We are going on a budget

Everybody knows that without a budget your money controls you. But for us, it let us close our eyes to your spending habits - which are sometimes painful to look at. And, while it's true that for years we have talked of "going back on a budget," but this year we mean it!

Okay, I mean it and Mr. Briggs has amiably been going along with the idea, so far. But the TRUTH is, being on a budget is no fun. It means you have to be accountable for everything you purchase...including those really cute 75% off sandals catching your eye in the middle of winter.

Being on a budget is scary...it means that you can't sneak out for lunch or a latte anymore. It means you can't swing through McDonald's on the way home from gymnastics because you are just to exhausted to think about cooking dinner and so are they. It means you can't play golf at that exclusive place where your friend "knows someone" and can get you in their foursome at 6am this Saturday. Okay, I wasn't going to do that one, but someone here impacted by our new budget plans will want to.

But the truth is, you actually can do all those things on a budget. You just have to plan for them and sometimes you are going to need to *gasp* - save up your spending money to do those things. Just like little Ms. M is saving all of her Christmas, birthday, Tooth Fairy and chore money for that lovely Princess Tiana dress. And she's not saving for the cheap Target version either. A girl of taste, she is saving her pennies for the sixty dollar Disney version.

It is time for the grown ups here to lead by example. It is time for us to follow the lead of our 6 year old and exert a little impulse control. We can do it! We can do it!

Okay, the truth is, we have done this before. When we were young and in love and ready to have our own place. We went on a budget to save for the downpayment on our first house. We still had to borrow money from our in-laws to avoid PMI, but being on a budget then felt empowering. It was one more than we could be in control of in this out-of-control world. And we can do it again. I know we can!

We just need two little elements planning and self-control. Here we go!