As the summer fun winds down and the new school year gears up, it’s the perfect time to pull your family budget off the shelf, brush of the dust, and give it the ol’ spit polish. Don’t have a budget? Don’t worry. By the end of our Budget Scrubdown Challenge you’ll not only have a budget, you’ll develop a working budget you can really count on, and most importantly, LIVE WITH. Are you giving me the newly viral McKayla Maroney scowl?
And that’s not all, nu-uh! I am going to give away one personal finance book from the For Dummies series compliments of the fabulous publishers, John Wiley & Sons, each week!!!!! You’ll have 8 weeks and 8 chances to win books to help you beef up your financial know-how!
But first things first, we need to talk about the three MUST haves for participating in La Chica’s Budget Scrubdown:
- Openness
- Honesty
- Confidence
Personal finances aren’t something we readily talk about in our society. It’s just one of those things we’d rather not discuss, maybe because we’ve been told its impolite and a private matter for so much of our lives.
Personal finance doesn’t have to be a squirmy wormy subject. I want this to be a positive exercise for you. I want our scrubdown to open up communication and get dialogue flowing between all of you soon to be money savvy Chicas and Chicos. And that means we have to get honest.
Getting honest about how you treat money is tough. It’s tough to own up to the fact that you’ve convinced yourself you can’t afford to save money, but you can afford to get your nails done, or that you overextended yourself when you bought that new car. It’s hard to admit that you have champagne taste on a beer budget. And it’s hard to face the facts when your budget will no longer sustain your spending and you have no choice but to change your approach.
Whatever your financial situation is, you have the power to change it right now.
Let’s start this journey together. And let’s start this journey with the confidence that YOU are the architect of your own financial future.
Are you ready to get down to business? LET’S DO THIS!
Budget Scrubdown Prep Work
Supplies you’ll need:
- Binder or folder (whatever floats your boat)
- Pencil
- Small Notebook…something you can toss in your purse, backpack, or pocket
- Budget Scrubdown 2012 Worksheet (Download the MS Excel worksheet or printable version)
Homework Assignment- Start Tracking Your Expenses
Use the small notebook and pen/pencil to write down everything you spend EVERY day. Include the date, what you bought, the total price, and how you paid for it. Even though you can check your statement to see how much you spend and where, you might not remember what you actually purchased at Target, for example. And even more importantly, your online statements don’t tell you anything about how you spent that $20 in change you got in cash back.
Next Step: Complete Your Budget Snapshot
8 Chances, 8 Books, 8 Weeks to Kiss Your Inner Money Dummy Goodbye!
What’s a challenge without a reward? For the next 8 weeks, you’ll have a chance to win a book from the For Dummies series compliments of the fabulous publishers, John Wiley & Sons.
To Enter:
Leave a comment telling me why you’re ready to Scrubdown Your Budget With La Chica.
Additional entries:
- Like Military Money Chica on Facebook
- Follow Military Money Chica on Twitter or Pinterest (leave a comment for each)
- Share the giveaway! (leave a comment below, one entry per day)
This week’s giveaway ends on Friday, August 24th at 11:59pm CST. Giveaway open to US Residents, 18 years and over. Void where prohibited by law.
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[...] For the next 8 weeks, you’ll have a chance to win a book from the For Dummies series compliments of the fabulous publishers, John Wiley & Sons. We’re in the first week of the contest. To enter this week’s giveaway, read the Budget Scrubdown kickoff post. [...]