It’s Budget Season, Y’all [PART 1]

It’s Fall, Ya’ll — Says the awkwardly ubiquitous sign propped up on every farmhouse style mantle in New England.

I love Fall. It has this nostalgic feeling of back to school, organizing your 3-subject notebooks, putting on your new school clothes and cracking open a fresh box of crayons. From the fall crisp air to the endless supply of apple-pumpkin treats, I love everything about it.

In the business world, Fall is budget season. It’s a magical time where we build our wish lists for the coming year in the hopes that our CFO-Santa will grant us everything we ask for. I’ve been a good girl this year, I promise! It’s almost like getting the holiday toy catalog as a kid and circling everything you could possibly want, in the hopes that your parents will settle with buying you at least an 1/8th of it.

With budget season comes the reminder that, despite working for a bank, we do not have an endless supply of money. (Who knew, right?) It is important for each department to share their wish lists so that our finance team can balance expected earnings with anticipated expenses for the new year. Their job is to make sure our company doesn’t spend more money than it makes. (Pretty smart, huh?)

Never until joining the business world, did I associate Fall with budgeting. My only financial thought at this time of year has always been “OH CRAP, ONLY 28 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS. I HAVE NO MONEY!” Years back, I made a responsible attempt at planning and opened up a holiday savings account.

A holiday savings account (or “Christmas Club”) is a type of account that encourages routine deposits with a goal of saving the money for the holiday season. After saving all year, the account balance is withdrawn by the bank and given back to you in the form of a check or transfer to another account for your holiday shopping. These accounts typically have a withdrawal fee for sneaking money out early.

And what an attempt it was! It only took me about half a decade to make it through a full year without draining the account before November 1st. Ahhh, 2015! That was a good year.

For the majority of my adult life, my personal financial strategy has been:

1. Hold a job that pays me regularly every two weeks.
2. Wait until direct deposit comes in before paying bills so I don’t overdraw.
3. Put all my purchases on my credit card and (hopefully) pay it in full every month.
4. Pray that my annual tax returns cover any excessive spending from year-end.
5. Repeat.

OK, so I didn’t say it was a good strategy. But, this year is going to be different.

It’s Budget Season, Y’all!

Just a reminder y’all! Opinions and sass on the BSC site are mine alone. This post mentions a type of banking account that I use, but is not a recommendation or endorsement. For financial advice you should consult an actual professional.