So, I am a full month into my new budgeting routine and I have to say that it’s going pretty well. I set up the budget in Microsoft Money and it has done wonders to keep me on track.

I am successfully using a combined method and it has really worked wonders to streamline the budgeting process. Expenses that we need to save for, such as back to school clothes and supplies, accumulate in the envelope in our little safe for when we need it. In paying for most things with cash, I find that I am a bit more stingy and avoid buying convenience items.

The first couple of weeks showed that I was way over budget on groceries, but that was before I started meal planning. Meal planning may seem like a daunting task but it is actually really simple. Breakfasts and lunches are really easy and the majority of the planning goes into dinners. Right now I plan one week at a time, grocery shopping every two weeks, and picking up the little things such as milk when we need them.

I have also streamlined the other areas I needed to work on, scheduling and cleaning. It’s really easy to jot things down on the calendar when so that I remember our obligations out of the house. I mark them down immediately, so that I don’t forget. The cleaning has also been made easier. It’s simple to do the daily chores but it’s the little things that I don’t think about until they become a problem. Like cleaning out the crumbs from the bottom of the toaster or cleaning the fridge or gathering old clothes to take to the thrift store. I came across a little planner that made these things easier. It’s called the Motivated Moms Chore Planner.

The product consists of planner pages, available in different sizes, that you print out yourself and place in your planner, a binder, etc. I print out 2 months worth, hole punch, and am ready to go. There is a checklist of chores that should be done daily such as laundry, taking vitamins/medication, feeding pets, making the bed, etc. Some of the things listed I don’t do every single day but it is handy to have a concise list to refer to. Other chores are listed by the day. The bigger chores are also broken down into daily mini-chores. There’s not really a ‘clean the bathroom’ chore. One day you will clean the mirror, another day you will do the sink and faucets. After one cycle the bathroom stays clean continually and you never have to take a half hour to clean it altogether. One week you will clean the top shelf of the fridge, another you will do the middle shelf and so on.

Of course, the program will probably not fit you exactly. For instance, I do my grocery shopping every two weeks on Thursday, my bill paying on Friday and meal planning on Sunday. I simply wrote in what works for me. The planner is not expensive and there is even a sample year’s worth (2002) which is different but will give you a general idea of what it is like. There are samples of the different planner sizes, too.