Survive, Adapt, and Thrive
Welcome to Goodbudget 911: Crash Course. It’s very possible you’re here not because you want to be, but because something is forcing you to make emergency changes to your budget. That might be a pay cut, a job loss, or a hefty medical bill that needs to be paid soon. Whatever that thing is, it’s shaking your foundation. You might be thinking, “How can I get food on the table? How can we pay bills this month?”
It makes sense to ask these questions. More importantly, it’s okay (and even good!) to acknowledge that a situation like that can be overwhelming and even scary.
You might be in survival mode right now, and that’s okay! This course is all about helping you find your footing in the short term so you can adapt to your new situation and even thrive down the road.
You’ll walk through three distinct stages in this course, and each stage contains two parts. The first part of each stage tells the story of a fictional family who have also hit a bump in their financial road. You’ll see how they:
- Survive the start of their crisis by making a plan to help them pay bills on time and put food on the table.
- Adapt to their situation by developing a lean budget and making other habit changes. They figure out how to pay for necessities indefinitely while also building an emergency fund to shield them from future financial emergencies.
- Thrive, or at least hope to thrive, in the long term by creating a plan for when their next normal starts.
The second part of each stage contains homework: you’ll take what you’ve learned from the fictional family and apply it to your own situation.
Tell us in the comments below
- What are you eager to learn about in this course?
- When are you planning to do the homework?
P.S. If you’re not in the midst of an emergency, but you’re struggling to get ahead because you’re living paycheck to paycheck, GB 30: Break the Cycle might be a better fit. In that course, you’ll spend 30 days working to boost savings and begin building a one-month cushion so you can break the paycheck to paycheck cycle for good.
52 thoughts on “Welcome to Goodbudget 911: Crash Course”
I want to learn from other budgeters about how they manage in the midst of a money crisis. For me, the best time to do homework is after my kids have gone to bed and the house is quiet.
I’m eager to learn how to budget and how to save.
I plan to do my homework daily at my desk at night before bed.
I’m eager to find a good path to money mistakes I have made. I plan to do my homework early morning with my coffee
I want to learn how to keep track of money and bills. I can do my assignments at night when my kids are in bed.
I started Dave Ramsey financial peace university in March a week later I was furloughed the next week. I will do my homework on Wednesdays. I hope to learn from this course how to survive in a V shape recovery.
Hi Mark – Thanks for sharing! You’ve definitely come to the right place.
Ready to truly focus on saving and stop spontaneous spending.
I want to work out where its all gone wrong. I like to work in the evenings in the living room
I want to learn to practice self discipline where finances are concerned. I’ll be doing the Homework as soon as I can
I’m a single parent, I never have enough money to last me through the month. I’m hoping to learn more about budgeting so that I can turn things around. I’m gonna be doing my homework just before bed.
I want to know how to get through and crisis and then correct and maintain the path. The best time for me to do this is in the evening when my hisband is home.
Hi I’m Cynthia I am 62 years and retired disability and do not have a emergency fund or emergency anything I am faithfully plan to do my homework and apply it to my situation. Excited to be here
Im so thankful for these courses and I’m excited to learn how to use the app and create an emergency budget for our current situation. And to then create a long lasting budget and way of living. I will do my homework in the mornings with my husband and coffee.
I agree with Cynthia. No emergency fund and total lack of spending control.
Excited to learn how to adjust my budget system based on my current circumstances. I plan to do my homework at night, after family dinner.
I want to get out of survival mode and learn how to transition to thriving.
Thanks for sharing! That’s exactly what this course is about!
I am eager to learn how to budget money and stop worrying about being able to put food on the table.
I am excited to learn how to budget my money so that I possibly have a little money left at the end of the month. I will be doing the homework whenever my 4 year old lays her little head down.
I want to learn how to budget my money and stop living paycheck to paycheck
I’m eager to learn how to budget at all and how to pay my bills/past due bills which will also help my credit. I need to know what to do when I have no planned monthly income and not sure who will hire me being 27 weeks pregnant but still have tons of bills piling up? I will be doing my homework every evening right after my son goes to bed.
