This is a REAL LIFE approach to finances. I created it so you can set your budget and not budge it. I’m gonna tell you this budget may seem weird. Like, super kitschy. In fact let’s call it the Kitschy Budget! I’m also going to go ahead and tell you this budget is super effective. Like, ridiculous. So let’s get to work!

(Psssst… y’all see what I did there… Budget… Budge it. I really crack myself up. Alright now, for real real, y’all, let’s get to work.)

Part 1- Setup

I hate budgeting. You weren’t expecting that, were you!

Don’t let that scare you off though! Shoot, it should make you even more eager to hear what I have to say about it. Well, at least when combined with the information that:

1- We have been successfully budgeting with the same methodology for over 7 years.

2- We have paid off well over $50k of debt.

3- I opened and operated a business, a restaurant nonetheless, without acquiring any debt or investors.

I probably have your attention now, huh?

Hating budgeting forced me to find a way to manage money that didn’t make me lose my mind!Read More

In 2009 it hit me: I needed to get control of my money!! I was a new mom. I had just bought a house. And I was always trying to figure out where my money went! Before my daughter, I lived paycheck to paycheck and a pretty large portion of my check went toward dining, shopping, and entertainment, which seems pretty common. Once I had my daughter my goals drastically changed. Also pretty common. Ultimately my priorities were no longer to shop and eat out but rather to be prepared and provide.

Having your goals clearly outlined is so crucial in money management. Luckily you don’t have to have kids to set goals. Maybe you want to save for retirement… or vacation. Whatever your goal, it has to be YOURS. 

Knowing what you spend on month-to-month expenses is ESSENTIAL to your financial well-being!

Some, like the mortgage, the internet, and phone bills, are easy because they are pretty consistent every month. My daughter’s daycare was trickier because it billed by the week. And I straight up struggled with utilities because gas and electric could fluctuate greatly! I was discussing this with a co-worker and they suggested looking into the average monthly billing offered by the utility company. For those of you not familiar, the company takes the last year of usage and averages it, then bills you the same amount every month, adjusting yearly for any changes in usage or cost… but I thought, why couldn’t I just do this myself? So I averaged the last 12 months of each of my monthly expenses, using Google Drive Sheets to do the dirty math work for me. Now I had my monthly average and I knew what I needed each month to live.

Tonight:

So your homework tonight is to set goals and average your monthly bills. I recommend you pull your bank statements or other spending records to make sure it’s as thorough as possible. Include EVERYTHING you pay on a monthly basis. Don’t omit anything! Right now we aren’t trying to cut things, just identifying what you spend on a month to month basis: Housing, utilities, car insurance, life insurance, charitable gifts, lessons, medications, school expenses, gym memberships, out of pocket medical such as counseling services, lawn care, phone bills, daycare– EVERYTHING! Create a spreadsheet using Google Drive or Microsoft Excel and insert the amounts spent per month to find the average. (I included an example in the image above for you to refer to!)  You can do it with pen and paper but I highly recommend starting a spreadsheet because it will be used in the future steps. If you’re struggling let me know! I’m a Dave Ramsey Financial Counselor so I’m happy to help!.

Once you complete that we’ll move on to Kitschy Budget Step 2: The Execution!