A Budget by Any Other Name
Posted by Gail | Filed under Budgets
After years of pounding the importance of having a budget there are still people who ask me, “So, Gail, do you have a budget?” Darn tootin’. In my early years I called it a Spending Plan. The word “budget” had such a bad name. And people seemed so much more amenable to “Spending Plan.” But it was still a budget. And sometimes I recommend people who have a variable income use a “Cash Flow” plan which is better at taking into account the variations in income from month to month, which seasonal workers and the self-employed often face. But it’s still a budget. It’s just one that requires a whole lot more planning.
Successful businesses use budgets to keep themselves on track. And so do successful people. The folks who haven’t yet made the decision to spend less than they earn are unwilling to face up to the fact that they think they’re richer than they are. ‘Course, there’s no point in making a budget just because I say you should. You have to make a budget because you’re determined to spend less than you make and want achieve some goals along the way.
Speaking of goals, if you don’t have some priorities you’re likely not to achieve much other than a sense of frustration at not ever getting anywhere. Yup, you can stay in a holding pattern, spending just what you make each month but never really feeling like you’re achieving anything. Setting goals creates a concrete plan to which you can work. While the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the road to success is paved with goals and their accompanying milestones.
Some people loathe the idea of a budget because it feels too constraining. Chillax. If you want to be able to buy something on impulse, simply build in an Impulse category on your budget. Hey, it’s your money, you can do whatever you want with it. It shouldn’t be an exorbitant amount. But having $50 or even $100 a month that you can blow on a whim may be all you need to satisfy your desire to be spontaneous and keep the rest of your budget on track.
Knowing how much you can blow on stupid stuff means budgeting carefully on everything else. It also means knowing how much you actually make. I am constantly astounded at the people who guestimate their incomes. Hey, once you’ve committed to not using credit to fill your spending gaps, you don’t have the flexibility to be wrong, so you better know exactly how much you’re bringing in dude.
Oh yeah… not using credit. Credit (here I’m referring to the money that’s not yours yet, not the tool) is the bane of sound money management. All the folks who pay off their credit cards in full each month can head down to the next paragraph. The rest of you — the chicks with lines of credit that have outstanding balances, the guys with credit cards with balances — all you dopes who are willing to pay interest for the sake of some buy you couldn’t pass up, read this carefully: When you use credit, you’re using someone else’s money – not your money – to pay for stuff. And you’re paying dearly for the privilege. When are you planning on coming up with the money to get that albatross off your neck?
People routinely take short-cuts when trying to build a budget, guessing at how much they spend in certain categories and then blaming the budget when it’s off because the data used was inaccurate, or irregular expenses were ignored. Hey, you’ve heard the term “garbage in, garbage out.” It’s dead true for budgeting. And if you’re not prepared to do the work to come up with a realistic budget, and to tweak the budget as your life changes, gedoudahere!
Being realistic is important. Don’t commit to an astronomical amount of savings if it’s just another way you can prove budgets don’t work. Moving from saving nothing to saving 20% is a stupid idea. Take small steps and work forward from there, increasing your savings as you find ways to cut expenses or make more money.
I swear by my budget; it’s what keeps me honest. When I review what I’ve been spending, I can reassess if those expenses are true indications of a change in my circumstances or me just not paying attention. I’m not a slave to my budget. If I go nuts on entertainment one month because there’s a lot happening, I just look for places elsewhere to trim back. I make choices. Conscious choices. I’d much rather know I’m blowing my travel budget and make some adjustments elsewhere than be surprised with a credit card balance I can’t pay off.
November 16, 2009 at 8:15 am
I’ve been using a budget for over 19 months and it’s done wonders for showing us where our money is going and where we wanted it to go. This allowed us to cut back on the stuff we didn’t want and focus on the things we did want. A budget really brought our goals into the forefront.
Nice new site!
regards,
Jason
November 16, 2009 at 8:27 am
My original ‘budget’ was actually a spending tracker for about 3 years, but this year I got off my duff and decided to get real about the hemmorage of money that had to be slowed to a trickle if I was going to get serious about debt repayment. So far it’s been working wonderfully the past few months (with the odd forehead slap when I still go buy some totally unnecessary item).
