So I know this topic isn't very Fastlane, but I think that every one of us needs to know how to follow a household budget -- or else we might get rich with our Fastlane plans, but we'll end up pissing it all away if we're not careful in the end.
A few months ago, I began to get frustrated that our household budget never seemed to balance. It seemed like a constant that we would spend more than we took in. This was a problem, because our fixed expenses are fairly high, and we don't have a lot of expendable income -- so I recognized that we needed to put a choke chain on our spending pronto.
In order to solve this problem, I came up with an ingenious system that actually worked great to cut our grocery bill, shopping, etc quickly. I posted a chart on our fridge that has areas of spending that we can control (No mortgage, or auto loan, etc) -- for things like eating out, groceries, shopping, etc. I put very reasonable amounts on these areas and it started to work instantly -- We would mark on the chart every day what we spent, and when we hit a certain level in that area we would stop for the month. My genius plan was off to a great start!
Then I started to notice a trend as I looked back at our monthly credit card bills for the year. It seemed like there was always something that came out of the blue and ruined our budget for each month. Examples are in June I needed $1200 in dental work, and in July car problems cost us a random $250, then in August I need another $900 in dental work, and then in September -- we have to attend a wedding which will be a random $2000. I don't need to remind anybody what happens in December, which ruins almost every household budget in the world -- And it doesn't help that my wife's birthday is the DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS! ROFL...
Please share with me/others your tips for creating, and sticking to a household budget. I know there must be some people out there who are able to stick to a balanced budget every month, so let's hear your secrets to success!
Thanks,
- Hakrjak:smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4:
A few months ago, I began to get frustrated that our household budget never seemed to balance. It seemed like a constant that we would spend more than we took in. This was a problem, because our fixed expenses are fairly high, and we don't have a lot of expendable income -- so I recognized that we needed to put a choke chain on our spending pronto.
In order to solve this problem, I came up with an ingenious system that actually worked great to cut our grocery bill, shopping, etc quickly. I posted a chart on our fridge that has areas of spending that we can control (No mortgage, or auto loan, etc) -- for things like eating out, groceries, shopping, etc. I put very reasonable amounts on these areas and it started to work instantly -- We would mark on the chart every day what we spent, and when we hit a certain level in that area we would stop for the month. My genius plan was off to a great start!
Then I started to notice a trend as I looked back at our monthly credit card bills for the year. It seemed like there was always something that came out of the blue and ruined our budget for each month. Examples are in June I needed $1200 in dental work, and in July car problems cost us a random $250, then in August I need another $900 in dental work, and then in September -- we have to attend a wedding which will be a random $2000. I don't need to remind anybody what happens in December, which ruins almost every household budget in the world -- And it doesn't help that my wife's birthday is the DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS! ROFL...
Please share with me/others your tips for creating, and sticking to a household budget. I know there must be some people out there who are able to stick to a balanced budget every month, so let's hear your secrets to success!
Thanks,
- Hakrjak:smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4::smx4:
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