Alright, we blew our March Budget, I admit it!
We are just like everyone else! I’m not perfect with money!
But it’s okay because I always plan ahead and save for things like this to happen.
Today, I’m going to break down the numbers, along with the how and why it happened. Maybe you can learn a thing or two to help you in the future.
Or maybe it will just make you feel better about your awesome money management skills.
Why We Blew Our March Budget
March is a very busy month for us. My birthday, one of my bestie’s birthdays, and spring break for the kids all fall in March.
Our eating out and activity costs were way higher than normal!
Greek food! Mexican food! Chinese food! And Fat Boy’s Garlic Chicken all called our names in the name of celebration!
For a family that usually only eats out once, maybe twice, a week, all that fun and food created a crater in our eating out budget.
In addition to eating out, we also spent on sports equipment for the upcoming soccer season.
(And an extra $100 for boxing equipment because of a lack of communication between Mr. Bean and myself. Always double count when you’re dealing with cash. I swore he said to grab him $250, but apparently, it was only $150. At least it went to a friend that was helping us out.)
All in all, we spent almost $1,000 over our regular budget!
How I Build Our Budget
In recent years, we have finally reached a point in our lives where we are no longer living paycheck to paycheck. And paychecks are almost always the same. It makes budgeting much easier, I must say.
I am too lazy to sit down and rebuild a “new budget” each and every month in order to account for every dollar we plan to bring in and spend. (Dave Ramsey style.)
Instead, I built an “Ideal Monthly Budget” using the average numbers we spend each month for different categories.
I try to keep these numbers low enough to keep us from going spending crazy but also reasonable enough that it doesn’t require us to eat ramen for every meal.
Rather than adjusting my numbers every month for things like birthdays or special events that come up, I create expected expenses accounts and put extra money in every paycheck.
That way, our paychecks can be evenly distributed every time. (Minimalist Banking style.)
Our March Budget
Category | Budget | Actual Spent | Notes |
Grocery | $700 | $804 | This includes household cleaning products and pet supplies. I swear, we almost always go over |
Eating Out | $150 | $541 | Birthday celebrations and spring break post-adventure lunches really added up this month |
Gas | $125 | $94 | Gas prices have gone up so I might have to increase this budget soon. But Mr. Bean hasn’t gotten gas all month thanks to living less than 5 miles from work and driving a Honda Fit |
Laundry | $100 | $45 | We have a community laundry in our building so we have to keep the laundry card filled. Luckily, with no jiu-jitsu yet, we are not having to wash gis multiple times a week like pre-covid |
Medical | $250 | $279 | We have excellent medical insurance through Mr. Bean’s work but with my RA, I have a lot of appointments and pills. And I had to reorder a few months’ worths of pills so they should last a while. |
Other | $100 | $625 | Usually, this counts for things like haircuts, new shoes, kids’ activities, etc. This month we also had soccer and boxing equipment to buy as well as a $200 deposit we should get back for a photographer modeling session |
Work Expenses | Not budgeted | $17 | I needed another gig of data due to excessive virtual real estate showings |
Total | $1425 | $2388 | Almost $1,000 over! |
Why It’s Okay We Blew Our March Budget
So why in the world is it okay that we just blew our budget by almost $1,000 this month?
Well, really, it’s not. It drives me nuts to go over my budget, especially by that much!
But I obsessively Hide Money From Myself. I save in our general savings fund and put extra money into expected expenses accounts every paycheck. We pay ourselves first through automatic transfers. Because of all this, I know we can easily pay for that extra spending that sometimes happens without sacrificing paying our other bills or going into debt.
How I Started Preparing for Overages
Mr. Bean loves to buy new exercise and training equipment. He doesn’t do it very often but it’s never cheap. It used to throw my budget off every time. I’d have to scramble to find money in other areas or carry credit card debt for a few months while we paid it off. It was actually causing tension in our relationship.
Now, we specifically set aside $100, every month, into an expected expenses account specifically for his training stuff. Most months, that money can just sit there and build.
But the months he finds some new thing he just has to have, he can check his equipment account and buy as soon as there’s enough. No-fuss, no muss.
It keeps him happy, knowing he can buy the things he really wants, and keeps me happy because we don’t have to scavenger for money or carry unnecessary debt.
Simple money management things like this make marriage so much easier!
Wrap-Up
So yes, we totally blew our budget for March! But I do set a pretty strict budget for a family of 4 living in Hawaii.
We keep costs down by living close to work in a Small Home.
Our eating out habits usually consists of buying Thai curry from our favorite place down the street while making the sticky rice and crispy tofu at home. Or we might get an after-school treat of bubble tea or Subway a few times a month.
By normally keeping our costs down and putting away the rest, we can afford to splurge when it really counts. Birthdays, vacations, and celebrations deserve to be enjoyed!
And by knowing we have the money put away to prevent ourselves from going into debt or sacrificing in other areas of our life, we are able to really let loose and enjoy the fun times!
It was a Happy Birthday month to me! Now let’s bring our spending back to normal in April. Please!
What Do You Think?
How do you handle your budgeting? Are you an Every Dollar Has a Job person? A Set It and Forget it? Or are you a freestyler living on the edge, never knowing where your money is?
Leave a comment below and let us know!