An Easter Egg Hunt With A Twist

My version of the traditional Easter egg hunt. A hunt for for money instead of chocolate and candy.

With Easter coming up I thought I would share a cute idea I had to celebrate a little differently this year.

My family still does an Easter egg hunt every year even though we're all grown up. A few years ago my Mom decided that she wouldn't hide candy and chocolates anymore because we didn't like them as much as when we were younger. Instead she now hides money, quarters to be specific. Everyone has to hunt for their own roll of quarters. We're given a set room and in that room my Mom will have hidden $10 worth of quarters. We're not allowed to stop until we get them all. We love doing this for many reasons, but mostly it's awesome to get money. We also don't find that we really need all the candy anymore.

I was thinking that this would work well for children. You don't have to have them hunt for $10 worth of quarters, they could hunt for a roll of nickels or dimes. Or even a combination of different change. Here are my reasons why this is a good idea and you should do it.

It's Healthier

Most of the chocolate we get at Easter isn't the kind that's really good for you. So why don't we skip it and be healthier for it? A 2012 Statistics Canada study found that 31.5% of Canadian children (ages 5-17) are obese or overweight. If this is the case then why do we have holidays like Halloween and Easter that give massive amounts of unnecessary sugar to children prone to weight issues? Hunting for money doesn't add any calories.

It's Cheaper

While it may seem counter-intuitive that hunting for money is cheaper, I would argue that is not the case. I found a study from 2011 looking at how much Americans spend on Easter related purchases. They found that in 2011 Americans were going to spend $131.04 each. Now I don't think most of that was candy, but you get the point that Easter is expensive. I went to my local grocery store and looked at the cost if I were to buy a bag of chocolate eggs, another bag of assorted chocolates and a bag of candy (I guessed that would be sufficient for 3 kids). The total ranged from $15-20, so about $5-7.50 a kid. If you were to hunt for money you could easily get away with having each one hunt for a roll of nickels for a cost of $2. A roll of dimes only costs $5. Even if you gave each kid both to look for, it could still be cheaper than buying the candy.

Learn To Count

Tell your kids how much money they each get, but then leave it up to them to figure out when they've reached the right amount. This will teach them a very practical skill, counting money. They're going to have to do it for the rest of their lives, so why not learn young? For the younger kids this will be more of challenge, but a good refresher for the older kids too. This is a really fun interactive way to teach your kids to count. Counting how much you're looking also means that you're not going to miss anything. Think of how nice it will be not to find Easter candy months later melted under the couch cushion because you forgot about it.

It Teaches Responsibility

Once your kids get the money they've hunted for it's up to them to figure out what to do with it. This can be a great chance to teach them about saving. They can learn they could go buy something right away with it, or they could save it for something more expensive they really want and have been bugging you for.

It's Fun

Honestly, I love hunting for money. It's a lot more fun than hunting for chocolates and candy. I love the thrill of getting the money and also the lack of a sick stomach from too much candy. If you want to maintain the egg part of the hunt, you could also always put the money into plastic eggs. That way it would still be an Easter egg hunt.

I hope I've given you guys something to think about and I really hope that you give it a try. I've explained why it's great for children, but even if you're older this can be a lot of fun. Why not surprise a loved one with a little Easter money hunt?  No one says no to free money and I'm sure they'll be pleasantly surprised.

Let me know what you think and happy Easter!

Meeting Gail Vaz-Oxlade!

A personal reflection of my visit to the London Women's Lifestyle Show and meeting Gail Vaz-Oxlade.

Me and Gail!

The other day I posted about how I was going to see Gail Vaz-Oxlade speak at the London Women's Lifestyle Show, and I wanted to share that experience with you.

My friend and I arrived at the show around 12:30 to take in the different booths before the main attraction (Gail!). There were lots of interesting vendors selling some great products. There were plenty of samples and my favourite things were definitely a pure blueberry juice and a pineapple olive oil. I would have loved to purchased some things, but sadly it wasn't in the budget. But I got to go and have fun anyways and not feel guilty about buying things I couldn't afford in the first place. See how great having a budget is? I got to have fun and live within it.

