In Search of Meaning and Satisfaction with Monthly Budgeting

Can You Turn a Finite Monthly Budget into a Fun Project?

Yawn, what a topic, eh? I’ve been tossing this idea around in my head for a few days now, because it’s a priority in my everyday life. With a tiny but stable stream of income it can feel like there is so little you can do with it, that there is only frustration on a monthly basis (especially toward the end of the cycle, or when surprise expenses pop up…often).

After about six months of struggling with how best to reign in this minuscule budget, it dawned on me yesterday that there is a way to feel some satisfaction, that I have in fact made progress with it.

First and foremost, there is relief to know exactly how much money you will have for the month. As a freelancing marketer and writer, it was difficult to predict my revenue stream. This fact created a fair amount of stress with money management.

Now I have an exact figure to work from, every single month. I have a list of the constant monthly payables and when they are due. I have also tracked monthly expenditures for about two years now, so I know what percentage of our budget goes to items like food (FYI, for us it makes up 40% of our tiny budget. Yikes!).

So, where is the fun part you ask?

I actually got excited yesterday because I’m finding ways to stretch our food supply further into each month. For you and your family, you may already succeed with this aspect of household management. For me, it’s taken time to develop a strategy that works for my husband and me…especially the more we have moved away from processed, prepackaged food to meals made from scratch.

Our current food management strategy is:

• Buy upfront those crucial items like chicken thighs and rice milk for the month (the former to store in the freezer, the latter in the pantry).
• Plan months in advance for how we will replenish our pantry.
• Bake and cook on a seasonal basis with recipes that will freeze well, like pancakes, sausages, and enchiladas. Buy fresh fruit and then freeze items like berries and bananas for later use, like for smoothies.

Our future food management plans are:

• Continue to expand on the meals and ingredients we make ourselves.
• Continue to introduce homegrown items like sprouts (these are so easy to grow). We’re also moving closer to growing our own herbs, potatoes, and tomatoes — as these are the items we can likely grow the easiest, at a manageable level/yield and cost (plus what will more likely survive Texas summers).

We planned for our permanent home:

• Although nothing is a given, we do currently have our small dream home. We planned years in advance to buy it. We made as many improvements and repairs as we could right away.
• We continue to make improvements as budget allows. These are improvements that fulfill dual purpose — they meet our own needs and desires while enhancing the property in the event we need to sell.

How we manage non-constant budget items:

• Wardrobes: Beginning in 2012, I was on a mission to build capsule wardrobes for both my husband and me. I put a purchase plan in place to buy specific items and in some cases a backup supply of items like socks and underwear.
• Wardrobes: Now we are at a point where we only need to buy items like new shoes as needed or clothes and accessories that give our wardrobes an updated look.
• Personal essentials: We plan months in advance for replenishing certain types of items like skin and dental care, makeup, etc.

Biggest Lesson Learned

I am now frugal. I have come to appreciate my ability to be frugal. On the flip side, I also know that only being frugal can create its own frustrations…as in lack of fulfillment and loss of the element of surprise. So, my husband and I find small ways to introduce fun into our expenditures, and on a monthly basis. It keeps the frugality from feeling like confinement. In other words, we actually have a tiny monthly budget for something fun. Otherwise, where’s the quality of life?