I know I said I was gonna wait until after the first of the year to do anything on  this blog, but I decided that I should give this a trial run.

Just so you know a little bit more about my finanical situation, here is a short run down:

• I do a budget for every pay period, which means the 15th and last day of every month. I literally get paid diddily squat [you will see], so I have to budget everything out per pay period. I also budget everything for 2 people and a cat, besides rent [we split that down the middle]. Anything that I don’t budget for, the Boyfriend picks up the tab.
• I also follow the zero-balance budget guidelines: meaning that I allocate all my money from every paycheck to something; leaving a zero balance at the end. This way I know where all my money is and where it is going.
• In addition to this, I also use an envelope system for the areas where we can get a little crazy with the money [i.e groceries, gas, dining out, entertainment, and household junk]. I count my thrifting habit as entertainment FYI.
• I also have a debt snowball going – meaning I am paying more to the cards with a lower balance. I paid off one card last month, and this month [see below] I will be paying off the next lowest card. So, until all my consumer debt is gone,  I have a snowball – WOOT!
• FINALLY – I hand write my budgets with a pencil and paper. I do this because, face it, we are all human and things change. For example, if I have an unexpected bill come up that needs to be paid, I get crafty with my budget and move things around. Pencil and paper I can carry around with me – an Excel spread sheet, I can’t – so, ya.

Okay, so here is my budget for this pay period – 12.15.08:

So ya. That’s my budget. I wasn’t lying when I said I make diddily, right? - so I have to work with what I’ve got. I still do the things I want, just not as frequently.

Let me know what you all think of my budget. Are there any areas that I can improve on? What do you do to budget your money??