Early in marriage I was determined to get a grip on the little bit of money we had. I happily created a budget and announced that we had a plan. To my dismay and great frustration we constantly failed at living within in it. New things came up every month. My plan for the year was down the toilet and so was budgeting. Sound familiar?
Life is not as simple as we might imagine when it comes to our money. Although there are many stable and regular expenses, with each new month there are different expenses. A yearly budget plan probably is not going to cover these and help you plan. Just to name a few of the variables, heating and cooling bills, Birthdays, holidays, guests over, going as a guest, school starting, haircuts, vactions…the list goes on and on.
For us the principle of making a new budget every month revolutionized our finances. In the last few days of each month we revisit our budget worksheet for the coming month. Now there are some line items that don’t change. But there are others that need to be discussed and planned for. And then, we get to talk about it together, planing together, and heading off conflict and frustration in the future. We both get to agree on our limits for each area. As an added benefit I get to be more aware about holidays and birthdays and therefore more involved with the family matters. Now we are telling every dollar where to go.
Try it yourself… but determine ahead of time to stick with it for a year. Monthly budgeting is like riding a bike for the first time. You are going to wobble, fall off, and have to get back up adn try again. There are all kinds of worksheets available to help you get started. Personally I really like the zero budget plan available at www.daveramsey.com
