Are budgets always best?

strickland8052 · October 2014

I'm kinda new to couponing and budgeting, and I'm finding that they interfere with each other some times. For example, last month I went over my budget, but it was largely because I found great deals on paper products and dog food, plus I got a groupon deal on a bunch of oil changes, then there was the $120 used armoire that we really did need to clear out space in our guest room closet for the international student that we are hosting next year. We are now good on dog food and paper products for 4 months, and oil changes for a year.. but I feel like I failed. For our particular situation, going over the monthly budget does not mean going into debt. We technically CAN afford to go over our budget. However, it is putting us behind on our (probably too ambitious) savings goals, especially if I continue to do this every month.

What is your take on this? Is it OK to go over on your budget if you can afford it and you are buying things on sale that you really do need? Or is it best to cut out the bargain hunting and buy only what you need? Also, to those experienced couponers...do you think I am just going over because I'm new to couponing, and I need some time to develop my "stockpile"?

jessica490 · October 2014

I think that it's ok doing what you are doing because in the end you will be using those items/services regardless and you will save in the future months budget because you wont have to buy those items.

H and I do the same thing, a few months ago our grocery bill was about $95 for a few weeks in a row which is high for us, but after that it dropped to $60 or so for a few weeks because we had food/toiletries in the house stocked up so we didn't need to buy as much.

The only thing that I can think would be a waste is if you bought 30 jars or hot sauce or 35 cans of olives just because you have a coupon. I see that stuff when I watch "Extreme Couponing" and I wonder how many of jars of hot sauce and olives do you really need LOL.

KatieCutie05 · October 2014

I do that sometimes too because its better to spend 100 now and blow the budget then to spend 200 later in budget. Its not like i'm chosing to not pay a bill because of it - i have the money it just means i'm saving less that month. But I figure it also means i can save more in future months so it should even out. Thats my rationale...

But I do try to compensate by lowering future months budgets if i can for categories like groceries but it doesn't always work. Although I do purposely budget more then we really "need" to allow for my stockpiling too...

hoffse · October 2014

strickland8052 said:

I'm kinda new to couponing and budgeting, and I'm finding that they interfere with each other some times. For example, last month I went over my budget, but it was largely because I found great deals on paper products and dog food, plus I got a groupon deal on a bunch of oil changes, then there was the $120 used armoire that we really did need to clear out space in our guest room closet for the international student that we are hosting next year. We are now good on dog food and paper products for 4 months, and oil changes for a year.. but I feel like I failed. For our particular situation, going over the monthly budget does not mean going into debt. We technically CAN afford to go over our budget. However, it is putting us behind on our (probably too ambitious) savings goals, especially if I continue to do this every month.

What is your take on this? Is it OK to go over on your budget if you can afford it and you are buying things on sale that you really do need? Or is it best to cut out the bargain hunting and buy only what you need? Also, to those experienced couponers...do you think I am just going over because I'm new to couponing, and I need some time to develop my "stockpile"?

I don't think it's a problem to go over, as long as you are making up for it in other areas. I set a budget to know approximately how much I can spend overall, and then I adjust throughout the month when I run into deals.

H and I are also aggressive savers, and we sometimes do go over our entire budget to take advantage of deals - during those times we don't contribute as much to savings as we want to. That happened last month because we ran into a fantastic deal on furniture for the living room. We spent more than we had planned in September, but it worked out to be FAR less than we planned to spend in total on that room. We are making up that difference this month, and we simply will not spend over this month (regardless of any deals we find). So for us, overspending any given month doesn't really matter as long as we've hit our total savings goals in the long run.

I actually have a spreadsheet to track savings goals with notes about when we need that money to be in place (ie: Roth contribution deadlines, travel deadlines, etc). That way I know what kind of wiggle room we actually have if I run into a good deal. Spending an extra $500 in September to save me $1500 in the long run was worth it, since the next scheduled item that will come from our savings fund doesn't actually happen until December. We have 3 months to "make up" that $500, and we are on track to be "current" again with our savings at the end of October.

