My Envelopes (aka Spreadsheet Columns) Didn't Like Christmas

So, I’m not so good at budgeting for Christmas. I did pay cash for our entire Christmas but I spent way more than I had saved. Even with all of the deals and sales I utilitized, I spent a large chunk of change.

December was our first attempt at envelopes, but ours were kept in spreadsheet form. (Don’t worry, blog friends, I’m going to try actual envelopes next month). I underestimated our personal expenses by about $300, due to a few unexpected doctor visits, new shoes for both boys since their toes were curled up in their other ones, etc. The good news is that I didn’t do any major grocery trips this month – I used what was already in our fridge, cupboards and freezer. I’ve only spent $164 so far this month for our family of 4! So the remaining balance in that category can be moved to cover negative amounts in other categories.

Thanks for the comments regarding the CD. Hopefully you can guess that I would love to throw that money at debt, but we both need to be on the same page in order for that to happen. Anyhoo, it’s still sitting in our savings account.

I do have some GOOD news! I may have gotten a relative on board with Dave Ramsey’s plan. I’m doing what I can to keep her sucked in! She may stop by this blog today or tomorrow, so if you can leave her a comment to get her motivated.