Dear Cutie,
I am embarrassed to ask this because it is something I am ashamed of. I am 34 years old and the mother of three beautiful girls — and I have no idea how to budget money. Â My husband works crazy, long hours and I am the one that handles the money, because he doesn’t have time. I am so bad at it. We barely scrape by every month and I’m sure we could do better if I had a clue about what I am doing. Can you help? Â
Signed,
Losing It
Dear Losing It,
This seems harder than it really is, because you are scared and upset. Start fresh. Put yourself on a budget. Give yourself so much each week, allocating enough for necessities and and allowing a little bit for fun. Some people use labeled envelopes with cash (or pieces of paper, if you use electronic payments) inside to organize their spending.
Also, it could be helpful just to track how you are spending your money. It is easy to pay with a card and forget the next day where it all went. If you start looking at how you spend, you may find that you don’t want to be putting so much money in one direction and you can start to change your spending habits to be more in line with your values. The key word is ORGANIZE. You must start thinking about this and keeping track.
Money is tricky. And it is the kind of thing that can get between families. It sounds like you value money and the hard work that your family does to earn it. You are in a good position to turn things around and soon you will find that your money is working for you, because it helps you live the kind of life that you want to live without ruining your life.
Good luck to you!
Love,
Cutie
Dear Cutie,
I am embarrassed to ask this because it is something I am ashamed of. I am 34 years old and the mother of three beautiful girls — and I have no idea how to budget money. Â My husband works crazy, long hours and I am the one that handles the money, because he doesn’t have time. I am so bad at it. We barely scrape by every month and I’m sure we could do better if I had a clue about what I am doing. Can you help? Â
Signed,
Losing It
Dear Losing It,
This seems harder than it really is, because you are scared and upset. Start fresh. Put yourself on a budget. Give yourself so much each week, allocating enough for necessities and and allowing a little bit for fun. Some people use labeled envelopes with cash (or pieces of paper, if you use electronic payments) inside to organize their spending.
Also, it could be helpful just to track how you are spending your money. It is easy to pay with a card and forget the next day where it all went. If you start looking at how you spend, you may find that you don’t want to be putting so much money in one direction and you can start to change your spending habits to be more in line with your values. The key word is ORGANIZE. You must start thinking about this and keeping track.
Money is tricky. And it is the kind of thing that can get between families. It sounds like you value money and the hard work that your family does to earn it. You are in a good position to turn things around and soon you will find that your money is working for you, because it helps you live the kind of life that you want to live without ruining your life.
Good luck to you!
Love,
Cutie