Team playing, one paycheque at a time
Posted by John | Filed under My Best Strategy
Mr. C wrote: You do not personally know us but you have changed our lives. I want you to personally know that my wife and I have been so positively affected by your TV show, web page and book.
We have been watching your show for sometime now. We watch it every morning still with our kids who are 5 and 8. They especially like your “you are in deep doo doo” comment. We dabbled with the jars in the past trying to make them work but we always ended up failing by using debit cards as jar money. In January we decided to really get serious about our finances as our debt kept rising, so we ditched the debit cards and live entirely on cash. Through use of your Budget Worksheet and jars theory we have had more success than we could ever imagine!
Before using the jars we were overspending similar to people on your show ($1000 or more than our income). In the last 2 weeks I put $2000 towards our debt and we still have a nice life style. We have paid $18,000 of debt since January (including our tax return). I have $18,000 to go. (I did use a $7000 tax return towards debt as well)
I want to thank you for a few things:
1. The resources you share with us through this website and the TV show have made a real difference in our lives financially. We will be out of debt (approx $36,000 within 1 year!).
2. With the gaining of control of money in our lives the relationship between my wife and I have vastly improved and any issues we have are “NOT” related to money anymore. It is so great to be in a relationship where we can deal with real issues instead of issues masked by money problems.
3. We are saving money! We have thousands of dollars set aside for various things in a savings fund. We never saved so much money in our lives before.
I tell all my friends about your jars and budget worksheet. They laugh at me because I make $35/hour and give myself a $30 a week allowance, but they just don’t understand how great the jars can be! Interestingly enough part of my success is related to sharing the fact that I had a problem with money and I am doing something to fix it.
Finally… I really wish more than anything I could show you a copy of my spreadsheet… I know I never will be able to show you, but my wife and I expanded so much on your advice! We designed a spreadsheet based on our average pay checks. Out of the pay checks weekly we designate portions of money to various bills due near that time. So I can go home the day I am paid and in 10 minutes every penny is gone to exactly where it is supposed to be. Our spreadsheet has been designed for the entire year and once a year we will negotiate a new plan depending on our success of the year.
If you ever do a show about people who have used your advice and are success stories, we certainly would be prime examples. (Not that I am asking for that.)
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
July 21, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Mr. C.
I love reading encouraging stories like yours! I turn to this site everyday to keep up my resolve and see how everyone is doing, and your story is so encouraging.
We also have a weekly ‘allowance’ and find it so helpful. It’s amazing how fast money can disappear when you’re not keeping track. And I agree that finally talking about money has made us much closer and more confident in our relationship.
Thanks!
Marnie
July 21, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Nothing to be ashamed of there! I received a raise this year to a little more than that per hour, and I give myself an allowance of $100.00 for the month. I tell you, by the end of that month… I’m scrounging for pennies at the bottom of the purse!
I do it by the month because sometimes I need to up other portions of my budget… so it’s kind of budget short fall fund really
Great Story! Good luck!
July 22, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Please don’t be afraid to adjust your budget more than once a year! It is not a failure, but rather an acknowledgement that life changes more often than we think. Tweaking things will help you to be even more sucessful than you already have proved you are. Good Luck and Congratulations!
July 23, 2010 at 7:36 am
Good job, you really did it! We each get a $20 per month allowance since our budget is super tight but we still need to be able to blow from time to time so we don’t go nuts. It becomes super meaningful when my husband uses his allowance to buy me a treat.
July 24, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I am impressed by your resolve to aggressive debt repayment. I too have watched and tried off and on for a while. I too found I didn’t really live the advice because I was using debit cards and thinking I was keeping track. I have just recently decided to live with cash weekly and write EVERY transaction down. For a family of three and a dog I am down to $150 a week for everything and carry all the cash in envelopes in my purse (so it’s available) however I have between 25 and 45 left over every week so far. Amazing! It really does work.
Thanks for sharing your story…if only I could be as aggressive on repayment of a similar debt load…three years will have to do
July 26, 2010 at 9:55 am
It’s amazing how people who are not on a budget may judge you when you are! We’re making decent money right now but my hubby’s not working (going to school) and I’m working 3 jobs, pretty much every day for 12 hours to be able to pay for everything (including savings, but no “extra” on paying off student loans right now which makes me sad). Some people have said that I’m greedy – I don’t know how putting money into savings (both long term and short term) makes me greedy. I don’t think they understand that you should be putting money into savings, or else you might be totally screwed when an emergency comes up (the only reason why I was able to accept the job of my dreams is because i had a reserve fund big enough to buy a car. I still had to take out a loan, but not as much as I would have if I didn’t have the fund! plus, managing my money made me truly think about what we want and need – we bought a small compact, 2007 car instead of the SUV his parents were trying to make us buy!) – off topic. But don’t EVER be ashamed of being a budget! Those people will come ask for advice later!
August 11, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Mr. C: I would love to see a copy of your spreadsheets – I am having a bit of trouble setting one up – could you possibly post a link to it? I earn a steady paycheque while my husband, a freelancer, does not. I’d be very grateful.
May 14, 2011 at 4:20 am
Thanks for the share, I have been readin online all day and this was actully worth reading. Thanks
May 26, 2011 at 3:13 pm
I would also love a copy of the spreadsheet ‘bones’. I know how to build one, sort of, but can never wrap my head around what I need and which way the columns should go
Being on a budget is like taking a map on a road trip – seriously, how the heck do you know where you are going? Having been off work for most of the past 11 months with a broken ankle, then knee surgery, has had me struggling just to make the basics (EI is a bandaid, and I hadn’t been a Gail student long enough to get an EF going). A bare bones budget will hopefully have me back on track within a few months of being back to work – go back next week finally!!! I have a few things to plan for in my future, one being a change of career to accommodate my new ‘disability’, and being able to track the requirements is what keeps me focused. Thanks for sharing, and hopefully, you can link some of us to your spreadsheet…