1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:04,760 So do you ever feel like you start the month off and then all 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:08,320 of a sudden it's like the 17th? You've hit the drive through 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,520 like 5 times. You have run to the store way 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,640 too many times for last minute things and your budget is an 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:19,800 absolute mess. So I want to tell you about how 6 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,400 my process. So you don't need a color-coded 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:25,960 spreadsheet for this. You just need to plan these 8 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,320 three things at the start of every single month. 9 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:32,000 So these three things working together will save you thousands 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,360 of dollars, but also it will calm the chaos that's going on 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,360 in life. Because I know you're a busy 12 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,440 parent, you are a raising kids, the next generation that's going 13 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,680 to change this world. And the last thing that you have 14 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:52,800 is time to do a huge like this huge prep and a 52 step system, 15 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,160 right? Because we want to have a little 16 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,800 bit of time for ourselves. So today I'm going to talk to 17 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,520 you about the three things that I plan every single month that 18 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,280 will help you, but it'll also help your bank account say thank 19 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:06,760 you. Let's dive in. 20 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,320 Welcome to the Debt Ripple podcast where we discuss the 21 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,760 insurance and outs of personal finance for families so you can 22 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,960 eliminate the burden of debt, create financial margins, and 23 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:21,000 learn a new way to interact with your money. 24 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,080 I'm your host Jules the budget nerd, and I have been in your 25 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:26,560 shoes. My husband and I have paid off 26 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,560 over $107,000 in consumer debt until we finally threw in the 27 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:32,400 towel and decided it wasn't for us. 28 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,440 Throughout our journey, we learned another way to do life 29 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,200 without debt. And that's my hope for you. 30 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,520 You can learn more about our story and see full show notes on 31 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,200 my website, jewelsthebudgetnerd.com. 32 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,080 That's JEWLZ, the budget nerd.com. 33 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,480 Now let's dive into today's episode. 34 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,040 OK. So very first thing. 35 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,560 So we're going to be talking about the three things that plan 36 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,320 every single month, your time, your meals and your money. 37 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,640 So those are very those are in that order on purpose. 38 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,480 So I'm going to explain why planning your time is such an 39 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,120 important part to your budgeting process. 40 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:13,040 So it's the thing that drives everything. 41 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,840 It is the one thing that we don't have unlimited amount of. 42 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:21,680 We each have the same 168 hours every single week, which I know 43 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:27,000 sounds sounds like a lot. Also, how is it possible that we 44 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,560 all have the same amount of time, but we all spend it very 45 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,520 differently. But if we are reactive with our 46 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,720 time, we're going to be reactive with our money too. 47 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,640 So one of the things that I do at the start of every single 48 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:41,640 month is I look at the at the full month. 49 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,920 And we also do this inside the alliance membership because this 50 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:51,040 is the place where we can take a peek at what the next month is 51 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,640 going to look like. Whether there's holidays, maybe 52 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:58,200 there's kids activities, maybe there's three day weekends and 53 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,080 so your kids are going to be home an extra day. 54 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,560 Or maybe you decide you're going to go on a little family outing, 55 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:06,640 that kind of stuff. So you can look at the entire 56 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:08,240 month. We're not going to plan on every 57 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,400 single minute, but you're going to look at the big picture and 58 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,240 see are there anything that's a little bit out of the ordinary 59 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:16,880 routine? Then we're going to plan our 60 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,800 anchor events, so our anchor points. 61 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,080 And so family nights, that's something that we plan. 62 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:27,000 We have family days and making sure that those are blocked out. 63 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:32,760 Then for myself, I get to decide when I work and I have work 64 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,360 block times. So if your hours are dictated by 65 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,200 someone else, then make sure you have those hours blocked off. 66 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,640 And then appointments. So whether that's dentists, 67 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,360 doctors, all that kind of stuff, making sure that your family is 68 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,680 cared for and then you can fit in there other things around 69 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,680 that. So I also would say the two 70 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,520 other things to include in planning your time is to just 71 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:56,720 have a budget night and a meal plan day. 72 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,000 So those don't have to be a big long processes. 73 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,960 And I'm going to give you some tips and some pointers today on 74 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,560 how to shorten the time for those two things. 