The one thing I don't like about shows like this one is that you're paying money to attend, but then you're just sold stuff that isn't generally of interest. If I pay to do something, I want to get something out of it, be it tangible or an experience. Since we had a Groupon and only paid $5 each to get in, and I was going for Gail, it wasn't that bad. I just wish they had more going on than just selling and marketing. 

The show was a lot busier that we expected and we weren't able to get a seat, but we were able to sit on the floor and still see Gail. She gave a great 40 minute talk about some of the rules from her new book, Money Rules, followed by questions from the audience. Honestly, Gail was an amazing public speaker. She is engaging, audible, present, and hilarious. She had us laughing so hard at some parts, it was great. I would love to see her speak again. One of the great ideas she shared with us was making something to show our progress in saving or paying off debt. An example she used was making a giant thermometer like charities use and colour it in as you're saving for a vacation. I thought it was a great idea to get people motivated and achieve their financial goals.

Gail speaking to a very full audience.

After the talk and questions were done, Gail did book signings. I brought my copy of Money Rules along just in case, and I'm glad I did. She signed it and I got a chance to meet her! She was amazing and took the time to talk to everyone who lined up to meet her. There were a lot of us, but she was so patient.

Me gushing to Gail about what a big fan I am.

Overall it was a great day and I can now cross meeting Gail Vaz-Oxlade off of my bucket list.

The Cost of Fitness: Gym Membership vs. Home Gym

A comprehensive look the cost of gym memberships. These are then compared to the estimated cost of starting a home gym to determine the more cost-effective choice. 

How many of you currently belong to a gym or have in the past? Did you use your membership or did you find it to be a waste of your time and money? Today I'm going to be looking at the costs of gym memberships and comparing them to the cost of starting and operating a home gym. 

My husband and I, both work out a lot but we don't belong to any gym. We set up a home gym in our apartment. It's quite an ingenious set up given our limited space (I'll post about it later), but we find it works great. We can workout whenever is most convenient for us and that's great given our changing schedules. 

So how much does a typical gym membership cost? I chose four different popular gyms in my area and looked at what a membership cost's there. 

Goodlife Fitness

Goodlife is the largest fitness company in Canada with about 300 clubs. Membership types vary here but you'll pay between $40-$60 a month, or $480-$720 a year.

YMCA

To get an accurate idea of the cost of membership you need to look up the location you would be going to. I chose one in Kitchener and that is where my numbers are coming from. However with your membership you have access to any other YMCA Canada-wide.

	Monthly		Annually
Membership Type	Individual	Add Family Member	Individual	Add Family Member
Membership Plus (18 yrs+)	$66.80	$56.78	$752.73	$639.82
General	$49.80	$42.33	$562.90	$478.47
Student 18 yrs+	$34.79	$29.57	$394.50	$335.33
Yourth (17 yrs and under)	$31.61	$15.81	$356.31	$178.16

Assuming you buy an annual general membership, you'll pay $46.90 a month, or $562.90 for the year. 

LA Fitness

To sign up for LA Fitness online, you'll pay a $99.00 initiation fee and an additional $29.99 a month. That means you're looking at $458.88 for the first year and $359.88 for the years after. This is only an American price, but it's safe to assume you'll be paying around $30-$50 a month or $360-$600 a year to be a member here.

World Gym

If you sign up online, World Gym has a promotion where you pay $10 or $19 a month, plus a $58 membership fees. You have to sign up for a 12 month contract, but your fees won't go up as long as you're a member. So you're looking at paying either $178 or $286 a year. 

Average Gym Membership

There are many more gyms out there and each one has it's own membership plans and promotions. On average it looks like you'll be paying around $40.00 a month or $480 a year to belong to one. 

Home Gym

If you want to get a basic workout there are a few pieces of equipment you'll need. You'll need a workout mat, bench, an exercise bike, and some free weights. There are always more pieces that you can acquire, but with those things you can do a basic workout. 

