Today is my first day of maternity leave and I have sat down and set up a budget in Excel. I didn't realise just how much our monthly out-goings were. Its been a real eye-opener. And now we're down to one income....I really need to get a handle on things!
I too have added up all the regular bills & expenses and averaged them over the year to come up with a weekly figure that I have to put aside into a separate "Bills" bank account. I have set this up as an automatic transfer when DH gets paid.
We pay a bit extra on our mortgage and hopefully will continue to do that, even a small amount regularly cuts down the length of the loan so I'm happy to keep that up and skimp somewhere else.
We have take-away once a week, so I should pop that into the budget now that I'm thinking about it.
Tell you what, its a good thing I'm a good cook, can make a meal from nothing and can do 1001 things with mince!
ETA: What do you think I have to think about with the arrival of a new baby? What sort of things do I need to add to the budget? I am going down the MCN & breastfeeding (fingerscrossed) paths so hopefull its just little things like creams and clothes?
PS Sorry for hijicking Arimeh!!
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