Just did my first budget: Encouragement, please!

[GoofItUp]

I just completed my first budget. Tomorrow is Aug 1 and I've been saying for about 3 or 4 years that I'm going to start doing a monthly budget. I finally just started. Now I'm very nervous about if I can meet it!

Just for reference, I've never carried a credit card balance (with the exception of 1 month after we got married -- it took 2 months to pay off our honeymoon expenses, but that was 12 years ago!) We have, however, gotten in the bad habit of needing next month's check to pay for this month's credit card bill. So, I'm motivated to get that under control!

After listing everything out, the thing I'm most nervous about is my Grocery category. I have $261 for groceries for the month. We do have lots of ground beef, a few round steaks, and a roast in the freezer, and a well-stocked pantry. If I plan well I really think I can make it on this amount. It will take a lot of discipline, though. There are a few opportunities to squeak a little extra out of other categories to cushion this one, too.

For those of you who budget....were you nervous the first time you did yours? Were you able to meet what you had planned out? I need some reassurance, please!

 

[JCMHutch]

Sounds like you have a plan. Its great that you don't carry CC debt. For groceries, we spend about $400-$450 a month for 2 people and 2 cats. We eat at home, bring lunches (DH love leftovers), use coupons, shop at the wholesale club and try and stock up with sales. Unfortunately, where we are, stores don't do a lot of BOGO free, no double coupons, etc. After watching a piece on Aldi's I really wish we would get one around here. I might consider abandoning my Market Basket if we had an Aldi's

Groceries are the only area I can't seem to get down (I did see a government survey a few months ago that says the average 2 person household spends @ $125 a week on groceries so I don't feel so bad). Also, since we live in the northeast, things tend to be more expensive. Since this is our "bad" budget area we have cut back elsewhere.

Another possible savings area if you have a cell phone - see it your company offers a discount with your cell carrier. My company offers a 13% discount with Verizon Wireless. While we only have a basic plan (no texting or web) it is saving us @$10 a month.

Your going to feel great when you finish your month on your budget and its a success!

 

[dsilva51]

Where did you see a piece on Aldi's? I have been going there on and off and was just curious as to what they said.

P.S. I think you can do it!!! If you think about it, you have budgeted a little more than $50 a week for food and you have a decent stock pile. Go through your stock pile and create meals around it.

You CAN do this!! Have faith!

 

[Karenj2]

Not that I'm an expert, but here's my advise: now that you've got your budget figured out, try it, and don't beat yourself up if you overspend in a category (as long as you don't spend more than your income). I've been use a budgeting program (www.ynab.com) for a few years now and I still find myself playing "whack a mole" when I blow the budget on a particular category. As long as you account for every penny each month, you'll be able to see what your realistic average is.

 

[wdwfan16]

Good Luck

 

[thebigkahuna]

Firstly, congrats! You are taking steps, and that can be the hardest part!

from personal experience, i can tell you it took about 3 or 4 months to "tweak" my budget. the first one was good, but left out a few things, and didn't account for my impulsive habit of eating out & getting "to-go" food.

I joined the "no-buy" thread, and that really helped my pinpoint my budget "leaks".

Once i knew where my money was going, the 2nd month of budgeting went easier.

Just keep on track, and don't get discouraged! It is worth it to know where your money is being spent and where you can save.

 

[Tink-aholic]

Your budget needs to be complete, and there may be some categories that you have forgotten. Did you account for medical copays/prescription costs? Pet food/vet bills? Haircuts, gifts, vehicle repairs, oil changes, home repairs, etc?

I would build in a "sinking fund" for expenses that will come around (like auto repairs, home repair, vehicle replacement). That way you won't be tempted to use the credit card when one of those things comes along.

It is also a good idea to have an emergency fund. Have you read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover? He recommends to have six month's worth of expenses as an emergency fund. One of my favorite sites is Living Like No One Elsellnoe.com.

Good luck.

 

[JCMHutch]

Where did you see a piece on Aldi's? I have been going there on and off and was just curious as to what they said.

I think it was on the Food Network (before we decided to drop our cable!). They explained the no frills shopping and how they limit their product line to keep the prices low. I would love one of those in New England!

 

[maslex]

I think it was on the Food Network (before we decided to drop our cable!). They explained the no frills shopping and how they limit their product line to keep the prices low. I would love one of those in New England!

Not sure where in Mass you are, but we do have Aldis in New England. We live in CT and I have 2 that are near me. (well...one near me and the other about a 1/2 hour away) Go to their website and type in your zipcode and see if there is one nearby. Hope this helps!!!

 

[KKB]

On the budget...no cc debt.
$261 can be done for groceries but that is VERY tight. I do feed a family of 5 on $500-600 with careful menu planning & watching sales/coupons. We eat mostly lean burger & chicken breasts (or what I can catch on clearance at Target). We do eat lots of fresh produce, few convenience foods. But 5 of course can eat for less pp than 2...
I went to Amazon & searched for Suddenly Frugal & came up w/ a list of several books to pick up at the library, one being family feasts for $75/week. Plus one by coupon mom--these could really help w/ your budget!
Keep us posted!

 

[Mom2Ben02]

I love food.com (recipezaar) for budgeting. You can search by ingredient, so if you have a stockpile of ground beef, or if chicken legs are on sale, you can filter to that item.

Good luck! I think $261 for groceries is totally do-able. Just shop the sales!

