Find Financial Freedom While Living Within a Budget

I have struggled to make ends meet many times. When I bought my first house, I bought it as a single person. I didn’t have a lot of money for groceries. Most of the time I ate grilled cheese and tomato soup, spaghetti with no sauce, or tortilla chips and cheese. Not the best food. I didn’t go out with friends,

When I got engaged, I sold my car. It helped us pay for my wedding (and allowed us to not be controlled by family on what we wanted for a wedding).

My point is this. You have to look at what money you have coming in and list what expenses you have to pay. You need to have more coming in than out.

If you are having family help you pay your bills, you are not living within your means. You need to take control and responsibility for your own expenses. Family loaning you money once in a while, is different, than your family providing your money every month. You need to have a plan to get away from someone helping you.

Television – Do you really need to have cable/satellite? Could you have a smaller package, maybe one of the digital boxes would work or watching your tv shows online.

Cell phone – Would  a prepaid phone be cheaper than a contract plan?  You learn to live within your phone limits.

Entertaining – You cannot host parties or have friends over all the time and pick up the tab. Have them bring drinks and a dish to pass. You either do this, or stop entertaining.

Vacations – Sorry You don’t take trips if you cannot pay your bills. If people are giving you money to help pay your bills, you don’t go anywhere. You can go to the park and have a picnic, local art center, look for free things to do in your community.

Meals – You need to meal plan and eat healthy but cheaper. If someone is giving you money for food, use the money for food, not other things you can’t afford. You don’t eat out (or rarely do it). Feed yourself and family first and try to do it as healthy as possible. Grow a garden.

Paying off debt – If you have debt such as credit cards. Paying of the smallest bill first and then going to the next bill. Apply the amount you paid on the previous bill to the next bill and more, will help you get out of debt.

Extra activities – If your children want to be in extracurricular activities, find other items to cut out, in order to pay for them. Sacrifice for them or explain how they can’t do the activities.

Income – All able bodied adults should get a paying job to help pay the bills. Even those going to school (you learn to live on less sleep) can find some type of job to bring in income.

You want to gain financial freedom.  Doing things outside of your means, gets you further behind.

I can say this worked for me and I hope it works for you!