Real Life Budgeting – Stacy and Erik

Photo by: Darby Elizabeth Photography

Stacy and Erik have recently finished their first full month of budgeting and were helpful enough to share some of their thoughts with us:

How has budgeting helped you so far?

I love that budgeting keeps us accountable for where we spend our money. I am a compulsive buyer by nature, so knowing that I have a limit and that I have to enter that number into the budget has really helped.

What’s the toughest part of budgeting?

The toughest part is when you overspend in one portion and you have to adjust the budget and take money from something else.

Are you making better buying decisions because of your budget?

Yes! It helps to reign in my compulsive buying nature as I step back and say, “Do I really need this?” or “What is more important to me? A candy bar now or Halloween candy later?”

Any tips for “sticking with it?”

Just do it! It takes time, but not that much, and it is so worth the time for that peace of mind. I have my GoogleDoc open on my computer all the time. Every time before I go to the store for groceries I check to see how much we’ve budgeted so I am sure that I can stay within the limit.

What advice would you give a first time budget-er?

It’s hard to give advice when we are still in the learning stages and I still consider myself a first time budget-er. But I would say be really vigilant especially that first month.

It took us 3 months to make it through ONE full month of keeping it updated. That first month is the hardest I think. If you are like me, you only have a vague idea on how much you actually spend on groceries, gas, etc. So keeping track that first month you may be suprised at what you find.

It was much easier to “cut” back and re-adjust things when we knew how much we were actually spending. It’s hard to be frugal if you don’t know what you spend. It’s become a game for us. Can we spend less on our grocery bill this month than we did last month? We’ve come up with different activities to do for dates so we can cut back on the cost of eating out every week. It’s been fun.

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