We are 1/6th of the way through the year and I can definitively say that we’ve finally found a budget that works.   This month, we spent less on food in a month than we have for the last 5 years, and we went out to eat several times.  We also had money left over in our budget at the end of the month.   I can’t believe how well this budget has worked.

A couple of observations:

1. We are talking about what we’re spending more.   This communication is huge and it carries none of the “how dare you” kind of attitude you might think–we’re just telling each other when and how much money is spent when we spend it… then it gets deducted from the budget and we know how much is left.
2. Debit cards with PIN transactions usually get posted to the account in 10 minutes — this is HUGE because we can nearly completely trust the balance as if it were an envelope.
3. We can get and “track” cash simply by requesting an extra $20 or $40 at the grocery store.   We’re never out ATM fees this way and we still get the money out of our allowance so we can use whatever cash we have just like we would use the money in our account.   I think this will work great for blessing Andrea with “blow” money — something she’s completely in control of and doesn’t have to worry about it going over the budget.

I honestly can’t believe how well this budget is working.   I got a ticket this week and we’re going to be able to pay for the court costs and defensive driving it off little-by-little out of our budget without having a big chunk removed.   We also saved money toward some known expenses that we’re going to have in the future by transferring it back into our main checking account and noting the amount in a spreadsheet that indicates some “budget buckets.”   When we need to spend, on that pre-known expense, we can just transfer it back into the main account.   Crazy, eh?

How’s your budgeting going?   What works for you?   How do you ENFORCE (through willingness of all parties involved) the budget across your whole family?  How do you handle variable and surprise expenses that you didn’t account for?

My son used to say that.   When he was a baby, and learning to talk, he would look an an object intently and say “duh do dah” — we always answered it like he was asking “What IS that?”  but a TED talk reminded me that kids just THINK differently.   Adults ask “what is that” — Kids ask “what can I do with that.”

When I think of Timothy asking “what can I do with that” it changes my perspective on what he was and is doing.   He is unlimited by the constraints that we naturally place on ourselves because the world is so big and uncertain.  Kids live with uncertainty ALL THE TIME.   Because they live with so much uncertainty, they are more open.   They play with the boxes more than the toys because the boxes are more open.  Kids just go for it.  Kids learn by doing.   Kids act out what they wish.

Timothy and Bethany constantly play with a wide assortment of toys that they have amassed in their room.   They don’t care if they match.  They don’t even care if that’s how they were supposed to be put together.   A little Veggie Tales Jr. finger  puppet regularly flies around in shoes and cars with wheels ripped off because it tells the story Timothy wants to hear.   Bethany makes Raja, her little brown and white stuffed dog, talk in a special voice to whatever she feels like.   Raja has a personality and wants.   She sees nothing wrong with this–and it changes her perspective on the world as well since she actually can sympathize with dogs and cats.

Funny how we, as adults, seem to filter so much of this out.   It’s not that we don’t need to be serious sometimes, but that we believe any playfulness is childish and unhelpful to the problem.   When trying to find a solution to the problem, lack of restriction is good for solution discovery.   When implementing a solution, often times restrictions actually aid us in completing the task–they filter out the things that would overwhelm us otherwise.

So we need both methods of operation.   We have been programmed to filter out things as we can so we can have the illusion of control over some small portion of our lives.   But playing and keeping life playful is what makes creativity in us and what makes the world a better, more pleasant place to live and exist.

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