Budget Time

Been without a computer for awhile and I'm finally back up and running!

Okay I'm moving away from the menu thing for a while since it is still a work in progress for me, and moving onto an aspect of organization I've got down pat - The family budget.

10 months ago my family and I switched from using our debit card and having a very loosey goosey budget to what we like to call our "Cash Budget". It seemed a little daunting at first - but we are SO glad we did it and have NO plans to go back.

As the one in the family in charge of the bills and finances it also relieved a lot of stress. It takes some organizing and planning - but it is TOTALLY worth it.

I'm going to take you through it step by step so you can see if this can work for your family.

Step 1:
- Keep track of your family's spending and bills for 1 month. (Figured Feb 1 would be a good time to start)
- Write down every bill that you pay (gas, trash, water, electric, mortgage, student loans etc)
- Remember you may have some that come every 3 months or so - try not to forget about these, you'll need to know the amount for the month they are due!
- Write down every automatic deduction you have that comes out of your bank account (gym membership, daycare, tanning - whatever it may be)
- Write down every amount you spend - grocery, out to eat, coffee, clothes, etc. And write down what it was spent on.


This step HAS to be completed in order to move on and give the cash budget a try - again, a bit of a pain (save the receipts if you want and add them up at the end), but look on the bright side - February is a short month!!

Good luck and if you have any questions let me know.