Now I pre-pay budgetted allottments for groceries, vehicle, etc and am about to consolidate a loan to a low interest cc to save $200 over the next 6 months. It’s a guaranteed rate, and after working the budget and tweaking it a bit, it’s totally doable to pay off in 6 months rather than dragging it out for another year.
AWESOME new site Gail! I can’t wait to get lost in here all over again!
November 16, 2009 at 8:40 am
Budgets are the truth! Luckily, I grew up with a mother who was obsessed with budgeting (out of necessity). I remember her saying, “it’s not in the budget” more times than I can count at one frivolous request or the other. So, when I moved out for college it was natural for me to budget my income to cover my expenses and save. It’s still a work it progress, but I’m sure without budgeting I’d be in financial disaster.
The new site is great….and I don’t generally like new sites
November 16, 2009 at 8:56 am
Thanks Gail, I will call my budget a Spending Plan, thats much more satisfying to work on!!
November 16, 2009 at 9:09 am
Great looking new site Gail. We keep attempting to put together a “budget” but can’t seem to get over the hump and actually do it. Our spending is under control mostly, but we do tend to trip over things like Christmas and large ticket items (car repairs or worse car purchases).
Love the new look
November 16, 2009 at 9:09 am
The new site looks so purdy!! I know I have been happier in the last year since I have created a workable, realistic budget. I’m not scared of the end of the month and what I will do for money that last week or two. I am making progress paying down my loan faster and get excited thinking about what I will do next. Thanks for inspiring me.
November 16, 2009 at 9:14 am
I’m about to be laid off from my job at the end of this month. Thanks to a very precise (and closely followed) budget, I am out of debt, I have an emergency fund tucked safely in the bank, and I know (not just believe, or hope — but KNOW) that I can live just fine on my unemployment stipend. I will NEVER doubt the power of a budget again!
November 16, 2009 at 9:46 am
We’ve been living on a budget for about 7 weeks. We’ve been keeping track of our variable spending with the jars. We’ve got a plan to be debt free in 24 months. I don’t find it constraining at all…I find it freeing. I know that in the end, our budget will help us see the light at the end of the tunnel of debt.
November 16, 2009 at 10:28 am
I have a question about the “questions” section(gailvazoxlade.com/questions.html). What happened to the November 2009 list? There were some Q&A posted last week for November and they seem to have disappeared with the change-over.
As for budgeting, how else can you know if you’re living within your means? Soon, my student loan will be paid off, but that doesn’t mean I should stop tracking where my money goes!
November 16, 2009 at 10:31 am
Emma, don’t worry, they’ll be right back.
November 16, 2009 at 10:49 am
Hey PJ. good for you getting yourself in a great place financially before the layoff. Being prepared for the possibility of a layoff is infinitely better than scrambling to figure out how to manage after it happens.
I’m estimating being laid off in late January, so I am also in final preparation mode for the posibility of not finding a new job before then. Because of all the hard work we’ve done over the past few years eliminating our consumer debt and reducing our daily expenses severely from what they used to be, I also KNOW we’ll be fine with me bringing in only EI should it come to that.
Because my company is in bankruptcy protection and being carved up and sold off in pieces (yes that big Canadian tech giant) I won’t get a cent of severance or any notice when the time comes. All I’ll get is my vacation owing, which I’ve saved up to nearly 4 weeks as sort of a DIY severance package.
Even before all of this, we’d cleared our consumer debt and reduced our basic day-to-day living expenses down to between 50-60% of our take home, depending whether we’re paying summer or winter electricity costs. Having that much of a buffer allows us to sock the rest into retirement savings, whacking down the mortgage, paying cash for our newest used car, and taking a few nice trips. Now that I’m about to change jobs and may have a little gap between if I can’t line up something suitable before the end of January, we’ve just stopped redirecting the “excess” and we’ll let it pile up from now until the lay off and/or I start a new job. Knowing gap between jobs won’t cause a major problem allows me the luxury of taking my time looking for a new job I want, instead of jumping at the first thing I find.
People keep asking how I’m doing, and I think my zen-like calm is a bit unnerving to them. I think they’re imagining what losing 1/2 their household income would do to their finances and can’t figure out why I’m not in panic mode.
Thanks Gail for putting us on the path to being masters of our own lives!
November 16, 2009 at 11:01 am
I love my budget! I have an annual plan and then I break it down to bi-weekly
It works great!
