Well, things are a little more overwhelming this month. We have many goals, and we are impatiently working toward them. Trying to satisfy everything is simply not possible. We need to take baby steps. We are just so excited about the opportunity to see things as we didn't see them before, such as saving, cutting down on expenses, and paying off debt. It really isn't as difficult as it may seem at times. We are very ready to move forward and have a better life, but trying to keep two children busy and happy is difficult to do while also trying to save money and pay off debt.

We have already learned so much though, and we have become so much more aware of the opportunities we could experience if we stick to it and move forward. While we do have disagreements, in the end we are still working toward the same goals of saving money and paying off debt. We are so thankful for this chance to make things right. CommunityAmerica helps us to realize that change does not happen overnight, but that things CAN change. We are now using coupons ALL the time, learning how to pay off debt, saving every extra penny we get, and still try to fit in some quality time for the family without spending the money we used to spend. Some days are rough, but we are working toward it together as a family. In the end, we will be SO much stronger.

For the first time, we have set some savings goals and have really starting to put some money into savings. One of the problems we have come across is what money goes towards what. Before, if there was money in savings we would spend it on what was needed or wanted at the time, and maybe more than we should. The next time we had a planned expense come out of savings, we wouldn’t have the money we needed. So we have learned to earmark the money in savings in the excel spread sheet we use to keep track of our expenses. We look at it as budgeting our savings. We know exactly how much money we have put away for classes, summer trips, our emergency fund and the like. 

Another saving trick we are trying is to have a set savings account for one thing such as our car fund; be it a new car or major repairs, we have a savings account just for that. This came about after my wife paid off her car and we wanted to keep that money going towards cars in our monthly budget. The great thing about the car fund is that on payday at the start of each month, the savings account is set up to automatically take out our budgeted amount. For us, we never really see the money in our checking account and we don’t have to do anything with it ourselves, so it doesn't feel like we ever actually had the money in our account.

Ryan Meador