Like the cobbler’s wife that has no shoes, I have no budget. My hub is a banker and a qualified financial planner, but no, we have no budget.
I’ve realised that aside from occasionally going a bit mad buying stuff for the house that we probably don’t need, we are fairly careful with our money. I know that we buy whatever we want at the grocery store and that as a family we have never gone without (see point ‘My husband is a banker’ above), but still I think we are careful. We don’t carry any debt (except our Obligatory Overwhelming Aussie Mortgage (OOAM)).
There are lots of little things we do without thinking that probably make the difference.
We don’t drink a lot. Our ‘alcohol’ budget is generally minimal to non-existent during an average week.
We buy fruit and vegetables and meat fresh every other day. I know this flies in the face of the ‘buy in bulk’ mentality, but little and often means we always use what we purchase.
I have a bad back, but I still get my massages at the Nature Care Clinic which I discovered twenty years ago when I was a penniless student with a bad back. $38 for an hour long remedial massage. Happy with that.
In the same way, I wait for a Jump On It hair special to come up before getting my hair done. I haven’t paid full price for a cut since I was ripped off by a salon who tried to charge me $200 for a haircut because it by a ‘Senior Stylist’ when I didn’t even realise I was getting the infamous ‘Senior Stylist’ (and nor, it would seem, did my hair).
With the Tsunamis we have ‘buying days’ and ‘no-buying days’. This renders pester-power a non-entity at our place. I tell them before we go that it’s a no-buying day’ and while there used to be whiny ‘oh Mums’, these days they just accept that a no-buying day is exactly that.
I’ve found myself having my own ‘no-buying days’ and try from time to time to not buy anything that’s not food-related for a month or so. I generally do this if we need to get back on track and save a bit extra.
We religiously save money into a completely separate account (it’s even with a separate bank). The money goes out when our pay comes in and we don’t even look at it.
[Image by Elvira’sDADA]
Brenda @ Mira Narnie says
oh you are in my head now sweets!!! No budget here either, but we have always been just really careful and saving like you guys in another account for “big ticket” items. my kids know when i’m having no-buying days, but i think i’ll steal your idea of formally calling them no-buying days – although having said that, my kids don’t ask for much!!! I have enlisted the help of a friend who is a bookkeeper set me a budget and set up a spreadsheet so i can monitor spending – just so i know. I’m going to come back in a few day and see what other tips people offer too!!
b xx
Miss Kitty-Cat says
Ahhh – ye olde boojay. Nuh – don’t have one. Probably should, and given I’m married to a financey person too (albeit an Investment Banker who tends to think Macro rather than Micro) I am surprised we don’t. I usually think about it when we get to the end of the month, open the credit card bill and shout – in tandem – “Cripes! How did we spend that much money?? We didn’t DO anything!!”. It happens every month.
I like your idea of no-buying days and I do try and limit myself from buying clothes regularly. Shopping the wardrobe is definitely a good thing, although it’s not easy. Cooking in bulk helps me out a bit – I always make at least double of sauces or casseroles to make the most of time and money. I honestly think that for 2 people buying in bulk is a waste – we are better off buying small amounts every other day because we do use it all up. Plus, it’s fresher produce.
I'm So Fancy says
Here here! no budget but we can be frightfully cheap at times. But I’m never quite sure which way it’s going to go: drop 5 figures on a wine investment, screech at children’s shoes for 20 quid. But I love the idea of a no buying day! I”m going to actually use that on H until the girls are old enough to understand. x
Miss Pink says
We are on the other side of the fence. We HAVE to make our money stretch, and at times it’s very very tough.
I do this by meal planning, i don’t plan day to day, but we shop fortnightly and i plan enough meals for a fortnight and decide that morning or the night before what i want to pull out to make. I bulk buy anything with a long expiration date. I be wary of the amount of electricity we use. Turn off lights that aren’t needed, turn appliances off at the power point (Yes the TV too, stanby still uses a fair amount of power!), showers are time limited, and almost always include at least 3 people, we never just do spur of the moment stuff that cost money, even if it’s just a Sunday drive. Bills are always paid first, and the food budget goes off of that. Any extra money i prefer to save, but sometimes we agree we all just need a day out so we take a drive to the beach or something.
Maybe you could share your tips for being in the position of not needing to worry about budgets. I bet that would be far more intresting than listening to people’s budgets!
