We just had our budget meeting for May. A little later than usual, but still in the first week so that's good. This month was a breeze compared to last month. April had some growing pains in it, but it was definitely worth it.
We started budgeting in January 2013, using Mint.com to set-up different categories and allocate our spending. What we didn't have during January, February and March was "fun" or "blow" money as people out in the blogosphere like to call it. We had categories for shopping, entertainment and restaurants which probably encompass most of our normal "fun" money type expenses. Well, those plus travel, especially for me and all my game conventions!
In April, Jason specifically asked for a category that would be his own so that he knew exactly how much he could spend rather than having a nebulous amount in the aforementioned categories. So, we picked an amount and I set-up two new categories in Mint: "Jason Fun" and "Stephanie Fun"! We have equal amounts to spend on whatever we want. We also have the amount carry over from month-to-month so that if we don't spend the full month's worth, the surplus will roll over to the next month (and vice versa).
For April, we both finished with a surplus, mainly due to birthday presents from his family that we didn't deposit into our bank accounts until April.
I had kind of resisted the idea, but I'm glad we did it. It helps remind me that I have money that I can actually spend! I tend to spend money in mini-sprees. I'll hit up a few places all in one week and then chill on spending (other than groceries and eating out) for the next few weeks. So knowing that there's this amount in the budget that I can spend is kind of liberating. It's also nice because I don't feel guilty about spending it. I know it's an agreed to amount in the budget, so it's not like I'm spending money we don't have!
I think he likes it too because he can buy his video games or books or whatever else and not have to worry that I'm going to be upset that he's spending all the money and I'm not. I was getting upset about him spending our "restaurant" money on going out with his friends, so now that comes out of his fun money, so that avoids all arguments. And I can go out for my BFF lunch with Shane and not worry about Jason being upset that I spent $50 on lunch. It's a win-win!
Overall, I've been actually enjoying the budgeting. It's a little weird, I know, but it's nice to talk about it actively, instead of just sort of talking about it whenever a problem comes up. I like that we're on the same page. We both know exactly how much is coming in and going out and where it's going. It prompts discussion about the future, both short-term and longer.
Next up: Should I roll over my 401(k) to Vanguard?
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Monday, May 06, 2013
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Budgeting and Envelope System Update
I've now tried the Envelope System for two months. I allocated $150 each month for groceries and $200 for going out to eat.
December
Groceries - Wow, was December the completely wrong month to try to start this! Besides regular groceries, I cooked Christmas Eve dinner for Dave & his parents which was an extra chunk of cash. Trying to stick to a budget makes you realize how expensive meat is! I bought the prime rib on sale for $4/lb, so it cost $28. Between Christmas Eve dinner, there was also New Year's Eve. Those two "events" put me over my budget for the month by $89.
Dining Out - I managed to avoid the Christmas Eve dinner to Providence which would've set me back $150 easily. Instead, I came in $25 under budget. Woo-hoo! I really had to make an effort to do this. I had to turn down going out for dinner and stop myself from making a quick stop to pick up a quick something. This took a lot of conscious effort.
January
Groceries - I was out of town for over a week, which helped cut down on the groceries I needed to buy for the month. I stocked up on stuff that I can use over the next couple months, including 25 pounds of flour and hamburger patties. I came in $8 under budget!
Dining Out - I spent some money on the cruise for alcohol and ended up coming in $18 under budget!
So, over the last two months, I spent $38 more than I had budgeted, but! I feel like it's been a success. I easily could've spent a lot more money on both areas, but didn't because I was consciously spending. Or rather, consciously NOT spending. Normally, I'd just go with the flow and go out to eat whenever, but now I'm trying to plan ahead to figure out whether I want to spend the cash to go out. The groceries should be fairly easy to manage I think. It'll be tougher when I'm going to be entertaining more.
I'm going to continue on with the system for at least a couple more months and then reassess. The economy is totally going downhill, with no end in sight. Even though I have money saved, I'm definitely trying to save more money. It's always good to be prepared in case of an emergency and who knows, maybe I'll want to buy a house. I stopped at an open house yesterday and the home prices in Burbank have come down, with several of them even under $500K, but frankly, I think they'll come down a lot more over the next year, so I'm just going to sit tight and save up some more cash.
I did decide to not max out my 401(k) this year, but instead take more cash in hand. There's no company match where I work, so it's not like I'm giving up any free money. I'm still maxing out my Roth IRA though. I'm still investing in my investment account that is outside of my retirement account. That has been the most difficult. To keep investing the same amount of money in there without feeling a twinge of "OMG I'm going to lose money". I keep remembering what I read in the The Coffeehouse Investor
about how the no matter what the worst five year span is, it basically always goes back up... at least historically, it has! So I'm going to just chill and wait. And cross my fingers and hope that everything goes back up eventually. Besides, like Chris said, "It'll eventually go back up and if it doesn't everyone will be screwed, so it won't even matter."
