Budgeting...is it wrong that I enjoy it?

Can you tell I am totally avoiding cleaning the house and working on our grocery list? I am. Oh well, the dishes will wait for me. One of the things I have been meaning to blog about lately is our budget. Mostly because I am proud of the fact that we have now successfully followed a budget for two whole months! Santi and I have tried for the past couple of years to create a monthly budget and really stick to it, but it wasn't until recently that we really had any success. We read Dave Ramsey, tried creating budgets in Excel, mint.com, etc. but just couldn't find something that worked for us and kept us organized. We save receipts and everything...no luck. We even had Sunday evening budget meetings every week to discuss the week's spending and upcoming expenses.
In February someone told me about a budgeting tool called "You Need a Budget" (www.ynab.com)
We hesitantly purchased the download hoping it would work and not be a total waste of money. It was the first time we had spent money on actual budgeting software rather than trying to create our own or use the freebies. It was well worth it! At first it's a little tricky, and Santi didn't want to follow or read directions (as usual) and we tried to budget out the whole month at once, which is why we had been unsuccessful in the past. Finally I just told him to hand over the reins and let me take care of it. So now, he actually pays the bills (since he works at the bank and it's easy for him) and I just keep track of the bottom line. Every two weeks when we get a paycheck, I only budget that amount, and I only budget two weeks at a time rather than the whole month. That way, when things come up mid month it's easier to work them in. Plus, this software allows the budget to be continuously tweaked as needed. If you are under budget in one category and over in another mid-month, it's really easy to rework things. We have done much better managing our money the last two months, even with some unexpected expenses, and we have been able to add some extra money to my "maternity leave" account, which is what we will live off of when I am out of work for 12 weeks (which I am thrilled about) taking care of Luca. I love the way this budget works, and I actually enjoy sitting down  to work on it, which I now do every couple of days rather than once a week (much easier to keep up with). It's much easier and enjoyable to shop for groceries or other needs when you know exactly how much you have to spend instead of getting home from a shopping trip and realizing you went over and have to dip into your emergency fund (yes, we did that often). So, as I sit down about to work on our budget and plan our menu for the week (which is also key to saving money at the grocery store), I just thought I would share with my blogging friends how much I love our new budget system!

Can't Buy Me Love

The picture is our sweet puppy after surgery to remove a baseball hat from his stomach. The adorable black dog is his friend Nahla who was staying with us for the weekend.

Ever since we returned from our big trip to Ecuador, we have been working hard at being better stewards of the money and resources God has blessed us with. This began by stepping out in faith and starting to tithe...meaning giving 10% of our income to the church. It felt great to know that we were being obedient to Him, and it strengthened our faith as we counted on Him to provide for us each month.
I would like to admit that while we have seen God provide for us in many ways, it has not always been easy to trust that He has things all under control. Sometimes you have to really take a step back to see Him working. The month of August was especially difficult. Things seemed to be going quite well, although I will admit we were not doing the best job at budgeting our money and spending wisely. I had received a nice bonus for my teaching portfolio, and that was mainly used to pay off the credit card that we used while we were in Ecuador. Well, we went slightly over budget on our trip, but we still managed to get it paid off with my bonus. Around my birthday we decided that we could finally afford for me to replace the car I have been driving since I was 16. We found a great deal on a new Nissan Sentra, and the best part was that we qualified for an interest rate of 0.9%, which is next to nothing. It was a little more than we had planned on spending, but the thought of having a car that is under warranty for three years made it seem worth it. We knew that with two cars over 95,000 miles, we were going to start running into expensive problems sooner or later. The month of August was a little slow for Santi, and his commission check was not as high as normal...no big deal...we were still more than fine. We have emergency fund for these purposes if need be. Then...one day our lovely dog decided that a baseball hat seemed like a delicious lunch while we were at work. I came home to find no more than a couple of tiny pieces remaining. I thought surely he had destroyed it enough that it would just make its way out naturally. Well, that was not the case. $2,ooo later the hat was successfully removed via emergency surgery, oh, and there was also a toy in there. Following that hit to our budget, my mop also decided now would be a great time to break. This is not just any mop...it is a steam mop. When you have mostly tile floors in your home, it is not practical to just mop the old fashioned way. So...I had dirty floors and no mop. When it rains it pours. All of this was in light of our already planned trip to Indiana for my fall break in October...so tack on $500 in plane tickets and another $250 to board the dog. In the grand scheme of things, these minor setbacks may seem like nothing. We are very blessed, and we can work around them. They may be a pain, and they may mean we have to sacrifice here and there...but they are manageable.
After feeling a bit frustrated...I was able to see that this must be God's way of telling us it was time to get serious about budgeting our money and start being better stewards of what He has given us. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)
So...as of September 1st...we are back on track with our budget and so far doing better than we ever have. We have been out to eat once in over a week...and it was to Taco Bell! We have also been under budget on groceries...and my cooking skills are quickly improving:) I will keep you all posted on how this new budget works out.

The Truth About Life as Newlyweds

Everyone thinks that life as newlyweds is pure bliss 24/7. I must admit, when it comes to our relationship it can't get much better. However the reality is that being young and newly married also means being broke! Santiago and I have recently started to work on a budget that will hopefully allow us to quickly pay off debts, save money, and hopefully furnish our new home as well. That being said...we are going to have to suck it up and avoid all the fun stuff that we love to do. No more weekend getaways, no more concerts, no more shopping, no more pedicures, no more eating out. This is all very challenging for us due to the fact that we live in such a happening city with so many great getaways close by. If we were in boring old Indiana it wouldn't be so hard:) Boooooo. I guess that is just part of "growing up".