Self Reliant Saturday



I wish, right!
image from here

You would think it would be common sense that part of self reliance would be being financially responsible.  Sadly, common sense is not always common.  I'm not professing to be anything close to a financial whiz or even  close to being financially comfortable.  In fact, both James and I had our fair share of financial issues coming into our marriage. It has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of budgeting, but I'm proud to say that within 18 months, we will have only our car payment left. It has taken a REALLY long time, but in that time, we have had 3 children, bought a house, bout a new car, done some renovations, put James through school and a host of other things.  One of the biggest keys for us has been to budget and then track our spending.  I review our spending monthly and make any adjustments that need to be made.  It kind of drives James crazy, but its really helpful.  I'm a on paper kind of girl, but have recently been thinking it would be nice to have an app on my phone to help simplify things.  I'm stil researching, but will keep you posted on the findings!  In the meantime, here are a couple of really good sites to help you set up a budget.

www.budgettracker.com

http://www.youneedabudget.com/

http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources.html

Gail's is one of my favorites.  She's pretty much an idol of mine.