Lets talk money!

Something that I feel I see A LOT on social media is how people are just waiting for pay day, especially in the LEO world. My husband gets paid once a money so, honestly, we have to be smart about how we manage our money to make sure it last all month long. The thing that gets me is that we have never had a problem living on just his income. When we got married and we discussed our finances, we decided we would "live" on his paycheck and whatever I brought in would be our family fun money (basically just extra). And we chose to live like that from day 1 so every time he got a raise (they get a raise the first 3 years I think 🤔) we would act like it wasn't there and put it away. Then child #1 came and we were still doing good. The child #2 came and we decided I should stay home and I got really scared really quick! But after a year of it we have done just fine once again and I would say even better now that I am learning how to save here and there and that is what I want to share today. 

We pretty much put $500-1000 into our savings every month, just on his income alone! I know things will change as the kids get older and do more things but I don't think it should be as stressful as "eating top ramen" for the last few days of the month. Now I am no financial person but I know how to handle my money and handle it well enough to have our fun but make sure we don't go into debt doing it. So here are a few tips...

1. TITHE!!! Give back what God has given you. All He asks for is 10%. This was the hardest thing me first because I always felt like "well I need that money for x,y,z…" but once I truly let go and let God by thanking Him for what we were blessed with it has always felt like an abundance. 
2. "Live" paycheck to paycheck. Now what I mean by this is the moment the paycheck comes in, I put whatever was left in the checking account into the savings account. We live on what he brings in a month. If we need to do any big purchases or tap into that we can of course but I am not going to keep it in the checking for us to see "oh we have plenty of money, lets splurge". It makes us more conscious of our monthly spending.
3. Know your monthly expenses. Mortgage, gas/water/electric/trash bills, cell phone, internet/cable, IRAs/529 plans, and whatever else you pay for monthly should be mapped out so you know how much you have left for groceries, date nights, outings, shopping, etc. 
4. Grocery shopping online. Now this may not work for everyone but it has been HUGE for us. Pavilions (vons, safeway, Albertsons) has delivery. Your first delivery is FREE and $20 off of $100! After that, I get that same coupon every other week if not every week. This makes things so easy for me. the past 2 months I have spent about $200-225 for the month on groceries! and we pretty much eat at home every night. Not bad for a family of 4. 
5. Money back apps! There are so many ways to get money back from doing shopping you are already doing. It may not be much sometimes, but its better than nothing. I use it to pay for my Starbucks, Amazon, and Stitch Fix habit lol. Here are a few I love and use regularly. Ebates for shopping all different stores online and in store for a few places too. They even have money back for my online grocery shopping! Ibotta also online shopping but more in store options for specific brands. Checkout 51 Fetch rewards Dosh

And always, always, ALWAYS be honest with the spending. People think it is weird that my husband and I ask before even spending like $30-$50 on something for ourselves or the house. We are open and honest about our spending and just want the other to know it. It’s even more of a game when your savers like us and it’s like “guess the deal I just found on xyz...”. In this life as  LEO family, there is so much you can be stressed out about, money shouldn’t be one of them.

““Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:25‬ ‭CSB‬‬