Welcome to Day 4! {Click here to find the topic menu for the entire month along with links to each day.} Are you ready to do a little bit of analysis of your spending?
Yesterday we plugged in the numbers that we sorted according to type: income, fixed expenses, and variable expenses. I'll admit it--I'm a nerd. I loved filling in those worksheets. I just have to get over being bugged by all the white space that still remains!
Now we're going to prioritize. Take a pen/pencil and those budget worksheets from yesterday, and star the expenses that are necessities. This would be water, electricity, natural gas, etc. This would not be magazine subscriptions or--gasp!--cable. Now, cable may be a priority to you, but we're just focusing on the necessary things here. (An aside: I realize that in some countries, electricity and running water are luxuries. But most of us probably live in a country where it's reasonable to consider them necessities and where they may not even be optional, so it's okay to star them.)
Next, prioritize your remaining payments/expenses in order of importance to your family. Here you can include areas where you haven't yet written down a number--food, entertainment, gifts, clothing, etc.
Finally, highlight the three areas where you spend the most. {For this, I'm personally going to exclude our mortgage, because that or rent will most likely be the highest expense for any family, and that's not something that can be whittled down, except by moving. I'm also excluding our tithe/giving, because that's not something we'll negotiate in a backwards direction!} The three expenses you highlight could potentially indicate areas where spending is a little too high and could be strategically reduced. Our food budget is what immediately comes to my mind.
At this point, we're still not making any decisions or changes. We're just determining priorities and beginning to open our eyes to a few areas where we might need to make some concessions. As a Christ-follower, this is where I really begin to pray that my husband and I will individually and together see where we need to adjust and be obedient.
Come back tomorrow, and we'll start working on those more subjective areas such as groceries, gas, entertainment, personal care, household, etc.
If you're working through these steps along with me, I'd love to know!
Please leave a comment and share how it's going.
The framework for this series is being used with permission from Inexpensively.
