1. With each paycheck, I picked what seemed to be a reasonable percentage to deposit into each category. I couldn't tell what percentages would come out to be the correct amount at the end of the month. So February was a trial.
2. My paychecks vary. All three of my jobs are hourly, so if I don't get called to sub, my check for that week is lower. If we have a holiday, I lose those after-care hours. It's very challenging to get a perfect guess of expenses and income each month.
3. We ate at Chick-Fil-A twice (and will eat there again tomorrow!). It's a special Thursday night thing for us because we can eat quickly in the college parking lot & catch up a bit before I go to class. I took the money for that out of "food & supplies" but should probably categorize it as "fun" instead. We'll see.
4. It's not necessarily a bad thing to give too much. We try to be wise stewards, of course, but we also live by faith in God's good provision. We trust that He has called us to tithe and to give generously to the missions and causes we are passionate about. So we do. This month I didn't put enough into that column, but that's fine.
5. All our other columns are very much in the positive. That means we put a good chunk away in savings, didn't have too much crazy fun, and saved up for the months this summer when I won't be getting such large paychecks.
6. Our budget isn't even close to being "in the red." We have a solid savings account and our bills never exceed our income. We are so blessed!
What do you think? Is having budget columns "in the red" terrible? Am I right to cut us a little slack? I'd love to know your opinions.
2 comments:
We always have a couple areas where we overspend, and then some where we underspend. I feel like it ebbs and flows and as long as everything is within the overall budget I consider it a success.
Thanks for this. Reading your progress made me willing to try again ;o) tonight when Tim gets home.
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