Organization: a Key Component in Budgeting

I briefly touched on how being organized is important and vital in being successful with budgeting and saving money in an Instagram post last Friday. In this instance, being organized is synonymous with planning. You are organizing your budgeting by planning what expenses you will have. As you will see today, being organized does not mean you will always reach your goal because you also need dedication and self control but it will truly be helpful in planning your budget and being prepared for life events and being realistic with how much you can spend and save. Here are some areas that I think it is important to consider and plan for each month.

Tools

Some people really like apps on their phone or computer to plan but I really like to use pen and paper. The act of writing down something helps make it real in my mind. The most important tool is a calendar of some sort: it can be a planner, a simple calendar sheet or a calendar page from your Budget by Paycheck Workbook (I invested in this last year and will be able to use it for two consecutive years which makes it worth the initial cost for me).

These are the categories you should plan for each month and write on your calendar:

• special events that month (birthdays, anniversary, holidays)
• special events that year (Christmas, school starting, anniversary, vacations)
• when bills are due and which paychecks will pay for them (especially if 2 incomes or paid every two weeks)

Being organized will help you save money as you will know what incomes is coming in and out and you will have a lot of less unexpected expenses.

Food: Meal Planning

Meal planning will prevent you from using the excuse of eating out or ordering take out because there “is nothing for dinner”.

• Planning for the week: I usually plan different types of meals when my husband is home and when it is just me and the kids: I go for simpler. more child friendly meals which are often times more budget friendly also (can anyone say mac and cheese?).
• Menu and shopping the sales: I like to shop at Kroger and Aldi: I typically shop the Kroger special sales and what I know I cannot find at Aldi. I do occasionally go to Publix for a B1G1 special deal.
• Here are a couple posts I wrote about food budgeting:

1. Stockpiling Do’s and Don’ts
2. Why I changed the Way I Grocery Shopped

• If you know there are special events coming up you can plan for a leaner week (think shopping your freezer and pantry) since you know you will be spending more for a get together or visitors spending time at your house or a dinner out. By planning ahead this month, I was able to not go over my regular grocery budget of $700 by more than $100). That included having 2 visitors for a week and ordering take out for lunch. You can occasionally eat steaks if you plan for it!

Sinking Funds

Create sinking funds (which are either cash envelopes or bank accounts) for certain big events that will happen that year.

Think of things like Christmas, a vacation, car repairs, back to school supplies or an anniversary. This year, I decided to save $50 per month for Christmas, put my change and $5 bills aside for an anniversary fund and put $50 aside per month also for car repairs. Now I did not do that for school supplies so that was a little hit on the budget for the month of August! I had planned $200 in my budget which was a pretty good guess based on last year’s supply list. My oldest’s calculator was a little more than $100 so I was grateful that the other supplies did not cost much this year. The boys are going to school on a hybrid program right now. Thankfully, Christmas and anniversary spending will be mostly if not all taken care of. I do hope to be more thrifty for Christmas this year. Here is a post I wrote about Christmas spending and how to prepare for it.

I put money aside every week and every month for future vacations. Since traveling is greatly reduced this year, that savings account is not being used as much this year but we are prepared for future fun! I also plan for the bigger vacation by having a bucket list of the travels I hope to take in the upcoming years. I can then adjust my savings plans accordingly.

Personal Shopping

Now this is an area where I need to show self control and make adjustments to these last months of 2020 and for 2021. I really failed at my plans to be thrifty in the area of clothes shopping. I need to stick to the plan!

• Take a look at your closet and figure out which area you will need to purchase some things: do you need to replace a pair of boots? Do your white shirts need to be updated? Do you want to add more color to your closet? Do you want to add a new jacket to your closet? Once you determine a general idea of a list for your year, try to spread it out over the season or when you know sales will be coming up. Resist impulse shopping as much as possible. It is ok to treat yourself but don’t make it a habit. Shopping begets shopping. And following bloggers with fun fashion taste can be dangerous, lol! I do not even want to know what I have spent this year on clothing. The only good thing is that I have worn everything that I have bought multiple times and I will be wearing these items for years to come. I did think about my purchases and whether the cost per wear was going to be worth it.
• kitchen updates: be aware of what might need to be replaced. I am replacing my baking sheets and I had a couple kitchen tools such as kitchen scissors that met their end. Little things add up!

Home Improvements

If you are planning to make improvements to your house or repairs, know that that will probably be taken from your savings or what would go in your savings. Plan accordingly!

I hope these tips have given you a couple of ideas. I really need to do better with the personal shopping and my plan is to take the last 4 months of the year as a budget reset in that area. I do not need anything! I am allowing myself to get a pair of grey boots as mine need replacing but otherwise I really want to exercise some self control and not buy anything. Can I do it? i am not sure but I sure am going to try.

A bientôt!

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