February Finances, the F's that Follow

One of my resolutions for 2011 was to start and maintian a personal finance blog, mostly as a place to chronicle goal setting and achievement. I'm a bit late to the table, starting February 7th rather than January 1st. Procrastination is one of the challenges I struggle with, hopefully this will catapult me on a journey toward financial freedom.

Who are the people who live at the Madhouse? My DH and I are the parents to four children. We've been married for 21 years this May and decided to establish a financial foundation prior to starting our family. I graduated college in 3 years, and DH finished up his last year of college after we were married. Following his graduation, I went to graduate school. We purchased our first home and traveled internationally before having children. Our daughters are 13 and 12 (Irish twins), and our sons are 8 and 6. I am a SAHM and juggle the calendar and the finances. DH works in corporate America as a Financial Analyst dealing with millions of dollars of other peoples' money, this leaves him little interest in dealing with the minutae of our finances. We reside in suburban Chicagoland and I'd consider us middle class.

As far as our finances in February, they are dominated by several words that start with F (I cannot write "the F word" because my kids will think that wrong thing ... )

(1) Finite: as in (a) having bounds or limits (this refers to navigating in zero-based budgeting for the first time ever and not relying on a credit card to navigate a cash crunch)
(2) Forgetfulness: as in (a) to lose from memory or becoming neglectful (this refers to the act of not remembering to pay the water bill last month and having to pay both the water and sewer bill this month, and when they are not both budgeted for has led to the last F which is:
(3) Frustration: as in (a) to cause to fail, baffle, or foil

Since this is our first go at zero-based budgeting where each dollar has a purpose and to not use the credit cards, I have had to make some choices. Our "extraneous" category was depleted quickly this two-week pay period, leaving a "finite" amount of money. My oldest daughter has had a recent growth spurt and was in need of an occasion dress for the Father-Daughter Dance this upcoming weekend. I had hoped to spend only $30, and we came in $.69 under budget, thanks to finding a dress on clearance at Kohl's. I am presently living life without a dryer. I cannot complain about this because I have done so before (and for a substantial period of four months). DH feels that he can attempt to fix the dryer with a new internal thermometer gadget thing which will cost $20 or so. DH balked when I said we'd have to wait until after we take care of some other things (namely, outfitting our daughter and paying for the tickets - $42).

So, join me on my journey to financial freedom!