Budgets and receipts and spending, OH MY!

One daunting task of moving to New England was budgeting for a higher cost of living. EVERYTHING up here is more expensive than where John & I moved from. The sticker shock is a very real thing!



Now, in our household, most all the finances are left up to my husband: mortgage, vehicles, utilities, credit card, etc. The exception to that is the "household expenses" - that is, groceries, and non-grocery essentials that are necessary to keep the house in proper running order.


It used to be that he handled those finances also, but it became difficult for him to track what type of purchases were "household" and what were "grocery" and what were "pet" from a vast pile of receipts from Walmart - especially since I am the one who makes all the household purchases.




So, rather than analyze each receipt out loud as he enters EVERY SINGLE ITEM, line by line into Quicken, we decided it would be easier to set aside a sum of money each month for me to run the house with. Doing this has been AMAZING! I have my spiffy Excel worksheet I created with my beginning monthly budget. Below that, broken into various columns, each line item I enter updates my current remaining balance for the month. This lets me know when, where, and what I purchased. It also lets me keep track of when items go on sale at each store, and certain trends in purchases so I look for sales to match our family's needs.

I am the type of person who needs to see where money is being spent and how much is left in order to spend efficiently. I'm the worst when it comes to spending blindly. If I don't know how much I've spent, I always think I have spent MUCH less than what I have. But, now that I keep my own budget, I know exactly how much I have spent, and how much I have to last through the end of the month.

By setting a budget lower than what I had been "blindly" spending, it has resulted in several benefits. First, and most obviously, we are spending less money. That is always a good thing! Secondly, I have become very thrifty, crafty, and creative. Being on a budget means, for me at least, I analyze where I can save money, and how. Some of those ways will be the topic of my next few posts. Thirdly, I find myself being happier with less (i.e., less television, fewer brand new clothes, fewer  movie outings, etc.)

Over the next few posts, you will see why. Why we are saving money. Why (and how!) I have become more thrifty and creative. Why I am happier to get a sewing machine or canning jars over new clothes or expensive dinners out.

So venture on, my inquisitive readers! Go and seek out the answers to your.....my.....OUR questions on the path of savings!