1. Make a budget.
I know, I know, you’ve heard it before. But seriously: Make that budget. Work out exactly how much money your family is bringing in, and where that money needs to go, before you figure out how much is left over. Using a personal finance app like Mint can be helpful, or creating an Excel spreadsheet if you’re a whiz kid at that sort of thing. Personally, I like to stick to the basics: A pen, paper, and a calculator. Whatever works best for you, though — just sit down with your spouse and hash it out.
2. Use “The Envelope System.”
This was a sage piece of wisdom from my father-in-law, who swore by this system when he was a young, newly married Marine. He sat down with my husband and I one day, and told us all about this simple but vital trick for navigating our finances as a young couple.
Essentially, it involves creating a budget (see above), and then allocating all the money that isn’t going towards debt into different categories — kind of a secondary budget. We’d have categories like “groceries,” “pets,” “haircuts” — dat Marine life, though! — and so on, and then of course the holy grail: “Blow Money.” This was a chunk that my husband and I both gave ourselves to buy silly, everyday things, from energy drinks to new clothes. All this money was to be taken out in cash and put into an envelope in separate sections for each.
The premise is, if you have actual, hard cash to spend, you’re likely to spend less money. And I’m telling you: It works.
3. Chop up those credit cards.
You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life, dude. Or the allure. Just say goodbye — Remember, it’s not you, it’s them.
4. Prioritize bonuses.
If you get tax returns, work bonuses, or any other surprise chunk of money hurled your way — ah, wouldn’t that be lovely? — then prioritize how you utilize them. Vacations are nice, new furniture is great, and fancy schmancy date nights are important — but if you’re getting a wad of cash, put it somewhere useful (i.e. on that darn credit card). It might suck for now, but it’ll pay off in the long run, when you’re debt-free and able to use your well-earned stacks to treat yo’self.
5. Be strategic.
“Pay off the biggest debts first.” “Pay off more than the minimum.” You’ve heard these nuggets of wisdom a trillion times, I’m sure, but it will really help. When budgeting, make sure you plan to use these strategies: Paying $200 rather than the minimum $100, for example, and prioritizing the loan with the mad interest rate rather than the one with the lowest. Sticking to the classic rules is crucial, and it’ll literally pay off big time in the future.
6. Sell your junk!
What have you got lying around that you could sell? Most cities, and most military bases, have great online selling communities. Craigslist and Bookoo are great, but also searching Facebook for local yard sale sites is a must: Plus, using sites where you can see a little more info about the person you’re buying/selling from takes a little bit of the sketch-factor out of things. Don’t charge too high — I’ve seen people trying to flog moldy old couches for hundreds of dollars before, and that’s not cool. Forget how much you paid for the item, to an extent, and be realistic about how much you could make on it. The main thing is that you’re getting a little cash for something you’re not using, and if you’re selling multiple items, the dollars will quickly add up.
