Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Budgeting and the Seven Ps

The Seven Ps


Prior planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance.

Budgeting


Where to begin?  How much information to share?

Both Mrs ERJ and I will be retired by the end of the summer.  Our "gross" income will be much, much less than it was 18 months ago.  I will share that we fell short of the 80% of pre-retirement income that most financial advisers advise.

We started our family relatively late in life.  We still have two kids in High school.  That makes a difference.

According to the author of Rich on any Income, nearly all budgets are fiction until they are reconciled with several (3-to-6) months of data.

Our current, best fiction is that we will have $1.50 a meal to work with.  That is a very workable number until a kid walks into a restaurant or a fast food barfatorium (henceforth to be known as FFB).  $1.50 will purchase a soft drink.  One meal ordered by a teenager will burn through two days worth grocery budget.  The days of blithely walking into a FFB are over.

Many trips to FFBs were because we found ourselves miles from home with a hungry kid.  A hungry kid is a cranky kid.  Prior planning and preparation can prevent those surprises.  We are no longer affluent enough to use cash as a safety net.  We must rely on our wits and better planning.

Request to the audience


I marvel at the keeping ability of dried dog food.  Are there any cookies that can keep in a snap-top, plastic container in the trunk of a car for a month?  Any other portable food ideas (summer sausage + Ritz crackers) will be much appreciated.


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