As you know, the envelope system has worked for me for a while. Our financial goals have been set, and some have already been reached. But, in the last month or two I've forgotten to put cash in those envelopes, and reverted to using our bank card. ... okay,okay ... and the credit card too. Ack!
Vehicle maintenance money, Christmas money - almost gone. Travel, household and clothing money? Forget about it. They were the first to go when I needed cash.This whole frugality thing seems to have left my brain in favor of camping, garage sales, and bulk buying. I'm still trying to find the balance between bulk buying and staying on budget. Sometimes my small budget means I'm paying more for less. Bulk buying however ... well, you see what I mean. That argument sends me over budget all the time.
Thankfully, there is room for such mistakes. The 'get back on track' plan will pretty much be to stuff those envelopes with 1-2 months worth of cash (from savings), and start again, desperately clinging to the budget no matter how much fun it isn't. ('remember the goals, remember the goals, remember the goals...') It's kind of cheating I think, but I've earned my way out of enough pinches without 'cheating', that I figure it's okay. :)
So, here's to getting back on track ... and staying there...
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I've gone over a couple months, by buying bulk and stocking up... but, after a couple months was able to go nearly without shopping... So, if you got good deals on stuff you really use, it should pay off in the long run, and some of the borrowed grocery money can go back to where it belongs. (And try not to buy 20 bottles of body wash like I did.) (I've only been doing this since January, but have dropped our food bill by 30% or more.) kerrydi@pacbell.net
ReplyDeleteLOL! I love the '20 bottles of body wash'! I hear ya :)
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