75 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:10,320 But if we think about time as a container and if we don't define 76 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,320 what's going to be going into it, everything will spill over 77 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,399 and especially our money. So we want to make sure that we 78 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:19,560 have a grasp on what our time looks like for the next month. 79 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:21,800 The next thing is planning our meals. 80 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:26,040 Now this is one of the very last things that our family planned 81 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:28,720 our did when we were getting debt free. 82 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,560 But let me tell you, it's one of the things that I wish we had 83 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:37,280 started a lot sooner because one, I am not the world's best 84 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:39,160 cook. I only learned how to cook a few 85 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,080 years ago planning out our meals. 86 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,320 And I still don't plan out like every single meal for every 87 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,040 single day. And you know, breakfast, lunch, 88 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:50,920 dinner type thing. But this is 1 area where you can 89 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:55,000 one, create some extra margin in your budget, but also cut down 90 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,960 on decision fatigue. And we don't don't necessarily 91 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:00,800 have to overcomplicate it. So maybe you have theme nights, 92 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,400 so Taco Tuesdays or you have pasta night, or maybe you 93 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,560 rotate, you have 10 meals that your family just absolutely 94 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,200 loves and you rotate those. One of the things that's cool 95 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,880 because you've already planned your time is you know what 96 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:16,320 you're busy days are. So you can plan around, you can 97 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:17,960 plan those meals around your busy time. 98 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,720 So whether that's a crock pot meal or if you know you're going 99 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,880 to be home late and so you planned leftovers from the day 100 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,640 before for a late evening, or the other thing that's really 101 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:33,560 cool about this is, is you're going to reduce the amount of 102 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,840 food waste you have. The average family in the United 103 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:40,440 States waste $1000 of food every single year. 104 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,280 It's food that we've made and then we throw out because we 105 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:47,200 don't eat it in time or it's food that goes bad before we can 106 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,320 eat it. So, you know, maybe ingredients, 107 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:53,240 that kind of stuff. And so when we plan our meals, 108 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:58,800 $1000, Can you imagine saving $1000 in a year just because you 109 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,480 planned out your meals? That's your emergency fund right 110 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,560 there. And it's not about being like 111 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,400 Pinterest perfect, because Lord knows I definitely have. 112 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:08,800 You can check out my Pinterest board. 113 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,160 I have a meal planning Pinterest on there of things. 114 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:12,960 Some of them I've tried other ones I haven't. 115 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:17,000 I want to, but this is going to keep us from, you know, panic 116 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,080 ordering food or you know, door dashing, which can get very 117 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,160 expensive, those kinds of things. 118 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:24,760 One thing that you can also do when it comes to planning out 119 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:28,960 your meals is use supercook.com. So when you go to supercook.com, 120 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,120 you can plug in all of the things that you have on hand in 121 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,760 on your in your pantry and in your refrigerator and it will 122 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:36,960 provide you recipes based on those things. 123 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,920 So that's really cool if your family has any type of food 124 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,240 allergies or anything that are for, you know, dietary 125 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:44,840 restrictions, it's going to be things you already have. 126 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:46,760 And so you're using those up before they go bad. 127 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:48,680 So that's a great place to start. 128 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:52,160 You can also use ChatGPT if you are comfortable with that. 129 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,080 And you can just say, hey, type in these are the things I need 130 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,600 to come up with dinners for the next, you know, the next week. 131 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,480 So maybe you plan these on a weekly basis if planning an 132 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:05,640 entire month at a time sounds very overwhelming, which it did 133 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,400 for me at first. I just picked the busiest nights 134 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,680 and that's usually where we decide to go 1st and then we can 135 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,600 plan the other things from around there's. 136 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:16,640 Planning your meals is a huge one. 137 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,840 That is a huge. It's not only a time saver, but 138 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:24,440 it's also going to cut down on decision fatigue and also save 139 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:26,440 your family money. Wouldn't it be nice to have 140 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,480 $1000 this year because you planned out your meals? 141 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,960 Because we got to eat right? We cannot skip meals. 