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Start – Stop – Keep

July 3, 2024 Hi loyal Project Money followers, As we continue to learn new things on our financial journey of so many lessons, self-reflections, and “aha” moments, we want to take some time to share with you how we are feeling and sum it up with some helpful information and tips that we started this month. As the journey continues, we will keep these tips as checkpoints on how they are working or not working in our lives. Feeling completely overwhelmed, to say the least, has never left since we first started this program. We are very seasoned in the way of thinking to say, “Hey we tried it, it didn’t work, let’s move to something else.” This journey has shown that the evolution of financial management is a cycle of ups and downs, loops and turns, stops and stalls. We really have to be intentional with our goal setting and stick to the plan. Which always seems to fall back on the old saying “easier said than done”. But here is a glimpse of what we consider our “Start, Stop, and Keeps.”Start:
  1. Sit down and write out your living expenses. We have been working on the monthly budget worksheet on Summit’s website. This has helped us stay organized with prioritizing those needs (rent, cell phone, internet - yes, a need since Je’Lisa works from home). After that, pull in a budget for food, dining out, entertainment, and self-care. Really working through Maslow’s hierarchy here, haha.
  2. Write out all your credit card or loan payment balances. Arrange in order from smallest balance to highest balance. Put the most of what is left over from your salary minus your needs toward the smallest loan balance (Or whichever has the highest interest rate). You choose.
  3. Set goals for those wants. For us, it was saving for a family vacation and a family home. We worked with Mee (our financial coach) to set up additional subsidiaries where we can give those accounts a nickname and give them a purpose. Subsidiary = savings accounts.
Stop:
  1. Trying to make it all perfect. Everything will work out; you just have to keep doing what has worked well and make adjustments for what is not working. We tried a suggestion to meal prep – fix one or two meats for the week but then make different sides. Now, we have two very picky eaters, and we found ourselves spending more money dining out just for the kids, which wasn’t an enjoyable experience. But we made an adjustment, we made bigger meals that our children love that would last three days at most, and we did save big on our grocery bill!
  2. Stop giving into those instant urges. Je’Lisa went on a girls’ trip to Texas. Instantaneously, she got the urge to shop for a new wardrobe. Was it necessary? Not really. She was able to budget for a few items for the trip and still have a good time and look good while doing it! Also, she brought back at least half of the attire unworn. Which is a typical trend, but spending big for clothes you have not worn is simply not in the budget or closet space.
  3. Don’t be afraid to make an adjustment that works best for you and your family. Really determine what is best for your family dynamic and tackle your goals together that way.
Keep:
  1. Well, we definitely will be keeping up with the budget worksheet tools. Especially that daily tracking worksheet! It has shown us how many times we just swipe and not track things that do have a big impact on our budget.
  2. Having fun. Sharing our journey and tips with family and friends. It feels good to hear how many around us want to also start working with a financial coach.
Below are some direct links to the tools we have trialed this month. Think about which money management tool works best for you! You might also be interested in As we wrap up our Project Money experience, we want to take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come—emotionally and financially—and share our journey... This past week, our family participated in a door and patio decorating contest hosted by our apartment management company. The grand prize? A $200 gift... Over the past year, my family has been making deliberate choices to save money and focus on our financial goals. One of those decisions recently involved... As we approach the end of our journey with the Project Money program, Cory and I (Je’Lisa) took some time to reflect on how we can apply the financial... Every now and then, life throws a financial curveball—in this case, it was a pleasant surprise. We received a refund from our gap insurance since our car... This week, we faced an unexpected hiccup with our insurance: A doctor charged us for a 2023 appointment because they had outdated information. It was frustrating... Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, family and of course, a feast. But let’s be honest, hosting a traditional Thanksgiving can come with a hefty price... This weekend, we decided to take a quick overnight trip to Minnesota. It was to record some music and spend time with friends, but we were determined to... This month marked a milestone for our family: It was our first month without a car payment after refinancing our vehicle through Summit Credit Union. With...
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