Now that I’m technically part of the workforce again, even if it’s part-time, I figure it’s a good time for a finance check-in.
It’s been just over a year since I last wrote about it here, and I think it’s good to evaluate how I’ve been managing.
It’s been actually long enough for me to be getting ready to get back on maternity leave (in the next couple months), so I’m making sure that I have enough and am doing enough to prepare for that income cut again.
So, my original goals were:
No Impulse Buying. More Saving. Make More Cuts.
So how am I doing?
Impulse Buying
I am much better, I think. My income, obviously, was much smaller due to being on maternity leave. Then once it ended, I got a taste of what no income but still having bills felt like. And I did not like it one bit. It was a bit of a relief to get back to work, even just a couple days to have some money flowing in.
Have I had a couple “slips”? Sure. But I’m pretty good at keeping on top of them and making sure that I’m getting the best possible deal I can while I’m doing it. I’m trying to use things like Ebates to get cash-back, making sure that I can get a discount or free shipping of some kind before I make a major purchase.
More Saving
Saving hasn’t really been much on my mind. I’m much better about what I’m doing with my money, but I haven’t been able to put away as much as I’d like. My current savings are just plugging away, but I’m not actively adding to the accounts either.
Now that I’m back to tracking my daily expenses, I think I’m going to start making more of an effort to see how much I can move to my savings account. Even if those savings are just for our next family vacation!
Cutting Out Extras
This kind of goes along with impulse buying, but also I’ve cut out things that I used to spend as “mandatory” into maybe not so much.
These things include beauty treatments (manicures, pedicures, waxing), gym memberships, random things that I’d signed up for and never
We have a lot of unknowns coming up with our finances with baby #2 on the way.
Will we need to formula feed immediately? A new baby means more diapers! We’re blessed that they’re the same gender so we’ll be able to reuse the same clothes again (although even if it were a girl, she’d be wearing those clothes again too!) While it doesn’t seem like much, it’s enough of an unknown for budget planning!
I’m back to tracking in my Passion Planner and keeping on top of meal planning, finance tracking, and just daily to-do lists. Lots to get done before baby arrives!
I’m extremely optimistic and excited to be getting my finances back into shape. It’s truly something I look forward to!
J x
