Oooh, a serious-ish topic today! I promise it won’t be too long though. 😛
Since I’ve become the working half of our family, and it’s coming up to our second pay day, I thought it was about time to take charge of our finances so I know exactly where everything is. I’ve been so neglectful of this part of my life, and it’s lead us down some not-so-good paths in the past.
Luckily, we’ve managed to clear ourselves of our debts now, and I want to make sure it stays that way, as I’m already a lot less stressed just knowing that we have enough to cover all our bills without having to go without anymore. Don’t get me wrong, we’re by no means rich, but I’m now earning enough to get us by stress-free the majority of the time.
So… I actually made a budget sheet on iPage. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. There was already a template there for family finances, so all I needed to do was pop in some numbers in the right squares, and it did all of the math for me. Yay!
I’ve decided there’s no point in trying to start saving this month, so as of January 2023, a certain amount will go into my savings account every pay-day. It’ll probably vary by around £50 depending on months that we have birthdays and such to plan for, but still, it’s there. If all goes correctly, then hopefully we’ll finally be able to save for a rainy day, or maybe even a holiday somewhere once the boys are a bit older.
I know to most people this will seem so trivial, but having lived off of my student overdraft for so long, it’s nice to finally be in the black, and know that I can stay that way. 😀
How do you cope with Christmas? Is it something you save for every year, do you bring out the credit cards and end up paying it off for the next year, or something I haven’t though of? I’d love to know everyone’s secrets! 🙂