Brian and I don't live with a lot of financial margins. We don't have any savings. We don't use credit cards. We have a lot of medical expenses. We eat a lot of minimally processed food-this translates to higher grocery bills.
Most of the arguments Brian and I have are about money, or rather my lack of ability to manage it well. It's one of the things that most discourages me about myself.
We really had it out just before Christmas. There was a miscommunication and so even though I made some money selling cinnamon rolls, it didn't end up translating as extra money. It turned out okay but felt like a major defeat.
I have heard a lot about different budgeting philosophies. Once upon a time, I did a great job of tracking my daily expenses. It didn't translate to a budget, but I was able to see where my money was going.
At one time, I dug myself out of a considerable amount of debt. I know that I'm capable of living beneath my means. I know that I am able to say no to myself when I want things. I took this latest failure as a personal challenge.
Though I don't have a credit card, I use my debit card. Previous to a couple of weeks ago, I was writing down all of my transactions and subtracting that from my overall budget number. The problem was the lack of a framework. The number on the sheet would say I had $100 left. Woohoo! Except that really, that was supposed to be gas and grocery money.
There were many times when I exceeded my number, when I only had $20 to spend on groceries, when I wasn't sure how I was going to put has in my car. I just got fed up with the whole thing.
I decided to stop using my debit card. I withdrew the total amount of money I was allotted and distributed the cash into envelopes. One was for gas, one was for groceries, one was for eating out...you get the idea.
Two weeks later, things are going pretty well. It's two days before payday and I still have $100 left, sitting in wait. I am starting with my personal trainer on Saturday and I'm not in a panic. I have money allotted for the next time I have to buy wheat berries. Most importantly, I have $50 set aside for savings.
It is not a perfect system. I still have to tweak it here and there. At the same time, there is a peace about doing it this way. I don't have to worry that I've not tracked an expense or that I've overspent. I don't have to make $20 stretch to cover a week's worth of groceries.
It is tough, though. I forgot my list when I stopped at Jewel on Sunday. This meant that I forgot to buy popcorn and forgot to set money aside to buy coffee. I haven't had coffee since Sunday and the kids are jonesing for popcorn.
I will go shopping Thursday morning. I already have a plan for the money. I am excited to execute the plan. I am working toward saving $1000 this year.
I'll keep you posted about how it goes!
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