is to establish a baby emergency fund of $1000. The idea is to set aside this cash so that if a genuine emergency were to arise, you don't have to resort to credit to cover your bum. This is huge for me. I can't tell you how many times I whipped out the credit card when I was handed a $400 car repair bill. Why did I do that? I can't explain it, but every time there was an expense of a couple hundred or more, I seized up and panicked by using a credit card. After realizing what this has done to our finances, I am embarrassed for doing it. Now, we've got this small emergency fund to fall back on while we start Baby Step #2 - paying off our debt with the Debt Snowball!We've also started trying to use a budget spreadsheet to keep track of our spending. I keep every reciept and a couple times a week, I am entering our spending into the corresponding categories. It's a little horrifying to see where every single dollar is going. How is it that you never really notice where you're spending your money when going about the normal day? If I were to take a guess, I'd say we're going to find our spending is all out of whack this first month. Through some trial and error, I'm sure we'll figure it out. Stay tuned for our progress!
Is anyone else attempting to undergo a Total Money Makeover or have you already succeeded? What step are you on? Which step did you find most difficult? Most exciting?
