Alright guys, I'm gonna be brutally honest here. For the past two months I have not been keeping to any kind of a budget or even really tracking how much I've been spending. I could give a million reasons ...er.. excuses, but the plain ol' fact is that I've fallen down on the budgeting job.
So now I think I have paid any and all lingering expenses related to moving (ya know, all those "final" bills - ugh!) so I *think* April will be a more normalized month.
So tonight I spent several hours going to all the various financial websites with my money info, a trusty calculator, a piece of paper, and my copy of You Need A Budget. Over the past few months I have made various attempts at setting my budget straight, but it just wasn't happening. So, tonight I started with a completely blank budget, and started it from March 31.
I decided that I was going to leave $1k in the Emergency fund, pay off my CC (~$800), and put the balance (minus March's pay) in my Freedom Account. From my Freedom Account I'm going to pay my 6-month's car insurance, the balance of my renter's insurance, and have money designated for car repair, clothing, entertainment, etc.
Well, I was feeling pretty good about how I had all the numbers working out for me .... then I realized something. In all of my categories there was one VERY important thing I had not set aside ANY money for --- My brother's wedding!! Well, he hasn't quite asked her yet - will be on Sunday or Monday - but it's a pretty foregone conclusion that she's going to say yes. So, that means that probably in August or September I'll be making a trip to Flordia to see my little Buster Brown get married and finally have a sister! This of course is going to cost money - whether I drive down there or fly. So, I went back to my budget and added a Wedding category, and cut money from one of the other categories to start funding for it.
So hopefully this month I will actually keep myself on my budget and keep track of my money.
KIF,
Laura
Getting my budget on track
April 1st, 2006 at 05:12 am
April 1st, 2006 at 07:00 am 1143874847
April 1st, 2006 at 05:23 pm 1143912208
I, too, have a Freedom account...a true budget-saver!! I have always maintaned a 'misc' line item for those unexpected things. This account has kept me on (or close to) a budget for almost 5 years!
Congrats (almost) on gaining a new sis!