But then something changed for me. I began to nottice a pattern in our spending...aka it was getting away from us. some months we would get to the end of the month and have nothing leftover, some months we would have A LOT left over and some months...some months were in the red.
I knew something HAD to change. So Hubby & I sat down and figured out what we were spending, and on what. From there we set parameters. We're only going to spend this much on this, and that much on that.
And now, I don't feel so scared of budgets. It is EYE OPENING to really see where your money is going. To see how much you're WASTING, or worse yet...what money you spend on something you can't even account for! It makes me stop and THINK before picking up that thing...you know that thing that you just think is so fabulous you've GOTTOGETITNOW? Turns out you don't got to. In fact I find that once I get over the initial poutiness of NOT getting it, I forget about it. And now I can SEE the money I would have spend on that oh-so-fabulous thing, go towards something more important!
I would encourage EVERYONE, even singles livin' it up at home, to make a budget. Even if it's just a loose and free kind of budget...make one! Accounting for where your money is going every month is a step in the RIGHT direction to being a GOOD steward of what God has given you!
Mint.com has been a super-de-duper way for my toddler fried brain to get a handle on how much has been spend in each category, and how much is left. They even have a app for that. SA-WEET!
Ok that's my peace, for now.
ooo congrats big sissy! I may be the only kid who instantly got moms weird gene because I've always loved budgeting... doesn't it actually get kind of fun after you get into it??
ReplyDeleteI used to use mint.com too! it's cool that they have an app. then I really loved the computer app MoneyWell which is fantastic too.
yayyy fun stuff!
I know it is work throughout the month to keep track of the expenses, but I agree it is very much worth it.
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