November 16, 2009 at 11:30 am
LOVE THE NEW LOOK OF THE SITE!!
It’s so much easier to read and much more pleasant to look at…
November 16, 2009 at 11:39 am
I love the new look to the site Gail!
I personally found having a budget very freeing and being consumer debt free is the best!! Now, we’re working on paying off the mortgage. We have 10 years to go if we can stay on plan with the pre-payments.
Good stuff Pj and Jenn!!
November 16, 2009 at 11:55 am
I like the new site, all my favorite stuff is easy to find, it’s very pretty and I think it’s much easier to navigate for new people. Generally I dread the headache and months of time it will take to sort out the “we are changing to serve you better”. Every time I get a notice like that from the cell phone company I want to throttle them because it’s code for “we have a great plan for messing up your account and doing nothing to fix it”.
We have a very comprehensive budget binder which just got a major tweaking as I realized we had no Christmas shopping category. Like previous posts, it has allowed us to plan for an upcoming layoff without panicking at all. We constantly make reference to “the budget” or “is this in the budget” or “can we afford this this month” which the kids will pick up on. When they are older they’ll be prepared for the onslaught of just-charge-it because they will have a firm background in a better way to handle it.
November 16, 2009 at 12:42 pm
The funny thing about budgets is that most people see them as been constraining and negative. But once you make one (and you’re commited to it) you find it to be the complete opposite. I just started budgeting this past summer and it’s been amazing. We’ve been able to put money in savings, on debt, paying the bills on time, etc. But the best is the peace of mind, of knowing that everything is accounted for, that comes with it.
The new site is great, by the way!
November 16, 2009 at 1:05 pm
I’ve been on a “budget” since I started University. I basically had to make sure that the total costs of the year at university would be covered by OSAP/What I made in my part-time jobs. My budgets have become a little bit more detailed since then though.
I actually don’t feel comfortable with just having money come in and come out without writing it down. Even though my budget is fairly simple right now, I write everything that I earn/will need down in a notebook.
November 16, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I don’t mind having a budget. The biggest problem I’ve had is using the money jars to stick to my budget! I mean, I have the jars, they are all nicely labeled, but when you take money out and put it in your wallet, how do know which jar it came from? I’ve had a helluva time, especially with all of the coins. Do you just buy rolls of coins and keep them kicking around? If I need to put 67 cents in one of the jars, should I round to the nearest dollar and take a dollar away from another category? It also implies that I always know in advance that I’m going to spend money. For example, if I rush out to work and forget my lunch in the fridge, I’m going to have to buy lunch, but I didn’t take money out of the jar in advance. I don’t know–I’m really struggling with it for some reason. Has anyone else had a tough time with the jars?
November 16, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I’ve never been able to use a budget. But half of our paychecks get transferred on pay day from our joint chequing account into our ING savings account, where we have separate sub-accounts titled: retirement, auto repair, auto replacement, holidays, house and furniture, kids resp, money for kids activities. This seems to work for us. We have no debt. We live off what remains in our chequing account for daily living and always pay off our credit cards in full. We paid off our mortgage earlier this year and so have been able to significantly increase our ING savings account transfers for holidays, retirement and auto replacement. When we have enough money in the ING category accounts to do something, we do it. The only money we never spend is the rrsp/retirement money. Are we okay without a budget?
November 16, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I love your new website! Congratulations you must have worked very hard on it with Indyzign. What a great idea to have a splurging slush account…sometimes things do feel too strict, and this month was the first time in 2 1/2 years that I didn’t keep track and resorted to my old ways. I am afraid to look at my credit card statement when it comes in
There is money to pay it, but I didn’t plan on just splurging with a few different groups of friends and finally buying myself some clothes.
November 16, 2009 at 2:32 pm
New site looks great. But for those of us who read you primarily in a feed reader – can you turn the full posts back on? I don’t mind clicking through to read comments, but I hate being forced to click through. Thanks!
November 16, 2009 at 3:55 pm
The new look for the website is great! There are things here that I never knew were here on the old site! Fantastic!
Our family has a budget/cash flow spending plan. We’re pretty good at sticking to it and we regularly talk about how well it serves our current needs and goals. We revise the budget as needed with the help of our financial planner. It’s good stuff!