An exercise bike will cost between $200-$1600. That's quite a range, but I would say a good one like this one will cost $500.

A workout bench will cost between $60-$600. You don't want to skimp here because it's the basis for your workout. This is the one I have and it costs $250.

You can buy free weights in sets but to buy them individually they'll cost between $6-$20 each. I currently use 2 different weights and they cost about $60. 

An exercise mat will cost between $25-$75.

In total you're looking at spending between $315-$2355. I would estimate that our home gym cost us $885. We'll say that is a good average.

Analysis

To belong to a gym you'll be paying around $480 for the year. To start up your own home gym you'll have to pay around $885. While the raw numbers show that it is cheaper to belong to a gym than to make your own home gym, there are several other factors to include. 

You're going to keep paying membership fees to a gym until you quit, but once you make the initial investment in equipment, you own it. So while you'll likely want to upgrade your gym equipment over time, you always own it. So amortize the cost of the equipment over it's lifetime and you'll see you'll actually be paying less money. If you belong to a gym for 2 years you'll spend $960 in fees, but starting your own gym which you can use for the same 2 years will cost you $885. That's a savings of $75. 

If more than one person in your household belongs to a gym, you'll be exponentially increasing your costs. The cost for operating a home gym remain relatively the same, regardless of how many people use it. So if you're a family, having a home gym is definitely cheaper than belonging to one.

Conclusion

Fitness is very important to have in our lives and now there are so many different options for how to get it. I know many people who choose to belong to a gym and they like it. Personally my husband and I use a home gym because we like the convenience and cost of it better. The purpose of this post was to determine which was the more cost-effective choice. I've shown that while initially a gym membership can be cheaper, amortized over time having a home gym is cheaper. 

Ultimately to make the right decision you need to figure out how much you're going to work out. If you're committed to working out for the rest of your life, then making the investment in a home gym will definitely be the most cost-effective option. However, if you're unsure about working out belonging to a gym can be a great way to test your commitment level. For some people going to the gym is the only way they can work out because it motivates them and there are great classes.

Hopefully you've found this post informative and you can think more about what kind of fitness plan works for you. No matter the cost of the one you choose, think of the life-long benefits you'll get from working out and how priceless they are. 

Review: Money Rules by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

A review of Money Rules by Gail Vaz-Oxlade, a book of 261 rules about basic money management for Canadians.

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This weekend I am getting the amazing opportunity to meet one of my favourite t.v. personalities and financial guru, Gail Vaz-Oxlade! I've mentioned her before in several of my posts because I really value her advice. In fact her latest book which I will be reviewing today was the inspiration to start this blog. I will be seeing Gail speaking at the London Women's Lifestyle Show happening this weekend (March 23 and 24) in London, ON. She will be speaking on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. if anyone is interested in going. Tickets are only $10. So in honour of this event I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you guys what I thought of her latest book, Money Rules. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with Gail she is the host of popular reality t.v. programs, Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess. She is also the author of several hit books including Debt-Free Forever, Never Too Late, Money Smart Kids and It's Your Money: Becoming a Woman of Independent Means. In addition to all of this Gail is a regular columnist in newspapers and financial journals as well as guest on radio shows. She somehow also finds time to be a mom of two kids. All I can think if wow!

I was very lucky and my mother-in-law knowing my love of all thing Gail picked up her latest book for me when it came out. I read it and loved it. I've read three of her other books (Never Too Late and It's Your Money 1st and 2nd editions), and it was interesting to compare them.

After reading Gail's other books, I would say that Money Rules is actually her best one to start with. Rather than the tradition book format of chapters, this book is divided by 261 rules. The rules are short ranging from half to three pages in length, making it an easy read to pick up anytime. The purpose of these rules is not to provide in depth coverage, but rather the pertinent information. These rules cover a wide range of topics from budgets, to credit ratings and needs vs. wants. Some topics are simple and don't need further elaboration but for heavy topics such as retirement, getting out of debt and teaching your kids about money, she recommends doing further reading (starting of course from her own books, which she has conveniently written on those topics).

