What to do when there's Never Enough Money

This blog entry was inspired by Dawn. Thank you!

Some of us prepare or organize a budget for the sake of reaching certain financial goals. Others are forced to budget for the sake of staying afloat. And then there are those that are unable to practice the discipline of budgeting and are constantly drowning.

You do the best you can with what you have until you can make things better. I do not pretend to know the best financial answers, but my husband and I have become somewhat experts of what I call the "make it work" budget! (Tim Gunn couldn't have said it better!

I will try to give a quick installment of how to make it work.

This is great whether you are married, single, on one income, with or without a family and find it wise to be budgeting:

Tithing
Each person (if they believe) should give what is in their heart to give in joy. It depends on your own convictions. I do believe that tithing is crucial to every household but if you seem to be torn between paying your rent or mortgage amount and tithing, and you pay your rent instead, then ask what you can sacrifice your time and thoughts to that would please the Lord... something that He has set in your heart to do but just haven't, on top of having a mindset lorded by His ways.
Debt
- Hold off on making payments for the sake of meeting other obligations with loan deferments which save your credit
- Stick to making incredibly small payments (be careful of building interest with c/c's and loans)
- Or make extremely large payments to quickly get rid of the debt - try not to settle without creating a decent payment history first.
- Restructure your home loan if needed (call the news on them if they don't respond to you)
- Downgrade your vehicle from a hefty note to an attractive money saver (you may even help our planet in the process!)
- Call and simply ask for lower c/c rates to help you.
In all cases, you need just ask in many cases.
Food
- Clip the coupons, shop the bargain food stores (check expiration dates)and buy in bulk what you use the most of (like dinner meats from Sam's Club)
- grow your own fruits and veggies if possible
- In hard times we have a tendency to sometimes eat unhealthily in order to save. This can effect long term health so don't be afraid to call your local SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) center to enable you to afford the foods you want and need for you and your family. And they are accepted by all food stores including Sam's Club.
Entertainment
Only buy what you need but don't restrict yourself from simple pleasures with your family like renting a movie for a weekly movie night.
Extra Income
Sometimes finding work at home can be helpful for extra income:
Alpineaccess.com and other work at-home call center agencies can work for some.
Talents
If you have a talent that can produce immediate money, then go for it! But don't get so caught up in a project that you lose more money than you gain if it's not something you plan to do as a long term passion - don't simply do it for the money. (I had to learn the hard way.)
If there are people in your household with talents like writing, singing, performing... then enter contests that can win money to go towards education or just add to your household overall.
Arts, crafts, & around the house items
Dollar Stores (great for toddler learning, teachers, maintenance tools, home accents and projects)
- Ross, Marshalls, and Burlington are great for home decor, clothing and accessories!
- Places like "Name Brand Exchange" offer thrifty name brand clothes for fractions of their original costs. I love exchange thrift stores because you can trade in your old clothes for "new" clothes and never have to drop a dime. These types of thrift stores save oogles of money! They are also great for baby items like bouncers, walkers, carriers, strollers, etc - and if you have older clothing in good condition from another child that you can trade, you may never pay much of anything! For instance, I "bought" over $250 retail worth of baby items when I had my son, by trading my older daughters barely used items. I only paid $10 out of pocket!
As for furniture... like Maya Angelou's ex-husband taught her, "buy the best quality to be able to sell it for it's worth later, if need be" - or something like that.

Well that's all I'll say for now. But these things can help anyone to stay on a more disciplined financial plan if one is willing to practice humility and yet be proud to save.