I thought I would give a little more background to my blog’s name.
The question that always comes up when thinking about finances is, if you’re a coffee drinker like I am, should I be spending the $5-$8 on a coffee? Should I just save money and make coffee at home? I am a coffee drinker! I enjoy going to new coffee shops to experience new flavors and to support small businesses in my area.
This topic is sensitive to me since I was once a coffee lover living paycheck to paycheck. When I became a full-time single mom at the age of 25 I realized really quickly that going out to buy coffee could mean I don’t have enough money to pay my utility bills for the month or buy baby formula my son needed. Losing the financial support of another person was life changing. At that time, the answer to going out and buying coffee was it’s probably not the best thing to be doing financially. I would go to work and drive by a Starbucks everyday (they are hard to avoid) and wished I could stop and get a coffee. However, I knew that financially that would not be the right thing to do.
It was around this time when I really took the time to sit down and create my own budget plan for the year. I have been using my budget plan for about 10 years now and it has changed my life, I have seen so much growth in the way I manage my personal finances. I took the time to plan out the next 10 years of my life (from 25 to 35 years old) and set realistic goals for myself that included increasing my income, saving more and planning to provide a life for my son that my parents provided for me.
I knew exactly how much I was making a month, that was the easy part. I took the time to see how much I needed for all my bills and high priority items like diapers, baby formula, baby needs, etc. The outcome of putting all these amounts down in front of me was scary since I didn’t have much left at all to even buy groceries for myself. I went back to my college eating habits of mac and cheese dinners, cereal or hot pockets. I really had to change my mindset when thinking of what I wanted now to what I wanted my life for my son and I to be in the future. This shift in mindset was hard. I knew making this mindset shift would benefit me and my son in the long-term.
The first thing I set my mind to was to increasing my income. I knew I was good at my job, I loved what I did for work and focused really hard to network and apply for higher paying positions. Work was my safe space, accounting and finance is something I truly enjoy doing so it’s never really felt like work.
After a few years and few promotions along the way I was finally at a place where I could cover all my expenses. My son was also getting less expensive as he was growing out of the baby phase and I finally had more money to adjust my budget. This was when I was finally able to add a budget category for Coffee shops! This was a small win for me at time but I still do have it in my budget to this day and I don’t ever see myself removing it.
Now I am at a position where I can stop and get coffee anytime I want, I know I have funds set aside for it. Now my answer to the same question (should I be buying coffee?) is without hesitation, a Yes!
Now that I look back on the last 10 years of my life, my budgeting plan has changed my life and I have enjoyed every sip along the way! This is why I created Brews and Budgets, so that you can also celebrate the small win of adjusting your budget each year as you get financially smarter. You can have the same win I did of adding coffee, or whatever you find valuable, to your budget. Small wins consistently will create life changing impacts.