Budget Busters

How many of you out there use a monthly budget? Or maybe I should ask--how many of you begin each month with a budget and then blow it before end of the month?

I'm one of those people who can’t figure out how come I'm down to a few measly dollars in the checkbook and yet there's still a week to go before next payday.

This year one of my resolutions is to monitor our family spending and try harder to stick to a budget. Everything was going just peachy this month until I hit a snag on January 2--son's retainer falls out of mouth at work (that's what he says) and it cracks. $70 for a replacement. My first challenge--an unexpected expense.

I used money from the entertainment and dining fund to pay for the retainer. That crossed off one family meal at Olive Garden. Not a problem. I substituted a take-out pizza from Costco for $10 bucks. Kids were still happy and the budget remained intact.

January 5 I hit pothole and lost a hubcap on van. Dealership wanted to charge $95 for a new hubcap, but hubby found a deal on EBay for $35. Great--I voted for EBay. Okay, so I dock the entertainment fund another $35. Grab another pizza from Costco and when my teenagers grumbled I gave the starving-children-in-Africa lecture and they shut up.

Everything happens in three's, right? January 11 I realize that I've lost my Social Security card--can’t find it in the file I usually keep it in at home and it's not in my purse. A replacement costs $19 if I request one online or free if I drive a billion miles from home and stand in line for three hours at the nearest social security office. I'm sorry, but the kids can eat another Costco pizza--I'm not wasting the gas my time.

See my dilemma? I've got two more weeks to go before the month is over and who knows what budget busters will happen next? Maybe I've got the wrong goal--instead of keeping to a budget, maybe I should build up an emergency fund I can dip into each month.

Anyone else in the same boat as me? Or am I out here sailing the budget-buster sea alone?

Marin
A Cowboy Christmas (Dec 09)
Dexter: Honorable Cowboy (July 10)
www.marinthomas.com