Money money money
Yesterday we kissed nearly $1000 good bye getting our heat pump fixed, I spent $5 at the commissary getting fresh fruit and veggies after my WIC voucher was used up and at some point I will need to fill the gas tank this month. Today I sat down balanced the check book and redid the May budget. Some days it feels like my life revolves around the money it takes to run this family. It has to be controlled and told where to go or it all disappears without a trace. Having a budget is a family affair so even when Brent was gone I would send him a copy of our monthly budget and keep him informed of changes made and money spent. Our children know that is takes money to do karate, buy gas and groceries and keep a roof over their heads.
If keeping a budget is a foreign concept or something that you are struggling with then this is going to be a must read post for you because I am going to go over each part of our budget in detail. You start a budget the same way you start any worthwhile project with a blank sheet of paper or empty computer screen. I do our budget on the computer then print it out and tape it to the wall so everyone can see it.
At the very top of the page I type the month, the amount we will get paid and the day that pay will be deposited. Below that I write the total monthly income the goal is to finish the page with a zero as I deduct each item from that total all the way down the page.
The very first item in our budget it the amount we GIVE each month. Everyone should give something no matter how big or how small your income is, no matter what religion you are from none of that matters really. The basic principle behind giving is this do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I know that if hard times came upon me I would appreciate help whether it be in the form of groceries or a bill paid I would appreciate that. In return I need to be willing to do the same or to contribute to a cause that would do the same. For our family we usually give to our church most Christians call this a tithe we give 10% of our monthly income. We give to a church that we know will give back not just to us but to anyone within our community who needs help without prejudice. We have been led in the past to give to missions as well. Always do a little research behind your giving not all churches, charities or missions are created equal.
The next item in our budget is our MORTGAGE and our UTILITIES. These are very important no matter what we need to keep a roof over our heads, water running and the electricity on. We include our phone and internet in this as well although those two things are not as important as the first three. A good rule of thumb for anyone looking into buying a home is this your mortgage payment should be no more then 25% of your monthly take home pay. If it is more then 25% you are likely biting off more then you can handle and you should look into a less expensive housing option. We do not subscribe to cable or satellite. We use netflix.com and we own several movies so entertainment is not a problem and the money that would have been wasted (in my opinion) on cable can be used toward something else.
After that comes the FOOD and house hold item budget. I feed my family on $500 or less every month. Every family has different needs and if this is the first time you have ever written a budget it might take you a little while to get the food budget figured out. Set a number and see how it works. If it is to much trim it back if it is not enough then either look into couponing to make it work or trim another area of the budget so that you can increase your food budget. I use this budget for all house hold needs as well such as diapers, wipes, cleaning supplies and toiletries. We have a separate amount that we set aside for eating out. Right now we have $100 every month as our restaurant budget. With a family our size that might be gone after two nights out so we use it sparingly.
GAS is next oh the horror. When Brent is home this takes at least $200 every month and that is only because I am a home body and do not use the car much.I have been watching the price on gas go up higher and higher over the past ten years and it is just plain scary. Running out and buying a new car is not going to fix your gas budget blues so look into combining your shopping trips so that you are getting all of your traveling done on a more direct streamline route. Car pool to work or ride your bike if you can. Find fun family activities to do at home or a near by park instead of taking long trips every weekend. And keep your vehicle as junk free as possible. The extra weight causes extra gas consumption.
Our next budget item is BLOW MONEY. Again this will be different for each family but what works for us with our income is my husband and I each get $100 a month to do whatever we want with. That might include a run to Starbucks or a scratch off ticket (yes my husband gets the itch every now and then). It is our money our blow money. We also set aside $140 a month for family blow money. This goes towards fun family outings to the zoo or the movies anything that we do as a family comes out of that money. Once it is gone it is gone we can not replenish it until the next month so we are careful about how we spend it.
After all of that we have smaller itemized budget items to cover everything that might require funds throughout the year such as Dance, Karate, School (backpacks, supplies, field trips), Motor-vehicle (this covers insurance, oil changes, taxes, tags, maintenance), Clothes, Retirement, Date Night, Terminex to keep the bugs away, Furniture replacement or repair, Home maintenance, etc. Pretty much anything that you know will be coming up in the next twelve months you set an amount aside each month to take care of it so that when it does come up you are not caught off guard and you can take care of it.
The next thing we do is SAVE. We have an emergency fund which has saved us in the past and it saved us yesterday when we had a big repair that was more then our home maintenance fund could handle. If you have debt to knock out then you will want to pick up a copy of Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover and start your emergency fund of $1000. If you are debt free except for your house then your emergency fund should be equal to 3 to 6 months of expenses. It is by far the best financial decision we have ever made! After that emergency fund is taken care of then you can save towards other things. We have a couple "goal savings accounts" that we use to save up for family vacations, Brent's next truck or jeep, new cell phones and so on.
