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- It's the easiest step because it's a $1,000.
Now, it may seem overwhelming to you,
but it doesn't have to be, okay?
Look at your budget, go to the last few episodes
when we talk about budgeting, cut some stuff out, it's great.
You can get $1,000 really, really quickly,
but it's the hardest step
because it means that you are changing,
you are changing the way you are dealing with your money,
you are changing the way you are viewing your money.
I mean, everything is about to change,
and no one likes change.
Change is uncomfortable. Change is hard.
It's not always fun, but there was a moment for me
where that change happens, and I talk about it
in Financial Peace University.
So, I want you guys to take a look. Here it is.
All right, confession.
I am a spender, and I hated budgeting.
That's right. Some of you probably just, like, fell
out of your seats that Dave Ramsey's daughter
hated budgeting, but it's the truth.
It is just not naturally what I'm good at.
I'm kind of, like, not great at details,
and just the idea of budgeting was always so hard
for me to grasp.
I actually could understand it,
but doing it is what was difficult,
and I can even remember when Winston and I,
my husband, when we were engaged,
we went to premarital counseling,
and even our premarital counselor said,
"You guys should do a mock budget together."
I was like, "How much did my dad pay you to say that?"
Because I was like, "Oh my gosh, I know we need to,
just doing it is so hard."
And so when Winston and I got married,
we didn't budget.
We didn't budget for like the first six months
of our marriage, and then finally one day,
Winston came to me, and he was like,
"Rachel, we need to do a budget together."
And I just remember thinking,
"Ugh, you're one of those, aren't you?"
But I was like, "Okay, I know, I know I need to.
We need to do this together.
Just doing it like, ugh."
I was like, "Okay, let's do it."
So I remember we sat down in our little condo
that we were living in, at a kitchen table,
and we did our first month's budget,
and, you guys, it was a disaster.
Like, it was terrible.
I think we budgeted $50 for food, or something,
for the whole month. Like, it was so bad.
The second month, I remember it got a little bit better.
We learned from our mistakes.
We went, okay, let's adjust these categories,
but it was still a little rough.
The third month, it actually started working,
so much so that we were like,
"Oh my gosh, this is great.
This is what living on a budget feels like.
This is amazing."
And Winston and I are not perfect with money,
but I can confidently tell that we've done a budget
pretty much from that point ever since,
so much so that a budget became a part of our life
that we took a trip to Florida one year before we had kids.
It was kind of our last big hurrah,
and we are flying down to Florida,
and Winston looked over at me in the plane,
and he was like, "Hey, Rachel, listen,
I want you to relax on this trip.
I don't want you to worry about anything.
So, you don't have to think about the budget at all,
and you can just spend money."
Mmm hmm,
yes, he did, yes, he did.
And I was like, "Wait, what?"
I was like, "For real?
I don't think about the budget,
and I can just spend money?"
He was like, "Yeah, I mean, if you're bumping up
against the trip budget, I'll let you know,
but yeah, just enjoy."
I gave him the biggest kiss in the world.
I was like, "Babe, you're letting me live in my strengths.
Like, this is what I'm good at."
And I remember we got down to Florida,
checked into our hotel, went out by the pool,
and it was one of those pools where, like, waiters
and waitresses, like, walk around,
and you can order drinks and food
to your seat at the pool. It was awesome.
And so this waitress walked by, and I was like,
"Hey, ma'am, do you guys have guacamole?"
And she was like, "Oh, yeah, sure."
I was like, "Oh, I'd love some, thank you."
So she brings it, I'm eating it, it's delicious,
and I was getting thirsty, so I asked her then,
"Can I have a menu to look at the drinks?"
So when I opened the menu,
the first thing I see is appetizers,
I was like, "Oh." And I see chips and guacamole, $23.
Mmm hmm.
$23! I was like, "Did the avocados fall from heaven?"
Like, what makes guacamole $23?
I was like, "It's okay, Rachel.
Just spend the money, just spend the money."
So then I go down, and I see drinks,
and I see a lemonade. I was like, "Oh, that's great."
In my head, I thought, "That's what I want to order."
And I look over, $18.
Mmm hmm.
$18! I thought, "What, this is crazy."
And at that moment, the waitress was right in front of me,
and she said, "Okay, what would you like to drink?"
And I just had this battle going on inside of me,
and I remember thinking, "Rachel, just spend the money.
Spend the money. Like, go back to your roots.
Go back to who you were."
And I looked at her, and I said,
"I'll take the lemonade, please."
And she brought it over, and I took a sip,
and I was like (sips), "Well, that was $1.50."
And in that moment,
I started spiraling, I started freaking out,
because in my head I was like,
"I just spent so much money on pool snacks
that tonight at dinner, we can't get an appetizer.
We're going to have to go Walgreens
and buy granola bars for breakfast.
Like, what have I just done?"
And I was just panicking,
and in that moment, I realized, I was not panicking
because of all the crazy expensive prices
at the hotel, even though it was ridiculous, I know.
But I realized in that moment that this was the first time
at that point in years that I felt so out of control
with my money, that I had no clue where my money was going,
and that's the moment I realized
that a budget does not limit your freedom,
a budget gives you freedom.
A budget gives you permission to spend.
So I'm telling you guys,
this is going to completely change the way
you handle money because you're going to have control,
but if you've never done a budget before,
give it three months to get into a rhythm
because it's going to take some time.
Winston and I totally are a testimony to that.
It takes about three months,
and you also will realize that money is relational.
You have to do this with your spouse,
or if you're single, find a friend
who is good at money,
who can look over your budget with you.
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