Category: Before the Budget

Image by Gemini When I Realized Budgeting Wasn’t the Problem June 1986. I’d just finished six years active duty in the Air Force and started my first civilian job. I should have felt relieved – steady paycheck, benefits, the whole American dream setup. Instead, I was lying awake at night doing math that didn’t add […]

Image by Gemini When every dollar goes to survival, “flexible budgeting” isn’t the answer The $400 Emergency That Wasn’t I remember getting the call from my wife while I was at work. The washing machine had died, and there was water all over the laundry room floor. “How much to fix it?” I asked. “Four […]

Image by Dall E The Lie We Tell Ourselves There’s a phrase I’ve heard countless times, and if I’m honest, I’ve whispered it to myself plenty too: “I’ll start when things calm down.” It sounds so reasonable, doesn’t it? Of course we’ll get to the budget, or the health plan, or the side project—just as […]

Image by Dall E The Shame Kept us Stuck Early in our marriage, my wife and I got some credit cards. We didn’t fully understand the responsibility that comes with having credit cards, and we got ourselves into a deep, deep hole. For months, we lived in shame about it. We felt stupid. Irresponsible. Like […]

Image by Dall E Making Good Money, Still Broke I remember standing at a gas pump, my debit card flashing “DECLINED” on the screen. I tried it again. Same result. What the hell? I was making six figures. Six. Figures. And I couldn’t buy gas to get to work. I sat in my car for […]

Image by Dall E The Whisper We All Hear Ever looked at your bank account, let out a slow sigh, and thought, “If I could just make a little more…”? Yeah, me too. Usually, while standing in front of the fridge trying to decide between eating what we have… or justifying a $37 DoorDash run […]