I would think that holding most people back from reading more books about finances is the misconception that because its about finances and economics, it must be boring. From my own experiences I would say this is not the case in general, but especially with Gail. If you have ever seen one of her shows you will know that she is a no nonsense, straight talking woman who won't take any bull. She loathes excuses about why you got into a financial mess and will make you do things that you do not want to do in order to correct the situation. Ultimately you realize she is a kind-hearted person with a knack for giving people the tools to help themselves. I think this is the best approach to finances because you cannot just expect people to clean up your messes for you, you have to learn so that you stay on the right track even after things seem better.

Her writing style really reflects her on screen personality, she is equally straight forward with a no nonsense approach. Her writing is light, while at the same time being informative. She does not go over complex economic theories that are only applicable to professionals. She gives plain and simple advice that the average person can use regardless of their age. She uses real life stories to back up her advice and often explains how she uses her own advice. I really like knowing that even though she is wildly successful she still follows a budget and does not know everything. As well as writing clearly, she is also very funny and I often found myself laughing out loud while reading her book.

The only downside I could say about this book is that a lot of the material was reiterated from other books of hers that I read. However I would not say that this makes the book any less valuable because the purpose of this book is to cover as many topics as possible about money management in a clear and concise manner. And as Gail often points out, you sometimes have to say something ten times before you get through to someone.

This book taught me many new things about finances that I had no clue about. This really humbles you, because no matter how much you think you know about money management you learn that there is always something new out there you should know. The world of finances is not stagnant, it changes frequently with new legislation regarding taxes and registered savings plans, interest rates, as well as possible forms of fraud.

Overall this was a great easy read, that would suit most people. I would give it a 9/10.

I hope that you pick up this book or one of her others' next time you're looking for something to read. It's never a bad idea to learn more about money management from good, reputable people, like Gail. The more you know, the more you'll save and to me that's worth the investment of the price of a book.

Spring Cleaning: Organize Your Finances!

A few thoughts on how to approach your financial spring cleaning.

You can tell that spring is just around the corner when the snow is melting, it's raining more, and people stop wearing heavy winter coats. Spring is a great time full of new life and exciting possibilities. It also means spring cleaning.

I'm sure most of you aren't fans of cleaning, especially intense spring cleaning, but it can be a great thing. Cleaning out your residence, vehicle, or work space gives you a better idea of what you have. You can then decide what you need and what you don't need. I find cleaning out a room very satisfying because when I'm done I feel so clear-headed. I know that it's organized and I don't have to think about it, so I can focus on other things. I also find purging my belongings a cathartic experience and one that teaches me I often buy too much. But once it's all clean I can breathe much easier and I feel like I've lost a mental weight just from getting rid of all those unnecessary items. 

And I also guarantee you that getting your finances in order will be just as rewarding a feeling as cleaning out your garage.

Organizing Your Computer

So first there is the obvious spring cleaning: that huge mess of boxes and junk in your garage; the piles and piles of clothing in your closet; the overflowing kitchen cupboards. But what about your finances? A lot of people, like myself, do most of their financial management online. This means that it's out of sight and it's harder to see what a mess they can be in. 

Maybe you have a lot of e-mails in your inbox regarding financial statements. Do you still need them sitting there? Or would it better to file them in their own folder or just delete them? Do you have e-receipts for purchases made online? Put them in a receipts folder. Have people e-mailed you charity receipts and T4's? Do you have them in a special folder marked taxes? No? Take 2 minutes, do it, and you'll be better off.

I would recommend taking a look at your e-mail and organizing everything into specific folders. If you get into the habit of sending them to the appropriate folder as soon as they arrive you won't need to do a big clean-up. It's also a good idea to look at any other financial documents sitting around on your computer? Anything in excel? Organize these documents with names clearly stating what they are and put them in the appropriate folder. 

