Tackling the Budget – Part One
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at
8:27 pm
It seems many of my friends in the blogosphere and I dare say many of my friends in the real world are facing the same problems and have the same things on their minds today!
The rising interest rates, petrol and food costs are taking their toll on many families and these same families are needed to find extra work, cut down their spending or in some cases sell their homes and downsize just to get by.
We are in a slightly different situation at the moment. My partner has just been retrenched from the bank that he has been working for for the past 13 years. He will be getting a decent payout and we are confident that he will find another job so we arn’t worried about that aspect. What I am worried about is that the payout that we will receive will get frittered away and we’ll have nothing to show for it.
We are hoping that we will be able to pay down some debts and use the rest as a deposit on our first home.
I’m scared that once we have the money in our hands (or rather in the bank) we will go into spending mode and not be able to stop. Already I can see that it is beginning, we talked about paying off the credit card with the payout and now our credit card is creeping closer and closer to it’s limit. I even caught myself thinking the other day, that we are paying off the credit card anyway so I’ll just put these craft things on there!. That is such stupid, irrational thinking but I thought it anyway.
So today I am taking a look at the budget and I’m going to make it a priority to stay under budget and to not use the credit card at all.
I’ll be back later with an update and hopefully some good ideas on how we are going to stay on track.
Before I go I will leave you with a few posts from my friends that I intend to reread today:
Lightening has posted Reducing the Grocery Budget Series which has quite a few great posts,
Journeyer has a post about how they are reducing thier costs and
Rhonda at Down to Earth also has a great posts on ways they are reducing their cost of living.
Filed under: Frugal Mummy
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Wow, an exciting and nervewracking time, all at once. I hope your partner finds another job quickly and you are able to use the bulk of the package on your first home. You’re right – it’s so easy to spend money without even realising it. Best to keep a very tight rein on things I think.
Thanks so much for the link.
Thanks Journeyer, you are more than welcome for the link! Thanks for the comment
Rachel xxx