My Personal Progress with The Stackbacks Budget
About a year ago I created a new budget system to help me control my finances. I simply took the ideas of budgeting, money control, and allowances and combined them into a easy to follow plan. After I used it for a few months, I realized it actually worked. For the first time in my life, I had control of my money.
I was 24 years old and had a great job the tech industry. In the two years I had been working I went from an unpaid internship to a salary I should’ve been able to support a family on. However, my finances stayed the same. I had little savings, and credit card debt continually fluctuated between 6k and 10k. When I really got into the system I had about $8,500 on my credit cards.
First, I put everything in order. I scheduled my bills and gave myself an allowance. I setup small but not minimum payments for my credit cards and auto loan. Everything else just accumulated in my checking account. A couple times I over spent my allowance by a hundred or two. It took 6 weeks for me to figure out what the right amount for me to live on was. Really it was a combination of how much I needed and how to live within my means. After that, things went smoothly, and I almost forgot I was budgeting my money. That was till I checked my balance.
My checking account would always go up and down. I might have a little left over from the previous paycheck, or I might have next to nothing. It was when I logged into my bank and saw I had over $1,000 right before my next paycheck, I realized my budget was actually working.
Within a few short months of setting up my system, I wrote a check to pay off my first credit card. This continued on almost monthly basis. Six months after setting up the system I was free of all my consumer debt. For the first time in my adult life my credit cards didn’t carry a balance. I even paid off my car.
Then it really started working. Living within my means, without any consumer debt, made saving a lot easier. I think this is the most important part. For the first time, I felt like a competent, successful adult. It’s weird to think that money mattered that much in how I looked at myself. It did. As soon as I actually had savings, I felt happy with my finances and my life.
I continued to work, and continued to save, and now I’m taking six months off to work on my own projects. A year later, here I am, still meeting my financial goals, and taking the next 6 months off to work on my passions. Part of that passion is helping other people get what they want out of their money.
I have a lot of new things to share with everyone about how to take control of your finances. I’ve helped a few close friends take control of their money, and it’s surprising how simple it was to get them started. I have learned a lot of things living this system for a year. I have both additions and corrections to make to the plan. I am so excited to get everyone involved.
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