The other B word: Budget

So one of the major things that my husband and I need to work on is our budget.  Last year we bought the fixer-upper acreage next door and found out that we are not made out to be house flippers.  The house looks AMAZING, but also way over budget.  We are crossing our fingers it sells quickly.

Before

After

(We don't have cable, but I can assume all the house flipping shows really emphasize a budget...yeah, maybe we should have cable.)

Anyway, back to talking about a budget: today I found a little gem on Pinterest that I think will help us out with our budget.  While I have heard of Mint.com and their free budgeting information and tools that are linked up to your bank account, I didn't know they had an app for your phone. I have actually used Mint.com a few years ago to keep tabs on our budget. It was more effective than I my husband liked.  He went out and bought a video game without talking about it and I get an email from Mint stating we are over budget in entertainment.  Long story short, he tried to deny the purchase when confronted and soon after switched banks and didn't give me his new account information.  Yes...we have separate accounts.  I am a miser and hate spending money, and he spends his money on all the cool things he wants.  Our marriage couldn't handle a joint account.  It's difficult enough to handle a budget that we can both agree upon!  

I digress... there is a phone app that you can pull up and it will review the budgets that you have set up and let you know how much money you have in the grocery budget or entertainment budget or what have you.  My husband can now know if I'm going to be sent an email or not if he buys something, so it can keep him in check and encourage open communication about his purchases.  You should check out Mint.com and their app for you phone.