current obsession; budgeting

song of the day: if it kills me, jason mraz

i know budgets are a weird thing to be obsessed with, but i made mine this morning and it really wasn't that bad as i was fearing! the hard part is going to be sticking to it. but here's what i did. first off, i started with a template. they do all the work for you. especially if you use one on excel, cause those ones can do all of the calculations for you. but if you'd rather do this by hand, i've got a template for you, here. but if you google "budget template" you'll find tons.

the first step in making a budget is figuring out where your money goes in the first place. total your income and then track your expenses for the last month. (if you have time to map out more than one month, you'll get a better sense of your average, in case it's a month of ireggularly high spending.) then subtract the one from the other. in the red? me too. but it brought some things to my attention.

my first realization? i spend WAY too much money on makeup. the thing is, i just buy a little at a time, but i'm still buying WAY too much. in july alone, i wasted $175. and you've seen me, i don't even wear that much! i found there are a few more hidden money suckers in my life.

• magazines; ridiculous, when i read as many blogs as i do.
• smoothies; when i've already said i prefer making my own at home.
  
• DVDs; so many times i buy a DVD just for the sake of owning it, but then it just sits on my shelf.
  
• the vending machine at work; i calculated, if i took the time to bring something from home before a shift i'd save $10 a month. which seems little, but will add up.
  
• cheap jewellery; my jewellery box is full of $5 rings that only last a month before turning green and it'd probably be better if i just didn't buy any at all.
  
• nail polish; i always talk about how nailpolish can be a nice accent to an outfit and i'm not knocking that of course. but in tracking my expenses i realized that i average about one $9 bottle a week and that's a little insane.
  
• taxis; i'm not knocking them and i would like to say that a taxi home after a night out is always a good idea, but sometimes i'm just to lazy to take the bus, that's $20 down the drain right there.
  
• drinks; i always end up stopping for adrink when i'm out at the mall, tucking a water bottle in my purse before i leave will save me about $20 a month.

when you're making a budget, make a list of things you feel you can not live without and then juggle your finances around to accomodate them. i've decided to prioritze going out to eat with friends. we tend to go out to grab a bite or dessert after worship practices or for birthdays. plus, i've read that on average spending money on an experience feels more rewarding than spending money on just items. so that's what i've made the most room for in my august budget. especially because it'll be my last chance to hang with a lot of people who go back to school in september. i've also set aside the money for one movie (GI JOE!) and a meager back-to-school outfit, and that's it!

i do feel the budget i've set is a bit optimistic. (i can't help it, i'm an optimistic person) but i've read that it's perfectly fine to make adjustments. not to totally renege on what you've set out to accomplish mind you, just to rearrange things while sticking to your goals. one of the top reasons people drop their budgets is because they feel they can't stick with them. that won't be me! (i hope.) this site was super helpful with budeting tips and info.

alright! just a few more things. it's my mom's birthday today! but that's not the real news. i FINALLY got around to writing an about page. check it on the tab at left. i also added a few more sites (in no particular order) to the blogroll over there. i plan to maintain it a bit more as i continue making blogging friends. check out some of the sites and blogs there, it's good stuff! and another thing. while i'm still not comfortable using my whole name, but i don't really feel like i am "sunshower" either. that's a thing, not a person! so you can call me B from now on =) have a fantastic day!!

xoxo
-B

weekly resolve; save money

it's not déja vu. i'm really revisiting a resolve i just had. because even though i didn't buy anything for a whole week. i don't feel like i accomplished anything because i fell into my old patterns again. if anything, i spent TWICE as much in the week that just passed. like i was trying to make up for it or something! just terrible! logically i should even be in debt. i still live at home, i don't have a car and i'm not paying for school. my dad's an accountant for goodness sakes! so how did i get to be so bad with my finances??

for one, i tend buy things i don't really need. like yes, the NYX liquid liner i bought is amazing and i totally do like nyota uhuhra, bu that wasn't a necessity you know? i wish i had realized that before i went ot the mall and dropped $30 on various makeup products >.< and second, my finances have run wild because i just don't like talking about them! but i'm trying to change. i've come up with three new tips.

but this time, i'm getting serious. more specific. it's not enough to just say, i won't spend money this week if i complete fall off the wagon in the next. and of course, i scoured the interwebs for some creative solutions. for startes, i'm making an addendum to my shopping rules. (the ones i wrote a bit ago and still didn't wrap around my VISA card like i said i would) so the new rule #2, any purchase, no matter what the size or price, must be slept on. if it's not something i wouldn't come out for the next day, it's not something i can't live with out.

my second serious step? i'm going to begin keeping a debt diary, not for all to see, but i've bought a new journal just for the cause (and i know that seems counterproductive, but it'll even out. i'm going to get my finances in order if it kills me!) the first thing i need to stick in this diary is a budget, i'm working on it as we speak. you're also supposed to keep track or your daily spending purchases: how much of your money you're spending and for what. putting your thoughts on paper has a way of making you think about your actions, or so they say. i'll let you know how it goes.

any lastly, i've come up with a financial affirmation for this week. (yes i believe in affirmations, if you repeat anything enough you'll believe it. but more on that later): it is MY money and i WANT to hold on to it.

so there we go. saving money, take two. hopefully i haven't lost you in all the boring talk. if you've got any helpful advice, i'd LOVE to hear it, truly. anyone else ever conquered shopoholic-ism before? wish me luck!

-xoxo.

weekly resolve; save money

another week, another resolution! it may seem weird that i'm also attempting to do things all the time, but i'm trying not to wait around to achieve the stuff i wanna do. i'm not going to wait till new year's to do something i can start right away. (i'll post my radical honesty wrap-up a little later on)

that said, this particular resolution is something i've been meaning to do for a while now. but i wasn't quite ready to face it until my visa bill came last thursday. for a solid year, me and my visa were great. i paid it off on time and never had interest then all of a sudden (okay not all a sudden, like 2 movies and four shopping sprees later) things started to slide. and slide. and continue to slide. and then i hit a car, and i owe my parents money for that. i'm not going to give the exact number, but it's pretty bad.

so it seems ridiculous, given all that, that i continue spending the way that i do. the first step is admitting you have a problem. so my resolve this week is to cut it out completely. i've instigated a "no-buy" week. no makeup. no shoes. no purses (...only because i just bought one).

but that's not enough. i need to save money too, and i'll be the first to admit i have NO idea how to do that! usually i avoid personal finance blogs like the plague. but i've been scouring them to find tips i like. here are some of my favourite tutorials.

• squawkfox's 50 ways to save $1000 a year
• also this week, squawkfox rereleased her ebook on frugal food and fitness
  
• fabulously broke talks about 5 general finance tips.
  
• ivillage presents 4 debt triggers and ways to avoid them
• self has a financial guide with tons of good ideas
  

be sure to check back i'll be adding more as i focus on finance this week. mmkay. me and R are off for dinner. later!

-xoxo.