Ever since I was a little girl, managing finances has been a priority for me. Originally it started out as a mandate from my Dad in order to continue receiving my monthly allowance. Managing finances as a teacher was something I learned after spending way too much money on my classroom. I am passionate about ridding teachers of the guilt that makes you feel like you should spend money on your classroom. You can, but you definitely don’t have to!

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Now managing finances is a weekly priority as my husband and I work to stay out of debt and save for the future that allows us the freedom to spend and give our money as we see fit.

There are lots of different ways you can manage your money, budget your expenses, and save for the future. I’ll share how we do it here. But you can also check out the Master Your Money Super Bundle for more ideas.

Why Budgeting as a Teacher is Important

This topic is near and dear to my heart because I want teachers to feel free with their money! However, so often we feel like it is our duty to spend our hard-earned money on our students.

It’s not a bad thing, but I think it can lead to guilt and burnout. I want to free you from the idea that all your money needs to go back to your students or your classroom and instead give you some ideas and ways to get resources for your classroom without spending your money.

I brought Cody on this episode so we could talk about how we manage our finances. This has been a top priority since before we got married. We didn’t join finances before tying the knot, but we did have a lot of talks and plans in place to set ourselves up for financial peace of mind.

Here is a breakdown of what we talk about in the episode:

The first 15 minutes or so is a little bit of storytelling and getting to know the two of us. I love hearing behind the scenes of people’s lives, but if you’re ready to get to the nitty-gritty, you’ll find that at minute 18!

18:00- Annual Family Meeting and yearly expenditures

23:03- Different Savings Accounts we recommend

29:48- Establishing a Monthly Budget

32:38- EveryDollar, our preferred money management platform

37:48- Recipe for Cody’s Tom Collins drink! 🙂

39:00- How I set up a teaching budget

I’d love for you to have a listen HERE. And I would especially love it if you shared it with your other teacher friends!!!

How to Manage Finances as a Teacher

All the deets are in the podcast so I would suggest to just go listen. But here are the highlights of how to set a budget and stick to it throughout the year.

Annual Family Budget Meeting

We start out each year with an Annual Family Budget Meeting. We usually do this in the week Cody and I both have off work between Christmas and New Years.

The first year we did this it took us two to three hours. This year it took us thirty minutes. I was a little bit disappointed because I love this meeting time but we have gotten so established in knowing exactly what we need, it’s just a quick check-in at the start of a new year.

In this meeting, we talk about all the expected expenses we know we will encounter in the coming year (dog meds, oil changes, HOA fees, etc.). We establish how much we think we need to spend for each item over the course of a year.

Excel adds up alllllll the money we need to budget for the upcoming year, then divides it by twelve. That is the amount of money we set up to auto draft on the first of every month. We never see this money, so we never have a chance to spend it or miss it.

Monthly Budget Meeting

Then, at the end of each month, we look at our budget in EveryDollar and make adjustments based on things happening in our family that month. Things like birthdays, work trips, date nights, hair cuts, etc.

This is what works for us, there are so many other ways out there to budget and manage your money effectively. The Master Your Money Super Bundle has lots of resources in the form of PDFs, courses, and downloadable ebooks to help you figure out the best way to manage money for your family.

During our monthly budget meeting, we also ensure that withdrawals are happening to some of our various savings accounts. I recommend having these bank accounts, at the minimum.

• Family Checking Account (this is where we pay all of our bills from, buy groceries, fill up the car, etc.)
• Annual Savings Account (money gets auto deposited in here at the beginning of each month to pay for yearly expenditures)
• Emergency Savings Account (recommended by Dave Ramsey, this is built up to support us for 3-6 months should we lose our income)
• Fun Savings Account (we auto-deposit money in here each month, this money lets us travel, splurge on a date night, or do anything we deem as FUN!)

Connect with Kelly

Instagram | Facebook Group | TPT

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The Master Your Money Super Bundle is a great resource for any teacher wanting to get their personal finances in order.

If you want to:

• Set up an easy budgeting system you can actually stick with
• Learn proven ways to save money no matter your income
• Take control of debt without feeling overwhelmed
• Find smart ways to grow your family’s income
• Create a clear plan for achieving your financial goals in 2020

Then the Master Your Money Super Bundle is for you! And with 45 resources valued at over $1200, if just a handful are the perfect fit, you know you’re getting an incredible deal! (Hint: This bundle costs just $37!)

I can’t wait for you to get access and master your money right away. Click right here to learn more.

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Until next time,

If you found this helpful, make sure to pin it to your Pinterest board so you can refer back to it or so other teachers can find it!