Receipts

I like to keep my receipts super organized because it makes it a lot easier when I have to make a return. I used to just throw them out or toss them in my purse and curse when I really needed a receipt and couldn't find it. How many of you have lost out on money because you couldn't return something without a receipt? Think of organizing your receipts as an opportunity to save time and money in the long run. 

I keep my receipts in a small file folder I bought at Wal Mart for about $4.00. It has 13 spaces, so I use 12 of them for the months of the year and then the other one for various things, like receipts I need to be paid back for, business, etc... I try to put my receipts in the file folder as soon as I get them so that it doesn't become overwhelming. Filling 3 receipts is a lot quicker and less painful than filling 300 at one time. 

My receipts file folder

While doing my own spring cleaning I am going to find the oldest receipts and figure out whether to keep them or not. For tax reasons you should keep important documents/ receipts for six years. However, if you aren't claiming any of the receipts on your tax return, you often don't need to keep them that long. However, there are other reasons for keeping receipts longer, like for major purchases with a warranty. In order to claim most warranties you'll need to show proof of purchase. 

So even if you have your receipts super organized like me, there are still further opportunities to clean them up right now.

The Home Office

Most people have a space they do work from at home, be it an office, a desk, or even the kitchen table. Whatever the case, take the time to gather up all the loose papers there and file them away appropriately. 

I recently read a great book recommended to me by my husband called Getting Things Done by David Allen. David Allen is a professional management consultant and expert on improving productivity. His book is a great motivator for anyone looking to organize their work spaces and improve their productivity. He gives great practical tips including the "do-it, delegate-it, defer-it, or drop-it" rule to get your inbox empty. If you loved the book and are looking for more of David Allen's help, he has a great website that lists his services and upcoming seminars. He also has a blog where he posts articles regularly. A lot of the stuff on his blog and website relate to the business world and how to act in it, but he does have a lot on organizing as well, you'll just have to look for it. For best results, I recommend starting with the book. I read it, loved it, and am now implementing a lot of his suggestions.

Organizing your home office can also include updating the look of it. Do you have pictures of your kids hanging up? Are your kids now in their 20's, married, maybe even with their own kids? It could be time to update the pictures and the decor. 

Keeping your work space organized will hopefully help you streamline your work flow and improve your productivity. By keeping things in good working order you'll also ensure that things don't slip through the cracks. If you don't have a work space at home where you can work on your finances, you need to get one. Seriously, it is very important. 

If you're tight on space I would recommend getting an office in a box. If you watch 'Til Debt Do Us Part with Gail Vaz-Oxlade, you'll remember seeing her give them to show participants without an office. The office in a box is basically just a file folder where you can store all of your financial records. All the tools you'll need to work on them should also be in the box including some office supplies. It shouldn't be more than $20.00 and is definitely worth the money. Having one will mean that next time you need to pay a bill or check on your finances you'll know exactly where everything is. No more scrambling around!

Tax Season

Tax season is also just around the corner (more on this later), so this is a great opportunity to find all those documents and receipts you'll need for filing your taxes. Getting them all together beforehand will definitely save you a lot of aggravation and will make filling your taxes a quicker process.

And if deductions motivate you (like they do me), then just think of all those things you can claim once you have the receipts and papers in order. If you don't remember what you've spent money on, you'll likely forget to claim it. So get your stuff together and claim as much as you reasonably can. You'll also be all prepared in case the government decides to audit you.

It Can Be Fun-ish!

I know cleaning isn't everyone's favourite thing to do, but it's necessary. So take the time to do it right. There are ways to make it easier, like doing a little bit at a time. You could pick one room to start on and give yourself lots of time to get it done. That way it doesn't feel so daunting. I find cleaning doesn't require much mental power so I like to watch t.v. or listen to music while I'm doing it. It can be a great chance to do something you have to, while catching up on that show you just haven't had time for lately. Why not get the whole family involved? As the saying goes, "many hand make light work". So get everyone in your household involved in the process and it'll get done so much faster. Even children can organize and clean their rooms while you tackle the bigger projects. 