Thanks for sharing, Gabrielle!
I want stop “stress” spending…make a workable budget…and improve my credit score. Homework in the morning with coffee 2 or 3 times a week.
I will like to learn a different way to manage and safe money better
I am in the middle of an emergency now, and I could really use some help. I always had struggle with money, did not know how to manage it, how to build an emergency fund. so that’s why I am eager to learn in this course, I could use some tips from other people and from this course.
I am planning to do my homework in the morning when everyone else is sleeping, this is when I will be more concentrate and productive,
Looking forward to learning from everyone.
As my partner is self-employed I want to learn how to better deal in financial crisis as we can go into a COVID lockdown at any time and I recently changed my job to be closer to home. I would also like my children to learn this as well for their own financial futures.
I will do the homework in the evening after dinner.
I am looking forward to learning
Looking forward to learning about making better habits to get ahead. And on Sunday’s or at least weekends is when I’ll get homework done.
What are you eager to learn about in this course?
When are you planning to do the homework?
I’m eager to learn how I can improve my financial state.
I will do my homework when I get home from work.
I’m needing to learn how to spend my money better. As in bills first, fun stuff later. I’m hoping that this budgeting course will click with my minor case of OCD Al which would help me follow a. I’d get better. I’ll be doing my homework after I get home from work each day.
I’m a divorced 56 to female and work hard to meet my obligations. I have no wiggle room, let alone any savings or retirement…I feel doomed.
Just hoping to get a little encouragement from others as I sit and watch, learn and listen.
At 55, due to a diagnosed aneurism I have to reinvent my life (i feel so old and tired). But i hope to get in control by starting with a fresh budget approach to my new financial situation.
I’m starting out a new career in finance, so I’m trying to help people deal with their financial emergencies while finding the best way to deal with my own. My insurance at my new job changed somewhat drastically and I’m now resonating for more medical expenses than anticipated, so I’m trying to find the best way to handle that.
I want to get a better handle on our bills and expenses so we can actually get ahead of the game instead of always playing catch-up. I plan on working on this in the mornings and together with my husband on Fridays (which is payday).
I have never been good with my finance and I need to break the cycle. I am about to be on my own financially and do not make enough to support house and family.
With the rising costs due to inflation, we ended up in major debt. We have to figure out how to pay it back as well as keep putting food on the table.
My husband and I got evicted for requesting our now former landlord fix things including the mice we had to kill inside our apartment. This whole situation has put a damper on budgeting and an emergency savings account we were trying to start. Looking for advice on budgeting, getting out of debt and getting into a house as soon as possible.
Help others. Name and shame the landlord. Maybe on twitter?
Hey all – I’m excited to be working with like-minded people to create my first budget. I’ll be working on the homework at 12noon each day as my work day begins.
Hi all
I am eager to learn and create my first budget. I will be doing my assignments at night time.
I had a terrific financial system and thought I was in great standing! Then I had a financial crisis and it collapsed around me. I need to earn how to budget–my spending habits are outrageous. I need to build up my emergency fund again and find out where I went wrong, so I don’t repeat the mistake.
Been there, done that. Several times.
I will do my homework at lunchtime daily. Survive debt collectors
Anything is better than Doing Nothing so I’m ready to learn
Can’t wait to see a different outcome my time will be at the end of my day
I just lost my job, we have household bills as well as 2 car payments and one of our daughters is in college. I am at a loss as to what to do! I plan to do homework whenever I finish a unit because I have the free time, sadly.
I can’t wait to learn how to adapt and thrive
From survive to thrive. Med bill ate up my emergency fund and I was out of debt and got back in throught my ow carelessness. Moving from surviving to thriving!!!!
I’ll be doing my budget in the mornings over coffee.
i am here to learn to go from survive to thrive and will do my homework in the evening once the house is quiet.
I’m eager to learn how to budget and save.
I plan to do my homework daily at night after my kids are in bed.
I’m eager to learn new healthy spending habits and how to manage my money much better
I also plan on doing my homework after dinner