Dec 31 2007
Plans and Goals for 2008
Tomorrow is the first day of a new year and I’m excited about some of my financial and budgeting goals and resolutions.
Goals:
YNAB Budget
December marks the third full month of using my YNAB Pro Budgeting Software* and I’m excited to get a fresh new start tomorrow. Instead of rolling over my 2007 data into 2008, The Husband and I have agreed to start the new year with a fresh new budget. He has agreed to share all of his expense and income info with me so I can combine it with my receipts for a complete and accurate family budget instead of the more “household” budget I’ve been keeping so far.
Don’t get me wrong — my husband has never hidden money or info from me. It’s just that he’s better at detail stuff and has always been the one to pay the bills — a task I willingly handed over. I, as the stay-at-home-mom, am in charge of 99% of the family purchases — a task he willingly leaves in my capable hands. In other words, we each do what we do best: he makes the money and I spend it 
Since purchasing and setting up the YNAB software, I’ve been sharing the data with him and he’s gone from sceptical to cautiously interested to an as-long-as-I-don’t-have-to-do-it convert.
I’m really excited about this step forward for two reasons. One, even though we’re definitely living within our means (spending less than we earn), I think we could easily trim our expenses without feeling a pinch. I’d like to take an active role in putting more into savings every year and spending our money a little more consciously and wisely. And, two, as much as I’ve learned not to live in fear of tomorrow, I can’t hide from the fact that my husband is old and sick and the odds simply are not in his favor to be around for another 30 years (he’d be 103). The more informed I am about how much money we have and where it is, the better off I’ll be if and when he can no longer handle our finances.
So, put simply, that goal is to enter absolutely every expense and income — no matter what the source — into our YNAB program in 2008.
Not Paper or Plastic!
Another much simpler and somewhat silly goal is to keep track of how many bags I don’t use — in all my shopping, not just at the grocery store — by using my four ChicoBags
If you’d care to join me in this challenge, please sign up in the comments below and we’ll do regular check-ins on our challenge status.
Resolutions:
No KnickKnacks or Trinkets
I’m not one prone to purchasing knick-knacks or trinkets but every once in a while I go all nutty and buy something silly for around the house. Why do I do that? They always end up being a waste of money as well as a waste of space and energy. Knick-Knacks and trinkets take up space and they gather dust. I resolve to not buy anything resembling a knick-knack or trinket for my house and I expect my readers to call me on it if they find anything like that in my daily $$ postings. The one exception is artwork. I do not consider artwork for my walls to be knick-knacks or trinkets and my walls are pretty pathetically bare. I am slowly and carefully trying to remedy that situation.
Returns
I would say that my most costly weakness is un-returned merchandise. I get heart palpatations when I think how many things I have lying around the house that I own but don’t use simply because I never got around to returning them. If I were to kick just one bad habit, this would be it. I resolve to end the year 2008 without adding a single item to my collection of non-returned items.
Culture and Life-Enrichment
The one area in my budget that has been most neglected is that of cultural and life-enriching events. I have nothing at all budgeted for taking the children to concerts, plays, and other cultural events. I resolve to correct that oversight in 2008. I will create a category in my budget so that when I hear of an event that I know we’d enjoy, I will already have money set aside and won’t cringe at the price per ticket and say we can’t afford it.
3 Responses to “Plans and Goals for 2008”
I LOVE YNAB.
That is all.
Definitely allocate some dollars towards the culture and life enrichment category for your family. These events can be ridiculously priced, I agree, but they can also open doors to potentiality for the children. Those special times also help preserve great memories of times spent together as a family. One of my youngest son’s special memories is of a Les Claypool concert my husband took him to in Minneapolis Minnesota. It was just the two of them. They had a fabulous time and will forever have that memory to bind them together. We also took him to see BB King when he was 13. I believe those events have helped grow his love of music that is a huge part of who he is. Long story short…this will be a category in your budget well spent! God Bless and have a fabulous 2008
[…] will be classified as a “recreation: entertainment” expense. I’m so glad I decided to add that category to my budget as part of my New Year’s resolutions. If all goes well, I’ll have […]