FInally looked at the budget tonight ...
2 posts
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Brandie 
713 posts
Posted 4 months ago
We’ve been putting it off. February was a wash … things were so crazy with grandpa’s passing away and all the expenses we spent around then … and for the first time since like Feb 5, we looked at the budget tonight.
Yeah, don’t go that long people! We were WAY over for March … is it any wonder when we weren’t looking at it all the time and really seeing how/where we were spending money. Not to mention even though I just have 2 littles ones here right now, I have spent like 3 times what I normally spend for groceries! it has been insane. I think they have empty legs – and of course they are both tiny and skinny but holy cow can they eat!
The good news is the tax return saved our butts big time. We have a baby emergency fund (which we have blown through in the last two months). But thanks to the tax refund, the emergency fund is back to where it should be, and we filled up our car insurance, car repair, life insurance, dental, gift and educational funds [note: all of them had money in them already … every month we automatically transfer 250 into savings and spread it around to which funds need it.) The bonus is the only other things we are saving for (vacation, car tags, home repair, medical) each have enough in them to get us by on the minimum we need and because I am closing a whole life insurance policy tomorrow – all but vacation will be completely filled next month. Which means for the next three months we should be able to take our full savings amount and send it to the vacation fund for vac in July. And after that, we can start saving up to fix a small leak in our basement.
So after tonight I have concluded that we are more than just making it buy. We are doing pretty well. It may not be well in the form of designer handbags, new outfits, dinners at fancy restaurants. I still need ot budget for weekly groceries and get clothes from the thrift store. I’m still going to work the part time job I have set up for the summer, and we will still be very wise with our money. But we have money is savings! If a big disaster hit us, we would have some trouble, but our car breaks down? We can cover it. A trip to the ER comes up? We can cover it. What a tremendous blessing!
Anyway, during this time we weren’t looking at the budget (almost 8 weeks) I learned two things: I spend a lot more than I was before and I thought for sure we were almost bankrupted. Isn’t that funny? Because you’d think I would have spent less since I thought things were worse than they were. But somehow it just flies out of your hands so much easier when you aren’t really looking! But now, now I’m ready to buckle down, get serious again.
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Becki
693 posts
Posted 3 months ago
I find that I keep a less-close eye on the finances when I’m afraid of what I’ll see. Illogical, but true. Glad things look better than you thought!
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