I know I ramble a lot about budgeting but this is because it’s so important when you’re on a defined financial journey.
For some unexplained reason, I am extra spendy this August. Seems every thing needs a refresh, from my clothes looking worn and not fitting to my Child outgrowing their clothes with no notice. Of course, that meant I had to shop for us both. Yes, I do have a sinking fund for our clothes shopping which is now overspent for the year.
Additionally, my Child is graduating from Crèche to Kindergarten and there are so many contribution requests from other parents for their current carers that I feel obliged to join. I know I can say no as I already planned for personal gifts which I did somehow miss to budget for. I will start a sinking fund for such contributions with my August salary.
All of these and many other small money needs is making me feel slightly off balance with my financial status. To calm my nerves, I am going to do a full budget reset and rebuild my budget from scratch.
My budget planning is straightforward. I do a full review of my spend for the past one year and all recurring one off spending will be grouped under sinking fund. Regular undefined spending will be grouped under variable spend and the regular defined spend will be grouped under fixed spend. This summarises the process even though there are further breakdowns particularly for the sinking fund.
The really good part of this month is me sticking to food at home, not overshopping groceries and having my gifting under control.
We leave on vacation in one week and I will need to keep track that we stay within budget. Vacations tend to go over budget from the YOLO effect that comes with it. It will be fantastic if we land underspend for once.