not spend the wrong amount in a certain category. I thought it was really neat learning about factual information such as the fact that if you use a credit or debit card you spend 12-18% more than if you were to use cash.
Saving for a car really helped with my knowledge about saving. I squeezed every dollar out of my pay check and left no blow money, and it was tough at times. Though, in the long run, it was defiantly worth it. In my mind, going through the struggles of budgeting on my own, and then finally achieving the goal, I take much more pride than if it was easy to get it.
Now that I have learned a lot of Dave's teaching, I have been able to help others around me with budgeting. It has been a great experience becoming smarter in the money world. I am glad I learned all that I now know before I actually was in debt. I now know how to stay out of debt so I do not have to go through the struggles of being in debt.
I do not plan on ever having a credit card, and hope that when I am much older that my husband will not either. I am considered the nerd as far as budgeting goes, so I am assuming I will be the one in charge of the money.

2/13/12-2/15/12

This week we started researching budget companies online. There are many options for someone who is looking to budget their fund online. Many of the sites had mobile updates, which could be helpful since our culture is very techy. Some sites costs, and some were completely free. I would go for the free ones because I would hate to have to put another expense in my budget.
I think I will eventually use an online budget system because it would be more helpful than my little notebook. Having a budget helps so much, though it is tough at times to not just spend money when I want to, but it feels better to see my savings account grow.

2/6/12-2/10/12

I started reading Dave's book Total Money Makeover before I took this class. I started budgeting in about November. I use the envelope system. My college savings went straight into my savings account, and then I had envelopes for the rest. The envelopes I had were: gas money, food money, Alaska mission trip savings, church offering, and miscellaneous expenses. Using the envelope system has really helped me because if I were to reach into a different envelope to purchase something that the money isn't supposed to be used for, then I would feel guilty. Guilt stopped me from overspending in any certain category.

Dave talked about a ton of different forms this week. I think those forms could really help when trying to make a budget the proper way. I liked the way the forms have the percentage breakdown for how much of your income will be going to what. I like to know where my money is going, and what it is going to. I don't like the idea of just "I owe 106 dollars in insurance this month" I like to know "I owe 636 dollars for 6 months, and this is the breakdown..."