New Year, New Budget!
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January 9, 2012 •
One thing we learned over the past year is that you can’t just plan a budget and put it on auto-pilot. Too many things fluctuate, making it necessary to revise it periodically. We sat down prior to my daughter’s birth to really tackle our debt and budget. It was “deep budgeting” where we looked at our financial goals, true salaries, expenses, values, the whole nine yards. I’m not sure why, but we actually have a hard time setting actual budgets. Those hard limits are scary!
But even scarier was our debt in 2010! Credit cards, mortgage, student loans, car loans, medical bills… eesh. It’s so important for you to write out EVERYTHING coming and going. Previously we never got as specific which led to more frivolous spending without having the extra dough to play with… thus creating more debt. One thing to consider is debt consolidation right for you? I had consolidated my student loans shortly after graduating from college to lock in the interest rate and have fewer payments being sent every which way. I found that to be helpful. We weren’t sure if consolidating would help with our current debt, but after using a credit consolidation loan calculator we found it wasn’t for us.
Thankfully with some thoughtful planning, we were able to pay a nice chunk down (like several thousand) in the span of a couple months before sweetpea was born. Then, to my surprise, it has continued to decrease despite us reducing down to a one income household. Maybe “one income” isn’t accurate because I do earn some money via Tales From the Nursery, but it hasn’t replaced my old job’s income yet (even though it was crappy pay, haha!) I’m thankful we’ve been able to stay afloat, but it’s time to take a hard look again. We need to know bills will be paid, debt reduced AND savings increased as we go forward in 2012. My blog income is not a set steady paycheck, so it takes more planning. Some months I earn more than others and it’s rather unpredictable (which is precisely why a defined budget is important!).
So, it’s the new year and it’s time for a new budget plan!
How often do you revise your budget? Have you created your 2012 one yet?
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Disclosure: I was provided compensation for my time in writing this post. You know it fit in perfect with my goal talk!
Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tags: budget, financial, goals
Great idea! I know we need to start off fresh and just try budgeting! We have not stuck to our budgets in the past and this year is totally new and in need of a budget! :D
We do a budget every month since our lives change month to month but it’s usually close to the same.
My husband is the “budget” guy because he’s the one that does the books which is totally fine with me! We do have a budget for 2012!
I revise my budget after every paycheck LOL
seriously, I probably tweak it monthly, and overhaul it twice a year… once in January, and once in July when we typically get our annual increases (if we get one).
I “Try” to revise my budget monthly as, like you say, things fluctuate so much. I haven’t yet done a 2012 one. I’m scared too LOL Thanks for the information.
-Dawn aka dawnmomoffour
thedoyle6@rogers.com
We talked about the fact we have to do a budget for 2012 back in november but as yet we still havent done it though i know we need to.
I definitely need to sit down and do this, especially now that the bills for our new house seem to be settling out so I can see what they really will be each month. I have things I want to save for!formulamom
Yes, I am in the process of keeping a budget. It is so important because a household can have runaway finances if they do not know where their money is going. I need to stick to a budget daily!
The kids are grown and moved out, we do not use credit cards only debit cards and pay cash for everything. This keeps us out of debt. Most people try and live beyond their means and this gets them in huge amounts of debt. Some debt cannot be avoided though like hospital bills, etc.
I am trying to follow a budget but it’s hard. I do follow one but not very closely
We revise our budget every 3 to 6 months. I totally dread it every time, but feel better to have over with and a game-plan once we are done. It’s lurky right now. Bleh.
Our budget is flexible, but we try to keep it around the same each year. It’s so important to stick to it as much as you can though – too many friends of ours have had problems by not doing it.