Back to Balancing the Budget (again)

I do believe that we unintentionally recreate our past with each forward step we take throughout our lives.

I have recreated a situation within my finances where I am falling short of what I need. I seem to need less to create more.

In short, I have been spending more than I have been earning. It is as simple as that. I have created a shortage in my funds which feels familiar and comfortable. Is this why we keep recreating our past? Because it is simply what we "know", so we keep heading down the same path over and over again?

I am not a big fan of change but honestly? Recreating the financial rut I'm facing is so avoidable.

I sat down with pen and paper this morning and wrote a list of Budgeting Goals. One year from now, I do NOT want to be where I am today. I want to have saved for the house insurance; I plan to put aside all my vacation pay so I actually HAVE some vacation pay when I take some time off; I need to save more for income taxes than I have been so I'm ready for the tax man in April.

I must get in the habit of SAVING. Just a little off the top. "Pay yourself first" is the motto my financial planning courses taught me. Apparently I am not a very good student. I forgot that simple rule.

Home renovations and maintenance have ruled my life for the majority of this year in progress. Our house had been neglected for eleven years so if I was to divide this grand total by eleven, it wouldn't seem so bad. Perhaps that is exactly what I need to do to create a "home maintenance" space in my budget. While I'm at it, I should create a "car maintenance" account too.

Here I go again. If I follow through with all of these plans I will feel eternally "broke".

Less is more, Mom always said. I'm livin' the dream!!