The Surprising Categories on Our Budget

Why so much talk about a budget, Jamye?  Because it’s around the first of the month!  This can be your best month yet!  {Maybe not your best but at least a good start because it does take a few good months to get your budget fine tuned… just being honest.}

Sometimes finances can be so taboo to talk about. I kind of feel like it’s a hush-hush subject. It can be this quiet comparison.

When someone gets a new car, we can be consumed (consciously or subconsciously) with our personal reaction. All are mere speculations. We don’t really know the financial situation of the buyer.  We will never know if they leased it, have a loan or paid cash! And yet, we have to keep our cool in not trying to keep up with them!  Talk about the “deceitfulness of wealth”, right?!  {Getting off my soapbox.} 😉

I just love you and I want to give you hope! I simply want us all to get the momentum to live real, authentic lives of financial freedom so we can do all God has asked us to do!

And I don’t know about you but sometimes I just want to know…”are we doing this right?”

That’s why I love Dave Ramsey’s debt free screams.  I get to hear concrete numbers and scenarios that give me motivation to get in control of this debt and out finances.

Our Monthly Budget List

While I’m not going to share with you our specific numbers, I will share with you the categories we have on our budget right now. And my hope? We can encourage each other this month to pay a little more attention to our budget and who knows? Maybe pay off some of that debt or save (invest some more money if we’re debt free)…. Or, let’s get even crazier! Give like crazy and bless in the name of Jesus! 😉

So here we go. Let me share with you what’s on our excel spreadsheet:

1. Tithe {10% to our church}
2. Mortgage {home insurance and taxes are included in this}
3. Electricity
4. Gas
5. Sewer {every other month}
6. Water
7. Trash {every other month}
8. Cell phone
9. Insurance {car}
10. DEBT
11. Life insurance
12. Internet
13. TV
14. Car Payment {DEBT}
15. Cash – that I pull out to put into my envelopes each week for food, gas and household supplies.
16. One child’s monthly Kid’s Club gym membership {this is a new one, but oh so worth it!}
17. Other items we put into our monthly budget meeting at the first of the month.  These things might include the following:
    • school pics
    • birthday gifts
    • extra gas
    • special dinners
    • special occasions
    • soccer sign ups
    • sports attire
    • a needed date night
    • babysitting
    • doctor’s visit co-pay
    • doctor’s bills
    • needed clothing item

In my excel spreadsheet I set $____ amount for every category, every month. I usually allot an amount high for each month’s “start template” (this is so that I have a ballpark figure before the month begins).

Example: $90 for our house gas, and in the summer months it can be as low as $30.  Woohoo!  That means I save $60 and that goes into the DEBT fund.  That’s our #1 focus.

I have budgeted this way for years and it works for me. Dave Ramsey suggests having every month be its own unique budget. Ours ends up being its own unique budget but I always start with that ballpark figure template. This is an incredible way to take control of your finances.

So why do all of this? Because I have a dream!  Read about it here if you haven’t yet.

Therefore, what’s surprising about our budget you ask?   Ha! Not much! 🙂 I guess it’s not too fancy and anyone can do a monthly budget!

So be encouraged and get to budgeting!

Lots of love,

Jamye