Budgeting is Sexy.

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Since meeting my husband more than 8 years ago, there are a few things I’ve become more passionate about. For starters, politics. Second, Frank’s Red Hot sauce. He’s an addict. I never thought I’d dig the stuff, but now I crave it.

But the #1 thing my hubby has taught me? Budgeting is SEXY.

Seriously.

Prior to me deciding to stay home, we never really tracked our expenses. What was the point? We both made good money and it didn’t matter how we paid for things. We paid our credit card off each month and consulted each other before purchasing any larger ticket items.

Today, it’s a different tune. Every single penny matters for us. Saving during a month could mean a project on our house, or maybe even a vacation one day. If you don’t already know, I am married to an accountant. He has intricate spreadsheets on our money that may as well be rocket science to me.

When I started staying home, I had no choice but to learn more about where our money was going. We looked at our new income and figured out how we could live within our means, and still save for retirement. I plan on going back to work full-time in the years ahead, but we decided not to include that possibility, with all my future work projected as our fun money.

How do you do this? Work backwards. We decided we’d work until 65. Assuming we will not have social security or pensions, we determined how much we will need to live on if we make it to our 90’s. Let me just say that we need to save MILLIONS with inflation calculated. It sounds like SO much, but think: That money could potentially need to be spread across 40+/- years. It’s actually quite overwhelming to think about.

I’ve heard people say you don’t need to save until you are in your 40’s. Are you crazy?! When we are in our 40’s, our kids will be driving and going to college…Those factors make saving a tad more difficult. The time to save is in your 20’s and 30’s, before kids are grown and cost way more than they do as babies.

I’m in control of our monthly budget, which has been eye-opening. We spend a lot of money. Lately, I don’t always use coupons like I should, and we like to eat out. Couple that with the fact that the more healthy groceries we buy are expensive, and we go through a lot of dollars.

Here’s for my transparency: Our budget is $1,200 a month. This amount doesn’t include our mortgage or most of our bills. It sounds like a lot, right? Well, it’s not. Not for us hipsters who like to do cool things and eat out a lot. We go through this money so fast it’s ridiculous. Shoot, we have fairly fuel-efficient cars and our gas costs alone are usually between $300-$400. Coupled with at least $500 in groceries most months, and most of the budget is spent, leaving little left for fun, or even a new pair of jeans. {For the record, I use a plain old Excel spreadsheet to track everything.}

That’s where I come in to save the day. I can only overspend on that initial $1,200 where I can make up the cost. I get creative most months, but thankfully, my part-time job and occasional blog gigs make up the difference. I am thankful each month because these days, we are rarely on budget, and I hate digging into the money we specifically set aside for saving, or even worse, using money we try to set aside for our children’s educational savings plans.

Sounds stressful? Well, it’s not. I actually feel relieved knowing where each and every penny we have goes. It’s empowering. It’s enlightening. And, sure, it’s even sexy.

If you need a swift kick in the budgeting butt, I highly suggest tuning in to The Suze Orman Show. Along with my number nerd hubby, she has helped me to truly understand the need for saving moula!

So, dish — do you have a monthly budget? If not, I highly encourage you to track it for a few months! You’ll be amazed at where your money goes.