This year when we did our taxes, my husband and I were surprised at how little we had to show for all of our hard earned money we’d made. We decided something needed to change. We started using a budget and spending plan, and ever since then, our lives have been so much less stressful!
Today I want to share with you the budget plan we created. This plan is a good fit for individuals or families. But what’s great about it is that charitable giving or tithing is the first thing we allocate our funds to. Because what’s the point and saving up all our money for ourselves?
Savings first, then expenses and sinking fund
This budget plan is unique because it has a sinking fund built in. A sinking fund is money that gets set aside each month for those bigger expenses that only occur a couple of times a year. For us, the auto registration, Amazon prime membership, and a few of other things always come at the worst time and we’re not prepared for them. Since we started using a budget plan, this was the first year ever that irregular expenses came up and we actually had the money to cover them. We even had a plan for saving up for Christmas. Thanks to our sinking fund!
The video below explains this budget plan in more detail. I encourage you to watch it so you can see that we have thought of every budget need you could possibly have. If not, shoot me an email to nikki (at) simplysweetdays.com and I can hopefully walk you through any glitches.
Just make sure, as I mentioned in the video, make sure you don’t delete any rows in the budget plan. You can rename the categories or expense items, but if you delete the rows it’s going to mess up all the formulas. The whole sheet is linked together. It automatically calculates your remaining balance as you schedule expenses, making it much easier to plan for the month.
Get your budget plan here
Whether you use this budget plan or another one of your own, my hope is that you find what works for you to stay on track with your spending. Spending money isn’t wrong or bad or something anybody should feel guilty for, but it is wise to have a handle on where your money is going. And all of us have at least a small amount that we could offer to give back to charitable organizations or someone in need. Click here to get your budget plan emailed to you!
I wish you a blessed future, with your kids going to college, weddings paid for, and incredible vacations that you didn’t have to put on a credit card. If you have any suggestions for ways to improve this budget plan, I’d love to hear them in the comments below.
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