Every penny

The only way to budget is to count every penny. This way the emergency fund is truly that, an emergency fund.

Each month a new budget. My method is to take last month’s actual outgoings as the forthcoming month’s expenditure. To give more protection round every penny up to the nearest five (or ten) pounds. This in turn creates a mini contingency. Every budget should have a contingency. 

Each week a new update. Every week share with your other half the shared expenses. In our case this is the “food account”. What is the running total? What is the per week allowance? What is the buffer amount? Top level values give great clarity for the week ahead. Decide on a start day for the week – we use Fridays and Mondays. One is enough though.

Why? If you know where every penny is going then debt, loans and credit card usage should be a thing of the past.

For me the minimalist journey is guiding me away from worthless purchases and towards worthwhile savings. Even simple things like four new tyres. A just for when purchase (saving). The strict budget plus the minimalist lifestyle are a powerful combination. One that is growing positively for my health, physicality, metality and wealth. 

Why does a minimalistic outlook help? For me the answer is simple: more worthwhile consumption – items that are actually needed like the car tyres and far less worthless things. Most importantly using the things you do own until they are unusable.