Woman who lived paycheck to paycheck after her divorce shares how she saved money to buy a house

A mother of two has revealed how she managed to save enough money to buy her children a house after going through a divorce that saw her struggling to make ends meet.

Lisa SamalonisThe 53-year-old from New Jersey lived paycheck to paycheck after she and her husband of 13 years divorced.

Hoping to provide her two children, ages six and eight, with a stable home after the divorce, as they were now being raised by a single parent, the mother began playing a game of “financial chess” and became determined to get better control. of her money.

Now Lisa has revealed how she was able to do it by taking just three easy steps, including changing her mindset and going on a ‘credit card fast’.

Get planning! Lisa gained financial freedom by reviewing her finances weekly

While still married, Lisa decided to take a look at all her financial problems. With each count that she passed she felt more and more hopeless.

She said Well-informed person that ‘careless spending together with other factors eventually led to a legal separation’.

After the divorce, Lisa decided to start making a plan for how she would move forward financially.

The mother was self-employed, so she did not have a stable income. She was being paid ‘irregularly’ by various clients.

In the past, whenever you got paid, you would first buy the things you wanted, such as personal items, dining out, and entertainment.

But at the time, she was running short on bills. So, after the separation, when she received her paychecks, she saved money and paid the bills immediately before dipping into the other funds.

He created a list of monthly expenses that he reviewed after every purchase he made.

Lisa was always asking herself if she ‘needed’ the item and if she could find it at a ‘cheaper price elsewhere’.

Now, the mother-of-two says she keeps her plans on track by using a zero-based budgeting app where her income minus her expenses equals zero at the end of the month, like YNAB or EveryDollar.

She noted that while she still enjoys the occasional meal or beauty appointment, she plans for it.

Get rid of the credit card! Mother-of-two went on a ‘credit card fast’ to avoid overspending

Next, Lisa knew she had to do a ‘credit card fast’.

He explained that whenever he was low on money, he would always swipe his card and then when the bill came, he found himself struggling to pay it.

Lisa knew she had to stop looking for her credit card when she didn’t have the money.

He explained that for three years he only used a debit card or cash because he was afraid it would get out of hand when it came to his credit card.

The mother knew that the only way she could limit her spending was to eliminate the culprit, even for a limited time.

Now, the mother of two is allowed to use a credit card, but makes sure to track and allocate the money for purchases in her zero-based budgeting app.

She also revealed that she no longer pays the minimum bill amount when using a credit card, but makes sure to pay the full balance to keep her spending in check.

Start reading! Lisa studied everything related to budgeting and didn’t lose sight of her goals when she got off track.

The mother of two knew her journey to financial freedom would be an uphill battle, so she had to do everything she could to keep track of what was important.

Lisa read dozens of personal finance articles and books to understand how to best achieve her goals.

He spent his free time studying blogs, books, and articles, and even listened to podcasts about money.

The mother began working more independently so that she could save some money each month in case of an emergency.

The practice came in handy when his air conditioning unit failed one summer.

Even though she couldn’t afford the price of the new unit, she financed it, reminding herself that setbacks happen.

He explained that if he had not set aside the money and planned accordingly, he would have been in a different position.

To stay focused, the mom reviewed her goals and finances every week. She kept her goals in mind and always thought of providing her children with a stable home to stay consistent with her money saving practices.

In the past, 37 years old undercover rachelfrom Massachusetts, shared her money-saving tips that helped her retire at age 36.

She revealed that she followed the 4 percent rule, which sees her never spend more than four percent of her assets in any given year, in an attempt to live her life to the fullest, and invested in low-cost index funds.

Dyana King, a 30-year-old woman from Arkansas, shared that six years ago she was saddled with $34,907 in debt and snowballed to pay it off.

The snowball method is the practice of listing all the debts you owe and paying off the smallest debt first before working to pay off the next smallest.