financials: the up's and down's

I think we all have those days, get up, check the bank account and freak out! "What did I buy there?!", "I didn't know the hubby spent that!", "how are we going to pay this bill?"
I think managing your own finances is maybe one of the worst things we have to do as an adult. It can be so frustrating, stressful and sometimes break up marriages :(

When you do have those bills and your income figured out though... ahhh.. life can be so perfect. Well, besides the oatmeal in your hair, dog needing a bath, kids screaming around the house and hubby watching football 24/7... life yes, can be perfect.

John and I have definitely had some mismanagement times. Like where we thought we had more then we did because we forgot about 2 automatic payments that were set to come out. So what did we do? We splurged and went shopping! Oh yes, that was a fun day, but 2 days later seeing we had just $80 in the account... that was not so fun.

To make it easier on us, we've set it up Due Dates with each of the places we owe money to. Half of the bills are due the 1st week of the month, the other half the last week of the month. This definitely helps us since all the bills aren't due exactly at once and we're left with barely anything to live on for the rest of the month.

Just look at some of our bills. Car insurance, medical insurance, hospital bills, oh and lets not forget our first bill from Sprint with all the special sign up fees and connection fees of $234 :). another expense is that we now need to get a home warranty inspection done on the house and see about getting a Florida home warranty which will be of course more money to shell out.

We are definitely happily staying a float and are making ends meet just fine now a days - and yes I say that with the biggest smile since we've have our financial issues to say the least.

One of my favorite times of the year is tax season. I know a lot of people out there hate it but don't have any crazy things to input. Maybe I should be tracking all my receipts and putting them in to get more back but we get a nice return every year without us doing that so it doesn't bother me to lose a a hundred or so dollars.

To make my life just that much more easier I've been using TurboTax since 2004. I absolutely love their Easy form and it's free to use so that made it so more great to use. Since 2004 more things have happened in my life and I cannot use the Easy form any longer but I still use TurboTax and I plan to use it for as long as I possibly can.

Managing your money and finances can be one tough cookie but the key is to find a good rhythm. Find exactly what fits for you and your family.

If you have no idea how to do that (because yes, I know it's easier said then done), go to a financial planner. It may cost you some money but in the long run he/she might save you a ton of money and save you a lot of stress, worry and maybe stop some fights around the house.