First attempt at the new budget planning…  

After doing a lot of research, I decided that planning out my finances on a monthly basis was the best way to go. I went with mid-month to mid-month because I would prefer my major expense (rent) to be the last thing out before the new cycle starts.  

I went with the cash envelope system where each envelope has its own dedicated budget and planned out exactly how much goes in from each check. Some groups, like groceries, got their lump sum right up front.  

I also decided the best way to keep track of money is to see exactly where it’s going so I started writing down every expense and keeping all the receipts. A pain, yes, but it keeps me accountable for what I’m spending. In most cases, the expenses came from an envelope with its own budget, but there were some one-offs here and there. I noticed these one-offs were less likely to happen now that I had to write them down somewhere. Accountability was key for me.  

I started carrying my budget notebook around everywhere to keep track of receipts and spending. I also use it to hold coupons and make my grocery lists along with tracking my monthly budget.  

Once I started keeping track of everything, it actually became kinda fun to see how well I could do with sticking to my budget. I thought it would be harder, honestly, but it wasn’t. I thought I get tired of doing this, but I didn’t. The more I did it, the easier it became because it was a habit to write down everything.  

I’m excited to see where this leads me.