Setting a Budget

Patrick and I have never been very good about sticking with a budget. We've made budgets and we've had full intentions of sticking to those budgets, but then something happens. Or nothing happens. Either way, we end up going over budget and we don't really make any progress towards our financial goals.

Patrick is 34 years old, I am 28 years old. As of right now we rent a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment. It's smaller than we'd like, but it works for us and our needs. Yes, it is cramped and slightly uncomfortable when the kids are here, but we make due and I think everyone puts in the effort to make it a home. It took us almost a whole year to make it feel that way, but it is our home and I, personally, love it there.

But, I cannot wait to buy a house. I so desperately want a house to call home. A 3+ bedroom 2+ bathroom house. With a backyard. I want to decorate each room to the point of saving photos on pinterest and excitedly showing Patrick (who probably couldn't care less about these things). I want a garage so that Patrick can finally fulfill a dream of his to restore a classic car.

For now though, we are happy and I can't complain about that. What I can do, is make a plan so that we can save up as much as we can over the next couple years to make buying a home just a little easier.

Living in California means that home buying is an expensive investment, one that Patrick and I do not take lightly. We very easily could walk into a bank today and apply for a loan, but that would not be in our best interest. Instead we are planning on saving our money for a down payment, continuing to pay off the rest of Patrick's debt and then start the process of looking at homes in the area we would like to buy in and comparing prices to our list of must haves, would likes and would not likes.

In the mean time, though, we also have other things that are important and things that we are saving money for as well. Patrick and I would like to send our children to college, so each of them have a college fund. We are also in the market for a new (to us) car that will become a necessity in a year or so as Patrick's car has quite a few miles on it from picking up and dropping off the kids. I have been putting a small amount of money away a month so that when Marley has her annual vet check up we can use that money instead of it being a financial burden. We also have a savings account for future vacations so that when we do have a chance for some time off we are able to go without breaking the bank. Same with Christmas.

It's easier for us to take money out each paycheck and put it into savings. If I don't see the money then I don't miss it and it's been working pretty well for us.

At the same time, other than the bare minimum each paycheck, we are not putting anything extra away and progress has been slow. It's frustrating and I'm ready to make a change.

So we sat down and made a plan. Our plan is to stick to our budget, have a cash allowance each paycheck and put whatever is leftover in our checking accounts the day before payday into our house savings. There will be kinks to work out and nothing everything is going to change over night, but I really see this being a positive change and I really think we are both more serious about it this time around.

I know that things are going to change drastically when Patrick finishes paying off his debt (almost there!!!) And I am excited to see our net worth grow. I have been learning a lot of saving tips and receiving a lot of great financial "advice" from this blog I follow. I say "advice" because obviously not everything she suggest will work for everyone. I have found a lot to be useful and I look forward to the beginning of the month when she posts her net worth. She is my age and her net worth is so incredible to me.

We are no where near where she is, but our net worth of $19,046.59 is a starting place and I can only see us going up from here. I am planning on keeping track of our net worth and a few other details monthly. I am excited about this change and feel like Patrick and I are making some very positive, very big steps!