Bringing Balance to our Budgets: Part 4
I know last week was hard to hear. Living without credit cards and paying with cash is opposite how many families live today. But that type of living has ended families thousands of dollars in debt. The stress of debt is felt in the home and carried to work. This series is geared toward providing workable solutions you can implement today to begin your journey toward a debt-free lifestyle. Here are the remaining aspects of making a budget work for you: when to consider separate accounts, starting a new account, and knowing what works for you!
Separate Accounts
Separate accounts give both spouses an appreciation for where the money goes. When only one person is responsible for the checkbook, it is easy for the other person to spend recklessly without an understanding for the consequences of his or her actions. This may be especially helpful if you choose not to use the Envelope System.
Separate accounts can be used to varying degrees. Some couples split the rent and all bills. Some couples divvy up the bills according to their incomes. After they pay their portion of the bills, they spend their left over money as they wish. We use this technique as a way for me to keep intermittent miscellaneous money separate. This money is used for lunches out with the kids during the week, the dog's grooming, and my makeup/skin care. Having just those few sporadic items out of our main budget has greatly reduced my husband's budgetary stress. Sometimes small changes can make big impacts.
My one warning here is of a personal nature: having two accounts lends to a mine/yours mentality which can quickly spread to other areas of the relationship. Guard your heart.
Starting a New Account
When I opened my account last year, I started the checks at #100. I've had no problems until just a few weeks ago when my check was refused before I'd even finished writing it! Some stores will not take a check unless it is over #300 as checks under #300 are a red flag for a new account. There are actually folks out there opening accounts, writing checks, and then closing accounts before the checks can clear. This practice never would have occurred to me. This wasn't news to my well-informed husband. My guess is it isn't news to the crooks out there either. Since you can choose the starting number for your checks, seems to me this protocol is more likely to inconvenience upstanding citizens than to dissuade crooks. So, for those who may choose to open up a second account, start your checks at 301!
Do what Works for You
We didn't enlist every method we came across. We did what worked for our family. We've tried some things that didn't work and stopped them. That's okay. We've used techniques successfully for years then stopped them. That's okay, too. We have tailored our budget to the needs of our growing and changing family. The key to a successful budget is to be flexible in planning but consistently faithful in implementation.
You are not a prisoner to the budget. The budget is your tool to achieve financial freedom. Over the last four weeks we have discussed ten proven budgeting techniques to access a debt-free life style. Using these techniques, and others you may find, tailor your budget to your family's needs. During the process, keep in mind that any change is difficult. Change that requires sacrifice is especially difficult. And any budgeting technique will require a degree of sacrifice. From personal experience I can promise you that sacrifice is a small price to pay to preserve sanity!
If you have any techniques that have helped your family's finances, will you share them with us?
Happy budgeting!