Congrats to those who are debt free and those who are well on their way to getting there! It’s hard work but it’s worth it!
November 16, 2009 at 5:04 pm
ditto, Kim. We have struggled with that at our house, but I found that forgetting the gas money a couple of times has made a big impression on my subconscious so that now when I leave the house, I think “oh, do I need to get gas money, (or other money)”. It’s now part of the morning routine – get my keys and purse, grab my coffee to go, grab my lunch. As I lock the house, it’s like a switch in my mind goes off: “oh, wait, do I need gas?”
It’s really only an issue for me with gas and posssssibly if I forget my lunch.
November 16, 2009 at 5:07 pm
The new site looks bright and airy, but these old eyes need a bit bigger font! On the budget front, mine just became a Spending Plan, much more positive name. I will be sitting down this weekend to revamp mine, as the new additional part time job will take some of the strain off of my financial situation. I hope to use the extra to firstly build up a month in advance of expenses (easier to track), then half will go to Student loans, the other half to vehicle replacement/EF accounts. I have a goal and a plan in place to reach that goal, and it is such a liberating feeling! Thanks Gail, only wish I had found you sooner…
November 16, 2009 at 5:10 pm
… and just to show that our kids do learn by seeing, my teenage son asked me the other day “So mom, what’s your next ‘planned’ big purchase?” WOW, he’s paying attention. Right now, I am working two jobs to get my filly broke to ride, and he knows that soon, that extra $600/month expense will be gone, and I will have some breathing room – if I so choose to take it….
November 16, 2009 at 6:08 pm
@kim
I do a “version” of the jars.. I have 3 categories that really crop up where I would need to spend here and there.. gas, groceries and my “entertainment” category.. -the rest of expenses are paid directly from the bank account and Idon’t need to withdraw cash for -and your right i might need gas or groceries unexpectedly.. so what I do is seperate the amount for each- $100 per week for gas -$200 for groceries and $50 for spending and paper clip each category together with a sticky note and then put them in my wallet… this way I can go about picking up groceries here and there or treating myself to a magazine with my entertainment money without having to pre plan it .. but the categories stay seperate so that I don’t spend my food money on new shoes for me..:) L0L
November 16, 2009 at 6:14 pm
The site is pretty…. but I’m with GTD Wannabe, I don’t like clicking to see the whole post, I like scrolling down to see the whole thing and seeing them chronologically.
I confess I am pretty lax about the budgeting. My problem with it is that things change too fast! Gas goes up, hydro goes up, kids grow a size, phone goes down, our hobbies are weather dependent, my son bashed out a premanent tooth (talk about a budget destroyer!!!), the price of fresh produce is a teeter totter, etc, etc, etc…
That having been said I have a very firm grip on keeping it balanced! If food goes up, then some of the extras have to be trimmed. By knowing where the pennies are going, we have the flexibility to have those extras most months…. that’s the POWER of paying attention!
November 16, 2009 at 7:12 pm
[...] next piece also urged people to stay away from credit cards, even going so far as stating that “Credit [...]
November 16, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Suzanne, hit the ctrl + button to increase font size & ctrl – to make it smaller. This is the command for Firefox & Internet Explorer on windows, but may differ for other browsers/operating systems. Doing this will change the design slightly, but can be a temporary fix when reading the longer articles.
November 16, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Hi Gail,
I love the website!
November 16, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I don’t use the jars and I rarely carry much cash because it just drives me crazy for some reason. I put everything I can on my credit card (I get cash back rewards at the end of the year). BUT, I do have a budget. I keep one sheet of paper with me (sorry, can’t do the binder, just too bulky for this minimalist). On that sheet of paper are the variable expense spending categories based on Gail’s interactive budget guide. For me – transportation, food/personal care, entertainment (restaurants, sports, movies, books, dining out), clothing/gifts/charity and finally miscellaneous or one time expenses (things like car repair, house maintenance, etc.). I have the amounts I can spend on a monthly basis and deduct things as I spend money – so if I’m at a drive-thru, I can just jot down 6.55 on the sheet without having to deal with a receipt.
