One of my goals for 2012 is to revamp our family budget. I want a more specific budget that is easier to follow and maintain. I've been thinking about a bunch of other things besides money, but there's one big problem with my new budget plan that just keeps butting into my other thoughts. So maybe when I get it worked out (I don't really obsess about it all day, it just keeps nagging) I'll be able to blog about something else. There are some gospel/Christmas/New Year/goal related things I really want to write about but I need the ideas to be a little more solid before I just dive in. I've been surprised since I started this blog how much I really think about gospel related topics. I didn't think I would want to write about it that much, but turns out I want to write about it a lot. Huh.
Ok, so here's my budget dilemma that keeps nagging. It's pretty silly. I've revamped the actual budget template I'm using and I think it's going to be awesome. However, my current budget months do not start on the 1st and end at the end of the month. Pay day around here comes on the same two days of the month each month. So my budget months go from first payday to first payday. It's worked out great. But I've been wondering if I should switch to a regular monthly budget. But then my budget starts when we don't have a paycheck and I still have to grocery shop that week. So then do I have to budget money from the last pay check of last month to roll over to the beginning of this month for groceries? That seems complicated. And an awful lot like I'm budgeting from first paycheck to first paycheck and not from month to month. But once you get on a regular monthly budget is it easier to track? And what about when the husband graduates and gets a different job? I'm guessing payday won't be the same. Will it be a smoother transition to different paychecks if my budget goes from the 1st to the end of the month? It also bugs me that I'm still using my 2011 file right now even though it's 2012. I want to start my new folders fresh with the new year. Not on first paycheck day. My ocd tendencies are starting to run into each other and cause problems. Yikes. I can't really believe I'm so bugged by this I'm actually writing it down. But I'm going to post it anyway. For the sake of writing and having an audience. But I'm going to stop now so I don't make you think I'm crazier than you already do. I'll be back with more substantive topics later.
1 comment:
It depends on how you look at your budget. If you want to do monthly then you have to be okay with starting with "negative" balance then get into the "positive" and roll-over the extra to cover the "negative" for the next month.
Paychecks will vary, they have for us, but finding a system that works for you is more important than doing it a certain way.
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