Budget talks are coming, it’s in the air. Both of us tense up just thinking about it, but it’s almost the end of the month and it must be done. We have put it off for a couple years, and we’ve managed to skate by without having to pay too much attention to our accounts, but both of us know we need to buckle down and start being smarter with our money in order to pay off our debt. There are other reasons to budget (not just to pay off debt) and I made a list to prove to myself that it’s not that bad.
When I am freaking out and I want to cut Adam for being a total moron and not agreeing with me about everything (it happens) I can refer to this list:
1. Being on a budget makes me creative. My whole business was started 2+ years ago because we could not afford the furniture I wanted, but I was determined to have some pieces I liked. I started making things for our home and selling the excess, and it turned out to be profitable and fun work. A business was born.
2. Budgeting reminds me that I don’t have to buy everything I think I need RIGHT NOW. I have been in a few tricky spots before because I couldn’t afford things I “needed” but I’m happy to say nothing was ever unbearable. I made it without those “needed” items and I think I’m better for having to struggle a bit. I’ve learned to adapt to my circumstances, take a positive approach, maintain a sense of humor, get creative with what I have and I’ve also become quite resourceful. These skills were all learned by necessity and through practice. Budgeting flexes these skills, and I’m thankful to have to practice them. What else will I learn?? So exciting!
3. Budgeting makes Adam and I work together to accomplish something, and it reminds us that we are a team. That strengthens our relationship. It is not easy agreeing about where to spend our money; Adam and I are VERY different, with very different interests and philosophies. When we work together with the same goal in mind, though, we always accomplish more, strengthen our marriage, and learn about each other along the way. Yay marriage!
4. Budgeting makes me think about my values. How I spend my money says a lot about what I care about, whether I’m budgeting it or not. It really makes me think about what I care about and why. That exercise helps me grow.
5. Budgeting makes me feel at least somewhat in control of our finances. Whether or not we really are in control is irrelevant. Feeling like I’m spending my money with a purpose, I know what I can spend and I’m not throwing money around- those are all huge benefits!
If there is a post next week about how much we hate each other, just be warned that it’s because we are in the middle of a heated budget war. You may need to remind me that budgeting is GOOD and will pay off in the long run… even after writing all this out, I’m still thinking about the dreaded pinch.
Good for you, taking the plunge! It will sort of suck the first few months, but you can do it!
I use LearnVest.com to reconcile my budget and pay for everything in cash. I don’t link my account because I just want to spend what’s in my monthly folders. Seeing extra money in my account would be too tempting. I record everything as cash, plus it’s a super girly program!
Other ways to save money. Target Cartwheel, simplycvs.com, The Frugal Home podcast (which is free), and Aldi (you’ll be surprised).
Your doing great, remember Max Weber: “Change is incremental.”
I LOVE aldi! I wish we had one by us, I’d be all over it. I need to look in to the Target wheel thing and the girly budget program. Thank you so much for the tips!!
Budgeting does kind of suck. But it’s worth it!
Budgeting is hard at first, but now it’s actually for us because we are amazed and then changes that are happening and the abundance in your life when you start focusing on what you have and what you can offer others instead of what you don’t have and can’t get!! Give me a B! U! D! G! E! T! BUDGET!!!!!!! Yeah!! The pinch makes the payoff so much sweeter. 🙂
Fun! I meant “fun” for us. I can’t seem to get all my words into one post.
Exactly. The point of this whole thing is
to remember what we have and what we can give.
Personally, I love budgeting! I like knowing where my money is going and I have found that having a written budget has reduced the little arguments about money. If my husband wants a new drill or something and it’s not in the budget, then he knows he has to wait. No more going back and forth and arguing about whether we can afford it or not. Also, I find setting goals within our budget (like challenging ourselves to not spend the allotted amount for groceries) really helps keep us on track. Do you guys have an emergency fund? If not, I strongly encourage you guys to start one. It’s saved us many times and has allowed us to stick to our budget when unplanned things have come up!
I’ve that calling a budget a spending plan makes it easier to deal with – has a more positive spin on it, whereas “budget” makes you think of limitations.
I think one place to start is listing out the large items, expense and goals: mortgage, student loans, debt payoff targets, savings goals, etc. And then fill in the smaller stuff around those.