I hope this post has motivated you all to take a look at your finances and get them tidied up. Remember to keep yourself motivated by thinking of all the time and money you're saving yourself down the road.

Budgets: The How To Guide

An introductory guide to budgets. Learn how to make your first personal budget and stick with it. 

A lot of people have been asking me how I budget my money. In response to their questions I have decided to write a post about budgeting. This post will teach you how to start a budget if you don't have one or maybe give you some ideas for improvement if you already have one in place.

Why Budget?

You might think that you don't need to budget because you keep good track of your money anyways. You might also think that a budget would be too restrictive and stop you from doing the things you want to do. In my case I found this to be the opposite. Throughout university I lived without a budget because I thought I didn't need one. Whenever I needed more money I would just work more. In retrospect I realize that I could have done more with my money if I had just planned better. I did up my first budget when I was temporarily laid off from work. I had a limited budget to work with but I was able to make it work. I was still able to go out with my friends and buy things I wanted. Having a budget lets me know when I can do things and how much I can spend. Rather than just always thinking, "I don't have enough money to do that", I now know how much money I have every month and can plan how to use it wisely. Make a budget and feel the freedom I've experienced from having mine.

Where To Start

The first thing you need to do when making a budget is figure out how much money you make. Make sure you know you're actual take-home income, not your income before taxes. If you have a regular income this should be a lot easier for you, but if you have a variable income you'll have to figure out your average. I have a variable income and I always budget my income as being lower than it actually is just because it's easier to deal with extra money than not enough.

The next thing to do is figure out how much money you spend every month. This is the hard part. Before I started budgeting I thought I knew how much I spent every month, so  I made my first budget with those numbers. I realized quickly that I was generally off on what I thought I spent. It's fine if you're wrong at first because you'll learn through experience. With time you'll be able to make a solid budget you can easily work within.

Categories

When I first started my budget I used a sample one from Gail Vaz-Oxlade's website. It's a great start because it has almost every conceivable category of expenses. Choose the ones that apply to you. You might also find you want to add some categories of your own creation.

So once you have the categories that apply to you, you need to put in the amount you spend on each. It is easier to start with the fixed expenses, and then play around with what money you have left between the variable expenses.

Fixed and Variable Expenses

Everyone will have different categories for things they spend money on but they can all either be classified as fixed or variable expenses. Fixed expenses are things you can't change how much you pay a month. Examples of this would be rent, car loans and mortgage payments. Variable expenses are ones that fluctuate and you are able to control. Examples include groceries, gas and vacation.

It can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between fixed and variable expenses. I would consider a phone to be a variable expense because you can control what kind of plan you have. You might need a phone, but you decide how much you're willing to pay for it. Rent on the other hand you have no choice on, unless you move. I believe it's important to learn to distinguish between these terms because it will allow you be flexible when making a budget. 

The Life Pie

According to Gail Vaz-Oxlade, a healthy budget should be divided thus:

• 35% for housing (mortgage/taxes, rent, utilities, insurance, maintenance),

• 15% for transportation (car payments, gas, repairs, insurance, parking, transit),

• 10% for saving (long-term saving),

• 15% for debt repayment, and

• 25% for life (everything from groceries to entertainment, medical to childcare… In fact, everything that’s not in the other four categories.)

     (Vaz Oxlade, 2009)

The life pie is a good guideline to go by, but don't worry if your percentages are different from the ones Gail Vaz-Oxlade sets as guidelines. I like to use the pie to remind me that it's important to round out your expenses. Don't spend too much in any one category, otherwise it will take over all your other categories. For example does it make sense to spend 60% of your income on housing and have only 40% left for everything else? 


Sample Budget

Here is my own budget with percentages of income instead of dollar amounts. This is just a sample to show you how a budget could look. Everyone's budget will be different so make one just for you.

