Crisis-proof your budget
by Crown Financial Ministries


When Paula Bliss divorced her husband six years ago, she hit the Dallas department stores to buy what amounted to a single-parent survival kit: work clothes, bed, sofa, toaster oven, vacuum cleaner. The purchases totaled $2,600, and her credit card payments added up to $100 per month— much more than the single mother of one could afford. Says Bliss, "It took me three years to pay off those debts."

She’s not alone. The Consumer Federation of America estimates that some $374 billion in credit card balances were "revolved" at the end of 1996, meaning that the charges hadn’t been paid off and were incurring interest.

Although many of these charges stem from overspending, some of them occurred when people found themselves in a money crunch and used credit cards to bail out. If this problem plagues your budget, use some short-term planning to keep the plastic in your wallet.

Money in and money out
Use creativity to boost income and lower expenses. Think part-time jobs, yard sales, home sharing, car pools, food budgets, and paper routes for the kids.

Utilities
By averaging utility costs over one year, you can set aside money in low-use months to offset your bills in high-use months. See if your utility company will allow you to pay an averaged amount for each month of the year. Then you’ll always know the level of your monthly bill, and peak usage months won’t break your budget.

Clothing, medical, and dental
These costs usually occur on an irregular basis. Without the right amount of reserves, you’ll find yourself turning, once again, to credit. To avoid this, set aside an average amount for clothing, medical, and dental costs each month. Base the amount on how much you spent the year before and how much you expect to spend in the coming year.

Vacations
Establish a vacation budget for the year and divide that amount by 12 to determine what you should save monthly.

Appliances
If you’ve ever owned a dishwasher or clothes dryer that suddenly quit working, you probably got a shock when you went to the store and saw how much prices had increased since the last time you purchased one. Short-term planning—savings devoted to unforeseen financial crises—can help you avoid appliance sticker shock.

Automobiles
Because sudden repairs can catch you off guard, set aside something each month for car maintenance and replacement.

Getting out of debt
After your "emergency fund" contains at least a few hundred dollars, concentrate on paying off your smallest credit card debts. Then take the money you used to pay off the small ones and attack the larger ones. This process can take a long time, but it’s worth it.

Just ask Paula Bliss. Last April, her savings helped replace her 10-year-old Pontiac. "My emergency fund kept me away from credit cards," she says. "God has used my savings to do things I never would have dreamed."


Single-Parent Family magazine, January 1999, Focus on the Family. Used by permission.

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Elaine

This is all very good advice. However, I have no extra money to put aside for emergencies. Because I am a mother of three children (one who is handicapped), I feel strongly that it is the will of God for me to be at home raising my children. I work freelance as a legal assistant from time to time to bring in a little extra cash as long as I can be home in time to be there for my children getting off the school bus. My handicapped child receives a Social Security check but I rarely see a child support check. Therefore, I have been on Medicaid and Food Stamps for the past 10 years since my ex walked out. I had hoped to be off government aid by now but I am still struggling to make ends meet. I don't know what the answer is but it would be nice if Child Support Enforcement actually did their job. Because of my strong conviction to be home with my children, it seems that I will either be on govt aid until my kids are grown or perhaps will find a husband who will be a provider for me and my kids. I'm sure there are many women in circumstances similar to mine thanks to no-fault divorce and the decline of morals. It seems that divorced single moms are the poorest of the poor.

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Married in 1987 - Divorced in 1999
3 children - Oliver(11) Lydia(12) Spencer(14)*
*Has cerebral palsy
Psalm 34:18 - The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart

Yeah, I'm with you. Crown does a great job with financial planning for people living normal lives. (Emphasis on the words "planning" and "normal"!) The reason for this is that their concepts are based on pre-planning for a crisis before it happens, so you've already got money stashed to the side waiting to take care of it.

How many married women plan for getting divorced? The idea is laughable. When we're married, we plan to stay married. And if we do set aside any money for a crisis situation, it's OUR money, not MY money. So if divorce pops up, the "crisis money" falls in with all the other money ready to be divided according to the judge's timing and inclination. Translation: When divorce comes, you have no money. Not even your crisis money! It's all in the till, awaiting dispersement.