All my fixed expenses either come out of my bank account or when I can, they go on my credit car (to get the points) and my credit card gets paid off ENTIRELY
November 16, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Sorry cut myself off there. So the credit card gets paid off ENTIRELY at the end of every month because I have the money to pay for it (because it was part of the budget). Now, my monthly credit card bills are not for the faint of heart – they are upwards of $2500 but it’s all accounted for in the budget. Savings get transfered out of my main bank account to a savings account the day I get paid.
At the end of the year, I get about $400-$500 as a ‘cash’ credit on my credit card statement (the rewards are paid out in December). Guess what – it’s what pays for Christmas and more every year.
This system works for me but it does take discipline to keep track of every cent you spend.
November 16, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Hi Gail,
Add my name to those who are luvin’ the new website ! I’m a budget gal – funny enough AFTER the mortgage got paid off. I found that once I lost the mortgage payments, I didn’t pay as close attention to where the ‘extra’ money was going and it just seemed to fall through my fingers. So I bucked up and decided to track my spending to see where the pennies were going. The budget is a work-in-progress. I think it could be a little tighter but I have a much better idea where the money is being spent. I need to tweak it a bit to add a bigger category for gifts (both under birthdays and Christmas shopping) as at the end of some months, I’m way over in the ‘gifts’ category.
November 16, 2009 at 8:39 pm
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November 16, 2009 at 9:54 pm
First of all I love the new site and I have been enjoying watching new episodes of TDDUP on CNBC!
When I was in college I had a very tight budget, which I tracked closely. I have a budget now that I go over every couple of month. I have an account that I use for all home related expenses. I deposit the same amount every month. Some months I use every penny others I have surplus due to fluctuations in utility bills such as gas and water. The other two dedicated accounts I maintain is my Emergency Fund and the other is for vehicle/transportation costs. My retirement is pulled out of my check before I get it and money automatically transfers to my dedicated accounts when I get paid. The remainder is for my “life” categories. Even though I don’t use a budget binder or sheet I can tell you within a few dollars how much money I have. Every time I work on my budget I also do savings projections to show myself if I stay on track how much money I could have saved for my various goals.
I was just going over all of my accounts recently and have even decided to change from my current bank (unhappy thanks to a merger/buyout) to a credit union. Not only will I be happier and save money but I will also earn interest on my checking account and have increased interest rate on my savings.
November 16, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Ooooh very nice site! Is that you trimming the money tree? It’s cute!
I’ve always been careful with my spending, I never really had a budget until recently though. In university I knew I only had a certain amount to make it through the semester and I could not run out. I suppose that was somewhat of a budget. I have also had a credit card since my fourth year of university and have never paid a cent in interest. I knew what was on there and made sure I had enough to cover it when the bill came the next month. I have a variable income, right now I’m trying to stick to a monthly budget, but I may have to switch to where the money will be spent based on my income per paycheque if it doesn’t work out.
November 16, 2009 at 10:50 pm
love your show and hate to be a dissenting voice. but we’ve never bothered with a budget. I just make sure that our average savings-per-month are high enough to keep us on track for long-term goals. So long as income minus spending equals a high enough number, who cares how you spend what you do spend?
November 16, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Love your new site Gail! Will have to mosey around a bit and see what I can find.
Guess we’ll all be changing our budgets soon with the new HST being passed today and effective in July.
I’m a one year budget girl. I’ve always kept track of our money, but, having been Gailvazoxladeized last November (I’m a slow learner I guess), I’m now using my version of the jars, and budgeting well. All my Christmas gifts are purchased – no credit – and now I’ll save for my Christmas special food budget (I’ll be sifting through recipes soon).
In the past 10 months I’ve paid almost $25.000. off on our LOC and have 1 1/2 more months to pay off on it to get to my tally for this year! If I can keep it up, I should be debt free in another year. I’ve also maxed both our TFSA’s. Fingers crossed for continued ‘nose to the grindstone’ mindset! Who knew??????
November 16, 2009 at 11:50 pm
I used to budget religiously. When I was in school and money was scarce, the only way to manage was to know exactly where everything was going.
When I finished school I stopped the budget, we were so happy to making so much more money that we didn’t see the need (I am a family doctor). What a mistake! It doesn’t matter how much you make, if you aren’t paying attention it is easy to overspead especially when your income varies as mine does and your business and personal finances are mixed and muddled.
