Budget time

I had a look at my bank balance recently. Unfortunately, the amount is depressingly small. I remember reading somewhere that your bank balance should have at least 3 months worth of money – the idea being that even if you lose your job, you should have enough to last for 3 months so that you have time to find another job etc. Currently, I don’t even have 2 months saved up – and this was me looking at my bank balance just after payday!

Which brings to mind my wifes’ 3rd favourite complaint about me ie that I spend too much money. The first is that I spend too much time playing video games (I’ll leave this for a separate topic) and the second is that I’m lazy (eg I never help out with housework etc – this doesn’t bother me too much as she never does any housework either :p).

To be honest, I’ve always ignored this particular complaint from my wife. You see, in my opinion, I don’t spend frivolously (although some of my friends may disagree!). But if I’m right, how come I can’t save up any money? So recently, I’ve been looking at my spending pattern and thinking about where all the money goes. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you to tears with a detailed budget report!

Most of my money goes to expenditure either on Gerry or on the family. For example, school fees, utilities, maid’s wages, petty cash for buying household goods etc. I even have an education fund setup for Gerry which I pay money into every month. All in all, I really don’t want to scrimp on this type of expenditure as I want to give Gerry a good childhood. I want him to be able to look back at his childhood when he is older and smile.

So what are my options? I don't really spend that much on myself eg my annual budget for video games is less than 1 months school fees for Gerry (or even a new jacket for Sarah!). I don’t even spend that much on clothing. My last new piece of clothing was my leather jacket which was bought in 2005.

Where I can probably make the most cuts is food. I figure if I start going to more cheap local restaurants or eating at home more often, I should be able to save a chunk of money. Maybe I should also consider taking a pack lunch to work? What do you think?