personal budget category ideas for you!

i get a lot of emails asking my opinion on what categories folks should use when starting their budget.
of course it is a very personal thing and based on your lifestyle and preferences but there are a few categories that most of us use. these would be food, clothing, fun, blow, transportation...

here is a looooong list of ideas to help you if you are struggling with categories.
these are based on 5 years of categories that have been submitted to me!
i will continue to add to this list and new categories come in!

household

  car  

 vacation

 fun time 
   

personal

fun $

clothes

personal care

entertainment

gifts

blow

beauty shop

housecleaning

lawn

snow plowing

shopping for me

misc

gas

pets

extra

spending money

school

Christmas

general

date night

savings

dining out

hair and nails

wine and beer

transportation

fun times

bills

language

emergency

cosmetics

toiletries

car maintenance

hobbies

holiday

homeschool

kids stuff

eating out

play money

kids

my money

auto

childcare

eat out

allowance

supplies

utilities

night out

grooming

dry cleaning

restaurants

yard

deposits

cosco

lottery

garden $

tithes

random

baby

travel

parking

medical

pay off debt

house stuff

gasoline

 

 

 

another blessing - a personal email note to me

I am bursting at the seams with happiness that my customers continue to take their time to let me know how happy they are with my products :)  god gets all the glory!

"I just wanted to thank you! At first it was hard to justify spending the money to save money, but over the last several weeks, my husband and I have saved at least a hundred a week!! Thank you so much!! The pouches match my personality perfectly and they are so sturdy!! I'll definitely be recommending your shop to friends!"

god gave me a blessing this morning!

can anybody relate to a little burnout? don't get me wrong! i LoVe what i do and god has totally blessed me with this crazy fabric envelope idea which turned into a 5 year (and running)
 business for me!
but i do have to admit there are times i get a little tired.
and then i get an email like the one below and it just reminds me of why i do what i do.
 what a joy and a real blessing to me. thanks again, marlys for taking the time to email me.
i needed that! and i hope you email motivates others to keep on track with their budget! your enthusiasm is contagious!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WOW! WOW! WOW!
Hi Cathy,

I don't know where to start!  I was sitting here at my desk doing my budget (just started the Dave Ramsey FPU last month) and going through my paper envelopes (my sweet dad gave me the plastic and paper budget system) and thinking, oh gosh, these are FLIMSY and not pretty but it's okay, I am doing my budget... it must be SERIOUS.  

But on a whim I searched Etsy and found your beautiful shop and products, your darling blog and I am seriously so excited I can't even settle down and order properly!  Yes it is serious, but that doesn't mean I can't look at my envelopes with all my hard-earned money and love the colors and patterns!!  OH MY GOSH!!!!

 

I don't know what colors to order!  I don't know what labels to order!  Everything is SO GORGEOUS!  I loved the pink and brown but then saw the orange set on your blog... oh my gosh!!!  I know you cannot help your customers figure out what colors they like and I will figure that out and order properly but I just had to tell you how happy, happy, happy you made me!

And it's Saturday night, I'm doing my budget, my kids are with their dad and his girlfriend... I wouldn't think this would be a night where I would be bouncing in my desk chair saying, "OH MY GOSH!  OH MY GOSH!"

 

So... it's my birthday next month and my mom wants to give me some money for something I really want and what I really want is the lovely things you are making!  I AM SO HAPPY!

 

It's going in the budget November 1st!  I will wait happily all month for it, too!

 

So now I have two weeks to look over your page, figure out how to put two kid kits in the budget and figure out my patterns and labels!  

 

FUN!

 

Thank you so much for making something pretty... I love Dave Ramsey's program so much and it's been a huge help even though I only started it less than 2 months ago!!! 

 

Thank you!

 

Can't wait to order!

 

Marlys