Mrs. Micah asked us to tag ourselves for our top 5 budget busters, and here are mine!
Forgetting…
…that I have an expense coming up in 4 months. So that’s why I started the
Monthly Notes thing in my Excel sheet, and when an expense is coming up September, I run to that sheet, make a note, and immediately put a budget category in for it.
Impulse…
I see a great white trench on for $50, I know it’s a great deal, I had it on my list of “Want” items, I know I kinda have the cash for it, I buy it. Or when I go out for a particular item/purpose and end up buying 3 other items I saw and liked.
Oops.
This is why I’m avoiding malls now.
Eating better food…
Not eating out either, more like just spending money on little things, like an extra apple in the grocery store (I’m exaggerating but you know what I mean), that I didn’t plan to put in my basket, and ended up putting me over by $1…
Getting too skimpy on the budget amounts…
..sometimes I just don’t budget enough in Miscellaneous or in other areas, so I end up busting it because I tried to skimp on it, and put the money into debt instead.
*bad FB*!
Buying things in advance..
“I’m going to get that money in my account next week/month and I’ll make it work”….. has anyone said that to themselves? 
You spend bonuses, tax refunds, any sort of money in advance, then it busts your budget. Unless you have a plan.
Unexpected expenses
…like the price of train tickets going up, your car busts, you end up buying an umbrella because you got caught in a rainstorm… etc.
Anyone else? Tag yourselves
- Paying your debt in installments
- July 2009 Budget Set
- "But you told me I could splurge!!"
- How to bust out a budget, step-by-step
- 5 Finance Basics
Ms. MiniDucky
on Apr 21st, 2008
@ 7:17 PM:
To avoid buying things in advance: I’ve been pretending REALLY hard that I don’t have anything coming to me. Even the stimulus check, even the “extra” tax savings that I suppose I’ve getting now that I’ve paid up on my taxes. It’s getting harder what with my itchy feet …. but it helps!
Fabulously Broke
on Apr 22nd, 2008
@ 6:42 AM:
Ms. Miniducky: So, scarcity is the key?