Christina and I just finished our annual budget meeting. We are now working off of a July to June fiscal year budget as opposed to a January to December.
Our agenda looked like this:
- Financial goals for the year
- Expected maintenance
- Major purchases
- Future planning
- Career development
- Our daughter
Each of these had sub-topics, but one could get the gist from the above.
We simply want to sit down, figure out what money we will spend above our current budget categories, and plan for that. At one point, we were going to buy a new bed this year. When we talked about it at this meeting, we realized we were actually sleeping quite well now that we work out daily and, therefore, we probably don’t need a new bed. That saved $600 – $1000 off our annual budget.
Then we discussed the $600 or so of expected maintenance our car will need this year and the potential $2000+ in repairs that could happen unexpectedly. These are things we need to expect otherwise out budget could be thrown completely out of whack.
If you don’t meet with your spouse with regularity about financial matters, I highly recommend it. How else can you tell if you are on the same page?
Some category updates from the past few weeks:
Fitness: I am on day 61 of P90X and I have gone from doing 1 pullup to around 10. I have gone from doing 30 terrible pushups to doing 35 nose-to-the-floor pushups.
Food: I have worked really hard to make more food from scratch. I have made pintos and lentil stew and more all from basic ingredients. I am trying to cut out food waste from our house.
Finances: Since Jan 1, 2010, out net worth has increased at least six fold. I have paid off one of my student loans and increased our investment portfolio.
Day 102: Annual Budget Meeting
Christina and I just finished our annual budget meeting. We are now working off of a July to June fiscal year budget as opposed to a January to December.
Our agenda looked like this:
Each of these had sub-topics, but one could get the gist from the above.
We simply want to sit down, figure out what money we will spend above our current budget categories, and plan for that. At one point, we were going to buy a new bed this year. When we talked about it at this meeting, we realized we were actually sleeping quite well now that we work out daily and, therefore, we probably don’t need a new bed. That saved $600 – $1000 off our annual budget.
Then we discussed the $600 or so of expected maintenance our car will need this year and the potential $2000+ in repairs that could happen unexpectedly. These are things we need to expect otherwise out budget could be thrown completely out of whack.
If you don’t meet with your spouse with regularity about financial matters, I highly recommend it. How else can you tell if you are on the same page?
Some category updates from the past few weeks:
Fitness: I am on day 61 of P90X and I have gone from doing 1 pullup to around 10. I have gone from doing 30 terrible pushups to doing 35 nose-to-the-floor pushups.
Food: I have worked really hard to make more food from scratch. I have made pintos and lentil stew and more all from basic ingredients. I am trying to cut out food waste from our house.
Finances: Since Jan 1, 2010, out net worth has increased at least six fold. I have paid off one of my student loans and increased our investment portfolio.
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