Budgeting

Keeping finances in order during the holiday season is always a challenge. It is so important to have "X" amount of money saved for Christmas. Sometimes I literally hide that money so I forget that I have it.

We decided to adjust our budget for the new year.

Some things that work well for us:

1. When I am at Walmart I break out my massive scientific calculator that I've had since college, and once I hit "X" amount we are done. This is so helpful because I am never surprised when I check out about how much money we have spent.
   
2. We are also budgeting weekly amount for Ingels, and an amount for dining out. We try our best to plan out our entire week of eating.
   
3. Watch and listen to financial advice on TV and the radio. Dave Ramsey is great, and I have recently discovered a show entitled "Till Debt to Us Part." This show comes on Saturday night.
   
4. We got an idea from "Till Debt to Us Part" to get cash out for groceries as well as dining out for the month (as opposed to using our debit cards). This helps us stay within the food budget. Eating is a cost you can really cut down on! Using cash can really help keep your spending under control.
   
5. Also, I am still "old school" and write down every thing in my check register that we spend money on.
   
6. Lastly, I try to pinch every penny that we save actually into our savings account. Many financial experts say you need at least $500 in savings for emergencies, but it would be better to have $1,000.

It has been a struggle keeping two houses going (keep praying our house in Columbia sells!). Additionally, we owe many different services for Charlie having to have his gallbladder out last year. His tummy hurts.

BUT...

We are SO blessed with all the finances God has given us, and I am blessed to have a wonderful woman of faith from church who gives me her newspaper with coupons in it for free every Sunday. I also enjoy printing coupons off the website coupon.com.

Do you have any tips on budgeting or any good books to read to about budgeting?

PS-Last week, Walmart has had huge clearance section in the Christmas section, and got a fleece for Abigail for $3.