We have been budgeting every penny for 9 months now. And it is paying off big time for us!
By the end of this month we will have paid down $30,000 in debt... plus paid all of our bills (on time), fed our family of seven, saved for Christmas, saved for an emergency, and had a little fun along the way.
By the way, we live in an essentially one-income home, with two people who are willing to get any side job possible to help get to our goal a little sooner. There are some weeks that we look at each other and say, "Hey there, who are you and what are you doing in my home?" ;) Hotsauce is especially busy and seems to take his work uniform off just to put on his work boots and grubby clothes to go work on a remodel job.
And though we don't get quite as much time together as either of wish, we realize that this is the situation that we got ourselves into and it's our responsibility to get ourselves out. Personal responsibility is incredibly important to us and we have found great joy in the process of paying off that which we owe others.
With that being said, one thing that I believe both Hotsauce and I would say, is that having a "blow fund" or "pocket money" is so incredibly important to both of us. With every penny budgeted and no real "wiggle" room in the budget we need a little bit of money that is our very own to spend (or not spend) as we wish.
We get paid our blow fund every two weeks. It is a glorious day! Hotsauce will spend his blow money quickly. Typically on these gigantic cups of fountain pop from the gas station. Or to bring his favorite wife a candy bar when she's had a rough day raising "his" kids! ;) On the other hand I tend to save my blow money. I use it to buy "bigger" items that the regular budget doesn't allow for ... typically for me this would be clothing (above the budgeted amount) or something old, rusty or with chipped paint!
The rules with our blow funds are pretty simple. I get mine. He gets his. He doesn't get to tell me what to do (or not do) with mine. And, more importantly, he doesn't have to listen to me when I tell him what to do (or not do) with his... even if he's on the fast track to diabetes. :P
I actually feel "richer" than I ever have before. I have my own guilt-free money. I know a lot of moms who would love to have this. I must admit that in the beginning I had a really hard time using it on me, or at least only on me. I would buy pizza for the whole family or a snack for the kids and I when we were out running around. I have since changed my ways a little bit. Those were old habits. Going out to eat because I was too tired (aka lazy) to cook or buying a bunch of junk food at a gas station because I wanted a candy bar (I love candy) and had to appease the turkeys by getting them something too. Now I am seeing the benefits of saving my money for something that I really, really, really want. That's not to say that I've stopped buying candy all together...
If you've started budgeting and haven't allowed yourself a little pocket money you may be doing yourself more harm than good. Having a little space to treat yourself to something that you want will actually keep you on track and help you avoid discouragement. So go ahead, give yourself a little treat. Make sure that you're being reasonable in that amount too!
So how much should you give yourself? That's really up to you and your spouse (if you're married). We each get $25 for a two week period. In addition to that we give ourselves 10% each of any extra income that comes in... though we are considering dropping that to 5%. It does make it a little easier for me when Hotsauce is working a second job, knowing that our time away will net us a little fun later on. Though I'd much rather have the time with him! Also anything that I make at Turkey Bottom Haven will give us each a little boost in our pocket money as well as helping to pay off debt. It's a great motivation for those days when I'd rather just take a nap... or eat candy. ;)
All this talk of candy. Maybe Hotsauce isn't the only one on the fast track to diabetes.
By the end of this month we will have paid down $30,000 in debt... plus paid all of our bills (on time), fed our family of seven, saved for Christmas, saved for an emergency, and had a little fun along the way.
By the way, we live in an essentially one-income home, with two people who are willing to get any side job possible to help get to our goal a little sooner. There are some weeks that we look at each other and say, "Hey there, who are you and what are you doing in my home?" ;) Hotsauce is especially busy and seems to take his work uniform off just to put on his work boots and grubby clothes to go work on a remodel job.
And though we don't get quite as much time together as either of wish, we realize that this is the situation that we got ourselves into and it's our responsibility to get ourselves out. Personal responsibility is incredibly important to us and we have found great joy in the process of paying off that which we owe others.
With that being said, one thing that I believe both Hotsauce and I would say, is that having a "blow fund" or "pocket money" is so incredibly important to both of us. With every penny budgeted and no real "wiggle" room in the budget we need a little bit of money that is our very own to spend (or not spend) as we wish.
We get paid our blow fund every two weeks. It is a glorious day! Hotsauce will spend his blow money quickly. Typically on these gigantic cups of fountain pop from the gas station. Or to bring his favorite wife a candy bar when she's had a rough day raising "his" kids! ;) On the other hand I tend to save my blow money. I use it to buy "bigger" items that the regular budget doesn't allow for ... typically for me this would be clothing (above the budgeted amount) or something old, rusty or with chipped paint!
The rules with our blow funds are pretty simple. I get mine. He gets his. He doesn't get to tell me what to do (or not do) with mine. And, more importantly, he doesn't have to listen to me when I tell him what to do (or not do) with his... even if he's on the fast track to diabetes. :P
I actually feel "richer" than I ever have before. I have my own guilt-free money. I know a lot of moms who would love to have this. I must admit that in the beginning I had a really hard time using it on me, or at least only on me. I would buy pizza for the whole family or a snack for the kids and I when we were out running around. I have since changed my ways a little bit. Those were old habits. Going out to eat because I was too tired (aka lazy) to cook or buying a bunch of junk food at a gas station because I wanted a candy bar (I love candy) and had to appease the turkeys by getting them something too. Now I am seeing the benefits of saving my money for something that I really, really, really want. That's not to say that I've stopped buying candy all together...
If you've started budgeting and haven't allowed yourself a little pocket money you may be doing yourself more harm than good. Having a little space to treat yourself to something that you want will actually keep you on track and help you avoid discouragement. So go ahead, give yourself a little treat. Make sure that you're being reasonable in that amount too!
So how much should you give yourself? That's really up to you and your spouse (if you're married). We each get $25 for a two week period. In addition to that we give ourselves 10% each of any extra income that comes in... though we are considering dropping that to 5%. It does make it a little easier for me when Hotsauce is working a second job, knowing that our time away will net us a little fun later on. Though I'd much rather have the time with him! Also anything that I make at Turkey Bottom Haven will give us each a little boost in our pocket money as well as helping to pay off debt. It's a great motivation for those days when I'd rather just take a nap... or eat candy. ;)
All this talk of candy. Maybe Hotsauce isn't the only one on the fast track to diabetes.
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