The Budget Bounce
We're an average family in the Midwest, who lived willy nilly with our money for 9 years. The result: a huge mountain of debt and no plan for our financial future.
Then the unthinkable happened.
With $0 in savings, we faced financial ruin in 2018 after Matt got sick in 2017 and couldn't work for 10 months. About 6 months into his illness, I got SEVEN collections calls before noon on a Saturday. I had my sick and tired of being sick and tired moment that day. And we promptly started living life on a budget on February 1, 2018 - less than 2 weeks after that awful Saturday morning.
Here is where we travel the road to financial independence as we use our budget to bounce debt out the door, save for our future, and field life's financial curve balls as they're thrown at us. We share the good, the bad, and the ugly, and we hope you will join us on this roller coaster ride that is our life on a budget!
LIFE UPDATE JANUARY 2023
EMERGENCY FUND - WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUND IN PLACE
OCTOBER 2022 BUDGET SETUP | ZERO BASED BUDGET | MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD BUDGET
TACKLE THIS CREDIT CARD DEBT WITH ME
FINANCIAL EMERGENCY! | STORY TIME AND LESSONS LEARNED | OUR REFRIGERATOR DIED
AUGUST 2022 ZERO BASED BUDGET REPORT | OUR REAL NUMBERS | MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD BUDGET
SEPTEMBER 2022 BUDGET SETUP | ZERO-BASED BUDGET | MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD BUDGET
ALLY SAVINGS BUCKETS FOR SINKING FUNDS
HOW TO PRIORITIZE PAYING OFF DEBT
JULY 2022 ZERO BASED BUDGET | OUR REAL NUMBERS | HOUSEHOLD BUDGET
AUGUST 2022 BUDGET SETUP | ZERO BASED BUDGET | MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD BUDGET
Sinking Funds | How We Manage Them
JUNE 2022 ZERO BASED BUDGET | OUR REAL NUMBERS | HOUSEHOLD BUDGET
JULY 2022 BUDGET SETUP ZERO BASED BUDGET
MAY 2022 ZERO BASED BUDGET OUR REAL NUMBERS
JUNE 2022 BUDGET SETUP | ZERO BASED BUDGET
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR NET WORTH | OUR NET WORTH UPDATE 2022
OUR DEBT CONFESSION 2022
APRIL 2022 ZERO BASED BUDGET REPORT | OUR REAL NUMBERS
MAY 2022 BUDGET SETUP | ZERO BASED BUDGET
Budget and Work Burnout Is NO JOKE!
JULY 2021 BUDGET SETUP ZERO BASED BUDGET | FAMILY BUDGET IN THE MIDWEST
MAY 2021 ZERO BASED BUDGET REPORT | OUR REAL NUMBERS
JUNE 2021 BUDGET SETUP ZERO BASED BUDGET FAMILY BUDGET IN THE MIDWEST
WE HAVE TWO MORTGAGES AND HERE'S WHY
WE HAVE NEW NON-MORTGAGE DEBT AFTER 3 YEARS
APRIL 2021 ZERO BASED BUDGET | OUR REAL NUMBERS
MAY 2021 BUDGET SETUP | ZERO-BASED BUDGET | FAMILY BUDGET IN THE MIDWEST
MOTHER'S DAY GIFT IDEAS ON A BUDGET 2021
MY COVID 19 EXPERIENCE AND RECOVERY | UNEXPECTED COMPLICATIONS AND LONG TERM ISSUES