For a long time, I was doing really great with keeping a budget and staying on top of things. I knew that I wasn’t doing financially great, but I at least knew exactly what was going on with my money and I was very aware of it all. I was using YNAB for tracking money and it made me feel much better about my money situation.
Of course, there were times that I wasn’t as on top of budgeting as I could be, but I was still aware of a general idea about money. But I always seemed to find my way back and continued to make progress in tracking money and planning ahead.
And then the pandemic hit.
For a little while, my life wasn’t that different and I was still tracking money. But then I stopped working and making money and there didn’t seem to be a reason for me to track. I know that is not the truth and I probably needed to track my spending even more, but it’s hard when all you see is money coming out and nothing coming in. And I have been ignoring my budget for most of this year now.
But now, I’m starting to have steady money coming in again. It’s still not quite steady, but it should be in the next few weeks. I’m getting out of survival mode and starting to be in a position to plan for life again. Not like there is much to life right now with things shut down, but that almost might be exactly why I should start up with my budget again. When I only have limited expenses, it won’t be as crazy as it would be when I have so many different categories of spending.
So I am trying to get back to budgeting again. And because I’ve been ignoring my budget for almost a year, I just need to start over in YNAB. It’s not too weird to do a fresh start in that system, and I’ve done it before. So it will be something I’m familiar with. However, this time I’m also going to be starting over with my budgeting education. I still remember some of the basics of how to use the system, but there is so much that I have forgotten. And I want to start over doing things correctly and not have to do another fresh start in a month or two.
I need to be on top of what I’m spending money on and make sure that I’m not overspending in the few categories that I am spending money in. I know there’s a chance since delivery food tends to be more expensive than when you actually go out to eat with different fees and charges. I also have different bills now than I did earlier this year, so budgeting for those is really important. And I want to know how much money it will be ok to dedicate to things when I can finally go out again.
I know the timing of this makes it sound like a resolution or goal, but I’m actually writing about this now because I don’t know if I want it to be a goal. I don’t want there to be pressure to start my budgeting before I feel comfortable with the system again. If it takes me a week or two to get things back up and running, that’s fine. I don’t have to start a new budget on the 1st. Whenever I start it will be fine.
And hopefully before I know it, I’ll be back to using YNAB regularly and feeling much more secure with my money and how I can manage in the future for other expenses.
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Working on Budgeting (or Spending Money To Save Money)
Getting Back On Track (or Happiness and Budgeting)
