Monday Morning (or Afternoon) Commentary

Yesterday my husband hit another home run.  I know I say this every week, but he really does every week.  If you missed it here's a quick recap...

Real Change comes when you think INSIDE the box.  Outside the box are situations we cannot change, if the markets would get better, or if we could just get a raise, or if we hadn't made these decisions.  When you focus inside the box you focus on changing what you can, from within.  We can change our perspective, did you know if you make more than 40K a year, you are in the top 1% of earners in the world?  We can plan and make budgets.  And we can prioritize our spending.

Budgets are very important to me.  I love to shop.  Unfortunately, its my hobby.  Having a budget sets me free to spend and not feel guilty or afraid.  The first few years of our marriage, we had no budget.  Whenever I would go shopping, I would feel guilty about how much I spent, then I wouldn't want to show my husband (because I knew he was not share in the joy of my purchases).  Come on, you know the story.  We have never had consumer debt, but not having a budget was a source of tension in our marriage.

Then one day we decided this would end.  For a month we collected every single receipt and bill.  At the end of the month, we sat down and added everything up.  I was shocked to see how much money, just a family of three at the time, we were spending on even groceries.

We first tallied our fixed expenses (you know power, gas, insurance, house etc...).  With what was left over, we budgeted out things like groceries, shopping, eating out, entertainment etc...  What a difference that made!  We uses a simple spreadsheet made on Microsoft Excel, similar to the one here.

I don't know how long ago we did this but it was like making decisions ahead of time.  Now when I come home from hunting shopping, I can say, "look how cute this shirt is!" because we both know it was within our limits.  The same goes for eating out and everything else.

So its about that time of the month where I have a drawer full of receipts to handle.  I have a cup of hot tea and two resting children, the perfect combination. 

Oh yeah, and our church created a website with several resources to get you started so you have no excuse!  Never in a million years did I think making and keeping a budget would be more fun than not having one but I was wrong.

Comments

[Misty]

having a budget is the only have to go & not live a stressful life. we stick to one & its made marriage much better! shopping too!!!

[Amy]

You are so right about the "home run"! It is empowering to think inside the box, really. I have found that so many of my fears stem from not being able to control things. It is so freeing to be able to let those things go, and only focus on the thing you can control. I loved your "guilt free shopping" take on it too. Good stuff!