December
Groceries - Wow, was December the completely wrong month to try to start this! Besides regular groceries, I cooked Christmas Eve dinner for Dave & his parents which was an extra chunk of cash. Trying to stick to a budget makes you realize how expensive meat is! I bought the prime rib on sale for $4/lb, so it cost $28. Between Christmas Eve dinner, there was also New Year's Eve. Those two "events" put me over my budget for the month by $89.
Dining Out - I managed to avoid the Christmas Eve dinner to Providence which would've set me back $150 easily. Instead, I came in $25 under budget. Woo-hoo! I really had to make an effort to do this. I had to turn down going out for dinner and stop myself from making a quick stop to pick up a quick something. This took a lot of conscious effort.
January
Groceries - I was out of town for over a week, which helped cut down on the groceries I needed to buy for the month. I stocked up on stuff that I can use over the next couple months, including 25 pounds of flour and hamburger patties. I came in $8 under budget!
Dining Out - I spent some money on the cruise for alcohol and ended up coming in $18 under budget!
So, over the last two months, I spent $38 more than I had budgeted, but! I feel like it's been a success. I easily could've spent a lot more money on both areas, but didn't because I was consciously spending. Or rather, consciously NOT spending. Normally, I'd just go with the flow and go out to eat whenever, but now I'm trying to plan ahead to figure out whether I want to spend the cash to go out. The groceries should be fairly easy to manage I think. It'll be tougher when I'm going to be entertaining more.
I'm going to continue on with the system for at least a couple more months and then reassess. The economy is totally going downhill, with no end in sight. Even though I have money saved, I'm definitely trying to save more money. It's always good to be prepared in case of an emergency and who knows, maybe I'll want to buy a house. I stopped at an open house yesterday and the home prices in Burbank have come down, with several of them even under $500K, but frankly, I think they'll come down a lot more over the next year, so I'm just going to sit tight and save up some more cash.
I did decide to not max out my 401(k) this year, but instead take more cash in hand. There's no company match where I work, so it's not like I'm giving up any free money. I'm still maxing out my Roth IRA though. I'm still investing in my investment account that is outside of my retirement account. That has been the most difficult. To keep investing the same amount of money in there without feeling a twinge of "OMG I'm going to lose money". I keep remembering what I read in the The Coffeehouse Investor
about how the no matter what the worst five year span is, it basically always goes back up... at least historically, it has! So I'm going to just chill and wait. And cross my fingers and hope that everything goes back up eventually. Besides, like Chris said, "It'll eventually go back up and if it doesn't everyone will be screwed, so it won't even matter."
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Envelope System: Halfway through December 2008
I decided to make December my "test" month for trying out the envelope system. I put $150 in my Groceries envelope and $200 in my Eating Out envelope. We're now a little more than halfway through the month and here's how it's looking so far...
Groceries
I've spent $104.62 on groceries so far, of which $14 was for vanilla extract that will probably last me for the next two years and $7 was for pure entertainment of friends (some chips and dip). It's gonna be tough to stick to this and I may have just allocated too little to this envelope. Especially with cooking Christmas Eve dinner and co-hosting a New Year's Eve party. I only have $45.38 left and the standing rib roast I want to make will likely take up $25 of that even with the meat on sale this week. Hmmm... Maybe if I can spend less in the eating out department... How's that looking?
Eating Out
Tonight was my major outing for the month, an annual Christmastime tradition of eating $18 AMAZING grilled cheese sandwiches at Campanile. Add wine, cheese as dessert and a mandatory gratuity for a large party (not that they don't deserve it because the service at Campanile is excellent!) and you've got yourself a $50 dinner. I am proud of myself for not falling into the valet trap. I found street parking for free, a block away, while everyone else paid $6.50 plus tip for valet parking. I will gladly walk two blocks to save $8 dollars for nothing. I had planned on spending up to $60, so I am happy that it was only $50.
Back to the progress report... I've spent $104.86, so I'm on track to be OK for the month if I don't go crazy. I've been invited out for drinks tomorrow night with one group of friends and dinner with another... I might have to skip one or both if I want to have leftover money to put towards extra groceries and party supplies.
