A little flexibility
Jul 11th, 2008 by Bethany
I noticed in my last post that I mentioned going out to eat on a whim (to Taco Bell) and planning to buy something unnecessary (a boogie board). And I did it with nearly no guilt. That’s a big deal for me, and I feel like I need to acknowledge this huge blessing of financial security in a public way.
Yesterday I worked on a new draft of a budget for our little family. Budgeting has been an overwhelming challenge for me, but probably not for the reason you think. I don’t have difficulty following a budget that covers all the basics (electricity, gas, insurance, etc.) every month even if there is little-to-no wiggle room, but when I have to start juggling bills I get paralyzed and don’t do well at all. Since we’ve moved, we’re in a much better financial situation and as I drafted our budget I found that we’ll not only have enough to cover the basics consistently, but we’ll be able to actually SAVE money AND have something left over for incidentals. That means I can buy my kids a boogie board for $10 without feeling guilty because it really should be going toward the ten bills that I haven’t paid yet because there’s not enough to go around. YAY!
I can’t express what a relief it is to be going in the right direction financially. I am grateful.