Without a Map

This pay period, we did a bit of traveling, and never ended up going to the bank for cash. We didn't plan it this way, but that's how it worked out. We kept the money in our checking account and used the debit cards for everything. I was a little nervous, because how that usually works is that we spend and buy and buy and spend and then finally get around to balancing the checkbook, only to see that we've spent everything in our savings as well.

But. Like someone who has been on a diet for awhile has a pretty good idea of how much to eat, we knew what to spend. We are now two days from pay day, with $16.54 in the checking account, and $576.00 total in the various savings accounts (Christmas, taxes, etc.).

We'll be going back to the cash budget with this next pay period, because I like the way it gives me an idea of where the money is going and where we might need to adjust. When it's all lumped together it's too easy to spend the gas money at a restaurant, for example.

I also think, for the first time, that SuperDad is managing the photography business the right way. This will be the second year he's published a calendar featuring his local landscape photography, and instead of just putting those printing costs on a credit card, he had the money in his business account and paid for it. Sure, some of that money was allocated towards the annual income tax, but he's borrowing from his own account rather than on credit. PLUS, he's already sold enough calendars to make up the printing costs. Woo!