We are now back on a budget and things are organized. We know where things are going and have a plan for what we are going to pay off first and what we are saving for. I am also back to my university day frugality…I cook extra and freeze it, we eat at home almost always, we try to keep the family entertainment home based (home popped popcorn is better than the movie theatre!). Both hubby and I are happier and less stressed and I can’t see us going back to the no budget days again.
November 17, 2009 at 4:29 am
When you are totally behind on bills, and want to start Gails ways, where do you begin, when there’s no money for the jars, until a cheque comes in??
November 17, 2009 at 9:55 am
Kim, I keep my money in sandwich-sized ziplock bags. They can be tucked into your wallet or purse easily and they can be labelled so you know to which category then money belongs. I also round up/down with my money, to avoid having to split the money into cents (other than loonie/toonies).
November 17, 2009 at 10:41 am
Love the new website Gail!
I am a beginning budgeter. We now put money aside for “planned spending”, with an agressive plan to pay off the mortagage. the planned spending inlcudes vacations which really helps me pfigure out what we can afford BEFORE I look on TripAdvisor!
November 17, 2009 at 2:34 pm
@Lilly~you sound at a loss. I am no expert. There are plenty here at this site who could help you better. Having said that…I’ll give you my two cents worth – perhaps you should start by writing down everything you spend – every penny…and spend less. No eating out, no purchases (I know that is hard with Christmas coming…but perhaps you are crafty and could make presents this year?), could you work more hours to bring in more money? It will be a very slow process and you will still feel overwhelmed, but, hang tough and you will begin to see the light. Hope this helps!Oh…and best of all…watch Gail’s show and come here regularly!
November 17, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Lily,
One way to start would be by sitting down and honestly making a budget with Gail’s interactive budget worksheet. And make sure you know how much you are really making each month, those cheques yet to come in. Now, if you really don’t have a month’s (or week’s) worth of money to pull out of the bank for the jars, start just by writing things down for each jar as you spend (I am assuming it’ll have to be on the dreaded credit card), and stop spending once you’ve hit the limit for the week/month in that category. If you are wanting something more concrete, keep “monopoly money” (can be homemade) in the jars to make sure you aren’t spending more than you expect to come in–receipt in means money out. At the end of the month, pay off your credit card so you aren’t going further in debt (make sure you’ve budgeted in interest costs). Now evaluate. Is there a category you can cut back on? Do you simply need to get another job/better-paying job and make more money? Keep going a few months, keeping track of the spending (spend consciously), cutting back where you can, and see how much you really need to live on. Hopefully you are now making some headway on the debt, or at the very least not going further into debt each month. You should get to the point where you are a week ahead and can pull out the real money from your account for the jars. The next step is to figure out how to get debt-free in 3 years or less–poke around the website and see what Gail has to say on the subject. It pretty much comes down to “spend less, and/or make more money!” Hope that helps.
November 18, 2009 at 9:58 am
I make really pretty budgets. My problem is that I budget us too closely, and something as simple as $30 can shoot the whole house of cards down. Of course, then we get the crummy attitude of “if we can’t pay it we may as well spend it”. I am the first to admit that the success- or lack of success in our case- of any budget is a positive attitude and a backbone! Any tips on how to grow one for financial purposes?
Love the new site!
November 18, 2009 at 10:17 am
@ Jan
Read the All or Nothing post – that will give you an eye-opener. A budget is a fluid exercise, it changes based on circumstances. Start by tracking your spending to get a better idea of where you spend your money – families with teenagers will probably allot more to groceries than a single income or couple with no children for example. Don’t have such a tight budget that when something unexpected comes up – you throw your hands up in the air and ‘give up’. It will take some time and patience to see the results. As Gail advocates – allow for ‘planned’ spending as well – be it Christmas gifts, saving for a vacation, emergency fund, or paying down debt. Use the ‘jars’ or if you internet bank – set up different sub-accounts where the money gets transfer automatically to, for example, your ‘retirement account’ or the ‘car maintenance account’. Putting some of the financial chores on auto pilot might also help so that the money actually doesn’t hit your hands. Good luck
November 20, 2009 at 3:52 am
[...] blog has had a face lift and looks quite new and exciting but in it she brings up an old topic A Budget By Any Other Name. This site could use some sprucing up too, maybe I’ll put up some [...]