Budgeting

Budgeting is something we've been trying to do as a couple ever since we got married last fall. It's taken almost an entire year to revamp the budget and figure out what is realistic and what will work for both of us. We have finally worked out something we are happy with and excited about!! Everybody's lives and marriages are so different so you really do have to spend some crucial time trying out a few different things. We failed a LOT at budgeting before we got the hang of it. 10 months later here we are! Stick with it! You will eventually find a good balance for the two of you. Here are a few things that have worked for us:

Gail's Budget (http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/)
Gail Vaz Oxlade is the TV personality who hosts Til Debt Do Us Part. She has an awesome blog that was super helpful for beginner budgeters like us. It educates on how to start budgeting, and what you will need to include in your budget etc. She also has a ton of helpful tips on savings accounts, mortgages, RRSPs etc. This is just the kickstart you need!! -->  http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources/guide_to_building_budget.html

I used her budget model and changed it to fit our needs. 
http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources/interactive_budget_worksheet.html
(You can also download the excel spreadsheet version which is what I used to plan our monthly budget)

www.mint.com
Mint is an awesome budgeting website that extracts all of your debit/credits from your bank accounts and allocates them to different categories so you can track your spending. You can also set goals and track your progress online.

My favorite part of Mint is the live feed that shows how much money you've spent from your budget during any time of the month. The visibility of it helps keep us accountable to our spending habits and sometimes watch our money slip away faster than we would like!! If you overspend in any category you will get an e-mail notification saying you're over budget. Mint also sends e-mails for any unusual spending that's happened, if a large bill is due, or just friendly budgeting tips!

At first we tried to use mint.com exclusively, but the online visibility wasn't quite working for Nick, he wouldn't visit our Mint account at all during the month - so it was kind of a one-sided tool. I needed something that would work for both of us.

Excel Spreadsheet
Using Mint to track our spending for the last 10 months - I was able to use their website to figure out what kind of dollar amounts were reasonable for each category. Nick made a point of saying the budget needs to be realistic and achievable, because what's the point of going over-budget every month. My friend Kaitlyn had taken Gail's budget and simplified it into her own excel spreadsheet. I absolutely LOVED how hers turned out, it is so simple and visually it is exactly what we needed! I did up a pretend budget so you get an idea of how simple it is. Everyone has a different lifestyle so yours will look much different! I used very basic numbers for the sample. At the end of every month I input my real numbers (because bills are subject to change month to month) and see how much is leftover. I let the leftover money roll forward into our account.

CASH JARS
Instead of trying to keep track of things "virtually" on Mint we decided actually seeing the money would work best for us. Gail Vaz Oxlade has people use cash jars on her show, she explains them here--> http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/articles/budgeting/magic_jars.html.

I bought these jars at the dollar store and put vinyl stickers on. We take out cash at the beginning of each month and put them in our mutual spending jars. If we need anything for household supplies/toiletries, cards for birthdays, vacation expenses, blinds for the house etc we have to use money out of the jar and replace the money with the receipt. The best part of the cash jars is that when the cash is gone - no more spending for you!! No going over budget when you have no more money to spend.

The first Monday of every month is our Family Home Evening Budget night. We go over receipts, the budget, check over bank transactions and see how we are doing on our goals. Its a habit we want to establish for ourselves and for our future family!
***keep jars locked up, hidden away in a safe place***

Our Top 5 Budgeting Tips for Couples

(disclaimer: these are for couples who have joint bank accounts and share finances)

1. Be honest with yourself and your spouse about your spending

2. Have separate spending money that you can use without having to be accountable to your spouse. Spend it, save it - it's yours to do with as you please! (gets rid of a lot of guilt and tension between the two of you!)

3. Make realistic goals

4. Go over finances together regularly

5. If at first, or second, or third, or fourth... you don't succeed, try try again! Be patient!