Something wonderful and beautiful has started around here. We have started budgeting. I put my foot down and insisted we do it as part of our 2013 changes.  I’ve attempted several times before. Made a plan, created a spread sheet… you know the deal. But there was never any follow through.

I couldn’t do it on my own, though. Just like the rest of our marriage, it requires both of our efforts. Billy was never really taught much about managing money when he was growing up, which makes it all the more intimidating and frustrating for him. Together, though, we managed to make it through our first full month of budgeting, beginning to end.

There are all kinds of free spreadsheets and templates out there, but none made me happy. Being the control freak that I am, I thought it would be better to just make one myself. That way I would understand the whole thing and be able to make the changes here and there as I see fit.

We created our own spread sheet which displays out monthly projected and actual income, spending, savings, and bills.  We have several columns to divide up our different types of spending {bills, gas, grocery, eating out, church, misc…} and sections to record any notes or observations, as well as debt progress. I have a tab for every month this year so we can keep it all together. Then we share it in a private drop box folder so we both have access to updating the file at all times.

This really seems to be working out well for us so far.

The best part has really been our teamwork.  Not just with recording and paying the bills on time, but in holding each other accountable on the spending.  Now that we are both more aware of exactly what we have spent and where we stand financially {communication} we are getting better at saying ‘no.’  No to ourselves and no to each other.

Heck, we even have Lilie Jo in on the ‘no’ action.  When begging to go out to eat I told her exactly why we didn’t want to spend the money for a good time now, rather save it to buy our own home later.  I enticed her with the excitement of painting her bedroom what ever color she wanted, getting a new kittie {or two} and building tree houses in the backyard.  Next thing I knew she was questioning every thing I looked at or talked about in a store, “Do you need that, Mommy, or just want it?”  God has started using my five year old to build my self control, apparently. Great.

We weren’t perfect, our first month, for sure. We still have some spending we need to cut out. Recording everything, though, has brought that more to light.  We see our mistakes more clearly and plan to work on them.  February, so far, is getting off to a great start, as well.  For the first time in a while, we have several bills paid even though they aren’t even due yet. That feels awesome.  Having a stable, more predictable income sure does help. I can’t wait until Billy starts his new job.

Well, kind of.  I won’t lie, he’s gotten pretty darn good at holding down the fort.  I wish I could just get a hefty raise and then pay him to stay at home. I’ve hardly even been allowed to cook, lately. Don’t tell him I told you this, but he might even be better at it than me.  Over achiever….yeesh.

What goals have you been working on for 2013? What was your progress for January?