[speaker001:] Cathy
[speaker002:] uh-huh do you
[speaker001:] so what is your uh family what do you usually do as far as budgeting
[speaker002:] we have a very detailed budget because my husband is a finance major
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and we have you know we have money that we take out each month that we um you know for food and and for for gas and things like that and then we put aside so much money each month for birthdays and for Christmas and for um other things
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] then we take our major purchases we want to make during that year and we budget them into what we call our needs our needs and wants list
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and so um the things that like a vacation we have a vacation fund we have a fund for the things we need and then a for the things that we want
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and um and we're continually putting into those you know each month how much we're going to need and then we know the month that we're going to have enough to get that particular item
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] so we very rarely buy anything on credit everything we buy is paid for
[speaker001:] yeah my husband is a finance major also and uh we kind of have the same plan um we have one credit card um every month we put um you know the same amount in for retirement um and we budget we're our our new thing to our budget is we just had a baby so we're budgeting um each month um an allowance for his education starting now
[speaker002:] right right
[speaker001:] so that's in our budget every month now that's the newest addition but we too do the same thing as far as um we have a set amount we take oh one big vacation a year and then maybe you know three small vacations so we have you know an exact amount that we spend on that each year
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] and
[speaker002:] um we have found that we spend less money if we pull out the money um instead of just writing checks for things
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] if we actually pull it out and keep it in a safe here
[speaker001:] I see
[speaker002:] and we actually pull out the money each month that we want to put in for birthdays that we want to put in for um the vacation that we put in for Christmas
[speaker001:] like you have a separate account for that then
[speaker002:] well a lot of that um I don't know how safe it is I guess um we keep it all in a safe here at the house
[speaker001:] oh I see uh-huh
[speaker002:] and so it's actually pulled out then we keep our we have a savings account for the kidzees education that money goes into there
[speaker001:] oh I see um-hum
[speaker002:] each of our children we have three children so they each have their own account
[speaker001:] I see
[speaker002:] that money is put into each month
[speaker001:] uh-huh does your husband deal in um stocks and bonds and mutual funds and all that kind of stuff that does he invest in that and for long-term
[speaker002:] he does somewhat yeah he does somewhat
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] um we have an investment plan yeah I guess he does
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but um we have really found this is the first year we've done it this way and we are really saving a lot of money
[speaker001:] really because you're you've you've sat down with a piece of paper and said well let's see what are we going to so what goes into that that particular thing it's vacations Christmas
[speaker002:] Christmas birthdays uh car maintenance dental medical we just averaged out how much last year we used per month on medical and how much we used on dental and um
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and so now when we have to come up with that deductible that our insurance doesn't cover rather than wondering where it's going to come from
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] we have it
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] you know and when when we see something on sale um instead of just looking in our checking account and saying well we've got enough and getting it and then when something comes up you know kind of scrimping to pay for a medical bill
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] everything's taken care of and we're finding that we even have more money than we thought
[speaker001:] really well you know um what do you do as far as I I take it do you um run the family budget as far as uh groceries and that sort of thing
[speaker002:] yeah I do uh-huh all the money
[speaker001:] uh-huh and how what's that
[speaker002:] all the money is turned over to me
[speaker001:] uh-huh do you have a set amount that that you spend each month or or how do you work that
[speaker002:] yes I have a set amount it's very generous and I usually have extra and so then that can go um you know either back into our checking account or I can just carry it over
[speaker001:] uh-huh um-hum
[speaker002:] um you know there are certain months of the year that you'll spend more on food than other months and certain times when that will be left over but that's completely up to me how I do that and then um because I don't work I stay home
[speaker001:] um-hum uh-huh I do too I stay home also
[speaker002:] and so it's kind of my money and I also get my own money to do what I want to go to lunches you know and do that kind of thing
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] we have a clothing um envelope for each of the kids and for myself and my husband that we put how much we figure we need each month on clothing
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] it really works out great we're finding that we have a lot more money to spend on things like that and we're
[speaker001:] yeah what what as far as like big things like something comes up and you have to buy a TV or um a big item like for the house how do you have like a household
[speaker002:] yes we have a household budget like we're going to need to buy a bed for my daughter that's coming out of her crib this year and also we need a new bed and so we've got both of those budgeted and we put a certain amount in each month and we know which month we'll have enough saved to go buy those
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] and if we find one on sale before then then we can just take that and put it towards the