When my husband and I first got married, we were living off of love. His first good money making job came after almost a year of marriage, and he was making $300 a week. This was in the late 1990's.
I was pretty pregnant with our first child, and I remember sitting in the trailer that we rented for $275 per month and praying that God would give me wisdom. We had to buy groceries, gas to get around, pay bills, maintain our vehicle, and we had a child on the way- which meant more expense.
God gave me the wisdom I asked for and we had our first budget. It may not seem like much to you, but we were living off of $20 a week groceries. I got very creative with Ramen!
When we moved to Louisiana, the budget wasn't as strict. I still needed wisdom, but I didn't know how badly. We were constantly in and out of debt. The moment we got the car paid off we had to buy another one. There were "emergencies" that had to be paid with a credit card. We didn't know any other way to live.
Recently, I borrowed Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey from our local library. This book has made such a difference in our thinking. We are trying once again to get out of debt. But, thanks to the guidance in this book, we have a plan that will help us stay out of debt.
Dave Ramsey gives a lot of tips along with the proven plan to help you get out of debt and stay out. He also has budget helping tips and tools online- my favorite is EveryDollar, his online budget system. If you're searching for something better than living paycheck to paycheck constantly having debt to pay down, I recommend this book.
