Budgeting with EEBA

This Thursday is a big day for me. Drum roll please.... Thursday I will be debt free!! That's right, in only four long short years, I will have paid off my student loans. It's been a long process of never seeming to have much expendable income, and some years I've put more effort into it than others, but I'm here at last! Ironically, I plan on going out and blowing a bunch of cash to celebrate...

I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan and I love a lot of his stuff, but I've discovered that having a budgeting tool that works for you is absolutely essential. I'm talking the non-negotiable difference between success and failure kind of essential. What I wanted in a budgeting tool was:

• A virtual envelope system
• At-a-glance balances (so I know standing in Lowes if I can afford both of those festive mums)
• Something portable (the ultimate failing of my many Excel budgets)
• Something flexible to my hourly income
• Something to make me feel slick and cool and excited about NOT spending money...

Clearly, a tall order! But with my entry into the wide world of apps, I met the one true love of my budgeting life: EEBA, the Easy Envelope Budget Aid! I very seriously recommend this tool to anyone with access to apps OR the internet, since there is a web based version as well. It's wonderful. And it's free up to 10 envelopes. I needed more, but it was only $3/mon. But you can get it free. Did I mention it's free?

I'll let their site do the heavy advertising (especially since nobody is paying me to do this...) but here's how I use this tool. I record every little thing I spend and pull it from the correct envelope (category). When the envelope is empty, I stop spending. Period. If I have money left in the envelopes at the end of that pay period, I move all my "leftover" money into my Loan Payment envelope and voila! Gosh, where did that extra $100 to put toward my loan come from??? I guess I AM slick and cool and excited about NOT spending money!

And that is the story of how I paid off my debt way ahead of schedule. Definately a favorite thing. THANK YOU EEBA!