Money, money, money......

...there's just never enough of it. After paying all the bills and putting some away into savings it seems as though there's really not that much left for discretionary purposes. But there probably is, if you budget right. I work in the financial sector so a budget is nothing new to me and neither is writing one. But I want to have a budget that shows me exactly how much money I have for discretionary purposes ever week and that is where Gail Vaz-Oxlade and Til Debt do us part comes in. Til Debt Do Us Part is a show that is filmed in Canada that I stumbled upon one night while channel surfing. It is a show that is hosted by Gail Vaz-Oxlade that shows as she goes into people's homes and makes them get serious about their finances. She shows them exactly what they're spending (most of it frivolously) and has them fill out budgets. Then she introduces them to the budget binder and the money jars. She essentially takes away all credit and debit cards and makes them live on cash alone. This is where the jars and budget binder come in and where my ramblings are leading you. Here you can find the interactive budget for how much cash is needed in a given week for discretionary purposes, hence the jars (the money has to be placed somewhere) and to track it you need the budget binder. My husband and I have used this system before and now it is just second nature to update it every month. It has saved us a lot of money in the long run and really showed us where we were spending out money. It allows us to put into perspective how much we're actually making and where all our money is going. The interactive budget works for me, how about you? Head over to see Kristen at wearethatfamily.com for more Works for me Wednesday posts.