Home Management Binder: Budget

If you missed it, the overall post about the home management binder is here.

Ah, the budget. It is such a scary thing to tackle finances...or it used to be. I decided one day that in order to stay on top of my finances I couldn't rely on receipts. Receipts cause paper clutter. And it builds up until I can't deal with it anymore and just throw it all away, which results in us totally forgetting our budget and buying extra Blue Bell ice cream, which is not good for your figure OR your wallet. This resulted in me making a very small printable for my wallet. It was about the size of a dollar bill and I taped it to my check book. Any time I bought anything, I would record it on the piece of paper. [Cameron would let me know if he spent anything as well.] Once a week, I would update our budget totals and share them with Cameron so we were on the same page. It worked brilliantly, but it was a lot of work. I found myself re-totaling everything up all the time. I needed a ledger. And I needed a little more space to keep things clean.

Enter the binder. [Click image to download blank printable version.]

I'll spare you the actual details of our budget for September. It's not very impressive...we're on a student loans salary right now. But I will say that it saves me so much time! My binder goes with me wherever I go. I write down the total while the grocer is bagging my groceries or right after I get back in the car from pumping gas. I can make sure all of our utilities and insurance payments are on time and I know exactly what date they were paid. I know immediately how much we have left in each budget. There is no guess work.

Finances aren't such a daunting task when they're done as you go!

In my binder, I printed 3 of these, front and back, so I have enough for a year. [4 to a page, cut in half]. I am blown away by the peace of mind this little piece of paper gives me. It also allows me to have more fun, because I can purchase fun things guilt free when I know where the money is coming from!

Up Next: Kitchen [Meal Planning + Shopping Lists + Freezer Tally]

Date Night - Forts + Love Letters

With Cameron being in Chiropractic school, we are on a pretty strict budget. This means no babysitters, unless we swap with another couple in our ward. I really don't want to stop having date night, though. It's one of my favorite times of the week. And yes, we are grateful for Nash and Gray, but I married Cameron. And our marriage will always come first to me. We are a team, and it takes time and effort to keep a marriage strong.

Because he's in school, I have taken it upon myself to plan dates. I have no issues with that. Cameron always spoils me rotten, and I love surprising him. I'm sure he'll plan a date or two when he gets the time, but for now, I don't mind making that my responsibility.

Last Friday, we went on an extremely cheap date, and it was a total blast! I had to share.

First, I sent him this invite [If you right-click it and save it, you can totally use it too, if you want!]


When he got home, we had dinner, did baths and bedtime for the boys and cleaned up the kitchen until it got dark.

I walked up to him and asked if I could take him out and our date began. I gave him a list of things that we needed to get together. A lantern, 4 blankets, a sleeping bag, 6 pillows, the laptop, an extension cord, two strands of Christmas lights, the treats, book and pen, and the fan.

And we made a fort in our backyard. I didn't have high expectations for it, but man it turned out pretty romantic! What do you think?





From there, we each ripped a page out of the book "Chocolat" and wrote love letters to each other by blacking out words on the page. I was surprised by how hard it was, but it turned out really great! We laid back and watched the leaves in the trees and just talked without interruption. Cam brought two bags of Dove Chocolates for our treat. Which we fed to each other. Don't knock it til you try it. Sounds cheesy, really is awesome. There is something so peaceful about being outside. The air was thick. And yes, there actually was a firefly! Which just makes my whole day, because I love them.

We plugged the baby monitor in outside so we didn't need a babysitter. Our boys were sleeping peacefully in their own beds, and I didn't have to worry one lick about them. I was surprised, too, by how alone we felt! After a round or two of monopoly deal, we went inside to watch Psych and call it a night. Just a simple, relaxed evening.

We will definitely be doing something like this again. We acted like teenagers. So fun. I can't wait to plan another date!

Home Management Binder: Daily Docket

If you missed it, the overall post about the home management binder is here.

Alright, so the first part of my binder is the Daily Docket. It's the meat of the whole thing. It ties the other parts together, and honestly, if I had to pick one part to do, this would be it. I get so much done with this little piece of paper. When I started out making my Daily Docket, I got a little carried away. And I made it too complicated. This is where I started:

It had too much on it and it stressed me out. There was wasted space on it because the sections didn't work for me. I removed the daily schedule portion, the drink more water portion, and the morning and evening checklists. It is SO much better! So, if you're looking to make your own, write down a list of everything you think your daily docket should include, and then delete 3-4 of them. You will thank me later.

After the clean-up, this is where I landed. And I love it. [Click the image to download the printable file]

Exhale. So much better. I have figured out a trick to making this work for me. I absolutely HAVE to fill it out the night before. Right before bedtime. Otherwise, I waste half the day trying to figure out what I really want to do vs. how tired I am. When I fill it out the night before, things like

"Hey! I cleaned the fridge before 9!"

or "Well, now that dinner's already in the crock pot, what should I do during the boys' afternoon nap?"

come out of my mouth.

And it rocks. I also get a whole lot of satisfaction from crossing things off. No more check boxes. The nicest part about it is that my day is thought out when I'm at the end of the day before and I know full well what I would do with a few extra hours in the day. Now, those tasks actually get done because they're mapped out for the next day. And I am actually excited to get up. No lie. This is a huge deal for me. The past couple weeks, I have been working on supporting Cam and waking up with him at 5:15 am to pack his lunch, have breakfast and scriptures with him, and get a jump on the day. It's addicting. I LOVE having the time to myself. I can workout, shower, and get my chores done before the boys even wake up. This morning, I did Zumba, showered, made the bed, started the laundry, hung the diapers to dry on the line, did my scripture study and made myself a yummy uninterrupted breakfast before the boys made a peep. And when they did wake up, I was so happy to see them! I am a better mom because of this little piece of paper. Another one of my friends posted on Facebook that she hates when naptime is over and it's been wasted. Me. Too. Oh it is the worst feeling. And I avoid that feeling when this is filled out. I know exactly what I am doing during that time. And the house is clean, and I know what we're having for dinner, and I feel human because I've done even the smallest workout and/or showered. I could sing its praises all day.

Here's an example of mine all filled out:



Next Up: The Budget. [Yikes!]