B-B- B BUDGET!

This post is linked to Frugal Friday

One of my five week goals has been to re-evaluate and get back on track with our budget.

If you remember not too long ago, we were learning to survive on a bare bones (to us) budget . We were radical in cutting expenses, and the results were amazing! Then my husband got another pay cut, and there is no other way to say it but that we were sinking. Fast. We began falling behind on our very basic bills, and it was time to realize that there are two things that can happen when  you can’t make ends meet: your expenses have to go down or your income has to go up. Since we did what we felt we as much as we could on the former, it was time to tackle the latter.

I made the difficult choice to return to work and began applying for a  job. God graciously provided me with one that paid well while still allowing me to keep my priorities in place (I work one 12 hour shift per week).  It has been about three weeks on the job, and the extra money has been such a relief. But I have noticed something.

I think we handle money better when we have less of it.

The past three weeks have been a whirlwind of adjustments for us, and me being so excited to get out of this pit we were sinking into, I signed up for a few extra shifts here and there to help us get ahead a little. That translated into mom not cooking much, planning menus, or bargain shopping. I “stopped by” the store the other day to pick up some items to get us through the next few days, and my jaw almost hit the floor when my total came to almost as much as we had been spending weekly. For a few days worth of groceries. Yikes.

I found myself becoming much more lax in what and where we were spending our money and the little expenditures here and there were beginning to add up. I don’t want to lose all we had gained while managing our finances in lean times.

Time to reel things back in here. If we are making more money but not handling it wisely, we will not be gaining anything at all. Our expenses could easily creep up beyond our new amount of income very quickly.

This weekend we spent some time re evaluating our budget and setting some new goals. There are some things we will keep out of our budget as a result of our bare bones trimming, and some things we will add back in. The important thing isn’t how little or how much we make, or even where you choose to spend and not to spend, it’s knowing and planning where our money is going.

Frugality, good stewardship, and budgets are not just for lean times. In fact,  during times of abundance are when these tools can become even more valuable for reaching savings goals. I loved the article that Tsh wrote recently about less java, more maturity. Just days away from meeting their goal of an emergency fund, she shares how saying no when you can say yes is so valuable. If you are new to budgeting, her articles on money management are really helpful and inspiring. And lets not forget the sage and practical advice from  a fellow by the name of Dave Ramsey .

The old adage is true: Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Do you find that you manage money better when you have less of it?

How do you handle budgeting your money in lean times and in times of abundance?