Budget

So, I have to be honest.  We did awesome our first few months being on our budget.  This month... not so much.  BUT, we are still making much better progress than we did before.  We're out of our money from the envelopes today - BUT JJ still has some money in his billfold and it is close to the end of our month (ends on the 15th).  Blame it on JJ being gone for a little trip -- with eating out on both of our ends (without JJ of course I had to eat out at least a few times -- I can only sustain myself on cereal and PB&Js for so long)... or MVJ needing new toys... or MVJ's eating habits... or being sick and needing different supplies (more kleenix, more tylenol, more nyquil/dayquil, etc.)... or needing to buy treats for a few different occasions... orrrrrrr...

I knew the toughest months were coming up -- whenever it starts getting close to the holidays I feel frantic to buy presents.  I am a gift giver from way back.  I wish I were more creative and could make worthwhile projects that don't cost a ton.  Any ideas??  : )

New budget

JJ and I have embarked on a new budget. It's not that we necessarily are in the poor house. It's just that we spend way too much money on junk we don't need. We have had a budget, but we used to use it more in terms of keeping track of how we spend our money. This month we bit the bullet and tried a new method. A method we have not tried before. We are working on a cash only system. Here's the plan:

*On the 15th (pay day!) we're going to take a specific amount of cash out of the bank.
*Then we're going to divvy out the cash into our categories. Right now we're working with: groceries, gas, eating out and miscellaneous (start basic right?).
*Then we're going to divide each category's money into weekly allotments.

We have a credit card that we get great rewards on (and pay off monthly -- we've never carried a balance), but we've found that it is way too easy to just swipe the card instead of thinking about the money being spent. I figure if we do this for about three months (and feel in control), we might be able to go back to using the credit card little by little.

We've done this for a week and a half so far and I feel like we've already won some small battles. For example, in the "eating out" category -- probably my personal vice because I'm not the most enthusiastic chef -- in the first week we took my brother out to eat AND had a separate meal out on our small weekly budget. We had to sacrifice a bit -- going to Arby's and using the 5 for $5 deal, but it felt ... it felt so good to stay in budget! It's like my personal game (have I mentioned I'm a BIT competitive ever? No? It could be a separate post. Believe me.) -- I WANT to have money left in that darn envelope.

JJ is a bit embarrassed -- how can we so "easily" keep to our budget when we've been way off -- up to double off -- before?

Budget

JJ and I are on a "budget", which we have realized is more of a "spending plan". We actually should be tighter. Probably much tighter. But, there does come a point when, well, we could be completely thrifty and not enjoy life. It's a balance I guess. JJ bought a small remote control helicopter this weekend. Today he found a different type in Sportsmansguide that was cheaper than where he bought his. So, of course, he should have it right? A few years ago our spending plan was similar to this: you buy something and then I get to buy something of similar value. heehee... it would make financial advisors croak. But, we are wiser and of course older, so we are trying to be better. This last month was tough on our budget. Weddings and graduations and birthdays, oh my! Throw in Bath and Body Works' semiannual sale and you have a recipe for a spending plan disaster. Today, though, I went grocery shopping and only spent about $50. Usually, just showing up is like $100 I swear. And it's just the two of us. We're back on track. I swear this time. : )