MONEY TALKS: 2020 BUDGET

Do you have #spendovision this holiday season?! Don’t be a Jerry #respectthespend 😎

// BUDGET SHMUDGET //

A dreaded word by most. There was a point in my life when I was 100% THAT PERSON. I would avoid opening my TD app, I would only buy groceries $50 at a time, I would go shopping for clothes and then get crushing anxiety after swiping ...thankfully, I didn’t have a credit card at the time!

The good news is financial rock bottoms will teach you lessons that mountain tops never will and you don’t have to be in a toxic relationship with money!

// PERMISSION TO SPEND //

Fast forward 5 years and I’ve come to understand that being in control of your money is super liberating. Buying a pair of boots willie-nillie is liberating for maybe 2.2 seconds, but then it’s back to crushing anxiety. Buying a pair of boots, you actually need and have accounted for in your budget, creates an inner stillness called permission to spend.

// REAL TALK //

Two October’s ago I spent $400 at Dollarama in one month. Dale and I locked eyes and he half joking, half serious, said, “You better start pointing out 400 things in this house!!!” 🤣 He brought up a great point and honestly, we didn’t have much to show for it! It has now become a funny remember that time joke in our family but, before you go judging me, I suggest you go through all your bank statements and credit card bills from each month and lay it ALLLLL out. Bonus points if you go through it together, it really is a fantastic marital exercise! 😅 And it may be astonishing where your hard-earned money is going.

// SPREADSHEETS //

I’ve been there, I’ve made pretty spreadsheets with all the nicely colour coordinated columns, I’ve downloaded the budgeting apps. But really sticking to it is a whole other ball game.

I found a spreadsheet I liked online and customized it to our families needs. Here's a link to the spreadsheet I customized. It uses Google Sheets, which can be helpfully accessed on any computer through a Gmail account. TIP: Under Expenses I made two lists: a fixed expense list, for things that don't change, like the mortgage and a varied expense list, for things that could fluctuate. This time I made a specific budget for every month in 2020, to realistically account for varied monthly expenses. To see my list of varied expenses month by month, click here. Laying it ALL out, helps us see where we want to spend and not spend. It’s always a great reminder to see how spending decisions can make or break your bottom line at the end of the year. Which in turn, can greatly affect your timeline to financial freedom! Boooo, we don’t want that!!

// BALANCING THE BUDGET //

So. Starting this month. Bless our souls for starting in December. 😅 We don’t only have a budget, we are BALANCING budget, meaning this spreadsheet matches our bank account TO. THE. PENNY. We’ve never gone this hardcore before, but we’ve got some big goals for 2020 🌟 and we’re pretty pumped about it! (Ask me how I’m feeling in a few months)

So here’s to really conquering, “WHAT PART OF ‘I DON’T WANT TO SPEND ANYMORE MONEY’ DON’T I UNDERSTAND.” By keeping each other accountable. And encouraged.

Happy budgeting, friends!