Josh, Beardstown, IL
I live in a small town in central Illinois. My wife and I were married in December of 2009 and plan on having kids in a few years. I work in a cross-cultural youth ministry. We have students from Cuba, Mexico, Kenya, Congo, India, and the US. Many of them could be termed at-risk and poverty level. In many cases, we are the only stability they have. In my wife's small group of high school girls, not one of them have fathers. Naturally that makes me very protective of them (good luck getting a date). We want to save so we can provide, not just for our immediate family, but for those who the Lord has put in front of us. God made it very clear for my wife and I to come here.
Before YNAB we wanted to live on a budget but didn't think we could. We were in our first year of marriage, starting a new job, and both in full-time school. We were living paycheck to paycheck. I was bringing in about $1,300 a month with my wife making between $200 to $500 a month. With such demanding schedules we would "fast food it" regularly. We didn't realize how fast that added up. Then, unexpected things would happen. Utilities bill would go up 100 dollars, my car broke, and my wife's car window cracked! All in one month! We realized we not only needed a budget, we need to live by one!
Before I purchased the software, I listened to all ten sessions and wanted to know the philosophy. After that, my goal was to live off of last month’s money! So it's been about saving up to accomplish that goal. I even took a second part-time job as a PE teacher to make this happen.The hardest thing has been keeping receipts, and making sure my wife and I communicate constantly about our spending. After two months we’ve put $1300 into savings and paid off $600 dollars in debt. It’s helped our marriage very much. Our monthly budget meeting resulted in us taking time to address other parts of our marriage that need growth.
In the book of Proverbs (4:7) it says, "Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." YNAB is giving us the wisdom we need and we are realizing it’s costing us a lot! Not that the software is a bunch of money, but that living a financially-disciplined life costs. We can't buy whatever we want, we can't live as if we have a fat bank account. But, we have freedoms we’ve never had before. We don't have to worry about our bills. We don't have to put Christmas gifts on the credit cards. We don't have to borrow, beg, or pray for money to show up. We get to plan for our trip to Italy. We get to laugh as a couple and jump for joy when we find .76 cents in the Wal-mart parking lot. We enjoy the dollar menu like never before! We get to save up for our future child and our future home. It's not a question of “if” we have enough, next year. It's "when" we have enough. When you budget, it will cost. But freedom comes at a high price.
After two months we’ve put $1300 into savings and paid off $600 dollars in debt.
