{"id":588,"date":"2017-02-02T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/?p=588"},"modified":"2021-01-07T16:35:56","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T21:35:56","slug":"budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget Your Way to Financial Freedom in 5 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When my wife Nicole and I started our marriage, we were $50,000 in debt and spending money like it was our full-time job. &nbsp;I, for one, had no issue going on vacations, driving cars and updating our home all on credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we started thinking about having kids, Nicole and I knew it was time to break our addiction to debt. &nbsp;We knew we needed a plan to master our money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We had heard that developing a monthly budget could help us in eliminating debt, saving more money and reaching our goals. &nbsp;So, we gave it a go. &nbsp;It was rocky at first, but soon it became habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fast forward six years later, we\u2019re debt-free, our net worth has <a href=\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/how-to-increase-your-net-worth-by-700000-in-7-years\/\">increased by $800,000<\/a> and we are <a href=\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/how-to-pay-off-your-mortgage-early-in-10-not-so-easy-steps\/\">mortgage free<\/a>. W<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">e\u2019ve never been happier. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The catalyst for this major change in our lives was creating and sticking to a monthly budget. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpbf-responsive-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Budget your Way to Financial Freedom in 5 Steps\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t7FKPWe2KWQ?start=39&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Here are the 5 steps we took to own our future through budgeting<span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">1. Find Your WAY Through Your WHY<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you start your budgeting process, you need to set out clear objectives by answering some questions. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why are we budgeting? &nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is our purpose? &nbsp;<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Nicole and I decided to have kids, my purpose (or my Why) was clear. &nbsp;I wanted to make sure our kids had the best lives possible \u2013 no students loans to worry about, memorable annual vacations together and parents that didn\u2019t stress about money. &nbsp;Without this \u2018why\u2019, I don\u2019t think I would have ever changed my path. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Pause for a moment here \u2026 Think about your \u201cWhy\u201d for getting on a budget.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &nbsp;<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Outside of saving more money and eliminating debt, what end results are exciting to you? &nbsp;Could you \u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Go on that dream vacation?<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upgrade your car?<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Change into a different career that you love? &nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Give to a charity you feel passionate about? &nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help out a friend in need? &nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vacation more? &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Write down your \u201cWhy\u201d and keep it as a strong reminder as you develop your budget each month.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">2. &nbsp;Level Set with Your Partner<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re married or thinking of getting married soon, share your life and financial goals with your partner and ask them to do the same with you. In order for you to succeed with the budgeting process and stick to it, your partner needs to be on the same page. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you learn about your partner\u2019s goals, write them down and put them together with yours. &nbsp;Sit down on the comfy couch, review the goals and dream about how amazing your lives will be when you achieve them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After that, you\u2019ll be motivated to develop your first budget \u2026 as a team. &nbsp;<\/span><br><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FandyhillMKM%2Fposts%2F243358312758824&width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"502\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><b><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">3. &nbsp;Choose Your Weapon<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re headed into battle without the right weapon, you\u2019re going to get slaughtered. &nbsp;Same goes for budgeting! &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your budgeting weapon can be a piece of paper, an excel form or online programs like Mint, Every Dollar or <a href=\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/ynab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">YNAB<\/a> (You Need a Budget). \u00a0I highly recommend testing out different methodologies to see which weapon feels right in your hands. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our family started with an excel document since we didn\u2019t have a lot of expense categories in the beginning, but then moved over to Mint a few years ago. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019d highly recommend checking out <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/create-your-budget-on-mint-in-10-simple-steps\/\">Mint<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>FREE<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it has a very intuitive app and it syncs up with your accounts to track your spending. We use it and love it. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re not into the online tools, don\u2019t let that stop you from getting started. Grab a piece of paper, write down how much money you make each month and subtract that amount of the money you spend each month. If you don\u2019t know how much you make or spend each month, take advantage of this moment and find out right now. It\u2019ll make a monumental difference in your life. