Managing Your Finances

Thank you to TurboTax for sponsoring my writing about household finances.Learn more about how TurboTax can help you find every tax deduction you deserve. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Managing your finances is something that every family strives to do. I think in these times it is especially hard since so many people are out of work. Even Bill's company has done layoffs, and they weren't based on seniority. It is definitely a time that puts everyone on edge, because from day to day, you don't know if your husband, your friends, or if your other family members are going to keep their jobs.

That being said, there are certain things you can do to help manage your finances. Something that has worked well for my family is that we hid money from our ourselves. I use a program on my computer to balance my checkbook. What I have done is that for our savings account on there, I've created “fake” accounts. For example, I have a “Christmas/Vacation Fund”, a “Tuition” fund (this pays for Madison's Catholic school tuition), car insurance fund, homeowner's insurance fund, and even a “TV” fund. I know, what's a TV fund. We don't buy big ticket items (like Bill's big screen tv that's downstairs) without having the money first. What we do is hide the money in our savings account and take the free financing. In the meantime, we are collecting interest on this money (plus it is available to use in an emergency situation).

Something else we do is charge everything. I know — you are screaming “WHAT!!??!!”. The key to this is being able to pay off these credit card charges every month. The reason we charge everything we can is because 1% of whatever we charge is taken off the principal of our mortgage. We do nothing — it automatically gets transferred there in $25 increments. This is better than any cash back or point system we've ever used. We slowly are paying down our mortgage doing something that we would have done anyway. We even charged the new siding we put on our house last year!

Every family has to do what works for them. Not everybody is able to hide money from themselves and NOT spend it. We are able to, and that has helped my family manage our finances. What do you do?

Lisa Martin

In April 2006, Lisa began blogging to stay connected with distant relatives and friends. As she delved into blogging, she discovered the potential to assist others by sharing her experiences. Lisa has actively engaged in numerous exclusive media ventures. Notable among these are her participation in events such as the Sony Mommy Bloggers Event, the Pampers Mommy Bloggers Event, the Epson Event in Chicago, the Stouffers Event, a memorable yacht excursion with Lands End, collaborations with 1-800-Baskets, an exclusive tour for bloggers by Mrs. Prindable’s, partnerships with Hallmark, PopCap games, Chicago Cubs Mastercard Priceless Events, and Rug Doctor. In addition, she has collaborated with Nutrisystem on a weight loss initiative, teamed up with Buick and Chevy, and served as a brand ambassador for Sprint. Lisa's collaboration portfolio also extends to Disney, where she has participated in press trips for significant movies such as Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy, McFarland USA, The Good Dinosaur, The BFG, and Cars 3. Notably, for projects like Frozen, The BFG, and Cars 3, she was granted the privilege of walking the red carpet and conducting interviews with celebrities. The impact of Lisa's blog has gained recognition, with The New York Times referencing her content. Moreover, she has been featured in interviews by respected publications such as the Southtown Star, The Chicago Sun Times, and inside.

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. JenHopkins

    Managing your finances is something you must take seriously and give some time to think about your decisions.

  2. courtney

    Great post! ! 🙂 Thanks for the info!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.