"Helpdesk!"

Let me be your financial "helpdesk", let me show you why:

Teenage/College Years:

• My mom taught me how to balance a checkbook when I was a teenager, I think that when this all started.
• I was that crazy roommate who kept track of EVERY penny.  I was in charge of divvying up and paying the bills.  
• I had free tuition for the first 2 years. But I worked and paid for everything (but tuition) out of my own pocket.
• I transferred to a University, where tuition quadrupled, and was no longer free.  I worked my butt off  so I could graduate with no debt.  I worked nights and 16 hour dayshifts to have enough to pay out-of-pocket for my education.

Married Life:

• We got married and paid off my husband's student loans with the cash people gave us.  No money went to our pockets, but we started our marriage debt-free.
• We bought a house for $160,000 at the bottom of the 2008 housing crisis, flipped it and made $200,000. (over the span of 8 years)
• My husband went to school full-time,. with a few odd jobs and I supported him financially through his education.  He graduated with a $7,000 student loan that we paid off 3 months after he graduated.
• We did the Dave Ramsey FPU class in 2013, I helped moderate it.  We stuck with that budget for awhile, but wanted more.
• My friend talked us into signing up for something called 101 Financial in 2017, huge waste of money -- like we spent $3,900 with a guarantee to "pay off your house quick".  Biggest financial regret yet.  We did the math (it took many late nights to figure it out), and their systems did not get us ahead like they promised.
• There was no way I was going to spend another dime on a financial anything.  We ended up adapting the very basic spreadsheet from Financial 101 (not $3,900 worth) to use as our budgeting system. This Julie's create-your-own-budget is a mashup from the spreadsheet from 101 Financial, Dave Ramsey's advice, and things I've learned online and through friends.

Current Situation:

• We currently have a 30 year mortgage on our house.  
• We live debt free (other than the house).  We have a credit card, but pay it off every month.  
• We are saving for retirement, and our kids college education.  
• We save money each month, we budget each week.  
• My husband and I currently have a great financial working relationship - which is always a work in progress.

So with that run down, I do know how to get stuff done, and do it well.  I still have "financial fluctuations".  If you call it a failure or mistake you get the shame and guilt to go along with it.  I readjust to make it all work out, cause it always does.  I also know how it is to disagree financially with your partner, and how to figure out how to be on the same page.

Call me your helpdesk,  I know I can help you!