Monday, May 17, 2010

budgets are depressing

In our never ending quest to move out of our mother in laws house and into our own home again we decided it was important to make up a budget with our income and expenses laid out. Maybe we have just gotten too comfortable with the fact that we haven't paid rent in a year or maybe we just don't have as much money as we used to, but our budget is rather depressing. I just snagged a job part time at fidelity (thank you Lord) and Jake is working full time at Honda, but still the money coming in and the expenses going out leave only a tiny bit of money for spending and grocery shopping. Our days of movies, extended cable, and eating out seem to be coming swiftly to an end.
I am a little worried about all of the baby things we need to buy for the future, but we have already decided for storage we are sacrificing our long dresser and painting it a nice cream color and turning it into a diaper changing station/dresser for the baby. The townhome we are trying to move into has some awesome walk in closets so I am confident we will not miss our dresser and it will be much more efficient in the baby room. We also plan on buying most things gently used except for the car seat which we really want to get new simply for safety reasons and to put our minds at rest.
God always provides as seen by the recent jobs my husband and I were both able to get despite the economy right now. Also, we did save a large amount of money while Jake was in Iraq so when unexpected expenses come up we can use that to pay for them instead of credit cards which is always good. So, I know we will be okay, but the budgeting is going to take some getting used to, and scrupulous grocery shopping and coupons are certainly in my future. But, I guess several hundred dollars left at the end of every month IS better than nothing, plus since we are not buying a house we know we will not have unexpected expensive house repairs to do which will be super nice until we are in a better place financially.

So my advice to anyone either just starting out on their own or starting out on their own AGAIN, would be to make a budget and no matter how depressing it gets remember you can sacrifice on some things to make money stretch and always save a couple of dollars a month because sooner or later you're going to need it.

3 comments:

  1. I say YAY for budgets!! They may seem to stink, but they sure clear out a lot of stress in your life!! Plus, they really help you learn how to spend your $$ wisely!!

    Keep in mind that many first time parents have baby showers, and you get lots of nice things at them!! Also, be sure to check out Kids Consignment sales like The Kids Exchange (http://www.kidsexchange.net/). You can get some Incredible things there for a fraction of the price!!

    Way to go on your budget!!
    BTW, where is the townhome that you are looking at?

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  2. The townhome is near RTP off the durham freeway between ellis road and miami blvd. The job I got at fidelity is off miami and jake is working near southpoint so it is going to save lots on gas! Thanks for reminding me about the kids exchange i will have to go to that for sure!!

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  3. Hey Cuz, I hope that everyone works out for you!!! :) I'm sure it will. You always seem to work things out, it's pretty impressive actually. Also, congrats on the baby. You gotta let me know when you find out if it is a boy or girl! :)

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