An update on how we manage our budget in preparation for the New Year.

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Managing our budget and learning to live on less helped us to pay off a considerable amount of (my) consumer debt…..and now that it’s gone, we’re attacking the mortgage – it’s not due to end until 2031, but we would love to have it paid off by the end of 2015, sixteen years early!

To help us do that, we keep a tight control over our budget.

Every month I start with our basic budget (below), and then add in any other expected costs – after that everything else goes to the mortgage.

*BUDGET

2013 Budget

*ACCOUNT SET UP:

Personal checking | Joint checking | Personal checking
Personal E-saver| Travel Fund | Personal E-saver
Gift and Mini E-Fund
Freedom Fund
Emergency Fund

*NOTES

• Both personal checking accounts get funded with wages – me weekly, hubby monthly (on the 20th) – then automatic transfers fund the joint account. The transfers are all of our respective salaries minus our personal spending allowances – we both have the same allowance.
• We each have a personal e-saver attached to our personal checking accounts – I use mine as a clothing fund
• The travel fund and gift/mini e-funds are attached to the joint checking.
• Our long-term Emergency Fund is kept in an ISA and our Freedom Fund is kept in a separate ISA.
• From the checking account we pay the bills and fund our online savings accounts……mainly with automatic payments.
• All our automatic bill payments (Direct Debits) are set to be paid between the 25th and 1st of every month and are, where possible, the paper free kind.
• Grocery is paid for on a cash back credit card, which is then paid in full every month

If you have any questions please let me know?

PS. I LOVE budgets and this post is just an excuse to talk about them!

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