We do not use credit cards at all we pay cash for everything. If we want something we save for it. Having a budget has kept us on track and given us a raise in so many ways because it showed us just how much money we have to work with each month and how many bills need to be paid and where the rest of the money needs to go.Sit down with your spouse and write up a budget. If you need more information please check out the book by Dave Ramsey that I suggested it has really helped us out in so many ways.
If keeping a budget is a foreign concept or something that you are struggling with then this is going to be a must read post for you because I am going to go over each part of our budget in detail. You start a budget the same way you start any worthwhile project with a blank sheet of paper or empty computer screen. I do our budget on the computer then print it out and tape it to the wall so everyone can see it.
At the very top of the page I type the month, the amount we will get paid and the day that pay will be deposited. Below that I write the total monthly income the goal is to finish the page with a zero as I deduct each item from that total all the way down the page.
The very first item in our budget it the amount we GIVE each month. Everyone should give something no matter how big or how small your income is, no matter what religion you are from none of that matters really. The basic principle behind giving is this do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I know that if hard times came upon me I would appreciate help whether it be in the form of groceries or a bill paid I would appreciate that. In return I need to be willing to do the same or to contribute to a cause that would do the same. For our family we usually give to our church most Christians call this a tithe we give 10% of our monthly income. We give to a church that we know will give back not just to us but to anyone within our community who needs help without prejudice. We have been led in the past to give to missions as well. Always do a little research behind your giving not all churches, charities or missions are created equal.
The next item in our budget is our MORTGAGE and our UTILITIES. These are very important no matter what we need to keep a roof over our heads, water running and the electricity on. We include our phone and internet in this as well although those two things are not as important as the first three. A good rule of thumb for anyone looking into buying a home is this your mortgage payment should be no more then 25% of your monthly take home pay. If it is more then 25% you are likely biting off more then you can handle and you should look into a less expensive housing option. We do not subscribe to cable or satellite. We use netflix.com and we own several movies so entertainment is not a problem and the money that would have been wasted (in my opinion) on cable can be used toward something else.
After that comes the FOOD and house hold item budget. I feed my family on $500 or less every month. Every family has different needs and if this is the first time you have ever written a budget it might take you a little while to get the food budget figured out. Set a number and see how it works. If it is to much trim it back if it is not enough then either look into couponing to make it work or trim another area of the budget so that you can increase your food budget. I use this budget for all house hold needs as well such as diapers, wipes, cleaning supplies and toiletries. We have a separate amount that we set aside for eating out. Right now we have $100 every month as our restaurant budget. With a family our size that might be gone after two nights out so we use it sparingly.
GAS is next oh the horror. When Brent is home this takes at least $200 every month and that is only because I am a home body and do not use the car much.I have been watching the price on gas go up higher and higher over the past ten years and it is just plain scary. Running out and buying a new car is not going to fix your gas budget blues so look into combining your shopping trips so that you are getting all of your traveling done on a more direct streamline route. Car pool to work or ride your bike if you can. Find fun family activities to do at home or a near by park instead of taking long trips every weekend. And keep your vehicle as junk free as possible. The extra weight causes extra gas consumption.
Our next budget item is BLOW MONEY. Again this will be different for each family but what works for us with our income is my husband and I each get $100 a month to do whatever we want with. That might include a run to Starbucks or a scratch off ticket (yes my husband gets the itch every now and then). It is our money our blow money. We also set aside $140 a month for family blow money. This goes towards fun family outings to the zoo or the movies anything that we do as a family comes out of that money. Once it is gone it is gone we can not replenish it until the next month so we are careful about how we spend it.
After all of that we have smaller itemized budget items to cover everything that might require funds throughout the year such as Dance, Karate, School (backpacks, supplies, field trips), Motor-vehicle (this covers insurance, oil changes, taxes, tags, maintenance), Clothes, Retirement, Date Night, Terminex to keep the bugs away, Furniture replacement or repair, Home maintenance, etc. Pretty much anything that you know will be coming up in the next twelve months you set an amount aside each month to take care of it so that when it does come up you are not caught off guard and you can take care of it.
The next thing we do is SAVE. We have an emergency fund which has saved us in the past and it saved us yesterday when we had a big repair that was more then our home maintenance fund could handle. If you have debt to knock out then you will want to pick up a copy of Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover and start your emergency fund of $1000. If you are debt free except for your house then your emergency fund should be equal to 3 to 6 months of expenses. It is by far the best financial decision we have ever made! After that emergency fund is taken care of then you can save towards other things. We have a couple "goal savings accounts" that we use to save up for family vacations, Brent's next truck or jeep, new cell phones and so on.
We do not use credit cards at all we pay cash for everything. If we want something we save for it. Having a budget has kept us on track and given us a raise in so many ways because it showed us just how much money we have to work with each month and how many bills need to be paid and where the rest of the money needs to go.Sit down with your spouse and write up a budget. If you need more information please check out the book by Dave Ramsey that I suggested it has really helped us out in so many ways.
Comments
Post a Comment