The word “budget” makes many people head for the hills. Who wants to sit down and do a budget? Budgeting means no more spending money, you can’t get your favorite coffee anymore, and Christmas can’t be fun.
I disagree. Our budget has helped me and my husband focus on two things:
1.More of the things we really want
2.Less of the things that aren’t that important
Over the years, I’ve made many mistakes. I’ve also learned how to overcome my mistakes, and have talked to other couples about their budgeting process.
Budgeting does not have to be hard. It’s a process like anything else. Here are the 3 biggest budgeting mistakes I’ve lived through myself:
1. Leaving things out of the budget!
•Clothing -We all need to wear clothes, so it’s hard to say “I’m going to shop at Goodwill for the rest of my life, so I don’t need a clothing budget.” I’ve tried this myself when the kids were little…guess what? We still needed essentials…. Who wants to wear used underwear and socks?
•Spending money-I suggest you each have your own “allowance” for every budgeting period. Money you may spend however you wish. Makes budgeting a little less painful.
•Gifts- Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day, weddings, baby showers, etc.
•Restaurants- Times have changed. When I was growing up, to go to a restaurant was a huge treat! Now, most of us have restaurant food at least once a week. According to the National Association of Restaurants, in the year 2000, we were ALREADY eating out 4.2 meals per week on average. Even if you THINK you aren’t eating out anymore, I suggest putting a number in the “Dining Out” category.
•Infrequent expenses- insurance, memberships or subscriptions and medical expenses
2. Not being realistic.
There are a few areas in your budget that are surprisingly more costly than you think!
•Groceries-You probably have a number in your head right now for how much you spend per month on groceries. I always thought I could keep it under $500 a month. (this was several years ago…I’m up to speed now) Food is now the first item in the budget, and it gets more than its fair share. You will be surprised when you start tracking your grocery receipts. All those little trips to the grocery store add up!
•Gifts- This has got to be the most frustrating category in our budget. Christmas comes at the same time every year….but weddings, birthday parties, baby showers….those things are sometimes unpredictable. Here are two ways I’ve learned to deal with the problem:
–Set aside money every month for Christmas.
–“Pre- buy” baby gifts, wedding shower gifts, and kids’ birthday gifts. That way, I have a stash when the event happens unexpectedly.
3. Not communicating with your partner and giving up too soon.
I put these together because it’s easier to give up and say budgeting doesn’t work rather than sit down with your partner and work on finding solutions.
•If you’ve never budgeted before, it’s a new skill. New skills take time to learn. It is going to take several months of trial and error before you have a workable plan.
•The “final” budget is never final! It will change due to new jobs, added income, lost jobs, illness, etc. At the beginning of each month, you only make a budget with the knowledge you have at that time.
•It’s not something to beat yourself up about.
As a CPA, I figured this stuff should come easily to me.
Wrong assumption!
I’m still human and have a husband that’s human too. We BOTH make mistakes with our money. We have the normal communication problems many marriages have. I have learned to accept that the budgeting process is not perfect, and it’s OK that I don’t spend the EXACT amount for every line item in our budget.
The best thing you can do for yourself is keep these things in mind, be flexible, and GET STARTED!