Overall
I'm happy with the budgeting. I've been taking some ribbing from friends, but I can take it. It's my money and sure, I might look cheap sometimes, but at least I am in control of what I'm spending and more importantly, I'm consciously spending my money. The envelopes definitely help with this because seeing the money in the envelope and writing down on the outside of the envelope exactly how much I spent helps me keep an eye on it. I've also been enjoying cooking more at home. It makes me feel more productive. It's a nice feeling.
Groceries
I've spent $104.62 on groceries so far, of which $14 was for vanilla extract that will probably last me for the next two years and $7 was for pure entertainment of friends (some chips and dip). It's gonna be tough to stick to this and I may have just allocated too little to this envelope. Especially with cooking Christmas Eve dinner and co-hosting a New Year's Eve party. I only have $45.38 left and the standing rib roast I want to make will likely take up $25 of that even with the meat on sale this week. Hmmm... Maybe if I can spend less in the eating out department... How's that looking?
Eating Out
Tonight was my major outing for the month, an annual Christmastime tradition of eating $18 AMAZING grilled cheese sandwiches at Campanile. Add wine, cheese as dessert and a mandatory gratuity for a large party (not that they don't deserve it because the service at Campanile is excellent!) and you've got yourself a $50 dinner. I am proud of myself for not falling into the valet trap. I found street parking for free, a block away, while everyone else paid $6.50 plus tip for valet parking. I will gladly walk two blocks to save $8 dollars for nothing. I had planned on spending up to $60, so I am happy that it was only $50.
Back to the progress report... I've spent $104.86, so I'm on track to be OK for the month if I don't go crazy. I've been invited out for drinks tomorrow night with one group of friends and dinner with another... I might have to skip one or both if I want to have leftover money to put towards extra groceries and party supplies.
Overall
I'm happy with the budgeting. I've been taking some ribbing from friends, but I can take it. It's my money and sure, I might look cheap sometimes, but at least I am in control of what I'm spending and more importantly, I'm consciously spending my money. The envelopes definitely help with this because seeing the money in the envelope and writing down on the outside of the envelope exactly how much I spent helps me keep an eye on it. I've also been enjoying cooking more at home. It makes me feel more productive. It's a nice feeling.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Tightening the Financial Belt
I have been completely avoiding looking at my Vanguard account because I knew that my stocks must be down. I invest mainly in index funds, so I've been positive they would be down, down, down... I finally logged in to check on them and sure enough, they're so low that it's almost enough to make my stomach turn! I haven't stopped my regular contributions though. I'm gonna struggle through the emotional side and just keep plugging away at it. It did really help me resolve to buckle down on cutting my spending.
Which brings me to the next big thing that I've put off and off... trying to make a budget! Or I should say: MAKING a budget. I guess the even tougher part will be STICKING to it.
That is one of my goals this weekend. To figure out how much I am spending on the essentials and then how much I want to spend. I'm dedicated to eating food out of my pantry and freezer though, so that should get me through a lot of December. I have a lot of food in there!
I am pretty certain that my biggest expenditures are traveling (one of the downfalls of having a long-distance boyfriend) and eating out (foodie friends will kill you in that department!). So, I'm going to institute the Envelope System for the eating out and maybe groceries. I have no idea how much I actually spend on going out to eat each month, but should I be spending more than $200? I think not, so I'm gonna stick $200 in an envelope and every time I eat out, I'll take it out of the envelope. If I run out of money, I won't go out to eat. Luckily, so far, I only have two times this month that I KNOW I'm going out. I may adjust this amount if I come up with some data while making the budget that makes sense.
How much to budget for groceries? I'm a single woman who entertains often... $150 a month? Hmmm... that's a toughie. Maybe research is required on that one. I guess I could try $150 a month and see how it goes. December has the danger of being more expensive with New Year's and Christmas dinner thrown in there. Meat's expensive!
As far as traveling goes, most of my traveling can be broken down into: going to see Greg and gaming conventions. Gulf Games is coming up in February and I really don't want to miss it. I have a roommate lined up and maybe I could use a free ticket I got from United for being bumped on my white water rafting trip. That would make it more affordable for sure! *sigh*
OK - I can do this. Deep breaths...
Which brings me to the next big thing that I've put off and off... trying to make a budget! Or I should say: MAKING a budget. I guess the even tougher part will be STICKING to it.
That is one of my goals this weekend. To figure out how much I am spending on the essentials and then how much I want to spend. I'm dedicated to eating food out of my pantry and freezer though, so that should get me through a lot of December. I have a lot of food in there!