Suz says
Love the “no buying” day idea. Might pinch that xx
Maxabella says
Oh, Miss Pink, perhaps it’s as simple as having beer tastes on a champagne budget. x
Posie Patchwork says
I could do a very different post on this – you both seem to be on the same page with money. My husband was raised to be scared of money (they didn’t have much of it) where i was raised wealthy & shown how money can make life really enjoyable (holidays, schools etc). Even worse, i got the love & attention too. Anyway . . . i love to buy good quality things & our 4 will all get a private high school education – i work from home in my own business, i pay for the fees, fuel, food, fashion & fun, meaning if i can’t afford it (for a family of 6) we don’t get it. We live in Army housing & my husband takes care of utility bills, big ticket items like car registration & so far our appliances all seem to last a good 10 years . . . & he manages any top ups on the investment property mortgages. So we kind of live in poverty but all for the bigger picture – he can retire in his early 40s & we shouldn’t have a mortgage for the roof we eventually build over our own head. Not bad for a large family on a low income & VERY different relationships with money. We’re pretty proud of ourselves. Love Posie
Karen Wilson says
I have an excel spreadsheet, I tell hubby how much money we have, he knows how much he is allowed to spend every week, I know when the bills are due and that we have enough in the bank account, I know how much of our savings is for saving and how much is for long term bills like car rego and interest free promotional purchases.
Then we go shopping and buy stuff we want and put it on the credit card and worry about it later!! LOL
A large portion of my budget is knowing where we are financially each fortnight when we get paid. If we’re overspent then I know by how much and I know we need to pull the reigns in a bit.
My husband has been out of work for two months (has a job now but has yet to receive first pay pack), and the whole time I knew how much of our savings we’d chewed into, I knew we had enough for mortgage each month and I knew when we had to start worrying.
There is a lot to be said for having a budget, even if you don’t stick to it, because it’s about knowning your position, even if that’s the wrong position.
I do like your idea of ‘no-buying’ days with the kids… I might have to introduce that in my house, more for my benefit than anyone else’s hahahahaha
Glen says
I begrudgingly had to give up dipping Cuban cigars into high class Belgian prostitutes.
Times are hard – we all have to our bit
Life In A Pink Fibro says
Sounds like half a budget right there. We are big fans of no buying days. I tend to tell the boys that it’s a no buying day pretty much every day.
Kymmie says
Great post. Always something to consider at this late hour in the night. We have a budget, and we’re ANAL about it. Actually read “I’m” anal about it. Food shopping budget – check. Clothes budget – check. Fuel budget – check. I don’t think we do without, but there are often months and months before we finally get what we want. But it’s always worth waiting for. (I’m thinking about my kitchen right now. Four years in the waiting, but so going to be worth it when it’s finally finished). But I like the ‘no buying’ week idea. Can I use that?? xx
cathy@home says
no budget here either but only buy things if i either love them need them or going to use them and allways think twice unless its a real bargain
Mama of 2 boys says
You know so many of your money saving, cost cutting tactics I use myself. It was very interesting to read them, as we also have no budget to speak of. Sometimes I break into a mild panic about that. Whether the no budget thing will one day come to bite us on the bum. But still, we carry on. I am chief financial controller in our household and like yourself can be very disciplined if we need to kick the savings along a little more. I also have no-buying days… or even no-buying weeks! I buy groceries at least every second day and also find that it cuts back tremendously on wastage… AND tastes so much better fresh. We go without quite a bit in comparison to friends and family around us. But we also have an OOAM and this is what drives us to stay focused. There will be time for the nice cars, luxurious holidays and extravagant beauty treatments… one day!
Anna Bartlett says
I am trying SO HARD to put a budget together so that we can move forward, but it’s certainly not coming easily. A bit like the rest of my cluttered house. I know life would be easier if we had one and I’d feel more in control, but I’m always thinking of how we can increase our means rather than figuring out how to live within our means. I’m not sure I’d recommend it though. It’s hard to sleep!
Michelle says
My eyes always land on the reduced prices in the supermarket first and if something is overpriced I’ll wait until its in season and more reasonable. I also try to take leftovers for lunch when I can.
Design Elements says
no buying day is a great idea!
ForeverRhonda says
That’s my kind of thrifty-ness. As I have days off now with only going to school I find myself shopping more which is bad since I have no job and we are a one income family. Seems I should be shopping less. I’m going to instill the no buy days.
Corinne ā Daze of My Life says
I used to buy meat, fruit & veg daily or every second day, but taking two small kids to the shops did my head in. Now I meal plan religiously so there is no waste and no ‘what are we having for dinner?’ drama.
We don’t budget either and I also use Spreets/Scoopon/Jump On It for hair cuts.
Truthfully the main reason we can live in Sydney on one wage is that I generally miss out. All other fiscal matters take priority.
Rachael says
I am single and don’t have a family to feed, but I do try to be thrifty!
I’m one of those people that hates wasting a dollar. So if I buy something that’s only 4 dollars, and end up hating it, then I’m really mad! So I don’t spend a lot, and when I do, I make sure it’s something I really want. Like REALLY…I still haven’t used a gift card I got for Christmas, because I want to wait to use it for the ‘right thing’. You would think that is smart. I guess it is, but sometimes I wish I could just spend it already!
