Oh MONEY! Let’s be honest, we all love it and we all wish we had more of it! Even I (and my Husband) get the occasional piece of dream called a lottery ticket… just in case we can say GOODBYE 40 hours a week and HELLO FREEDOM!
Don’t we all wish winning the lottery and be set for life… we all do! Reality is that we need to be able to provide for our family and in order to do that, we need to work… and have a budget!
Budget, is such an adult word! Don’t you remember when you were 12 and all you needed to think was how fast you can complete your homework so you can go outside… or if that guy you have a crush on will be calling after school! Guess what, recess is over! You are an adult now and adults track their finances.
I’ll be honest with you, money is THE THING that makes most anxious. Not that I can’t manage it… believe me, I can (my Husband has to tell me to buy new slippers because mine got holes in them)! Even though I can manage money, having a fixed & firm budget makes me feel trapped –double anxiety–! How can I insure that:
1) we meet our financial requirements and needs?
2) I don’t feel we are trapped and not able to do anything?
The answer is BUDGET! However, there are different ways to budget.
I love to research the web and again, every article I find always depends on the author. Some will say, start saving. Others will say, get out of debt and cut down on open credit. What I say: I am not an expert! My opinion: in the end, you need a strong and structured plan. On our end, we tried different ways and found the way that works for us.
What we did might not work for everyone. For us, having it visual helps a lot. Therefore, we have set a calendar with all of our recurring payments. From there, we set ourselves fixed dates on which we will complete either savings or extra debt repayment dates (on top of car payment, mortgage, taxes, etc.). Having it written down makes us accountable. Also, by having these fixed amounts set forth, we know exactly how much money we have left for our variables (grocery, gas, entertainment, etc.)
The way we are budgeting right now is not perfect… but it works for us! But is there really a perfect way? The way I look at it is the following:
- Do I have a roof over my head for which I am able to pay each month?
- Do I have heat and light to keep my family warm?
- Do I have food on the table to feed my family?
- Are we able to support our family?
- Do you have money left over for a rainy day?
If the answer is yes, then we must be doing something right. Of course like everyone, I would like to have a new car, have the latest and greatest technology and go to Disney World (ok, that’s just me)… you know what I mean!
If you have dreams, don’t give up on them… plan them! Set forth in your budget an amount for that, even if it’s only 20$ a month. You’ll reach that dream eventually.
I think that when you have all of the above and a family that loves you and supports you (like mine is), you are the richest person in the world!
