Local mom shares how she eliminated $77K of debt on Good Morning America

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A local woman, who has made it her mission to share her tips and tricks to budgeting, made an appearance on Good Morning America Thursday to talk about how she eliminated thousands of dollars of debt.

Kumiko Love, 33, is a single mom who lives in Spokane Valley. She’s a financial counselor also known as “The Budget Mom.” She has a whopping 1.5 million followers on her blog, where she shares all of her knowledge about budgeting and eliminating debt.

Love told GMA she was not always good with money. But since developing three key systems to manage her finances, has eliminated $77,000 of debt.

Love uses three different methods: the Calendar Method, the Paycheck Method and the Cash Envelope System.

Using the Calendar Method, Love sets specific dates for expenses and the amount due. She told GMA she writes down the calendar dates when she gets paid and creates a budget every time she gets a paycheck. Her calendar also helps her identify “pop-up” expenses for birthdays and holidays. Love told GMA she then color code matches each bill to the source that will pay for it.

With the Paycheck Method, Love keeps track of every dollar by reviewing bank statements and categorizing spending. Love told GMA every dollar should have a place in your budget, which then gets rid of mindless spending. She also uses printouts to show her monthly bills, the budget for each and what she actually pays.

Love then uses the Cash Envelope System to monitor all her other monthly expenses. She calls them “variable bills.” Love told GMA these are separate from priority bills like rent and electric, but include items like clothes, entertainment and household items. Love recommends identifying those variable expenses, then setting a limit for each. She also recommends using cash, to limit credit card debt when paying those expenses.

Learn more about her methods on her blog.

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