Your monthly budget should look like this

Good morning 🌞 

First off, thank you to the many friends and family who have helped us out since having Henley. Whether it was an encouraging note, some food, or a cute onesie, we are beyond grateful.

I’m keeping this one short, but we are going to talk budgeting.

I tweeted out that my goal is to pay off my student debt by January 2024.

I’m pretty confident I’m going to hit that goal.

Ever since I graduated and Taylor and I got married, we’ve been very careful to make wise financial decisions.

Here is how we allocate our money every month, in order:

1. 10% - tithe

2. 10% - save

3. Rent, utilities, bills, debt payments

4. Groceries, other necessities

5. Fun money

Have we always stuck to the budget perfectly? No.

But this guide has helped us live our lives in a way that is prayerful and abundant.

We could easily skip the first two and go on a nice vacation every month.

Instead, we are able to give away our first 10% to people and organizations we care about and know are making a difference. Plus, tithing the first 10% of your income is biblical. It allows for our whole life to become a prayer when we sacrifice that first 10%.

Next, we save. I’ve never not saved that 10% since graduating college. This means I never experienced what it was like to have that money as “fun money,” which means I don’t know any different.

When you start saving right away and treat that money like it’s off-limits, you don’t give yourself a chance to live outside of your means.

I’ll be documenting my journey of paying off debt over on X if you’re interested in following along.

God bless,
Mitch and Taylor