For the first time in more than a year, we made it through the pay period without borrowing money. Sort of. There was a snag with the tag for our new vehicle (bought before we started the program), and I had to take money out of the car repair fund to pay for it.
As I stood at the ATM trying to figure out how much to withdraw, I decided to take out $175...just in case. The total transaction was $63, and the smart thing to do would have been to put the rest of the money back. You already know I didn't do that, but what you don't know is my rationale. I paid the new car payment (yes, payments!) one month early, so I knew we had that bit extra.
But I also used this line of thinking earlier in the week when I wanted to buy something else.
The Power of the $0 Budget
There's a flaw in my thought process sometimes, and the truth is that the $0 budget is the best way to combat this. As I worked the numbers for December, I realized the power of this tool. After paying all the necessary bills out of the first check, I had $2 left over. In the past, I would have just left that $2 sitting there, but that doesn't work with this budget system. Instead, I looked at the three funds we currently have set up (emergency, car repair, trip home) and decided that it needed to go to the repair fund.
Making the $0 Budget Work
One of the problems I face when working the $0 budget is the fact that my income varies even though I am a salaried employee. I'm not sure how it happens, but my paychecks do change. I also work a second job that varies depending on the amount of work I do. My solution for now is to work with numbers that are the minimum I expect. Let's say the minimum I receive for job 1 is $1000 per paycheck, and the minimum for job 2 is $250 per week. My monthly anticipated income is then $3000. I use this figure to create the budget, assigning each penny a purpose and spending all my money on paper before the month begins.
Then I turn my attention to each week during the month. I am paid every other week through job 1 and every week through job 2. I review the due dates on the bills and decide which paycheck I use to pay each item on the main budget. Then I set up the automatic payments through my bank's online bill payment system and write out the amount of money I need to put in each of the envelopes we use to monitor spending for groceries, gas, spending money, pet supplies, and household goods. If, when pay day arrives, I discover that I received more than I expected, that money (ideally) goes in one of the aforementioned not so discretionary funds. Hence, the $2 that went into the car repair fund last week.
The system works if I use it. The system does not work when I systematically rob from one item on the budget to take care of another or a whim. The system works when I have $0 sitting in my bank account at the end of the day on pay day.
Next Week
This Friday is a job 2 only pay day. My goal this week is to end the day with no money in the bank account. No money. That's sooooooo scary to me to think of having no money in the bank, and perhaps that's the sticking point for me now. For some reason it's comforting to see something sitting there, but the reality is that the only reason I ever need it is if I misbudgeted. It's time to truly put my faith in this system. It really did work during the last pay cycle. I have to believe it will work again.
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