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">4. &nbsp;Create a \u201cBudget Party\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key to success in budgeting is maintaining consistency. &nbsp;You can do this by setting a specific date each month and ensuring both you and your partner will be attentive and engaged. &nbsp;We\u2019re talking about your future here people!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Side note<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2026&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I originally proposed these monthly get togethers to my wife, it took a little convincing. &nbsp;&nbsp;\u201cStaring at the numbers\u201d didn\u2019t sound like the most exciting thing to her. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I knew a name like <em>Budget Meeting<\/em> or <em>Finance Review<\/em> wasn\u2019t going to entice her \u2026 I thought \u201cHey, I\u2019ll call it a <em>Budget Party<\/em>\u201d. &nbsp;Everybody likes a party, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, my wife is pretty smart so she saw right through my naming tricks. She pointed out that looking at spreadsheets and talking about finances didn\u2019t equal a \u201cparty\u201d even though I thought it was super fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We agreed that a little pizza and some wine would definitely make it more party-like. &nbsp;Now it is a running joke that I still call it a &#8220;Budget Party<em>&#8220;<\/em>&nbsp;and she sort of rolls her eyes at me, but it worked because she loves our get togethers now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>I digress<\/em><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>We&nbsp;get together on the 1st of the month and review <\/strong>3 main things<strong>:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Last Month\u2019s Spending<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where are we over budget? <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where are we under budget? <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What areas do we need to adjust for next month?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Current Month\u2019s Plan<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What events do we have (birthdays, weddings, etc)?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What areas do we need to adjust this month (heating bill increases &#8211; curse you Michigan winters!)?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Future Dreams<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do we want to do when this mortgage is gone?<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What trips do we want to go on? &nbsp;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When are we taking the kids to Disney for the first time?<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When can we join that swim club down the street? <\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you have pizza, wine or go on a date out of the house, find a fun way to integrate budgeting into your relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Who knows? You might just like it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">5. &nbsp;Celebrate the Wins<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If saving money and creating an emergency fund is your goal, make sure to celebrate that milestone moment when you hit your goal number. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve made your last student loan payment, go crazy and have a flippin\u2019 party! This is a big deal! Celebrate&nbsp;your victory! &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be very motivating to put a reward out there for yourself when you achieve your personal finance dreams. Nicole and I bought a nice bottle of champagne and put it in the refrigerator to drink on the day we both owned our cars outright with no loans or leases. When we had enough money to make that situation a reality, those bubbles tasted that much sweeter. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And financial victory can also be very addicting. Once you hit one goal, you feel empowered to do a lot more than you ever thought possible. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our next goal is to have our <a href=\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/15-year-mortgage-paid-off-in-5-years\/\">mortgage paid off by December 2017<\/a>. This is something we never even thought was possible when we started budgeting six years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">15-Year Mortgage Paid off in 5 Years <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NewPodcast?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NewPodcast<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sCFOMo258A\">https:\/\/t.co\/sCFOMo258A<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Andy Hill (@AndyHillMKM) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndyHillMKM\/status\/810573034608279552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 18, 2016<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The goals and dreams we will reach next will change our family tree for generations to come. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What financial dreams do you have?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What strategies do you use to help you control your money?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">This post was originally featured on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.financiallyfitandfab.com\/budgeting-financial-freedom\/\">Financially Fit & Fabulous<\/a> on December 30, 2016.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When my wife Nicole and I started our marriage, we were $50,000 in debt and spending money like it was our full-time job. &nbsp;I, for one, had no issue going on vacations, driving cars and updating our home all on credit. When we started thinking about having kids, Nicole and I knew it was time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[68,25,87,119,484],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v22.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Budget Your Way to Financial Freedom in 5 Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When my wife and I started our marriage, we were $60k in debt and spending money like it was our full-time job. Here are the 5 steps we used to take control.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Budget Your Way to Financial Freedom in 5 Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When my wife and I started our marriage, we were $60k in debt and spending money like it was our full-time job. Here are the 5 steps we used to take control.