You may have shared what your at-home business is already and i apologize if you have already. I’d love to know what people are doing as at home businesses.
I refinish furniture. More on that in another post! 😉
This is a topic near and dear to my heart. I opened an Etsy shop at the beginning of the year and I’m making an average of $700 a month. It’s growing every month and I’m using social media to get it there (mainly YouTube). I don’t factor the revenue into our budget as it’s sales and inconsistent, but I save it all and it’s either going into a replacement car fund (5 years down the road) or possibly funding an obnoxious “we paid off our mortgage” vacation in 5 years. I encourage anyone with a hobby and a passion to try it out!
I hate budgets. As soon as I made one, something would happen to destroy it. Then I found YNAB (You Need A Budget). I loved his rules and his simple program. They have classes to help you through practically everything. The information they offer for free is amazing.I bought this in February and I have not looked back. For the first time in my life I have been able to put away money and even when crisis hits I have been able to get by. You can use the full version for 34 days free. I knew within 14 days I would be buying it. I can give you a reference where you can save $6, just let me know.
I saw that on another blog I read (words of Williams) and they are offering a deal on it till the end of July I think. We’ll look in to it.
I am so sorry but that offer ended the 22nd. My mom used it and my $6 off only paid $33.99. I was jealous. If you and Adam are really looking for a budget program, at least give this one a shot for the free 34 days. The guy who created it, Jesse, is a CPA and his story about how he created the program is wonderful.
A budget makes you empowered. Try not to view it as a strangle-hold, but a clearly defined purpose for your money. I guess I’ve used what’s called a “zero based budget” for about 20 years. Every dollar has a purpose and YOU are directing it where to go. I’m amazed at all of the people I know who live without a budget. They talk about bills being paid late because they forgot. When you have a system in place, there is very little chance of this happening.
I use a very old-school pen and paper method with categories and amounts based on paycheck cycles. It’s a spreadsheet without the computer. I’ve used it for years and it works for me, so I’m not changing it. Just find whatever system you can work with and use it. The difference in your snowball will probably surprise you!
I think the first thing is to remember is that your spouse is your life partner and that you are on the same side. That means, you want the best life together. When you approach is from being on the same side, I think it’s easier.
I keep a master budget in Excel but record each expenditure in my bill notebook. That has the monthly expenses in it, plus bills and then each bill is filed and recorded in the appropriate tab. I also record every expenditure, no matter how small. It works for me.
I’d like to see you pay more attention to the overall project plan. For example, in the garden bed, it says the garden bed was $15. While there was certainly good planning on getting the wood cheaper, there wasn’t an overall plan. One of your goals was to save money by planting a garden and yet you were planting pumpkins and peppers if I recall. Not sure if you spend a lot each week on pumpkin at the grocery store, however I think I’d like to see more thought put into that.
For example, if I were going to plant/make a garden bed, I’d write it out on paper first-what do I want, how large, what kind of garden and my goals for the garden-is it to save money, eat organic or what. Next, I’d write down what I’d need and do the research on each line item to make sure I am spending appropriately. So if I were planting a garden, I’d want the wood to be cedar and chemical free, I’d want to have great soil (organic preferably) so my garden would grow well and that I don’t have chemicals in the dirt. Organic soil would cost more. Also, I’d have to know what type of soil I had in the area to see if I have to amend the soil at all (it is clay or sandy or whatever since I need the soil to drain. Next, where to get seeds. I know that there is a place online to purchase non-GMO seed (I think it’s called Rareseeds but I’d have to research.) Also, if it where to save money, there are resources that tell you what to plant to feed a family of 4 for a year from the garden plot. I remember reading it in a book called, “Mrs. Dunwoody’s Excellent Housekeeping”. For myself, I want to plant a garden to save money. Each week I spend $15 on leafy greens, $15 on vegetables, $15 on fruit, etc. so if I were planting a garden, I’d be looking to save $30/week or $120/month by planting the items that I purchase every week for both the leafy greens and vegetable portions of my budget. If I had less room, then I’d try to plant the vegetables that cost more on my grocery list. Currently, a one pound box of spinach runs me around $6.99 so I’d want that. I am using this example only to show you how to plan a little more on each line items. Once you have the plan written out, then you can go back on each line item of the plan (like you did with the wood) to figure out how to get each item cheaper.
