I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

So how is budgeting going, anyway?

Having a strict budget and keeping track of every expense has been an eye-opening experience. I tended to see the big things we spent on before, but a lot of little things got spent unnoticed. We are very strict about not going out to eat very often, my spouse brings his lunches to work, I don’t stop for lattes or coffees, so I thought we weren’t spending a lot of “miscellaneous” money and I blamed the groceries for a lot of overspending and why I didn’t seem to ever have any money left by bill time.

Well…. there are a lot of random little thigs that really can add up! Going to Target to pick up this or that, going to BRU for diapers, someone’s birthday we need a gift for, a few days of shopping at yard sales…. yikes! Wow. My infamous “latte factor” is more than I imagined. But not any more!

So I haven’t been spending a whole lot. Having the budget is keeping me accountable and making me evaluate every expense to determine if it is really necessary. But I am seeing where I *might* have spent money if I wasn’t being true to the budget and realizing how easy it is for a bunch of small things to add up. I know I have fallen into the mindset in the past where we have a few hundred dollars left over after a paycheck and I allow the spending to be looser than I should, getting a few random things we’ve been talking about or a few extra treats at the grocery store. I saw myself doing it yesterday grocery shopping — I knew I was under budget at Aldi’s (where I go first) so at Walmart I let a few things sneak into my cart that I shouldn’t have (I did boot some of them though.  And I left the absolutely adorable little girl’s Winnie the Pooh outfit on the rack untouched.  Yay me!).

So the budget has really helped me see where our money is going and realize why I don’t ever feel like there is any money left anywhere. My subconscious was allowing me to spend it before I would notice an actual usable surplus.

I have been pretty good about sticking to the budget. There have been a few slight overages, but I think if I average out this month and next month it’ll still come out on target. Right now I am having trouble figuring out what to do about my car. I have about $400-700 (hopefully closer to $450) worth of repairs I need to do before October (new tires and a diagnostic for why a few lights keep coming on on my dashboard) and my car maintenance budget is only $50/month. We haven’t had any repairs at all on either car this year, just routine oil changes and tire rotations, so if I had been keeping a budget since January, I know there would be extra $ in that category to help cover the expense. Not quite enough but about $250. I probably need to find a way to increase the car maintenance line item (from where, I have no clue) but also… how do I fit the repairs into the budget? I guess the money will come out of anything “extra” I make in pay when I have a good month. I hate how that category will look though…. very overdrawn. And I am not sure how to put into the budget that extra allowance. I’ll have to think on it. I’m going to have a similar problem when Christmas happens so I need to figure it out eventually.

Things to ponder. But all in all I give budgeting a thumbs up. Like the rest of the world has already figured out. I’m always a day late and a dollar short.
Hopefully at the end of this month I won’t be a dollar short though! We’re on track to have about $300-350 left over, pending how much more I make with selling books and craigslist before the month’s end. Which will go to savings until I need it for the car repairs. If the $300+ exists. I don’t believe it yet… but I’m trying.

~J

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