Works For Me Wednesday - Budget Jars

For the first time in a long long time, we came through a month with money left over. I credit it all to our budget jars. All money is divided into some budget category. If it is a bill that gets paid by check then it gets paid right from the checking account at the start of the month. All other money is pulled in cash and placed in individual jars by category. The only way you can spend money is to have that jar with you. Many many times this past month, we had to turn around and go back to get a jar. It has really helped us keep our spending in order. The only credit card purchases we make are for gas and online orders where we have to take the money out of the jar, deposit it into a personal account then make the purchase. That really cuts down on the impulse shopping.

Here is a list of the categories we use in jars
Groceries
Household - we are still working out what this means
Dining out -
Entertainment - movies, activity fees and the like
Swimming
Auto Service
clothing
Home Repair
Gifts
Medical - copays and the like