I used to be really good at budgeting. It helped that I lived at home after college & my parents were amazing and didn't make me pay for a lot of things: such as rent and groceries. Those are two huge expenses! I understood how lucky I was, trust me, but I still thought of myself as 'so good at saving' too because the money they saved me I put aside instead of blowing through it.
Now, I still don't blow through money, but since I got my house- & almost all my savings went into it- I feel I am still acting like I have this chunk of money in the bank. I need to be more realistic! I have a wedding coming up, a puppy, maybe someday another puppy (or kitty, or baby, we'll see!); gas prices are continuing to climb, I have to pay to park & take the commuter rail now & my new job gives me coffee breaks -AKA- go buy breakfast/coffee/something breaks. Plus the normal: groceries, clothing, heat, & all the continuous house renovations/problems we will have since we bought an older house!! AHH!!
I need to learn to budget. I'm clearly not as good at it as I thought, and it's hard to stop 'living the life you are accustomed to'! Going out for dinner on the weekends are something I really look forward to! :-( But it has to be done!
Anyone out there have some good budgeting tips they can give me?!? I need a plan!!
Thanks for listening guys :)
Hi KJ- there are two really good programs to help with budgeting. Mint.com is free and connects to your checking account and credit cards. Or you could buy Quicken, which is a more jazzed up version of Mint. Both have helped me with budgeting a lot.
ReplyDeleteExpenses add up so quick. Blah!