The last three weeks have been a technology nightmare. The kitchen television needed to be replaced, my husband’s pride and joy big screen TV in the living room needed to be repaired, our son’s printer needed to be replaced and his computer was on the fritz requiring technical support (for a fee). I kept waiting for something else to go wrong! This is a scary situation when you are retired and living on a fixed income. Although we started budgeting for expenses at the beginning of the year, how can you plan when so many things go wrong at one time? The amount I set up for monthly repairs did not even cover the cost of repairing the big screen. I guess I thought that nothing would break down until I had at least six month of money set aside in the repairs category.

 

I am new to budgeting and living on a fixed income. When I was working I was delusional enough to believe that as long as I had another paycheck coming in, all would be right in my financial world. Now, I have to think about how I am spending money and where that money is going. I have been diligent about checking daily and seeing how I am doing with my budgeted categories. I am using a free program that received good reviews and is really easy to use called mint.com. It has really helped me, a budget challenged person, get a grip on fiscal reality. I love the little pie charts and graphs except for the red ink.

 

My husband is thrilled that I am now taking a more active role in managing the finances instead of just expecting that everything would get paid. I am nervous, but fascinated to see just how much goes out on a daily basis. My advice to all who are in the same boat as me, save for the unexpected expenses because they will be here sooner than you think.