Money Management

One of the first lessons that I learned when I began couponing is that it is easy to get caught up in the savings and buy things you don’t really need.
It is even easier, and more justifiable, to go over your grocery budget to get great deals on items you will use, but don’t need right away.

In order to avoid making these mistakes, you have to realize and appreciate the value of having and sticking to a good grocery budget.

Importance of a Grocery Budget

1. Gives you accountability.
It is easy to say that you saved $x.xx amount on groceries, but you gain control of your finances when you are able to stay within a predetermined amount.

2.  Keeps you in check.
While stockpiling is a big part of saving money on groceries, a budget helps prevent excessive stockpiling.  Be sure to pay attention to expiration dates when
stockpiling.  If you can’t use it before it expires, maybe there is another item your grocery money should be used for.

3.  Helps prioritize your purchases.
Because of my grocery budget, I am much more careful with my purchases.  I am less tempted to splurge on a great deal on non-necessary items.

If you have not already, I encourage you to make a realistic grocery budget and do your best to stick to it. If you have a grocery budget, maybe you could challenge yourself with a smaller amount.  If you are having a hard time sticking with your grocery budget, review your spending habits to see if you need to cut back on purchases or if your budget amount should increase to meet your needs.

What helps you to stick with your grocery budget?

{ 0 comments }

Give Back.
While it is important to know where every dollar you earn is going, it is even more important to learn to let it go.  Don’t get so caught up in saving your pennies that you forget to help those around you.

Give to your church, give to a charity, take dinner to a neighbor in need, etc.  One of the most empowering things about a budget is that you can give knowing that your needs are taken care of.

Budgeting should not be done with a stingy- ” I need every penny for me” attitude.  It is all about being self-reliant so you are able to bless the lives of those around you.

Everything we have is a gift from God.  We show our gratitude by being good stewards of the things he has blessed us with and sharing with others when we are able.  As we give to others, we can gain a greater apreciation for what we have. Our desire to be self-reliant and share what we have is strengthened, and the cycle continues.

{ 0 comments }

Did you miss the first part of the series? Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Make Saving Fun.
If you are not careful, budgeting can be a grueling & discouraging task.  I enjoy saving a lot more when we budget for fun things along with the necessities.

For example, we have in our budget all of our summer trips & the amount we plan to spend.  We save for those adventures just like we save for retirement & health care expenses, even though they are very inexpensive in comparison.  While some savings goals will take a long time to reach, we can easily see our progress in our smaller savings goals.

As we save for fun things, I am more motivated to stay within my budget.  I know that if I go over in my groceries or eating out budget, I will have to take money out of my clothes shopping budget or our summer fun budget.

“A part of what you earn is yours to keep” -The Richest Man In Babylon

It is important to remember to pay yourself.  Save for fun things to help yourself stay motivated enough to reach the big goals.

{ 0 comments }

Read Keeping a Budget Part 1 and Part 2

Set Savings Goals
When both Daniel and I were in school, saving money instead of spending our savings was a huge deal- and very rare. Now we are able to put a little more aside in savings, we make goals each month for our savings. This is our proccess:

1st- We guesstimate what our earnings will be at the beginning of the month. (My income is variable, so we never know exactly how much our income will be.)

2nd- Subtract our fixed expenses (Rent, Insurance, cell phone, Electric)

3rd- We set a budget for what our variable expenses will be. (groceries, gas, car maintenance)

4th- Using these numbers, we decide how much we will be able to save.  Then we divide the amount into our different savings categories. (ie. Daniel’s education fund, Conner’s education fund, Trips, Travel & Fun Fund). Throughout the month we track our earnings and expenditures to ensure we are on course to meet our goals.

Setting goals helps us to have direction and save a lot more. If we did not have goals, we would be happy putting aside a much smaller amount.  Setting big savings goals pushes us a little harder to find ways to earn & save money.

{ 0 comments }

Analyze your Spending Habits
It can be so helpful to look back at your budget at the end of the month and analyze where your money was spent. It is amazing how fast all the little things add up! We look at our budget at the end of each month to see where we spent the most and where we can cut back. It is a great self check.

Here are a few weaknesses we have found and how we have tried to overcome them:

Eating out
We don’t eat out often, but it can be very tempting at the end of a busy work day.  To combat the desire to go out to eat instead of preparing a meal at home, we now create a menu plan at the beginning of every week.  This way we know what we plan to eat for dinner & that we have all of the necessary ingredients.  This also allows us to coordinate our meals with our schedule for each day.

For special occasions, like our anniversary, we use Restaurant.com to get more for less.

We have also tried to do some Freezer Cooking.  We do not planned a whole month of meals, but we try to keep one or two meals in the freezer.  If we are in a big hurry, or just don’t feel like cooking, there is a simple option for us.

Activities
We love outdoor activities, and it would be very easy to spend a large part of our budget on some of these activities- either for equipment or park passes.  We still budget some money for these activities, but we have found a few ways to save money on the things we enjoy.

First, make a list of things you like to do, then try to find a cheaper way to do it.

Examples:
Renting Movies- Watch for free redbox codes, or rent from your public library.  At our current library a library card is free.  Other cities we have lived in charge an annual fee, but your first year is free.

National Parks (Yellowstone)- Visit during National Park Week when there is free entrance!
We actually bought a pass last year, and our plan was to split the cost with another couple.  We never did it, but that would have been a more cost effective option.  You can get a year pass to Yellowstone for $50, and there are 2 spots for signatures.  It is $25 for a one week pass, so you would only have to go once to make it worth it!

Camping- In the past, we have gone camping with friends and split the cost of the camp site.

{ 2 comments }

My husband and I have experimented with a few different methods to try and find the perfect budgeting method. We are still not there, but we have learned a lot in the process. Over the next few weeks I will share a few things that I have learned from keeping a budget.

Keep it Simple.
This is especially important when you are first starting a budget, don’t let it get to complicated. If you try too much at once, it becomes a dreaded task.  Make budgeting something you can look forward to.

At first the excel sheet that we used to keep track of our grocery budget had slots for each individual item that we purchased- milk, eggs, bread, etc.. Going through each grocery receipt was quite a task. 

Now we have a dollar amount to spend on our groceries each month.  We keep track of each shopping trip and try to stay within that amount for the month. 

Budgeting is something that Daniel & I work on together.  We get excited about how much we save, and we motivate each other to do better when we are behind on our goals.  We have found that it is easier to stay motivated when we keep it simple.

{ 2 comments }