FPU teaches you to zero out your budget tell your money to go somewhere that way at the end of the month or year you look at at how much you've made and say "where did all our money go?" matt and i have created several new accounts (two different savings, vacation, etc) and are enjoying this new challenge of truly living on a budget. it makes you appreciate your money a lot more and really evaluate your spending. i'm thoroughly enjoying trying to make the most of my budgeted amount for groceries and household. it's only been two weeks since i've had to stick to this and i'm happy to report that in the two weeks i've only gone over budget by $9. this is huge because i really never knew from week to week what i would be spending....i just went grocery shopping and purchased what i needed. i still do this but in a much more conscientious way. i calculate my groceries as i go through the store. i even go as far as weighing my fruit to have a more exact amount. i'm careful about what i buy and strive to make the most of the groceries i buy. reading this again, it makes me sound as if i was carefree and wasteful before; wasteful, no, but carefree, a little. because if i wanted shrimp and steak (ok, we really never eat steak because it is so stinking expensive) during the week, we'd have it. now i'm not so quick to jump out and plan more than one expensive meal.
the envelope system is something that FPU strongly recommends. in the envelope system, you allocate a certain cash amount for a category and put that money in an envelope for the month. when it's gone, it's gone. we have several envelopes for clothing budgets, baby supplies, gifts, etc. the envelope looks like a checkbook register so we can deposit and deduct throughout the month. funny story and weird experience for me was when i went to target earlier this week and had to make three different transactions in order to keep my money envelopes separate and accurate. fortunately, the store wasn't busy so i didn't mind this. had the line been backed up, i would have paid in one transaction and figured it out later. but, back to the story. i had a birthday gift, two baby outfits, and a household item. it worked wonderfully. the cashier probably thought i was strange but hey, who cares.
teaching our children about the importance of money is another area that has been discussed. matt and i decided to implement dave's idea with molly and sophie. everyday they have 5 chores to complete (in addition to picking up their toys and room). they earn $.10 per chore, so $.50 per day. doesn't sound like a lot but when you're 4 and 2 getting paid is a big deal and they love to work for money. at the end of the day we pay them their money and they keep it in a glass jar on the counter. then, at the end of the week they divide their money into three envelopes: giving, saving, and spending. at the end of the month we will have them sit in church with us until after the offering so they can give their tithe and we'll also deposit their savings. the spending money is theirs to do whatever they want with. molly is saving for american girl doll clothes. poor girl doesn't realize how expensive they really are. sophie's planning on getting more minnie mouse things. here the girls are with their jars and envelopes.
another perk of all this is my house stays so much cleaner. not because the girls are doing my work but because it forces me to stay on top of things. i can't just go sit down after lunch or dinner because one of them has to clear the table and bring me the dishes to rinse. i have to make sure the dishwasher has been ran so sophie can empty the silverware in the morning. molly vacuums the living room at night so i have to make sure it's picked up. little things that make a big difference!
FPU is a class i'd recommend to anyone. it's so practical and easy and just makes sense. if you have the opportunity to take it do. oh, and they'll even give you a cool bumper sticker for your car (we don't plan on putting ours on but it made me laugh that they sent one).
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