Sticking to the Budget: Part 1

When I write out a budget, I budget down to the last $1.  If we get paid $1200 in a paycheck, I spend every $1 of that paycheck leaving no room for flaws.... Haha

Just kidding.

I mess up the budget.  Not every time, but I have good months and bad months.  Budgeting is not easy, but it's essential to keeping track of the money that comes in. 

We have to know where our money is going in order to reach our financial goals.

Now you may say, "I've tried a budget and I have a hard time sticking to it."  You are not alone! 

This is about how my husband and I keep track of the budget each week. 

Cash It Out

After we've created our budget, we cash out certain categories.   We cash out the categories that we overspend on the most.  That way we don't have to constantly keep track of everything we spend on the debit card.  To be quite honest, keeping track of everything that comes out of our debit card is what throws me off. I use cash and put them in envelopes. When the money in the envelope is gone, it's gone. 

We cash out the following (bi-monthly):

Food $260

Non-food items $20

Leah's Spending Money $25

Fabian's Spending Money $25

Benaiah's Spending Money $15

Clothes $25-$50
Miscellaneous $50

Dog Food $40

Diapers and Wipes $50

Date Night $50
Babysitter $50

Other options:

Birthday/Wedding gifts

Vacation expenses

Savings

Extra Notes:

• I only take cash out for clothes when we "need" something. For instance, winter is upon us so we're buying clothes this season.  
• "Non-food" means detergent, toilet paper, paper towels etc...
• Diapers, wipes, dog food, babysitter, and date night are only cashed out once per month.

You can cash out anything you want! Don't let just my categories limit you.  After I've taken the cash out of the bank, I use envelopes to keep everything organized.  Don't let the idea of having envelopes
in your bag stress you out.  You can get creative. My friend has a wallet organizer for money.  You can use paperclips with sticky notes. Whatever floats your boat.

Also, I don't cash out gas and bills.  I like to pay for gas at the pump and we pay our bills online.  So gas must be kept track of!  After I go to the pump, I come home and record my gas spending on our budget.

If you're like our family, you get paid twice a month.  When we get paid, we have a sit down together during breakfast.  We talk about the budget together for about 15 minutes. I go that day to cash out our categories. After that, we look at our budget together around 1-2 times a week to make sure we're not off track.  It can be a quick, "Hey babe, this is where we are." I call them "Budget Meetings." Most of the time they last 20 seconds.  (Notice I italicized "together."  Budgeting makes our marriage better because we are working together toward one goal.)

You might have a hard time getting a grip on this at first, but after few months you'll have it down to an art.

The goal of all of this is for you and your family to be in control of your money, instead of your money controlling you.

Hope this helps!
As always if you have any questions, I'm an email away.
leah.mandujano@gmail.com

Always,
Leah