There is also a good budget series going on the blog, “No More Harvard Debt”; this man paid off $90k of debt in 6 months or so and he has a free series on budgeting now. He’s starting with a fictional guy and showing how to create a budget and then he’ll talk in later posts on how to save money. I think it’s great for people who have never put together a budget before. It’s a good series to read/watch if you want to get another person’s perspective.
Good luck. Budget talks aren’t easy:)
It’s not a budget, it’s a spending plan. A budget sounds restrictive and painful. A spending plan tells you how much you can spend and helps you be prepared for every expense. It’s liberating to know that you can spend X dollars on groceries/miscellaneous/etc and that you’ll have enough to pay for Y expense when the bill is due. No surprises, prepared for (most) every possibility.
I also find it’s helpful to have a long term budget. In addition to budgeting weekly (yes I’m anal that way) on my spreadsheet I also do a 10 year overview. So I know our car will be paid off in 2015 and we’ll need to start saving up to pay cash for our next car starting in 2019. We can see that we’ll have enough to do some remodeling on our house in year X, and be able to take that long awaited trip the year after. Of course this gets tinkered with all the time, making changes as circumstances and expectations change.
wow, a ten year budget – amazing. hopefully we can make it through a month.
My advice:
1. Think of the long-term. Financial freedom and all that comes with that is worth the sacrifices now.
2. Is spending more money on anything really worth creating marital conflict, stressing out your partner, and potentially even weakening your marriage. Sacrifice material items and other luxuries for the good of your marriage. It’s a worthwhile trade.
3. Keep perspective – even on a tight budget, you’re one of the most privileged people in the world. Your location in the US and your good salaries put you in the very top percentages of living standards worldwide. All of your basic needs are met, plus you have countless luxuries. Try to focus on contentment of all you have. Really appreciate luxuries – and I mean all luxuries, which includes anything above what you need to survive (a washer and dryer, most transportation, eating out, groceries beyond the minimum, goats, gardening boxes, most electronics, etc). I think luxuries have become so mainstream in the US that we forget to be grateful for all we have and we forget that we really can cut back in countless ways.
Gratitude for what you have and perspective on all you have will go a long way.
Thanks for this reminder in #3. I’ve been feeling a little blue lately about not taking any vacations this summer or buying new clothes and hearing about all my friends doing these things. We’re scraping together every penny until Oct. towards our 6 mo emergency fund and I’m finding that saving is even harder than paying debt. The spoiled baby in me wants, wants, wants but the rational adult is really nervous about not having this fund built yet. I need to remember I already have everything I need and then some.
yes, great reminder. thank you so much
Good Luck with budgeting!
I have been making budgets ever since I have learnt how to read and write. My mom still recalls how I had a “Pleasure” category in my budget when I was a second grader. Well, I still have that category so that I can spend some of my money guilt free.
I have one excel file with the following sheets:
Budget, Net Worth, Short-Mid-Long-Term Goals, Portfolio spread, Debt Payment schedule, Travel Planning Sheet, Health Sheet, Weight Management Sheet.
I love the visibility the above provide me. Tracking Daily expenses is also a good idea to make minor but effective changes to your spending.
I achieve so much more with budgeting.
Keep up the good work!
Hello – it has been nice meeting you and Adam during these last few weeks and I certainly look forward to reading of your success in coming together on your budget. Working as a team can certainly draw you even closer together with common goal in mind. The only pearl of wisdom I wish to impart today (having been married over 30 years)is to refrain from personal barbs even in a jestful way ie “Adam as a total moron” and “how much we hate each other next week”. Finances do bear a source of frustration and I am sure your comment was a lighthearted one but respecting each other and valuing each others opinion while not necessarily agreeing with it goes a long way to keeping all lines of communication open. I wish you guys every success.
I’m not sure how no one has mentioned Mint yet. I’ve been using it a few years now. Of course we have a “budget” but we go over on categories every single month. Don’t think we’ve ever stuck to it.
Mint will let you carry over overrages and any money you don’t spend in a month. So its easy to set up a budget for expenses that might not come every month like clothing, car insurance, christmas gifts, etc.