The article made this statement: "Although many of these charges stem from overspending, some of them occurred when people found themselves in a money crunch and used credit cards to bail out. If this problem plagues your budget, use some short-term planning to keep the plastic in your wallet." This is a complete contradiction in terms. If "this problem (money crunch) plagues your budget," it's too late for "short-term planning!" The crisis is already here!

What I'd really like is to hear from other ladies about what worked for you financially when you found yourself in the crisis. The article did mention finding creative ways of bringing in money, and also mentioned utility averaging which are both good things to do. Me, I started stuff on eBay and began to sell crocheted scarves. It helped, some. What have some of you other ladies done to help conquor the money crunch?

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Cheryl

Married twice, divorced twice, same guy.
No kids; two dogs who THINK they're kids.
Getting close to reaching my "new life" but not quite there yet.

Gee I'm remarried and we still have our hard times!! I think its the times we live in, too.

When I was divorced I had my daycare business that provided well enough for me and my 3 sons. It did finally don on me it was time to move on, so I had to pound the pavement and got a high paying nanny job. All was well for a time but then things happen (car problems, sending a son to college, death etc) and if you don't have a savings, you're shot. I've always survived...and I am thankful for that. It is getting a bit old however, as I approach my so called "golden years" and I have yet to see my "ship come in". Oh well, this is my lot in life...

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53, m22Yrs, 3 sons, Divorced 10 yrs, ReMarried 2/02, 2 adult step-daughters. SAHM to 1 dog and 2 cats!


Joel 2:25 "God will repay you for the years the locust have eaten"

I know I am out here without a safety net.
While X was very generous in the settlement and God has provided well short-term (able to meet those little extras that keep popping up) I hnow have no health insurance and no retirement money. And no job or training.

The support payments are only for ten years and by then I must be able to take care of myself. Most terrifying is the no medical insurance. If I get sick ...

I do try to put some by (my Hid account which is money in the checking account but hidden from the total in my check register by transferring it to a second register) but even that is at $0 at the moment.

I know I will be all right - God will provide (though like our little kids at Christmas, I could wish for more) but I feel time pressing on me.

I like Cheryl's idea of eBay - a can knit, crochet, quilt - but need a second bank account, double blind credit card or something before I am willing to put banking info on the internet. And my bank has no clue about these things so have to go shopping for another bank - with no car since dau#1 is using it for work.

Sounds more negative than I feel, but there is an element of fear.

ElizaBeth

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married 30 years; daughter #1 + grandson;
daughter #2 + granddaughter; 1 big dog; various cats

I'd rather be at the beach

ElizaBeth,

eBay endorses PayPal because it IS a safe "double-blind" sort of system. It's like PayPal is a bank all it's own. When you set up PayPal, it will need a deposit from your bank. But to make sure it is YOU (the account owner) requesting the withdrawal from your bank, they will send a deposit to your bank of a few cents. You have to go to your bank account, find out exactly how many cents they deposited, and then report back to them what amount it was. Once they have guaranteed that you are the account owner in this way, then they will process the actual withdrawal from your bank account into your PayPal account. Then, you can make all your eBay purchases (or selling) by using the PayPal account. You can also set PayPal up to use your normal credit card... again the PayPal account acting as a buffer between your eBay transaction and your credit card information. That way, the only place that has your real bank account and credit card information is PayPal, and not every Tom, **** or Harry that buys and sells on eBay. Check it out!

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Cheryl

Married twice, divorced twice, same guy.
No kids; two dogs who THINK they're kids.
Getting close to reaching my "new life" but not quite there yet.

I agree with everyone. I have little to put away. When I do get a large refund tax check I try so hard to use it for rainy days and save it but more often than not we dno't make a enough to live on throughout the year so little by little I end up using it for living expenses. It's true most of us don't plan on a catastrophic event like a divorce or death of a spouse. I guess if you make enough while you are married to put away for emergencies you should -but even when I was married we didn't make very much and my ex was terrible with money (spent every cent he could or charged up the cards). So there was never anything to stash. sigh. I just know I am very tired of living in financial distress so really make that my resolution to get a degree and a decent job so like isn't so financially tough.

