The Patroni Family: Budget or Bust!

Hey it’s Melissa with the Patroni family here to give the latest update on our progress in the NOW Program with PenAir. We have had a busy month as we have continued to pay down our final debt and continue to add to our savings. Our savings account has NEVER looked this good! It is such a nice feeling knowing that we have a little cushion in the event of any emergencies or unexpected expenses that may come up. We actually had an issue with my tires and ended up needing to replace all of them at once. We discussed this with our financial advisor, Sara, and she helped us see that we did in fact have enough money in our checking to be able to afford the tires without dipping into our savings or having to use a credit card. This was such a win for our family and our budget.

As far as our budget goes, we were continuously overspending and not sticking to our budget for groceries, eating out, and shopping. Sara helped us work through this by giving us some great resources, tips, and guidance. For the month of November, we have decided to try cash budgeting for these areas. We have set a limit for each category per month, and withdraw half of this amount each paycheck. So for groceries, we decided on a $600 a month budget. I have taken out $300 for the first half of the month and will take the other $300 out when we get paid again in November. This has really helped us to actually see how much money we have spent vs. how much we have left. So far, so good! We are actually under budget so far, and have a lot more money leftover than I was expecting.

One thing I have learned throughout this process is that there are always different ways of doing things. If one way doesn’t work, it is okay to try something else. Budgeting is an individual process for every person and every family, and finding what works best for us is the key to our financial success. We can’t wait to see our progress next month!

Thanks for reading!

The Patroni Family