MONTHLY EXPENSES
Category	Percentage of Income
Rent	20.9
Hydro	1.0
Internet	1.6
Phones	2.5
Groceries	12.5
Household Supplies	6.3
Insurance-Apartment	0.8
Insurance-Car	4.1
Car Loan	7.5
Gas	4.0
Car Maintenance	1.9
Vacation	2.5
Family/ Gifts	2.0
Personal-Scott	6.3
Personal-Laura	6.3
Emergency Fund	3.8
Retirement-Laura	3.8
Retirement-Scott	3.8
House Savings	5.0
Medical	1.3
Cool Stuff	2.5
TOTAL	100.0

Some of the categories I use are pretty straight-forward, but let me explain a couple of the other ones:

Household supplies: This category includes anything related to running the household. Examples of this are toilet paper, vitamins and laundry. This category is a variable expense because the things we include in here change every month. 

Car Maintenance: I set aside money every month for car maintenance until it reaches a certain threshold, then I divert that money elsewhere. I think it's important to do this because a car can have a lot of unexpected expenses so it's best to be prepared for them. Oil changes, licence plate renewal and any other car maintenance would be included in this category. In order to decide how much money to put into this category, I would recommend figuring out how much all the regularly scheduled maintenance and assorted expenses are for your car yearly. Then add about 10-20% more for unexpected expenses. Divide that number by 12 and you should have the money you need to set aside every month. Remember that keeping your car in good working order will save you money down the road, so don't skimp in this category.

Family/ gifts: In our society there are so many occasions where gift giving is expected. These could be birthdays, weddings, retirement, holidays, etc... I prepare for this so that if we have a lot of commitments in one month and not that many in another it's not impossible to meet them all. I try to keep this category high as well because come Christmas you're going to be spending a lot in this category.

Personal-Scott/ Laura: Each month my husband and I get a set amount of money transferred to our personal accounts. What we do with that money is completely our own choice. We found this was the best system for separating personal and household expenses because each of us had different opinions on what it is important to spend money on. I value things like eating out, clothing and membership to clubs, whereas my husband places a high priority on technology. Rather than sharing a joint budget for these expenses, we leave it up to each other. For us personal is anything only the one person will enjoy, like a haircut, clothing or book. If we go on a date, then we can chose to split the bill or the one person can pay completely. We also use this category to buy gifts for each rather than the family/ gifts category so that they stay a surprise. Personally we love this system and find it works great for us. We don't argue about this money because we both agreed that what we do with our personal money is our own business. 

Medical: While we have some benefits through work and school, there are many medical expenses that are partially or not at all covered. I think most people will find they are in the same situation. Think about glasses, orthodontics and prescription footwear to name a few. We also allow over the counter medication to be included in this category rather than household supplies.

Cool Stuff: This category is one of my husband's favorites and he is always planning what we can do with it next. The purpose of this category is to purchase big ticket items that we want, but don't need. We set aside some money every month for it and then when we have enough we can buy that item. This works great because it gives to time to think about what you really want. You might want a big screen tv now, but in 4 months once you've saved enough money you might think it's not that important. In order to spend the money from this account we both have to agree. We periodically go over the list of things we want, roughly how much they will cost and a timeline for when we want them. We have a lot of fun with this category because we like thinking about what we might want and getting excited for when it arrives.

Excel

You might be wondering how best to keep track of your budget. Personally I use Excel for that purpose because I find it's super convenient. There are so many features like the ability to make pivot tables and graphs that make generating a budget quick and easy. 

Triple Paycheque Month

Like most people (I think) I base my monthly income on 2 paycheques. If you do this you'll find there are 2 months a year where you'll get 3 paycheques in those months. These are my favourite months because of all the extra money I get! I generally try to spend half the money on something necessary liking paying back loans or saving for retirement and the other half on something fun. It's important to plan in advance what you're going to spend the money on so you don't blow it on something you regret later.

Stick With It

You might be motivated to start your budget at first, but lose interest after awhile. Try your best to stick with it. The first few months are going to be hard and you'll probably be off budget a bit. That's ok though, because you'll learn what works for you. Once you get used to budgeting you'll find it easier to follow every month.