I used to think that a budget was a BAD thing. It has such a negative connotation ("It's not in the budget." "We have to make budget cuts."), and I never really even considered making one. I had a rough idea of how much money we needed for bills each month, and a rough idea of how much income we had. That was close enough for me.
When I started my new job, I suddenly realized that we needed to do better. I started researching budgeting, and I came across Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps. Joe and I have been loosely following his plan (because it makes sense!), and I'm really excited to pay off Joe's car in the next few weeks! It will be paid off about 1.5 years early. After that we'll start paying down the van. I'm hoping to have that paid off by this time next year (so 2.5 years early on a 4 year loan). I think our ultimate goal is to move in about 5 years- and we've been discussing trying to build a house. It will take discipline and some sacrifices, but it will be SOOOO worth it.
There are some great budgeting tools available these days. When I first started, I purchased YNAB (You Need A Budget), but now that we don't have a home computer, I can't use it. Tara got me hooked on Mint.com (FREE). It has made a HUGE difference in how I keep track of our spending. I was always really bad about keeping track of our purchases (especially with the debit card), but this makes it so simple. We even have an app on our phones (FREE) so we can both update our accounts on the go. I *finally* know exactly how much money we have at any given moment. Such a stress reliever!
There might be times when we say we can't "afford" something, but that's not always true. It's usually more that we are choosing to not spend our money on whatever, because we have other plans for our money. Personally, I choose to pay down our bills rather than spending money on myself. I would much rather get debt-free and start saving for a new house. I don't need a giant wardrobe, or fancy electronics (although my Galaxy SIII is pretty awesome). I HATE getting my hair cut, so that's an easy savings. :-) I'm really thankful that Joe is pretty much on board with all of this.
I'm not going to lie. It hasn't been easy. We're not perfect. We continue to spend WAY too much money eating out, mostly because it's easy. It's hard to work until 5, pick the kids up, make dinner, do baths and bedtime, and get stuff around for the next day without getting burnt out. We're doing BETTER, at least, and that's good enough for now.
Having our money in order and making plans for our future is actually kind of fun.
When I started my new job, I suddenly realized that we needed to do better. I started researching budgeting, and I came across Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps. Joe and I have been loosely following his plan (because it makes sense!), and I'm really excited to pay off Joe's car in the next few weeks! It will be paid off about 1.5 years early. After that we'll start paying down the van. I'm hoping to have that paid off by this time next year (so 2.5 years early on a 4 year loan). I think our ultimate goal is to move in about 5 years- and we've been discussing trying to build a house. It will take discipline and some sacrifices, but it will be SOOOO worth it.
There are some great budgeting tools available these days. When I first started, I purchased YNAB (You Need A Budget), but now that we don't have a home computer, I can't use it. Tara got me hooked on Mint.com (FREE). It has made a HUGE difference in how I keep track of our spending. I was always really bad about keeping track of our purchases (especially with the debit card), but this makes it so simple. We even have an app on our phones (FREE) so we can both update our accounts on the go. I *finally* know exactly how much money we have at any given moment. Such a stress reliever!
There might be times when we say we can't "afford" something, but that's not always true. It's usually more that we are choosing to not spend our money on whatever, because we have other plans for our money. Personally, I choose to pay down our bills rather than spending money on myself. I would much rather get debt-free and start saving for a new house. I don't need a giant wardrobe, or fancy electronics (although my Galaxy SIII is pretty awesome). I HATE getting my hair cut, so that's an easy savings. :-) I'm really thankful that Joe is pretty much on board with all of this.
I'm not going to lie. It hasn't been easy. We're not perfect. We continue to spend WAY too much money eating out, mostly because it's easy. It's hard to work until 5, pick the kids up, make dinner, do baths and bedtime, and get stuff around for the next day without getting burnt out. We're doing BETTER, at least, and that's good enough for now.
Having our money in order and making plans for our future is actually kind of fun.