photo by Jeff Keen
I was tagged by LJ over at Mommy Gets PAID recently with the Budget Busters Challenge meme. So here goes five things that bust up out budget:
- Eating Out – This isn’t something we do too often. Fact is we usually eat at home. But every now and then we’ll meet up with friends to go out for a nice meal. There’s four of us with the kids, which means paying for three meals (we bring stuff for the little guy). A lot of places don’t have kid’s menus so our daughter would get an adult size meal. What with appetizers, drinks, meal, dessert it’s no wonder our cash disappears real quick when we go out. The few times we go out we’re sure to come back with empty pockets.
- Shopping Without a List – We usually try to put together some kind of shopping list when we go out for errands. Usually. Sometimes it’s all in the ‘ole noggin. This is fine until we’re at the checkout with a shopping cart full of stuff we didn’t intend on buying. And a few items we’re still missing. Oops.
- The Kids – Like LJ at Mommy Gets PAID we don’t spoil our kids (we hope we don’t). But it’s hard to not want to splurge on them once in a while. On top of the splurging there’s times when they just need stuff. This could be clothes (outgrown or wrecked), diapers, school supplies, you name it. We can usually predict when most expenses will come up but there’s always a surprise lurking.
- Impulsiveness – I’m so much better than I used to be when I would buy a shiny object in front of me only to move onto the next shiny widget. But the bug still hits now and then.
- The Holidays and Birthdays – So check this out: between November and February we have my wife’s, my dad’s, my mom’s, and both our kid’s birthdays! Throw in the holidays, our anniversary, and valentine’s day and we have a major budget suck! At least we have the rest of the year relatively clear.
There you have it. Five things that bust up our budget (maybe we really need to implement some personal finance software?).
To pass the fun I’m tagging My Investing Blog, Breaking Even INC, and Always the Planner.
What are your budget busters?
Sign up with ING Direct and get a $25 bonus. See here for details.
Don’t miss out on personal finance articles like this. Subscribe to Free From Broke!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Time after time, my budget is killed by auto repairs or maintenance. It’s not that it happens often, but when it does it’s sizeable enough to make me have to tap the savings account. We have the money, and never put it on credit, but it’s still aggravating…. oh yeah, birthdays get me too!
At least you have the money put aside…car repairs do indeed suck. I hate the maintenance costs too but you have to keep up with the car otherwise it’ll cost you more in the long run. That reminds me…I have to get the car inspected in a couple of months…grrr.
Three ways my budget always gets busted is by the wife and two kids. I know exactly how Al Bundy feels.
I love the picture. I should put that sign in my wallet. I’m going to have to think about the 5 things that bust my budget and post it on my blog.
BTW, if you’re interested, I’ve tagged you for the six-word memoir.
@ Sire – Ha! A Married With Children reference. Used to love that show. Seriously though, a budget needs to be a family-wide affair with everyone on the same page.
@ Wealthy 1 – The pic is nice. Maybe it could be changed to “break in case of an emergency”?
I’ll check out your post. Let me know when you get your budget busters up too!
Great blog! Everyone should read this!
There is always something to step into your path to stop you from saving or investing.
People always talk about having a 3 to 6 months emergency fund. That’s no longer correct. We learned that you now need 12 – 18 months. And you should not be concerned that you have to build it slowly. You can do it. You just have to treat each month as a baby step. You will be surprised how fast it will build. And they give you an easy way to do it without hurting your family or your standard of living. Check it out.
Thanks from my family for this blog.
Angela
{ 1 trackback }