Making Budgeting Pretty

I would certainly would not say that I enjoy budgeting, but I dislike the thought of going broke more. After watching Gail Vaz Oxlade's show "'Till Debt Do Us Part" for the past few years (which you can view here) I have decided that not going broke is simply a matter of employing a few simple strategies.

1) Make a tangible budget: You can create your own using Excel, or try this interactive version made by Gail herself.
2) Live on cash and save receipts
3) Save for a rainy day

Since I usually require something shiny or pretty to coax me into unpleasant tasks, I have created envelopes using a template by my fave blogger Jessica Jones at How About Orange. I used scraps of leftover scrapbooking paper and labelled them with sticker letters. The envelopes are designed to hold receipts, and they correspond with the categories of our variable expenses.



Making these envelopes was seriously fun, and it brought me right back to my glory days in JK, when my teacher had me demonstrate for the class how to make the little envelopes I folded incessantly as a child. I really do love to make useful things.

Case in point #2
My magnetic spice rack, which I made using watchmaker tins from Lee Valley, and some self-adhering magnets from the dollar store. I think the total cost of this project was about $20, and I can add to my collection at any time relatively easily. These would have cost me easily $70 at Home Outfitters. Note: They are not all filled yet, but soon!




Yay for DIY!