At Home: The Budget

Up until this year, I struggled to use a budget consistently. I would feel inspired, keep something for a month or two, and then forget about it. While I wanted to be sensible and understand my spending, I didn’t keep at it long enough to notice any trends.

Things changed when I moved a year ago. I needed to keep an eye on things as I changed jobs and bought new items for the home; while most of these are purchases you make once, I knew I needed to be mindful as I started renting and had my first full time job.

Surprisingly, I really enjoy budgeting now. I know how necessary it is to keep my finances in line and I want to glorify God in my income and in my spending. I didn’t always used to be sensible with my money, but it didn’t take long to become disciplined in keeping a budget and sticking to it.

I have learned things along the way, naturally. The three biggest lessons I’ve implemented have been;

/ Keeping a fortnightly budget and not monthly.

My budgets always used to be monthly, because that makes “sense”. What also makes sense? A fortnightly budget because I’m paid fortnightly. I’ve only implemented this in the last month, and it has been a game changer. If I were to look at my income and expenses monthly, I could overspend in the first fortnight because I don’t have that full income yet. Keeping a fortnightly budget also makes it easy to shuffle numbers around should I have a big expense coming up, like car insurance.

/ Adjusting the budget as needed

Did everyone else know your budget doesn’t need to stay the same each fortnight? (I never claimed to be a genius, okay.) This has been helpful because if I spend more in one category, I can just minimize another. Of course, there are fixed expenses within this… rent, internet, phone. And I always need a certain amount for groceries. But there is so much flexibility within the others; I don’t need new clothes every month, which allows me to spend more money on cheese. (Incredible.) It’s also helpful when I look ahead at those bigger expenses, such as car insurance, and can spend less one fortnight to allocate it in the future.

/ Adding to the budget that day

Gone are the days when I would confuse myself by scrolling through my bank account transactions. Now I make a note of what I bought that day that needs to be added to the budget, and I try to add it within 48 hours. This way I know the information is correct instead of missing a transaction or putting it in twice. This also means I’m checking my budget at least once a week (after a grocery shop) and keeping an eye on how things are going. While I never want to become obsessed with money and overthink it, I do need to know how things are looking each month.

These are three simple ways I have made budgeting work for me. I may not be an expert with original advice, but I have always liked to blog about the realities of keeping my home organised. I am one person, with a relatively simple life, learning as I go.

(And now, to deal with the soup on the stove.)

Sarah xx