Developing a New Financial Normal

Without going into details, over the next 48 months to save towards all the extra's of life, I've determined we need to develop a new financial normal. This is not tightwaddery for the sake of just padding our bank accounts, though we will continue to invest the max in our long tern savings. No, this is just the reality that we do not have the freedom to willy-nilly spend money indiscriminately, and complete the projects and fulfill commitments. Every dollar needs to have purpose. That won't mean  total austerity, but will mean intentionality. We simply need to know where the money is going, then figure out where the leaks are and close them. We should never have a Visa bill at the end of the month that has surprise items on it. We shouldn't get to the first week of the month when we typically pay the household bills and wonder why there isn't as much in the checkbook as we thought. When we take out  $100 from the ATM, there needs to be  an intent as to where the funds will go.

For example, we spent $60 for DD2's show choir banquet. That expense needs to be categorized and counted towards something intentional in the budget. That $60 is no longer available to spend elsewhere like another evening eating out or tickets to a Minnesota Twin's baseball game, as was offered to DH to opt into. (With the blizzard this week, that was not a sacrifice!) I always felt like I was good with money, but in looking over the bank statements, the credit card bills, and the checkbook entries, and there is a whole lot of miscellaneous spending going on that I would be hard pressed to identify what for. 

April has the banquet, Easter, and our god son's birthday. That's three weekends of expenses to account for. I'm not going to say no to any of them, but that will means saying no to something else to stay on track. No running into Caribou for a coffee just because I didn't make a pot at home, unless, I apply those funds to entertainment, eating out, or groceries. I'd rather put that extra $2 towards my new found Trivia night. If for a meeting or a visit with a friend, again, it needs to go towards eating out or entertainment, and cut back elsewhere. This will be particularly hard for DH. He likes to think he doesn't spend much going out for lunch, but there was twice what he thought on the credit card. I think we will take care of that and the coffee culprit by allocating a small portion of the budget (from already said line items, not new) for what others have called Walking Around Money, or WAM for short. We'll figure out what a reasonable amount would be and implement going into May, but $60 each is what I'm thinking. 

Financially, we are doing OK, if not great. We need these budget and spending tweaks though to keep on this positive course. I'm excited about what the next four years holds for all of us in our family. I don't want to be worrying about money to get in the  way of that. If we add or change a plan, and no doubt over several years we will, we need to revisit our cash flow. Intentionality is the key-and not relying on credit to make it happen.