Happy June, friends! Now that Penny is here and life had settled into a new routine with a new normal of sorts, I’m trying to get back to good habits. Some of those habits are going on long walks daily and cooking more meals and also… budgeting!

Being financially fit is a huge goal for me and that’s why I try to plan out my months by budgeting with my happy planner.

I’m back to budgeting with my handy Happy Planner for June 2018! This month’s budget is higher than in the past and we haven’t even added in full daycare costs yet.

Budgeting is going to be more important than ever in upcoming months for us with added insurance and daycare costs plus all the extra baby expenses like formula, diapers, copays, etc. We did luckily find a less expensive daycare and will be using that so it should be slightly better but it’s definitely a lifestyle adjustment!

Before baby arrived, I wondered if having a baby would cost more than $1,000 a month.

So far those numbers are looking to be accurate as our spending has gone up a lot already with baby costs and unexpected postpartum expenses. There is a lot about having a baby you can’t plan for exactly so we are still figuring it out as we go.

I’m hoping writing everything down and checking back in at the end of the month will help keep us on track for our financial goals! It’s super easy to get off track with budgeting and I find creating a plan and writing it all down in my planner helps a lot!

Once I start back to work I won’t feel so stressed by increased expenses since I’ll get back to my regular higher salary instead of these reduced paychecks. I’m sure that will be nice and also contribute to getting us to finish our emergency fund goal faster than expected.

Here’s to finishing June out with a successful month of budgeting and sticking to our spending plan!!