What I am doing, Budget and categories.

Budgets are like diets. Most of them do not work. 

You have to have a plan. I budget paycheck to paycheck. I don't do those silly monthly budgets. I would if we only were paid once per month. 

I had got all of the bills together and sorted them by due dates. Every thing mostly stays paid two weeks ahead. 

I major leaking arteries are food. This can get outrageous. I don't eat anything but fruits and veggies mostly and my family eats sort of like everyone else on the planet. Although I am pretty sure there are gluten issues in two of my family. Including myself. 

My confession is this, I don't eat cheap crap. Another interesting fact in history is that in the 1950's 30-35 % was spent on food. Now it is more like 10-15% in 2020. Food  you eat is your health. We don't eat out. EVER. 

All of our meals are made here at home. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and occasional snacks. 

My husband takes the leftovers to eat for lunch that I cooked the night before. That is one reason our grocery bill is so high and we have six people in this house. 

After all the bills are paid that leaves food and sinking funds. 

Birthdays, Car maintenance, Christmas, Emergencies. Emergencies happen more often when you don't have the money to handle them. Not funny. Statistics show that 60% of households cannot handle a 400.00 emergency without using credit. Let me say that again. Most of America cannot come up with 400.00 cash without credit cards or selling an asset. This isn't just about me and my plight to leave a dangerous area....our entire Country is in trouble. Look those stats up. It's worse than anyone could imagine.