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marriage Kids and Money\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/andyhillmkm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/marriagekidsandmoney\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-02T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-07T21:35:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"828\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Hill\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@andyhillmkm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@andyhillmkm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Hill\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/\",\"name\":\"Budget Your Way to Financial Freedom in 5 Steps\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-02T13:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-07T21:35:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a4bf30f77650978a817d3226b253363\"},\"description\":\"When my wife and I started our marriage, we were $60k in debt and spending money like it was our full-time job. Here are the 5 steps we used to take control.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1\",\"width\":828,\"height\":315},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/\",\"name\":\"Marriage Kids and Money\",\"description\":\"Strengthen your family tree and live financially free.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a4bf30f77650978a817d3226b253363\",\"name\":\"Andy Hill\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56ef4ea3ce7b51a1816e985c696ca6ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56ef4ea3ce7b51a1816e985c696ca6ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andy Hill\"},\"description\":\"Andy Hill, AFC\u00ae is the award-winning family finance coach behind Marriage Kids and Money - a platform dedicated to helping families build wealth and happiness. With millions of podcast downloads and video views, Andy\u2019s message of family financial empowerment has resonated with listeners, readers and viewers across the world. When he's not \\\"talking money\\\", Andy enjoys being a Soccer Dad, singing karaoke with his wife and relaxing on his hammock.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/marriagekidsandmoney\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marriagekidsandmoney\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/andyhillmkm\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/andyhillmkm\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/andyhillmkm\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/marriagekidsandmoney\",\"https:\/\/findanafc.org\/search\/7eWMK1nEmqvx3z8o\",\"https:\/\/www.empower.com\/the-currency\/andy-hill\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/author\/andy-hill\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Budget Your Way to Financial Freedom in 5 Steps","description":"When my wife and I started our marriage, we were $60k in debt and spending money like it was our full-time job. Here are the 5 steps we used to take control.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Budget Your Way to Financial Freedom in 5 Steps","og_description":"When my wife and I started our marriage, we were $60k in debt and spending money like it was our full-time job. Here are the 5 steps we used to take control.","og_url":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/","og_site_name":"Marriage Kids and Money","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/andyhillmkm","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/marriagekidsandmoney","article_published_time":"2017-02-02T13:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-07T21:35:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":828,"height":315,"url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andy Hill","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@andyhillmkm","twitter_site":"@andyhillmkm","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andy Hill","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/","url":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/","name":"Budget Your Way to Financial Freedom in 5 Steps","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1","datePublished":"2017-02-02T13:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-07T21:35:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a4bf30f77650978a817d3226b253363"},"description":"When my wife and I started our marriage, we were $60k in debt and spending money like it was our full-time job. Here are the 5 steps we used to take control.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/budget-your-way-to-financial-freedom-in-5-steps-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1","width":828,"height":315},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/","name":"Marriage Kids and Money","description":"Strengthen your family tree and live financially free.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a4bf30f77650978a817d3226b253363","name":"Andy Hill","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56ef4ea3ce7b51a1816e985c696ca6ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56ef4ea3ce7b51a1816e985c696ca6ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andy Hill"},"description":"Andy Hill, AFC\u00ae is the award-winning family finance coach behind Marriage Kids and Money - a platform dedicated to helping families build wealth and happiness. With millions of podcast downloads and video views, Andy\u2019s message of family financial empowerment has resonated with listeners, readers and viewers across the world. When he's not \"talking money\", Andy enjoys being a Soccer Dad, singing karaoke with his wife and relaxing on his hammock.","sameAs":["https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/marriagekidsandmoney","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marriagekidsandmoney","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/andyhillmkm\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/andyhillmkm","https:\/\/x.com\/andyhillmkm","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/marriagekidsandmoney","https:\/\/findanafc.org\/search\/7eWMK1nEmqvx3z8o","https:\/\/www.empower.com\/the-currency\/andy-hill"],"url":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/author\/andy-hill\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Budget-Your-Way-to-Financial-Freedom-in-5-Steps.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12867,"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions\/12867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}