On a Budget. On my Desire.

Starting a family is by far the greatest thing Kevin and I have done.  I've often heard friends say, "we're waiting to have a baby until we have enough money" I admire these friends for striving to be as prepared as possible, but let me tell you, you'll never have 'enough' money to have a baby.  You mama's out there- am I right?! Up until this point in our lives, Kevin and I have not lived off of a budget. That doesn't mean to say we've had an excess of money though- quite the contrary, our budget consisted of, paying bills and using our left over money on... whatever  we wanted! yeah, some budget! ha. When life was just US it didn't much matter if we had money in savings or any sort of plan ahead. It was just US. But NOW. We have Mason. We have a family.

It took Kevin and I two years before I got pregnant and I remember thinking at times, how unfair it was that I wasn't pregnant. But the Lord knew. He knew when the timing was right.  The Lord has been tremendously gracious with us in providing for us in ways we could never have imagined.  The Lord placed me in a job with a boss who allowed me to bring my newborn into work with me for the first 4 months. He gave my husband a job that allows him to be home in the Summer (he's a teacher!) and now that both the Mr. and I are back to work full time, The Lord brought my Mom up to Alaska to be with Mason while we work. Talk about providing!  Remember the 'budget' Kevin and I adhered to for all those US years? well it hasn't exactly allowed for either of us to quit our jobs cold turkey  but instead of throwing us under the bus, the Lord continues to bless us in the care of Mason.  Can you say, Thank you Lord?!
While, I know the Lord will always provide for us and always give us a peace and rest in whatever our situation is, my desire is not to work full time.  My desire is to be home with my son (and any future kiddos!) and work part time. Last month I had a heart to heart with myself and realized that if my true desire is to be at home and work only part time then it was time to get to it! It was time to figure out how I can get down to part time work and start the transition! So that, my friends is what I'm doing.
This is largely based on getting into, I won't say 'better' financial position, I'll say different financial position. The reason I'm even sharing all this with you, is because whatever your situation is- kids, no kids, money, no money, debt, no debt I think it's safe to say we all can welcome a few little money managing tips every now and again.
There is so much that goes into the in's and out's of having a budget and actually sticking with it and I have a whole set of tips to share on that, but for now.. here are the 4 basic steps we have taken to start the,  part time working mama transition phase:
1. Create a Budget. Yes, We have a budget now! And it's a zero dollar budget, meaning every single penny of our money is accounted for. Coffee Run? In the Budget. Hair Cut? In the budget. Mason's diapers? In the budget. Movie Rental? In the budget. Savings? In the budget. I'm serious, every single thing that we could think of spending money on is accounted for.  (ps. this is just the way WE have chosen because it works best for us, find a budget that will work for YOU)
2. Adhere to Budget. Simple enough? Takes a lot more dedication than I thought.. but worth it :)
3. Pay off Debt. We don't have a ton of debt, but we do have some misc credit card bills, a car payment-enough to make an impact on our monthly expenses, so we are focusing on paying those items off as quickly as possible.  (like I mentioned before, I have a whole post on how we are doing this and I'll be sharing that at a later date!)
5. Savings. After paying our bills, we put a certain percentage into savings each month.
As you can see, this is not rocket science. There is nothing elaborate about what we're doing.. but we are doing it and that feels good. The LORD is the one who provides for us in ALL ways and HE is the one who blesses us with children, money, jobs, activities, etc. So more than anything we continue to keep our focus on the Lord and have his perfect peace each and every day.