Are you ready to level up your money? This will be an intense budget makeover with a free Bible study, but you can do it.
It’s never easy to budget, especially when you get started. It takes a great deal of self-discipline and dedication, but if you are serious about getting your money right, God can take you far!
My husband and I started getting serious about budgeting in 2021. We went from having about $80,000 in debt to having less than $35,000, which is mostly made up of one student loan. We owe nothing on credit cards now and have actually created an emergency fund!
If you doubt whether you can budget or not, remember that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). That means that if you are hung up on money, you are serving the wrong god. Focus on the God of the Bible. He will supply your needs (Philippians 4:19)!
I can do all things through Him, who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:13
How to Level Up Your Money with a Budget Makeover
Follow these three steps to gain financial freedom and have a budget makeover as you level up your money. You’ve got this! Trust God, and He will lead you as you go along this path.
Step 1 – Analyze Your Money
First, we will dive deep, which might hurt a little bit. It can be hard to face where we are when it comes to our money, but it is necessary to get real and be honest about your spending and income.
Now, let’s learn how to analyze money and prepare finances for a budget makeover.
List Your Variable Categories.
In listing out your variable categories, you can use a worksheet like the one found here: Budget Crush Workbook. As you will see in that workbook’s example, the variable list has already been started for you. Let’s break this down a little bit further.
Step One: Find your categories.
Look at the past 3 to 6 months of spending transactions. You should be able to find this by looking at your bank statements or past receipts. If you are unable to, you could always start fresh right now. Write down all of your expenditures.
List everything you have spent in your savings account, checking account, PayPal account, Venmo account, etc. Check your Amazon spending and any monthly subscriptions you are paying for, too. It might be helpful to keep them on an expense tracker.
Step Two: Determine your categories.
Categorize every variable transaction, such as food, entertainment, etc., as specific as possible. You might want to color-code your transactions as you do this to make it clearer what transaction goes with which category. You could do this with highlighters.
Step Three: Make a list of your variable categories.
Make a list of the categories you will use in a month. See the provided list of possible variable categories for ideas.
List Your Bills.
Determine what your bills are. Use the Budget Crush Workbook to list out your bills and have a monthly checklist to use as you keep track of your payments for each one. There is a “bills list” in that workbook.
To list your bills, make a list of each and every bill (fixed expense) or automatic expense (Netflix, Amazon, pest control, etc.). See the list of bills for ideas. These will be items that do not change much each month.
There is also a Yearly Bill Tracker for free, or use the one in the Budget Crush Workbook.
List Your Income.
Determine your income amounts. Calculate all income from all sources. Subtract about 10% of all income before taxes to give to your local church. The 10% is a tithe you can give to a church. Remember, our money was given to us by our Creator, not by our own efforts.
If you don’t have a church, you can use one that accepts donations online, like Life Church or Crossings Community Church.
You can list all of your income items on the Tip and Side Hustle Tracker if you wish and find it helpful to do so.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. – Proverbs 16:3
Step 2 – Create a Budget
In this step, we will look at how to create a budget based on the lists that you made yesterday.
Determine Your Budgeted Amounts.
To get an estimate of your spending in each category, calculate the total amount you spent per month per category or bill.
Then, estimate how much you think you need to spend in each category each month. This is your budgeted amount per category, but make sure you aren’t allocating more to spending than you are earning.
To determine your actual variable amount (how much you have to spend in each category each month), take your total income after tithing and subtract the total of your bills. Divide this amount proportionally amongst your variable categories based on the estimates you just made.
What If I Spend More Than I Make?
If your actual variable amount is already zero or negative, you need to reexamine things or look into getting a side hustle, side job, or a full second job. If it is more than zero, you can move on to the next step. See the list of possible side hustles you could try.
If you are still struggling, ask yourself what areas you are spending too much unnecessary money on. Adjust amounts so that your total is greater than zero. You want to have a leftover amount to put into a savings account for emergencies.
Another idea is to change companies that you currently work with. For example, there might be a cheaper pest control company or bank that you could use to save money. Additionally, there are many free resources that can replace subscriptions, such as that found at a public library.
There are also numerous government resources to help with medical costs and food. Likewise, there are food banks and churches that have food pantries for those in need. You can cut coupons and follow sales, as well.
Put It All Together.
Now, put all of the pieces together using the monthly undated budget found in the Budget Crush Workbook. After completing the income portion and subtracting the bills and variable amounts, put any remainder amount into your savings account.
You should now have a clear picture of your finances and have a budget that makes sense. What a budget makeover already!
In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. – Proverbs 16:9
Step 3 – Set Everything Up
At this time, we will set everything up for your budget makeover and finances. I use a binder to separate my various categories, such as Budget, Net Worth, Debt Overview, Check Register, etc. Use what helps you the most in this regard.
Complete your bill list.
You now have a bill list to check off each month as the bills come in. Add the due date for each bill to this list. It will help you make sure you pay each bill on time and know what to expect during the month.
Use a monthly calendar.
Print a blank monthly calendar. Complete it for the next month. Put each bill on the calendar with the amount that is due. Also, include your paychecks. Plot each item on the day it comes in or out of your bank account or when it is due. Your bill list and income list should help with this.
This will help you see if you will have the funds available when a bill comes out automatically. For example, if you do not have enough money to pay your pest control company on the day that that bill comes out, you should call them to switch the date of that withdrawal.
Pay everything on time.
Make sure you will have the funds you need when bills come out. The calendar will help you here. If you get paid on the 21st of the month and rent comes out on the 1st, you will want to “carry” part of your paycheck from the 21st over to the next month so you can pay your rent.
Set up your check register and envelopes.
Check Register—You should print 2-4 copies, depending on how much you spend per month. (In this example, we will focus only on your checking account. If you have PayPal, savings accounts, or other investments, you should do this with those accounts as well).
Envelopes – (You can write these on scrap paper, try adopting the envelope system using actual envelopes, or use a free smartphone application for this). Add your actual budgeted amounts per variable category to the top of the page next to the variable category name.
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have because God said, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5
Free Level Up Your Money Budget Makeover Bible Study
Grab your copy of this Free 3-Day Level Up Your Money Bible Study below.
Free Level Up Your Money Budget Makeover Bible Study
More Free Level Up Your Money Budget Makeover Resources
There are many forms available at no charge at Sharing Life and Love.
If you would like further lessons on how to do the Budget Mom’s Budget by Paycheck system, here is her Getting Started Guide.
Keep in mind that we are not financial experts. This has been a short demonstration of a few basics to get your budget makeover started. For additional help, we recommend the Budget Mom.
For spiritual resources and enrichment, check out our category: Spiritual Growth.
Conclusion
As you have now learned how to level up your money with a complete budget makeover, I must ask, how do you feel? It’s liberating to take control of your finances and know where you are putting the funds that God has entrusted you with, right?
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. – Matthew 6:24
