When getting started with budgeting, and even when you have been trying to budget for some time, it can be a little confusing of where to start. In order to create a successful budget, you need to know where your money goes.
If you have never used a zero-based budget before, think of it as telling every dollar you have where it will go for the month. When you total up your budget categories, your total income minus total expenses should equal zero. It doesn’t always mean every dollar you have is spent. It means that you are giving each dollar of income a job to do or a place to go.
Dave and I sat down together for a few minutes this week to discuss our budget. We have often talked briefly about our spending limits each month and called it a “budget meeting”. This time though, we went more in depth and really talked through each part of our budget – the income and expenses, cash envelope amounts, sinking funds and current debts – for the month and our overall plan for 2020. Going into the new year we hope to really crack down on our budget.
Whether you are saving for a wedding, saving for a home, trying to payoff debts or just trying to make extra room in your tight budget, these discussions will be helpful to keep you both on track.
We have been living on a budget for nearly 5 years and we have made so many changes to our lifestyle. We have had many budget slip ups and bumps along the way. There have been so many unforeseen circumstances and only now, 5 years later, do we have a clear vision of what we want our future to look like.
A budget is a lot like a diet. If it is too strict it can easily fail and if it is too lenient it will also fail.
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