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Elaine

Oops forgot. I wanted to commissurate with a few ladies on these issues. I also have no health insurance going on 8 months now. The company I do medical records transcription doesn't offer it (IC status). to change jobs in this field affects income because we are paid on production. It's takes awhile to get up to a speed with a new company - so I can ill afford a pay cut to swtich to a company that has insurance right now. It's a frustarting situation. One that is prompting me to drop my nursing track and consider going back into banking (starting out as a teller -which I used to do) and getting a business degree online. At least in banking they offer insurance and 401k even if the pay isn't that great The hours are usually good. The problem is I am in Michigan, which has the HIGHEST unemployment rate and there are simply NO jobs around here. It I rented i would relocate immediately but I own a home so I am stuck like eveyone else with homes that will not sell. Yikes.
Things are tough.

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Elaine

Elaine,
Do you qualify for medicaid? In OH, I qualified while I was a grad student and when I started out as a receptionist. I was disqualified when I remarried. My children still qualify, thank goodness. I don't know what the laws are in MI, but if you haven't alreay, it might be something worth checking into. Most states have a program for the uninsured.

(((hugs)))

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Lisa D
age 40; Married 1991, Divorced 2000; moved from TX to OH/WV; Remarried 2003; 2 children, ages 12 & 13; 2 stepsons, ages 20 & 25; 2 weenie dogs, 3 hamsters, 1 betta fish

Wow, it was enlightening to see that I am not the *only* one feeling like the money issues looms over my head.

I do have an income, as my child is disabled (DS), and so we receive a check. I know I could qualify for at least food stamps, if I could make it in to apply. Many of you know how difficult it is to jump through the hoops they require...and without transportation? I'm just going to have to budget very carefully, prepare a menu and stick with our NEEDS when shopping.

I've lived alone before, for short periods of time, and I know I can do it.

Quote:

I know I will be all right - God will provide (though like our little kids at Christmas, I could wish for more) but I feel time pressing on me.

I totally get this...lol I feel bad sometimes for wanting MORE! He has provided...He always has, and I know He will not drop me on my head now.

Quote:

Sounds more negative than I feel, but there is an element of fear.

I think this is a constant in my life, even though I make a concerted effort to be UNafraid. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He provides for me.

I haven't had a job in years. The last one I had, I had to quit because my son (who is safe when left alone for a couple of hours tops) enjoys dialing 9-1-1 and chatting up the cops. No more of that! CPS was called in...it was pretty terrifying.

If I get a job it will have to be an at-home one, and I've seriously considered medical transcription, but I don't know quite how to go about becoming educated in that area. And that's another thing...if I get any more education, it will have to be via the internet. Now we're talking money again.

Bit of a vicious cycle.

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"It's NOT all about me!"

Anna,
Do you have anyone in your church you could ask for transportation needs? Friend? Deacon? Pastor? Sometimes, we have to swallow pride and...gulp...ask for help. I didn't like doing that, but I became so overwhelmed that I was forced to...and my church family was more than happy to help.

How old is your son? Is he school age?

I'm thinking there was an agency in TX that helped women receive employment training and job placement. I don't remember if it was through the welfare office or through the United Way...but I do remember at least receiving free counseling through the United Way in Montgomery County. You might check into that...and they would at least be able to direct you to the resources available.
(((hugs)))

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Lisa D
age 40; Married 1991, Divorced 2000; moved from TX to OH/WV; Remarried 2003; 2 children, ages 12 & 13; 2 stepsons, ages 20 & 25; 2 weenie dogs, 3 hamsters, 1 betta fish

Hey, Lisa!
Timmy is 19 years old. Too old for daycare, and though I've looked into many options (for years), I have not yet found any kind of day program that would take him. There is one that is quite local, but their expense is rather exorbitant.
As far as rides, I asked a lady friend from church last week and she was (as you said) more than happy to oblige. She sent her husband. lol It was ok, because he and Timmy are best buds. It may have been uncomfortable for me, but it was a great outting for Tim. He had a blast. They sat in the car and listened to music till I got finished shopping.
Plus now I will be living just blocks from church and everything else I "need", and also from that dear friend.
Thanks for your suggestions!
Rebecca

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"It's NOT all about me!"