Page 50 - How To Set Up a Family Budget The Easy Way

an impact over time.

 Family budgeting is about minimizing and totally avoiding if possible any unexpected
and deemed unnecessary spending. Spell out the realities and consequences of these
purchases to others – short on cash, family tension, unnecessary stress and complications,
hardship and more. Openly discussing it builds fiscal responsibilities on all fronts. This
does not mean rigidity or inflexibility. Need, merit, means and circumstance will

obviously dictate.

 Family budgeting is also about shared responsibility. All members can participate – even
the kids. Taking responsibility for the grocery bill for example. Mom is responsible
mainly for the weekly outing to the store, but when it comes to the staples like milk,
bread, eggs and cheese, one of the teenagers can be entrusted with the budget funds and
task, help shop for bargain, check flyers and more. Setting house-rules about who gets to

pay for what and when is also important when you have young adults still living in the
house or have boarders. Family budgeting allows the channel for discussion and
eventually mutual agreement on financial goals and priorities.

 Perhaps the most important part of all, is that family budgeting helps us all learn where
the money actually goes, as opposed to where we think it does or should go. Normally
very different things! The initial realization of the amounts (usually larger than we think!),
involved on incidental, discretionary and impulse buying is an eye-opener for most and

ends up saving families all kinds of money they never knew they had. Just brining that
into the awareness and our conscious mind tends to put a stop to unnecessary
expenditure.

 Mall crawling and hanging out in retail stores to kill time, is counter-productive and part
of the reason we spend frivolously. From bookstores, to lottery tickets, gourmet coffee,
food-court lunch, and a quick movie, items you do not really need, but think you or your

spouse or kids would like leads to hasty, flawed and almost distorted decision making.
The thought, actions and actually purchases are not budget-driven and money conscious
at all. All these things add up over time. Smoking, daily coffee (or two), buying candy,

chocolates, pop, magazines and more to ‘kill time’ are all money-guzzlers that should
be avoided.

50