[speaker001:] okay
[speaker002:] well budgeting is a sore subject in this family
[speaker001:] yeah me too I know exactly what you mean
[speaker002:] we've actually uh uh tried uh budgeting is very important to us we we try it every month and um I think it's good I mean it it gives us a sense of uh uh of of staying in some semblance of control but uh we we do have uh we never seem to be able to stick with it
[speaker001:] no it's really hard to do that I mean it's I don't know I guess um we do kind of have a budget um but it's kind of funny what we what we do I guess is we try to proportion uh who pays what according to the salary that we make uh do you not understand what I'm saying we we pay a percentage
[speaker002:] no
[speaker001:] um which is kind of strange a lot of people don't do that but hey we find that it works you know
[speaker002:] now I'm sorry what is what is this again
[speaker001:] well okay um like I pay a certain percentage of my pay check to the bills and he pays a certain percentage of his paycheck do you understand okay I guess I didn't really explain that too well
[speaker002:] oh okay oh I see oh sure yeah okay yeah yeah that makes perfect sense  yeah well yeah uh we ours is actually very detailed um we we've got categories for everything and uh we we figure out how much income the both of us are going to have in a month and we take every penny of that and we allocate it under all these different categories unfortunately there's a big category called miscellaneous
[speaker001:] oh that one gets used up quick is that it
[speaker002:] and uh miscellaneous that's the one that kills us every time miscellaneous is never what we figure it's going to be it's never what it was last month and uh and uh you know it's it's the one that's always the killer
[speaker001:] that's
[speaker002:] um but I uh you know it's uh in fact when uh we pay our check when we when we you know write our checks we even categorize our payments and I mean we even get into that kind of detail um so so
[speaker001:] oh wow that's really that is pretty detailed
[speaker002:] so we I mean we do uh when you know whenever we go through the process of paying the bills we know exactly what category we're paying it for and uh we have a pretty good sense of where our money's going we don't have any control over it but we have a real good sense of where it's going
[speaker001:] well but you know that's good too because I've been in the situation in the past where I didn't know where my money was going and that
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] that's hard to you know you can't keep up with it and it really gets you in trouble you know and
[speaker002:] yeah well we're we're at a point where we're trying to accomplish a lot of things right now and uh like my wife's going back to school and I'm going to school and we're our kid we've got the kids who are at the stage where they need to take piano lessons and and uh you know play baseball and and do all those fun things
[speaker001:] oh yeah
[speaker002:] and uh I think I think we'd be totally bankrupt if we didn't do something um and and what we've proven to ourselves what we prove to ourselves every month is that we're spending more than than we make so it's it's kind of depressing to see it in black and white but uh yeah
[speaker001:] yeah that's easy to do it's very easy to do and it's I don't it do you find it easier to I mean do with a budget do you feel like you're you do I mean I know you said you have better control but
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] do you feel like you're really saving anything I mean
[speaker002:] um well no I I I think um I I I don't think we're saving anything I I think what we're doing is we're we're we're making it possible to to well and the fact what it is is it's making it possible to live beyond our means um because
[speaker001:] oh well that's
[speaker002:] you know what if we didn't track it we'd we'd totally blow it I think is what it would end up um um so you know we we do know that we can tell when we're getting to the point where we've just got to uh hold back on something uh we can we can see a cash flow that says this you know we can't do this right now because the money's just not there we we we're going to have to put it off for a week or a month or whatever the case so so yeah it you know it's um
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] we uh you know we're not going to get this budget isn't going to make us rich but it is going to prevent us from going into poverty uh but
[speaker001:] yeah which is easy to do
[speaker002:] yeah uh-huh but we look at it sort of as an investment in the future too you know I'm going back to school my wife's going back to school too our lifestyle right now is meant to position ourselves so financial the these financial problems won't be problems uh in the future and uh so
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] we've that's that's the we're look we look it as as yeah we're living like this now but it's a short term investment for for a better lifestyle later on
[speaker001:] right well that's good I know what you mean about the school because that's what I'm trying to do also and we're trying to build it enough so that I can go to school full time because right now I'm going to school part time
[speaker002:] yeah right we're going we're going through the exact same thing
