Savings And Budgeting
November 16th, 2007 @ 11:34 am by Mrs. Onion
Miss Toucan posted yesterday about a savings “account” they use — a change jar for all their loose change! Mr. Onion and I do this as well. I had a gallon jar filled with change before we moved in together and cashed it in for extra moving expenses - it was about $400!
Our first vacation together led us to Burlington, VT, where we ended up getting married. On that trip we took a tour of the Magic Hat Brewery and we went home with a growler of what they had on tap that weekend. We kept the bottle and now put our change in it as we’re saving up for our first home. They actually wrote “new apartment fund” on it at Magic Hat and we didn’t notice until we got home!
And speaking of saving, last night we spent a better part of the evening dealing with finances — budgets, health coverage, life insurance etc. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are looking for our first apartment to own. We knew what we could afford for a down payment but weren’t sure about what we could afford on a monthly basis. We made an excel sheet with the following categories:
Monthly Income:
Mr. Onion’s paycheck
Mrs. Onion’s paycheck
Monthly Expenses:
Housing
Transportation
Insurance
Food
Personal Care
Entertainment
Loans
Taxes
Savings/Investments
Gifts and Donations
It was a fantastic exercise. Not only did it help us see that we need to lower the upper price range of our apartment search to lower our monthly carrying costs, but it gave us a chance to talk about saving goals over the next 5, 10, 20 years. We decided to budget a certain amount each month from both our pay checks to be sure we can contribute the maximum to our Roth IRA each year (I have one already, Mr. Onion will be opening one shortly).
Now that we have everything in one place we can carefully track our spending and live comfortably within our means instead of being surprised by unexpected expenses we can’t afford. If you’d like detailed subcategories from our budget let me know and I’d be happy to share.
What steps did you and your FH/DH take toward your financial goals? Are you thinking about the future? I think the most important thing is being totally honest about your finances — your debt (loans, credit cards etc) and your spending habits so you can make the budget reflect reality. Honesty is one of the most important qualities in a marriage, and while you might have a different approach to finances, sharing everything can help you work together towards those goals.
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4 Responses to “Savings And Budgeting”
We’ve got a similar spreadsheet. It shows our credit cards, car payments, auto insurance, rent, and what is being saved for the wedding for now. I love excel. It has been really useful in planning out our spending, wedding, and honeymoon budgets.
Although my SO and I are not yet engaged, we have from the beginning of our relationship used this method as our “mad money” account. In the first two years we dated we were able to save enough to foot souvenir shopping and a portion of our cruise/ 1st vacation together. Two years after that we had again saved enough money for our vacation to Hawaii. I think this is a great way to save up for a mini-moon, added bonus to one’s reception, or just as a rainy day fund. We also have one set up for our “kids,” aka dogs’ account and one actual vacation/ joint account. We treat those as monthly bills and put a specific $$ amt of our paychecks each period- it makes saving easier if we think of it as a bill and have to put into it. Our next vacation is overdue by 1 year!!
Can’t say enough about Dave Ramsey. We already had pretty solid financial goals - but signing up for financial peace university really helped bring our goals into focus and add discipline - it also covers more than just the basics - makes you think about things you don’t really think about. The class we were in was had the whole age range of couples - so the discussions were great and informative too. It’s good to learn from people who have been there.
I’m the geek in the family - so I manage the budget - but I sit down with my hubby about twice a month to catch him up on how we’re doing, and make any adjustments.
Laying out goals for 5 - 10 - 15 years - and retirement really help you see the big picture!! Dave’s favorite quote - “Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else!” Sometimes it’s hard to make the sacrifices now - but it’ll be worth it in the long run!
Miss Onion, NYC/Burlington, VT
Age and Occupation: 26, PR & Marketing and Jazz Singer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Data Analyst
Engagement Date: April 2, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2007
Blogging Since: July 11, 2007
Venue: Restaurant in Burlington
About Me: I didn't think I'd be "that girl," but I am having so much fun planning our wedding (mostly by myself). I'm a PR and Marketing Director for a major jazz festival and camp by day, and by night, a romantic jazz singer and bride-to-be! I hope all my research can help other brides in their planning.
We have a spreadsheet that details our monthly expenses (bills and spending) and the total. Then whatever is left over between the actual paycheck amount and the expenses goes towards paying off debt and saving. Excel is really cool because I have the formulas set up where if I adjust how much money goes toward a credit card, the totals in my debt column also change.