Hi everyone! How's those budgets working for you? What method are you doing? Are you budgeting monthly for everything? Have you started any sinking funds? (Funds saved a little over time for a future purchase .. like my Christmas '20 fund is already at $280; I save $10/week). Whatever it is you are doing, I hope you have read enough about my blog or watched my Youtube posts that you are doing SOMETHING - versus stressing weekly or monthly how you are going to pay for things.
Honestly there are some weeks I worry about $$, but not nearly as much as I used to. The 'freedom' of just knowing there is savings for an emergency, the option to purchase Grace new clothes (I just bought her 4 packs of shorts for summer, $53 later - but it was something that she absolutely needed), and then $81 for onesies - with her gtube, onesies is the best way to keep her hands out of rubbing it or the skin around her gtube). My point is it's a good feeling to be able to spend when you have to.
So, it's mid-month and I always like to do a check in of how the month is going. Remember I started with all budgeted CASH for groceries in June and I'm loving it. I take out $60 every pay check (or income that comes in - 6x's in June, and that's my budget for the month - $60x6 = $360; however I had last week of May as well added - so my budget in June is $420. And I'm sticking to it. I will probably continue with the CASH for groceries & eating out in July. I put about $20/week for eating out in that envelope as well.. I meal plan, so we only get take out for dinner about 1x week, sometimes not. This past weekend we got breakfast out both Saturday and Sunday (even take out breakfast is cheaper than dinner, and it's a nice treat on the weekend - before Covid, we used to go out to breakfast one day on the weekend anyway - so that's nice).
I still have cash in my grocery envelope and I'm doing another deposit of $60 today, as i got in a little extra income. I like funding those two envelopes and have started a 'gas' envelope for my husband as well.
My mid-month check in is going well.. I did close out my "Acorns" account - that was $5.00 a week into an online investment account - i am putting some money pre-taxes out of my check into a childcare account to get reimbursed for childcare - right now, with Grace out of school, we have a few rotating childcare providers and spending nearly all of my paycheck to pay them at the end of the week - this will let me reimburse myself up to a certain amount of money - it's not nearly enough, but again it's something.
Hope you're all doing well.. and budgeting along!
My tip for June: every LITTLE bit counts.. whatever you can put aside now, on a weekly basis... do it & watch how quickly it becomes $10, $25, and then $100!!
Thanks all!
pattie
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