Well, Labor day has passed and that means all the kiddos are back at school. With my own little bookworm off to kindergarten, I realized that this would be a great time for Mom to go back as well. This is the time of year when I re-evaluate everything financial in our house. While the rest of the world may use the beginning of the year to review finances, I find that staying on a fiscal schedule helps us stay within a steady budget, especially with the big holidays a few months away. By reviewing how we’ve been spending our money at this point, it helps us not go into the red during the holidays.
I first start off with our grocery budget. This is the section of budget that is most flexible, but can cause the most trouble if we don’t pay attention to it. By this time in the year, I can think about what items we have been using up quickly and what items have been sitting in the freezer or pantry since the beginning of the year. I also keep into account what hubby likes to take into work for lunch and get feedback from him on how well i’ve been keeping those favorites in stock. This is important because my Husband has no qualms about buying his lunch if I don’t have his fixins’ in stock at home. This can wreck our entertaining budget(that’s where his the money for his lunches out come from) and cause us to have a very boring month without any nights out. As a stay-at-home Mom, nights outs are essential for me, so maintaining that budget is pretty important.
This year, we added another member to the family, so I know that the grocery budget will have to be evaluated and changed to reflect that as well. I know she’s just a baby now, but I have to factor in the within this year, she’ll be starting solid foods and drinking regular milk, so that gives me another person to cook for and another person to drink up all of the milk I can get on sale. I’ll also have to factor in that my son is growing like a bean pole, and has recently starting asking for second servings of dinner. I’m fortunate enough to have a kid that loves seconds and thirds of veggies, but that means that I’ll have to really keep up with a stockpile of fresh and frozen ones to accommodate his growing appetite.
But that’s not all! Tomorrow I’ll share another part of our budget that I review for the fiscal year….
Great post! I am always revaluating my budget and how it is working. But I am a little OCD!
Did Mom cry when Sonny Boy went off to kindergarten?