I am pretty certain that my biggest expenditures are traveling (one of the downfalls of having a long-distance boyfriend) and eating out (foodie friends will kill you in that department!). So, I'm going to institute the Envelope System for the eating out and maybe groceries. I have no idea how much I actually spend on going out to eat each month, but should I be spending more than $200? I think not, so I'm gonna stick $200 in an envelope and every time I eat out, I'll take it out of the envelope. If I run out of money, I won't go out to eat. Luckily, so far, I only have two times this month that I KNOW I'm going out. I may adjust this amount if I come up with some data while making the budget that makes sense.
How much to budget for groceries? I'm a single woman who entertains often... $150 a month? Hmmm... that's a toughie. Maybe research is required on that one. I guess I could try $150 a month and see how it goes. December has the danger of being more expensive with New Year's and Christmas dinner thrown in there. Meat's expensive!
As far as traveling goes, most of my traveling can be broken down into: going to see Greg and gaming conventions. Gulf Games is coming up in February and I really don't want to miss it. I have a roommate lined up and maybe I could use a free ticket I got from United for being bumped on my white water rafting trip. That would make it more affordable for sure! *sigh*
OK - I can do this. Deep breaths...
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
No Christmas Gifts This Year
I don't know about you, but I've definitely been much more conscious of my spending. Buying a new-to-me car took a big bite out of my savings and with my 401(k) and investments taking a dive, I've decided to just chill out for Christmas and not buy Christmas gifts. *gasp!*
This decision was also helped by doing Ramit's savings challenge the month of November. He created a website called No Christmas Gifts This Year and I've already used it to send out cute emails to some of my friends to let them know that instead of exchanging gifts, I'd much rather spend time with them playing board games or cooking a meal together. My free time has really become more precious this year and spending it with people I love is much more important that having more stuff. Especially when I'm constantly trying to fight the battle of The Stuff in my one bedroom apartment!
That said, this isn't a hard and fast rule. I adopted a woman through my church who needs some help and I'm planning to buy something for my boyfriend and my nephew. I might also give away things I currently own as gifts. I already started before I left town by clearing out my closet and giving Shane some clothes. I have my eye on something else to give her as a gift.
I also plan on sending out Christmas cards. I think I failed to accomplish that last year and I want to remedy that this year. I usually participate in the BGG Secret Santa exchange, but I downgraded myself to the Christmas card exchange. I'm very much looking forward to it as I have several people on my "to send" list and half of them are out of the country! If you aren't sure you're on my Christmas card list and want to be, send me an email with your mailing address!
The final issue is this... I'm not sure about buying a Christmas tree. I love having one and decorating it, but they do cost about $60-90 depending on how tall they are. That may have to be my one Christmas indulgence. I'm hosting a couple Christmas get-togethers and I think a decorated tree will be a nice addition to the festivities. Maybe I could get a shorter one? I love the big, tall trees though. And I know the fake trees are more practical, I don't know if I can revert to one! The real ones are just so darn pretty!! Oh, the dilemma! I think I'll just buy one. It just won't feel like Christmas without the tree...
Next to try... the Envelope System...
This decision was also helped by doing Ramit's savings challenge the month of November. He created a website called No Christmas Gifts This Year and I've already used it to send out cute emails to some of my friends to let them know that instead of exchanging gifts, I'd much rather spend time with them playing board games or cooking a meal together. My free time has really become more precious this year and spending it with people I love is much more important that having more stuff. Especially when I'm constantly trying to fight the battle of The Stuff in my one bedroom apartment!
That said, this isn't a hard and fast rule. I adopted a woman through my church who needs some help and I'm planning to buy something for my boyfriend and my nephew. I might also give away things I currently own as gifts. I already started before I left town by clearing out my closet and giving Shane some clothes. I have my eye on something else to give her as a gift.
I also plan on sending out Christmas cards. I think I failed to accomplish that last year and I want to remedy that this year. I usually participate in the BGG Secret Santa exchange, but I downgraded myself to the Christmas card exchange. I'm very much looking forward to it as I have several people on my "to send" list and half of them are out of the country! If you aren't sure you're on my Christmas card list and want to be, send me an email with your mailing address!
The final issue is this... I'm not sure about buying a Christmas tree. I love having one and decorating it, but they do cost about $60-90 depending on how tall they are. That may have to be my one Christmas indulgence. I'm hosting a couple Christmas get-togethers and I think a decorated tree will be a nice addition to the festivities. Maybe I could get a shorter one? I love the big, tall trees though. And I know the fake trees are more practical, I don't know if I can revert to one! The real ones are just so darn pretty!! Oh, the dilemma! I think I'll just buy one. It just won't feel like Christmas without the tree...
Next to try... the Envelope System...
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