That said, I do think budgets are important. They help you stay accountable with day to day spending, and that's what many people struggle to control. I seriously would eat out for lunch every single day if we didn't have an eating out budget.

vlagrl29 · October 2014

we usually set a $$ range because of times like this We overspent groceries last month but that was because we stocked up on meat. This month it will probably be within or less than budget. I don't worry too much about it.

Erikan73 · October 2014

You are doing fine, when you go to do your budget for next year, you take the average from 2014 and budget that for each month. I know for us that since we buy our dog food at the wholesale club that it will last us about 2-3 months. We have 3 small dogs so the food lasts. So I have a pet catergory now on our budget sheet to keep track of how much we've been spending over the twelve months. So come December when figure the pet food expense for next year I'll talk the total spent $120.00 divide by 12 which gives me a monthly pet food budget of $10.00. Then I just put the money away each month until it's time to buy the food. I do the same thing with other expenses like license plate renewals, AAA, magazines, etc.

uncreatedsnow · October 2014

This would drive me personally crazy.

Maybe, since this is something you are "into" or could happen frequently add a "stockpiling" line item to your budget. Budget like $25 a pay or whatever and then that way when a deal comes along you can use whatever is in that "envelope" which should keep that practice from becoming a habit and really make your stop and think if whatever is on sale or whatever you have a coupon for is a want or a need.

Xstatic3333 · October 2014

KatieCutie05 said:
I do that sometimes too because its better to spend 100 now and blow the budget then to spend 200 later in budget. Its not like i'm chosing to not pay a bill because of it - i have the money it just means i'm saving less that month. But I figure it also means i can save more in future months so it should even out. Thats my rationale...

But I do try to compensate by lowering future months budgets if i can for categories like groceries but it doesn't always work. Although I do purposely budget more then we really "need" to allow for my stockpiling too...

This is basically my approach, too. I'll go over for a great deal, but first I'll try to compensate by spending less in the same category. Example: stocking up on olive oil=plain pasta instead of ravioli like I planned. If I can't do that, I'll take from that category's allowance for the following week.

Sisugal · October 2014

Savings you pay first. Then budget the rest. Basically a budget is a spending plan - how to best use what you have to work with. The most important feature is that you are aware of what comes in and what goes out and that you do not spend more than you take in. As long as you are meeting your goals, it is fine to borrow from one category to fund a bargain in another.

beetee123 · October 2014

To avoid this feeling you could start a savings fund that is strictly for things that will go beyond your budget, but that you can save money on in the long run. The armoire probably should have been budgeted for separately since you knew about that expense, but I think everyone will admit to seeing something we know we need and jumping on it even if the cash isn't always accounted for. As for the dog food and paper supplies I would start a small savings for that. Even if it is just an envelope full of cash that you stick $10 in every other week and leave at home. That way in four months when you need more supplies you can dig into that to stock up for the next four.

brij2006 · October 2014

Have you tried not stockpiling on things?

I used to do exactly what you do, but then realized we were spending $600/month for just the 2 of us. My H hated that I stocked up when things were on sale, because it would blow our budget out of proportion. So to amuse him (and mostly prove a point because I'm stubborn), I tried 2 months in a row of no stocking up with sales or in bulk. Needless to say we only buy what we need and our monthly grocery/toiletry budget has gone from $600/month down to $350-400/month (last month I only spent $300 and was shocked). This has been since May, so our stockpile of items is pretty much gone but I only buy what we need as we need it and we are spending a whole lot less.

So yes, stocking up on things may seem like a smart way to go because you're saving money later, but you also may be overspending without needing to because of this "good buy."

CuriousKiddosMama · October 2014

I stockpile and I coupon. But I go in waves- there will be a great deal one month that I spend a bunch on and then possibly nothing that I need the next month. So I use my envelop for couponing and some months I spend everything that's in there, and other months I just add to it. So long as I never overspend the envelop we are okay.

Are budgets always best?

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