And once again, it's been a while since I've blogged. But I'm back- yay!
One of the things I enjoy most in my role of wife right now is budgeting and menu planning. Last summer, we took Dave Ramsey's 13 week Financial Peace University (FPU) class. If you haven't heard about it, or want more information, go to his website. I never thought I'd say this- but his steps for getting in control of our finances have changed our lives. Totally changed the way we look at money. Totally changed the way we handle our money! Hence, the Total Money Makeover title, I'm guessing. (there- did I give you enough chances to click the link to visit his page?)
As a result, we develop a monthly budget, and then break it down into a weekly budget, based on the tools we learned at FPU. I LOVE MAKING UP OUR BUDGET! It thrills me to no end, apparently, how I'm able to take our monthly income, divided it down into what it has to be used for, make a very organized plan for it, and then stick to the plan. THe first few months of budgeting were not easy. Actually, the first month was sheer torture- I hated it. the Firefighter and I fought about it quite a bit. We had some of our biggest arguments when we were trying to do the budget together- I'm talking raised voice, unhappy faces, finally someone leaves the room arguments. Yeah, nothing to be proud of.
BUT.
We finally figured out that us sitting down and working out the budget together was not working- and it was OK to change how we did it! So, after a few trial and errors, we discovered that it worked really well for me to draw up the monthly budget, break it down into a weekly budget, and then have the Firefighter review it. At that point, changes can be made by either of us once we've talked the proposed budget through. Then, I finalize the budget. At that point, it doesn't change unless there's something super major going on. As I type this, I can't think of a month when I've changed the monthly budget- I've definitely had to rework a weekly budget here or there, but for the most part, we've been getting better at sticking to the plan.
The little step I added on my own has been a huge help to us. Either the day before or day of each of payday, I sit down with that coming week's budget, take a sticky note, and write out all the things we'll be using our money for that week. I then take that sticky note with me to the bank, when I get out our cash for the week, and then it gets stuck to the side of the refrigerator. That way, we have a super quick reference to look at when we're trying to remember what we're doing with our money that week. It's really a great addition to an already good plan!
* I will now give major props to the Firefighter. When we first started budgeting, we had paperwork all over the place- budget paperwork, bills, calculator, pencil, everything was scattered. The Firefighter came up with the perfect solution- an expandable folder! We went to the store, and found an expandable folder that has 12 slots in it. I then made up tabs for January through December, labeled each slot, and voila! We now have our budget folder! In the front of it sits the calculator, several pencils, a pen, envelopes, our return address labels, post it notes, and a full year's worth of our 2 budget forms we use. Then, when I do the monthly budget, I take that months' budget paperwork, all the bills we will pay that month, and stick them in that month's slot. All the rest of hte bills that will be paid the next month, or bills that are ongoing, get put in the next month's slot. That way, only things I will be paying are in the current month's slot. It is an incredible system. The Firefighter is, once again, so incredibly smart! :)
So that's our budget plan. We both love it. I can't say enough good things about it. The FPU plan has helped 2 of my cousins get out of debt- they're both just a few years older than I am- can you believe it? And my goal is that by the end of 2009, we'll be joining the debtfree ranks. It may not happen, but it's the goal.
Wow. this was going to be about budgeting and then menu planning. Guess I'll have to wait til the next post to tell you about my love of a good week's menu plan! :)
