www.debt-crunch.com

Who needs a BUDGET? I do! Yes, at church today we had a special speaker from Bob Jones University on stewardship and debt. I wasn’t going to set up a time to meet with him while he was here because I thought I could figure this out by myself BUT when I realized I would walk away from the meeting with a working budget on CD (in Excel, no less) based on my bills and my income then it was a no brainer. I’m still feeling all loosey goosey with all the changes in my life over the last couple months.

The one thing that seems to keep getting in my way is prioritizing what needs to be paid when. Some things are easy – the car needs to be registered or insured and the consequences are serious if I miss a deadline while other things seem to be put off way too easy. Then those consequences come bearing down on me.

In preparing for my appointment with the financial consultant – I wrote out all my weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual bills. Followed by my “debts” – two student loan balances, a personal loan and several utility type of bills from living down state. Tacked on to the end of this list of bills are my very distant credit card balances that will eventually need to be paid off.

Of course, I have the money I owe to my parents in relation to this move PLUS I have the goal of putting together my fund to move into my own place for me and the boys.

In the end, I felt all overwhelmed again because at first glance it looked okay but the more I remembered “debts” and “balances” the more anxious I became. The good news is that I’m learning how to be a DOER not just a thinker about what needs take place.

So I meet with him Tuesday with my income vs bills write up so we will see what I walk away with – discouragement or hope. Truth be told – I have no room for discouragement so this momentary angst is just that – momentary. No matter what… faith, time and effort will change my current circumstances.