[speaker001:] yeah so you know trying to budget is again you know at this point we're trying to budget enough so we can
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] save more um you know so I can go to school full time
[speaker002:] sure
[speaker001:] you know it's it's not easy to do but
[speaker002:] and no I I don't know that we'd ever be able to get to that point but uh um but it's something to work for
[speaker001:] oh oh it definitely is and I tell you what if you work hard enough it'll happen because because I can we can see it you know I think it's going to be a couple of years before I can do that
[speaker002:] yeah yeah sure that's I think we're in probably in the same position
[speaker001:] but you know but at least I can see a little bit of the light just from you know doing this you know budgeting and stuff it really helps
[speaker002:] yeah right right yeah
[speaker001:] but
[speaker002:] yeah um and and and it also makes it possible you I think before we did any kind of budgeting we we were in a constant state of saying we can't afford anything
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] you know we can't do anything we can't afford anything and now we can at least say well we can fit this in it doesn't really work very well but we can fit this expense in and so by being a little organized we can we can allow ourselves some things that we couldn't before
[speaker001:] yeah it really makes a world of difference doesn't it
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] it really does I know I've been in like I said the same situation you know where I've I've been in a situation where I didn't budget anything just spent money and spent money and spent money and it doesn't work it doesn't it really doesn't uh makes a big difference
[speaker002:] right that's right that's right it it it yeah I we I think that uh part of the the reason we we we got so almost fanatical about budgeting is that that there were those years where we lived that way
[speaker001:] yes
[speaker002:] and we're still paying for it
[speaker001:] oh definitely
[speaker002:] you know and so the only way to get out from under that is to is to do some kind of budgeting
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] um yeah you don't want to especially when it comes time and the kids are grown up and they're they want to do things like go to college uh you don't want to say we'll still paying for the mistake we made twenty years ago you know and
[speaker001:] right yeah well that's that's a big that's really important because I do have a college fund set aside for my kids
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] you know and my oldest one is um almost going on nine so you know it's not that many years you know before she's going to be going so I hope that you know I can continue the college fund because it's
[speaker002:] yeah that's right that's right I know
[speaker001:] it's important that they go to college when they get out of high school
[speaker002:] right well you know I we're we're we're trying to put money away for that too and uh um um you know you just can't count on them being totally brilliant though though they are but you can't count on them being totally brilliant uh so that they can get scholarships and and things like that um it's you know
[speaker001:] right no that's true I mean
[speaker002:] it doesn't always work that way
[speaker001:] you hope you hope that they can but you know you can't plan right yeah that's right right that's that's the way you have to do it right no
[speaker002:] right right or at least loans that they pay off  yeah yeah well
[speaker001:] no that's that's an important thing to me and that's why it was very important for me because I didn't go to college out of high school it was important for me to budget in
[speaker002:] uh yeah
[speaker001:] a um college fund for them because it was just so important I said I don't want them to go through what I went through
[speaker002:] sure right
[speaker001:] they have to have a college fund so
[speaker002:] well you know the the I'm I'm also hoping that this budget process will rub off on them because uh when I grew up I had no
[speaker001:] right  exactly
[speaker002:] no involvement in finances whatsoever you know and so when I became an adult and I was responsible for
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] for the money I had no skills and no background and no tools and and uh so we had to learn it the hard way and and um
[speaker001:] right yes I know exactly I was the same way
[speaker002:] so we we're trying to get the kids involved with that that you know when they get an allowance uh part of that's supposed to go to savings for instance
[speaker001:] very good yeah
[speaker002:] and uh um yeah and they understand our the our process
[speaker001:] uh-huh you're that's that's that's strange because ours all of their money goes in savings if they need something we buy it for them
[speaker002:] oh yeah
[speaker001:] and all their money has to go in their savings account
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] you know which maybe I'm being a little bit too harsh but but if they need something I buy it for them
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] you know I mean if it's an absolute need
[speaker002:] sure
[speaker001:] you know if I mean if they want something occasionally but most of the time if it's a need I just get it
[speaker002:] right yeah