142 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,160 That's the big thing. Do not let your family skip 143 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,120 meals. Hangry is a word for a reason, 144 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,320 right? So the next one. 145 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,040 OK, so we have talked about planning out your time. 146 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,760 We've talked about planning out your meals and now my favorite, 147 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,560 planning out your money. So this is your bread and 148 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:48,720 butter. That was a bad joke, pun totally 149 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,400 intended, but all right, so this is that 0 based budget using the 150 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,760 Every Dollar app. That's what I use. 151 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:59,640 It has been so helpful for my family to get focused and be 152 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:06,200 able to see things on a almost live basis because I try and 153 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,040 keep that up regularly to see where our spending is, what 154 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:14,200 bills haven't been paid that need to be paid, and see how 155 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,920 close we are staying on track. It helps. 156 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,160 Planning your money will also help you plan for those 157 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,040 irregular expenses. And like I talked about in the 158 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,080 beginning, we do this every single month. 159 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,720 One of our life coaching opportunities is the budget 160 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:29,920 boost Power Hour. We just get together and have 161 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:32,120 some a little bit of training and some slides. 162 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:33,919 And then we work on our budgets together. 163 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:36,799 And that's where we make sure that we keep in mind those 164 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,039 things like birthdays or depending on what time of year 165 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:42,240 it is, maybe it's back to school or maybe it's preparing for the 166 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,080 holidays or those little tiny things that we forget sometimes. 167 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,160 Like, OK, we just finished up the summer. 168 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:54,160 Our electric bill might be a little bit higher than it was, 169 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:55,720 you know, maybe a couple months ago. 170 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,920 So that kind of stuff, making sure that we keep those things 171 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,760 in the forefront of our mind. Then also reviewing your auto 172 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:05,200 pay bills and making sure that those things are taken care of 173 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,480 and they were actually paid. But also if there's anything 174 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,560 that can sneak in there and allow us so that we're like, 175 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:15,680 hey, wait a second, maybe it's a subscription or something that 176 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:18,400 you're not using anymore and so that you can take a peek at 177 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,600 that. So I'd suggest, like I said, the 178 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:24,120 beginning of planning that that budget that you can call a money 179 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,040 date, whatever you want to call it, even if it's just 15 minutes 180 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,240 to look over your money. It's important to have that on a 181 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:34,320 regular basis and be able to get some clarity and look and see 182 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:35,880 what your money looks like for the month. 183 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,600 So every single month that we don't plan our money is when we 184 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,040 fall back into those all the habits that are costing us. 185 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:45,640 So planning is where you tell your money where to go instead 186 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,840 of wondering where it went. So that's another reason why I 187 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,520 created that alliance coaching membership the way that I did. 188 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:56,080 It is an affordable price so that you can get the support 189 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,680 that you need and the guidance that you need and the 190 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:01,400 accountability. But also we're going to be able 191 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,400 to get together and we're going to plan those sessions together. 192 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,320 It's Co working time. There's also going to could be 193 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:11,000 an additional training. So if you want to stop flying by 194 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:16,120 the seat of your pants and just finally get on top of your time, 195 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,840 your meals and your money, come join me inside the Alliance 196 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,560 membership. You can join us at Jewels the 197 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:27,720 Budget nerd.com/membership that's JEWLZ, the Budget 198 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:32,400 nerd.com/membership and grab your seat inside the Alliance. 199 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:35,880 Let's plan next month together before it starts. 200 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:41,040 So don't forget, we're going to plan our time, plan our meals, 201 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,840 and plan our money so that at the end of the month, your 202 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,440 budget will thank you, your calendar will thank you, and 203 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,040 your grocery list. Well, thank you. 204 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:53,000 I hope that this episode was helpful for you and a sneak peek 205 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:58,240 into my process every single month so that my family can 206 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:02,720 continue to stay debt free. But if your family is working on 207 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:04,840 getting debt free, this will help you get there. 208 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,200 All right, talk soon. Thank you for listening to the 209 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,720 Debt Rebel podcast. Now, if you want to take your 210 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,800 next step, check out my website, jewelsthebudgetnerd.com. 211 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,320 That's JEWLZ, the budget nerd.com. 212 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:21,560 I've created a bunch of resources just for you. 213 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,240 So hop on over, check it out and we can connect more there. 214 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,280 If you love today's episode, I would be honored if you would 215 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:30,640 hit that subscribe button and leave me a review. 216 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,200 And remember, every step towards financial independence is a 217 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,720 rebellion against debt. So stay strong, keep pushing 218 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,040 forward, and fight the good fight until next time. 219 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:41,560 Debt rebels stay resilient.