Budgeteering for the Long Haul

It barely seems like a year ago that we really buckled down with our budget and devised a plan… 7 months of Project Money easily kept us focused on our goals! Last week, we had another meeting with Coach Mike where we put actual numbers to the progress we’ve made, and made our best guess about how those numbers will look at the end of 2010 and Project Money. It made us wish we had been keeping track of hard numbers like that since we started at the beginning of the year. Still, what we’ve done in the past 7 months feels amazing. Even though we had a projected timeline of paying off all our debt (one of our biggest goals), it never sank in what we were attempting to do. Now, with those hard numbers posted on our fridge, what once seemed insurmountable, then barely do-able, now seems easy and very realistic in the near future.

While we have made some sacrifices along the way, the benefits far outweigh anything we’ve given up! Brian’s best tip for meeting your financial goals –  Make an actual budget, but don’t forget to build some flexibility into it, and then just stick to your plan! My best tip adds to the flexibility portion of the plan – You have to have room in the budget for fun so you don’t give up, but you also have to keep your focus. For me, that “magic trick” seemed to be the monthly spending cash. It appears we’ve found the magic number, and it’s not 3. Brian and I each allotted ourselves $50 each month for non-budgeted items. So, any dining out, gifts or other “fun” items – not urgent needs, had to come from the cash. Our magic number may be different than many other budgeteers, but you have to find the perfect balance of fun flexibility within your budget, but enough so that you don’t forget your focus. Or as Brian puts it, you still “feel the squeeze” so you’re not going wild with spending.

Looking to 2011, we are so excited to live our “no debt” lifestyle we’ve been so focused on. We’ll still have the mortgage for a while, but we will tackle that once the student loans are finally gone. Project Money has helped us hone in on our goals, make them feel attainable, track our progress to show us how attainable they are and keep us motivated. Keeping up with the other PM households has helped us keep our motivation too. We’ve enjoyed learning their tips and sharing ours. We are pumped that 2011 will be our best financial year so far and hope you feel the same inspiration! Best to all of you, and thanks to Summit Credit Union for this awesome opportunity!

 

Comments

[Heather H]

Congratulation on all your success, Budgeteers!