Cinnamon says
I have a budget and allot every single penny we make each month to a category so we know where it all goes. I can only do this because I use mint.com. Otherwise there’d be too much to keep track of. My goal every month? To not actually spend all the money in each category so I can put more in the savings account. It doesn’t always work, especially these last two years for us, but we’ve never not had enough.
Leanne says
I was like Kymmie above, I was the budget bitch and was anal about it, but I kinda made our lives miserable (and gave myself headaches) so husband took over. So no budget at all anymore. But I think we’re all in the same mindset. Similar to you. Buying days, non-buying days. Always taking note of specials. Doing what we need to to stay fit and healthy without going overboard. Being grateful for what we already own rather than feeling sad about the things we don’t. That sort of thing ….
We’re definitely not part of the “instant gratification” mindset that gets so many people in trouble. We buy the special things only if and when we can actually afford it …
Great post.
L
CurlyPops says
I’ve always had a budget so that I don’t have to stress about money.
My best tip is to have a separate account which gets automatically credited with a set weekly amount for ‘play’ money. This is the money that you can spend on frivolous rubbish without feeling guilty.
Loz says
Oh my, I think I have had a budget since the day woolies hired me to stack there shelves!!
These days its not by my ocd nature..but by absolute need. We here at ninja towers are on one wage and EVERY single cent is accounted for. We have a spread sheet, we save for bills and I cannot remember the last time I spent money on something frivolous!
get a budget! Your making me all hibbity jibbity that you don’t!
Anonymous says
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Kate says
I have had a spreadsheet since Feb 2003 with four columns – 1. date, 2. amount (positive for incoming money like pay, negative and red for outgoing money – bills, etc), 3. running balance and 4. description of the income/payment item. The game is to never let column three go red.
My other budget tip is http://www.simplesavings.com.au/ – not that I get around to following most of their advice, I just like to watch. š
Sandrine says
Daughter of a banker here:)our tactic seems very similar, I am trying for budget now as we plan to spend for moving…
My advice is try and have a goal for saving (a visual one!) and yes try to get discipline it helps.Leaving in the bush too, an expensive hobby don’t! š
xx
Emma says
As boring as it sounds, meal planning and shopping with a list really help me keep track of our spending.
I pay our phone and power bills weekly, which doesn’t save us money but does save us going into bill shock each quarter.
I think being aware of all your commitments is the first step to drawing up a budget. It’s easy to think of well the only debt we have is the OOAM but in reality there’s also the power/gas, phone, car rego, rates/water, insurances. More than you think at first thought.
Mel says
I love the no-buying days. I wonder if that would work with 2 teenagers.
Bron says
I have no tips but the baby space man is obsessed with budgeting. We have an extensive excel spreadsheet with complete breakdowns and budgets for everything under the sun. I’m more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda gal who likes to live (and buy) in the moment. Hmm.
Do you think for some men (and women) budgets and babies go together? Basically the second we got pregnant the spreadsheet came into being….
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Belinda - Nest Design Studio says
hmm I might need to start non buying days!
Naturally Carol says
I know you’ll all find this hard to believe…but I believe in miracles..I give God a tithe..ten percent..and He stretches what is left. This started when the eldest of five was little and continues. The kids had private schooling, we bought a house and paid it off within 12 years. I am also quite well disciplined financially and haven’t got champagne tastes. I don’t want to offend..just to be honest with what’s worked for us.
MomAgain@40 says
Not even where you are yet… ;-(
Love the “no-buying” days concept!
Tammi says
We budget our money…living on one income with five children I find we have to in order to keep track of our spending…when living in NZ we lived week to week for 16 years, moving to Aussie means we don’t scrimp anymore and have money to save and money to spend but I find I am still as thrifty as ever.
We are currently trying to teach our oldest the importance of being money wise now that he is working.
allison tait says
I like your tips. They make cents (geddit)
Visiting from the Rewind.
ClaireyHewitt says
I like the idea of non buying days. Could be a great way to save.
MultipleMum says
Every day is no-buying day at our place! You guys do pretty well so something is working for you in your no-budget budget. Thanks for joining the frugal Rewind x
Seana Smith says
Hello via the Rewind. My hubby used to have a spreadsheet of IT ALL when we were spedning so much money doing early intervention for Eldest. and ‘meals out’ for us used to come to about $5.50 a month.
Careful management of the Visa card is so crucial, hubs always pays it off each month, he always had, that was a revelation when we met. Always pay it off, take money out of mortgage if nec, that’s cheaper.
Charis says
Great post & some great comments, thanks for this post! Visited via the rewind x