Budgeting
This is the fourth in a series of Friday blog posts about bargain hunting and ways to save money; when you spend less on the necessities in life, you and your family can use the money you’ve saved for the more important or fun things in life – vacations, a down payment on a new home, updating your interior, or some long-needed remodeling. To see all of my ‘Bargain Hunter’ posts, click here.
In this week’s blog, I’ve decided to focus on some major mistakes I, myself, have made in the past with my own budgeting:
- Not fully committing to a budget plan: This is one of the biggest mistakes I have made (as I know many, many people do!), so not long ago, I set up a spread sheet (though you may want to get this elaborate, it has helped me immensely) to keep track of everything. I have a column for all our bills into which I put the amount we will owe each month (if I have to estimate, I estimate high), then a column for our projected income. I then put in my checking account balance, add the projected income and subtract the bill amounts (I include a budgeted amount for food as well). This gives me an idea of how much I have to spend on trips to McDonald’s and Taco Bell, kids’ clothes, movies, etc.
- Spending money on items just because they’re on sale (clothes and shoes are my weaknesses!): Some tips on keeping from doing this include steering clear of the clearance racks, not bringing your credit card into the store, choosing to do an activity other than shopping, and not buying something unless you actually need it – do you really need another pair of black shoes or a second beige skirt just because it’s a different material? I used to do this all the time, but I realized just how much money I was frivolously spending – I’d MUCH rather spend my money vacationing on some beautiful beach or paying off my mortgage early!
- Not making savings/investments a priority: For many years I thought, “Oh, I’m too young to worry about investing in retirement or saving for a rainy day,” but the hard truth is that you’re never too young; I have a lot of catching up to do now that I’m 45! I didn’t work toward retirement savings and I lost my job and had no money saved to help pay the bills until I was able to find work – like many of you, I thought I was invincible! Not true, however, as, unfortunately, so many of us found out during the last few years.
- Keeping up with “the Joneses”: For a long time, I was rather obsessed with being the best dressed on the block, driving the best car, “having it all,” but when I lost my car after losing my job, I realized that driving a clunker isn’t as horrific as I had thought, buying things for my children on clearance or from garage sales when they needed them was actually a fun challenge, and baking cookies with the kids instead of buying them Oreos was a great way to spend time – not money.
Budgeting and “doing without” can actually be a blessing if you let it be; though it can seem a bit burdensome and won’t be easy at first, it’s well worth it when you find yourself sipping a cool beverage on the beach on your next family getaway or relaxing in your home-without-a-mortgage-payment when you’ve retired.