 

[GoofItUp]

Thanks for the encouragement and tips! If I can get by on this for one month, next month should be significantly easier since I won't have a new cc balance to pay. I did budget for prescription costs, and am hoping, hoping, hoping for no medical bills this month. I have little kids and the summer months tend to be good for us. It's the winter that's the killer! My oldest started "leveling-out" by the time he was 2, though, and I'm hoping my youngest will do the same -- he'll be 2 next month. One of my sons will need a haircut this month, so I've got that figured in. And we have no pets, so there's one category off my list.

I did "budget" for oil changes -- we have 2 coupons to 2 separate places for free oil changes that I'll be using this month. It will be a little more hassle since they're not as close to the house, but will be well worth it as that is $60-80 saved!

We do have a significant emergency fund built up. But we have only dipped into that once in the last 10+ years. I am trying to leave that record standing!

Certainly I will keep you updated as to how we do this month! And I'm going to check out the Aug No-Buy thread, too!

 

[barbmouse]

Don't forget items that you may pay yearly or every 6 months such as taxes and insurance. Those are our "killer" categories!

 

[5stljayhawks]

Here is a little something I saw one time in regards to averages of where the money goes. These are % of what you make. For instance "Else" is daycare and Misc stuff(makeup/cloths/guns and butter, I guess butter would be food).

In regards to debt and CC, since you are nat carrying any CC debt, do you have a rewards card? I am thinking about adding another for Costco, since i have to pay debtcard anyways. for almost all others, I am using disney visa, with around $30 per month in rewards points. This next trip we will have around $600 disney $. My food bill is round $500 per month, I average around $400 a month at costco, 70% food, 30% other cloths/books/DVD player, Tires, paper plates, Round-up...


Standard
Housing 30%
Debt 10%
Traspot. 18%
Household 7%
Else 11%
food 14%
Savings 10%
100%

 

[blanq]

No, I wasn't nervous when we started a budget. Prior to beginning, we tracked every penny spent for two months. That helped us get a sense of how we were spending our money and where we could cut back to increase our savings. So, I went into budgeting with a realistic plan.

Budgeting to me is kind of like healthy eating. If you stick with it for awhile it becomes habit. I started a budget, logging everything a number of years ago. I think another key to making a budget successful is being realistic about it, and making sure you have some spending money for fun things; kind of akin to having a brownie once in awhile when you are on a diet! I pulled back from budgeting about two years ago. I have noticed we are frittering away more of our money these days, and not adding to short term savings in the amounts we previously did, so we are back on our budget.

 

[GoofItUp]

UPDATE: If anyone's interested, I thought I'd do a daily - or maybe every other or few days as the month drags on - update on how my budgeting is going. Maybe it will encourage someone else to get going who, like me, put it off for too long. I got our water bill in the mail today. I actually felt a little excitement when I saw it in the mailbox, wondering how closely I had hit the mark with my budget amount. I had budgeted $4 too little for it. That's pretty close, though. I can certainly make that work this month!

I joined the Aug no-buy thread, also. I set a goal of 15 days that I spend NOTHING this month. I was nervous this morning as I realized I needed some milk. DH set up for my aunt & 3 cousins to come for dinner, though, so when she called to ask if she could pick something up on her way home from work, I told her I needed some milk! Hey, I want to make this work this month and am willing to do what it takes to get there!

 

[thebigkahuna]

I was nervous this morning as I realized I needed some milk. DH set up for my aunt & 3 cousins to come for dinner, though, so when she called to ask if she could pick something up on her way home from work, I told her I needed some milk! Hey, I want to make this work this month and am willing to do what it takes to get there!

Now that's making the budget work!! Way to go & see you on the no-buy thread!

 

[Irin997]

Congrats on starting (and sticking with) a budget! I recently just began using You Need a Budget (YNAB) and I love it. I think this program will finally get me on track.

As far as food goes, I tend to only shop the grocery store for things that are on sale AND I have a good coupon for. Also, I never buy meat here unless it is on sale. Otherwise, I buy needless items.

I shop at BJ's for bulk items that I know are cheaper there then anywhere else. I also usually buy 1 type of meat here each visit to keep costs down. I also have a BJ's CC that I earn points that will soon be rewarding me with a $30 BJ's check.

I also do a ton of CVS shopping and I never have to pay for my personal care items anymore...well, pennies worth. I buy shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hair color, medicine, band-aids, makeup, etc here for basically free. A lot of times I am also able to buy peanut butter and cereal here for just about free too. Check out the CVS threads for help here.

I just paid off my credit cards while exhausting my savings account to do so and I'm very scared to not have any cash in savings. However I have an excellent savings plan and with the help of YNAB, I'll be back in the swing of things in no time.

My main worry is getting through Christmas this year.

 

[bettymae1121]

Also, keep in mind that a budget is a "living" document, it can, will, and should change from month to month as your needs change and prices for goods and services fluctuate. Because you are just starting out, you could be under estimating some catagories or have forgoten some things you should have included.

In short, it can take you a few months to get a handle on a realistic budget, so if it doesn't seem to work very well this month, keep trying in September and October. You'll get the hang of it!

ETA: And to the poster that said the national average for two adults is $125 a week, thanks! That's what I spend (give or take, right now it's higher because fresh fruit is in season and I eat tons of it) and I thought it was way too high, turns out I'm doing really well because I buy mainly organic foods, which cost a bit more than non-organic.

 

[mrsklamc]

I may not fully understand the no buy thread but if I had a certain number of days to spend $0 on, I am concerned it would just cause me to spend that money on other days.