Welcome to the February 2013 Simplicity Parenting Carnival: Finances
This post was written as part of the monthly Simplicity Parenting Carnival hosted by The Lone Home Ranger and S.A.H.M. i AM. This month we are discussing how we balance finances, family, and simplicity. Be sure to read to the end to see a list of the rest of the excellent carnival contributors.
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We have definitely been in a transition with keeping track of our finances since we started a family. Since we have another person in the house to keep track of, our ways of keeping track of our bills and payments has had to change. Simple has not been the word that I would use for the last 12 months, but simpler is describing our new path. So, what are we doing to escape the mountain of receipts and paperwork and move toward a streamlined system? Check out my top three goals below.
1) Find a calendar system that works for you.
Don’t just buy into someone else’s system and flounder in it. Be brave enough to recognize what isn’t working and change it. I switched to all digital billing and calendars about a year ago. While I value limiting paper and still like using Cozi calendar for our family schedule, I have transferred our financial calendar to an old school desk calendar. I mapped out when everything is due and cross it off as we pay it off. When I was doing everything online, I found that I would be checking things on the road and then forgetting to complete them when I arrived at home. So, now it’s all on paper and in one place. This is much better for me. Originally, I wrote about this as my 31 Days of Resolutions and am thrilled that I have taken this step.
2) Streamline the giant paper pile.
I have a goal to reign in the piles of paper that have been created by receipts and household and work papers. I have never been one to tackle things a little at a time. I like to do something in one shot, but that is not realistic now that I am a parent. So, learning to break things down into small tasks is the simplifying step that I need to take. We bought a NeatReceipts Mobile Scanner and Digital Filing System
3) Establish a monthly budget.
I am following the tips in the Grocery Budget Toolbox in order to help us get the most for our money at the supermarket. I have been establishing a price book, as pictured at the top, and have 3 supermarkets recorded in it so far. I am also searching for more foods that we can make at home. Outside of the kitchen, we are trying to figure out what we can spend and how we can save money too. Making a budget each month should help us in keeping finances simple and help us set some goals for the future. We are getting some renovations done at the house that will allow us to have a larger garden and therefore spend less on food year round.
So, there are our goals to keeping finances simple. It’s a journey, but we know that in the long run it will be the best journey for our family.
What are your financial goals for this year? How are you trying to simplify your finances?
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Thanks for reading the Simplicity Parenting Blog Carnival! We hope you’ll take time to read these other great contributors’ posts (Note: Links will all be live by 3pm ET on February 26th):
- Keeping Finances Simple – Becky at Crafty Garden Mama shares how using the Neat scanner, price books and setting a budget helps her family keep their finances simple.
- Living Within Our Means – Emily at S.A.H.M. i AM discusses how her family attempts to simplify their financial life by not spending money they don’t have.
- A Confession: I’m a Cheapskate – Jade at Faith in the Shade confesses her frugal nature and shares the stresses of simplifying her budget in all areas of the home.. even the most hated- groceries.
- frugal living – Justine at The Lone Home Ranger recaps how participating in a frugal living challenge last year changed the way she approached family spending.
Thanks to all the fabulous writers and readers for being a part of our simplicity parenting community! Stop by The Lone Home Ranger and S.A.H.M. i AM to see how to join us for a future carnival.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links in order to support Crafty Garden Mama.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I love all your suggestions. We need a calendar for all our bills. My husband is obsessive about keeping track of it but since it’s all in his head I’m constantly asking him when things are due, if it’s paid, etc. We’re working on our paper clutter and we finally found a budget system we like so we’re making progress! Our goal this year is to really build our savings : )
I would love to build a savings too. I feel like the calendar is helping and making sure that I am doing work in the office each day is helping me to stay on top of everything too.
We don’t keep a budget here. We have tried and that’s when something always comes up. I think we are just trying to survive working, two kids and a dog that we never find time to start an organization process.
We’re tackling it bit by bit. I feel like we are making progress on it.
I have been struggling with a grocery budget for the past year. It works when I am diligent about checking the sales, using coupons, and sticking to my list. When I don’t do those things, all bets are off and I end up spending an extra $50. I think I’m going to get the Grocery Toolbox e-book!
That Toolbox has been a big help this year. I feel like I have a better sense of what things cost.
I agree with online payments…you get the email and if you don’t pay immediately, it is easy to forget!
I feel like I need to figure out how to have it send me a reminder, but for now the calendar is helping out.
These are great suggestions. Of course, I still have to sit down with my hubby (who is in finance) to do an actual budget.
Estelle
We need to sit down in the near future too, Estelle. I need to take a night to jot down our monthly expenses and then go from there.
Making finances simple is so important! I run all of ours through Quicken plus I make almost everything automatic. I’ve also learned not to change the amounts that I transfer weekly to different accounts because I almost always forget to fix them for the next week. It’s just easier to make the one time transfer separate. And, cheaper!
Barb, how do you guys budget for utilities? I feel like that all fluctuates so much.
These are great ideas Becky! And…I think transition is the perfect way to describe what we are in as well with our finances:)
I feel like if I tackle it a little at a time, it will actually happen instead of trying to do it all in one shot.
We have tried making our own food too. I will keep tabs on how your garden is coming along; we are in a new house with a flat back yard (a rarity in our neighborhood), so I’m looking forward to growing more food this year. I also make our own yogurt, bread, and granola, but I think I can push myself to try new foods too, like water kefir to replace my seltzer habit. Thanks for the inspiration!
We are loving making our own bread! I would love to figure out a peanut allergy friendly granola too.