I would like to start a series in the blog, entitled “Budget & Living”. This series will be a few parts long, breaking down how my household has a budget and how we tackle debts and living expenses. I call it Budget & Living because I’ve noticed that a few different “budget busting” sites and blogs tend to have their followers go “all out” when defeating debt. This approach is okay, but there has to be a better way to feel good about ridding yourself of debts while still living life. My plan is a little radical, but after reading what I am thinking maybe you may not consider it as radical as it sounds.

Don’t go “all out”.

Why don’t you have to go all out? Too often I see my college friends and acquaintances are buying houses, getting new cars and the latest and greatest stuff. My inner minimalist says “ahh-no can do!”, they must have a ton of debt! The realist in me sees that they are making more money, are successful in their careers, hence they want to celebrate by living life. Their debt is something they live with, accepting it and “forgetting about it.” Both approaches have pros and cons, but my approach of “don’t go all out” seems to have a balance, at least I think (aka feel) it does.

A radical proposal.

I propose something radical; why not live off of 1/2 of your income? My grandparents thought this was normal. It was even normal to think like that while only having one breadwinner. What if you have two incomes, as most families do now a days, aka husband and wife working? Live off of one of their incomes! It still satisfies the living off of 1/2 an income since a husband and wife should be considering their net income as one income.

…why not live off of 1/2 of your income?

If America had a literal voice, she would cuss and swear and tell me that “their ain’t no darn gosh tooting way” she can live off of half her income. If America had a negative Nancy generation (some who even hasten to label them as a “nasty Nancy” generation) who would echo this clarion call, it would be the Millennials. Apparently, news media says I am a Millennial (25 years old to be exact). Millennials say how they are burdened with mountains of student loan debt and they would say how they aren’t ready to get married and also how they cannot afford a house…among other things. I say boo-who! I, with the help of my wife, lead our family by living off of half of our net income. You might think we do this by living under a rock, having no fun and be social outcasts. That is incorrect. My wife and I rent a nice (but old, drafty and dingy) single family home with a decent running yard for our dog. We could be getting a nicer rental property for our money but we like the area and the yard for the dog. We don’t move because most rentals at our rate are condos or townhouses with little or no grass. My wife and I have a ton of student loan debt, but I was able to live at my parents house for almost a year and pay off a tremendous amount of my own debt. The wife, on the other hand lived with her sister in the real world and did not have the ability to pay off as much debt. Now that we are married, she and I assumed each others debt. But its okay, no worries! Did I mention we are also saving about $1800 each month in a down payment fund? Yes, a rental payment, utility payments, a down payment, plus we are paying over $800 in student loan minimum payments each month. How in tarnation do we do it? Sometimes I don’t even know.

First things first: count your blessings.

I say count your blessings first because if you are reading this blog, you are a lucky person. I am not trying to boast about my blog, haha, I am merely mentioning that if you have access to a computer and internet, you are a minority. If you are healthy, if you have any job; you are lucky! Consider yourself blessed, either by God as we like to think or to whomever you believe is doing the blessing (Allah, Budda, Fate etc.) Remember to always be thankful for the life you have. Don’t envy those friends who go into debt to acquire the latest and greatest stuff. Be thankful for your own life and your own things. After counting those blessings, its time to start your budget.

Be thankful for your own life and your own things.

Business 101 = Budget 101

To run a business, the total amount of sales must be greater than your salary, your employee’s salaries, the cost of doing the business, and Uncle Sam’s heavy hand of taxation. After that is said and done, anything left over is pure profit! The same holds true for your life, or in this case; your household. Your sales is how much money you make, your own salary is how much you need to live each year (home and food). Your employee’s salaries are those if you have a spouse, or children or other people who depend on you. Uncle Sam’s hand is similar, but at a lower rate. Finally, the “cost of doing the business” is what is extra in your life: debts, fun, purchases, gambling etc etc etc. Most of the time, the cost of the first three things are solid and cannot be changed (yourself, your dependents and taxes), however the last part is what can be changed.

Stay tuned for the next part where I will set up a sample budget based on my own budget, and how I will share with you ways my wife and I fiddle with the “cost of doing business” in our own lives to save more money.  I really like talking about efficiency and finances, so I am very excited to continue the series with great updates on my own learning on how to achieve my dreams.