In this exciting episode, Ashley kicks off the Budget Series with a week-long journey to help you take control of your finances. Whether you're a seasoned budgeter or just starting out, Ashley has valuable insights to share. This episode focuses on the crucial first step: knowing where you're starting from. Ashley explains how to assess your current bank balance and the expenses you need to consider before your next paycheck. She shares valuable insights and emphasizes the importance of making spending decisions based on your budget, rather than just your bank balance. Listen as Ashley explains the significance of this initial step and sets the foundation for your financial success! Hosting Today: Hey, I’m Ashley Patrick, a personal finance expert and founder of Budgets Made Easy. I help busy moms create systems to save money and pay off debt so they can reach their big dreams faster and easier. I was able to pay off $45,000 in just 17 months including $25,000 in student loans in just 10 months. I’m a Master Financial Coach and have a bachelor's degree in psychology and will help you get to the root of your money problems. Since my journey started I have been featured on Fox Business, Yahoo! Finance, Food Network, USA TODAY, MSN, CNBC, NerdWallet, and many others. “But I do want you to, moving forward, make decisions on spending based on what you have on paper, not your bank balance. This is key and this is where you're going to really be able to start making changes when it comes to your finances and your spending. It starts here, so it's not even writing it down for the whole month and getting a look at that. It's not going back and tracking and seeing where your money's went the last three months. You really need to start here and figure out where you're at today before you can really start thinking and moving forward.” - Ashley Patrick Timestamps: 01:17 - Introduction to the Budget Series 03:56 - Where to get the Budget Planner and Budget Spreadsheet 04:51 - Step 1: Knowing where you're starting from 11:05 - The importance of tracking your spending and balancing your checkbook 12:22 - Figuring out your current financial situation 13:42 - Resetting the use of your credit cards 14:45 - Overview of the topics to be covered throughout the week Tired of wondering why you can't seem to get on track with your budget? It's because you don't have a proper plan for your money! Grab the Printable Budget Planner and the Paycheck Budget Spreadsheet and create a plan you can actually stick to! Visit www.budgetsmadeeasy.com/planner and www.budgetsmadeeasy.com/spreadsheet to get your planner and spreadsheet today. And if you enjoyed the podcast today and got some great takeaways, I’d really appreciate it if you followed the Money Mindset Podcast so you don’t miss out on future episodes Resources and Links Mentioned: Save $10 on the printable planner and spreadsheet: Code BS10 * Printable Budget Planner www.budgetsmadeeasy.com/planner * Paycheck Budget Spreadsheet www.budgetsmadeeasy.com/spreadsheet Connect with Ashley: * Instagram: www.instagram.com/budgetsmadeeasy

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.