Budget Project: Where does it all go?

I've never been a big budget-er. I admit that I am not the best with money matters. I always make ends meet and have enough to go on trips/vacations when I want to.

But, I need to do better than that. With my upcoming adoption of Little Guy and all the TTC costs -- I want to implement something new & become more cognizant of where I spend $$$. 

With August beginning anew and no travel this month (Yay!), I'm now going track every single dollar I spend for the month. Then, from there - I'm going to make a budget and find areas to curve spending. After extensive review of budget management systems, I decided to download the free trial of You Need a Budget (YNAB). I think it'll work well with Dave Ramsey's zero-budget method.

I'm planning to re-start Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. Which, of course I've started and re-started so many times. I just need it to stick! Will be starting anew with Baby Step #1. 

Some Financial Goals: 

• Setup a savings account for Little Guy. For college or just a general one? Not sure yet, going to talk to a financial advisor before deciding. Questions: what if he doesn't go to college - what happens to the funds? 
• Pay off revolving debt
• Put funds aside to make some house improvements. Want to get new carpet on the stairs and possibly hardwood upstairs (replacing carpet). 
• Create a travel fund/goal. 
• Create a gift giving fund/goal. 

This is just to begin... but first Baby Step #1. 

First things first: 

1. I need to see where all my $ is going by tracking everything for the month. 
2. Need to invest in a good money management system. I used to use Quicken on my old computer, need to figure out which system would meet my needs & also not be hard to manage! Let's see if YNAB works for me. 

This project is long overdue! It feels good though, finally tackling it. 

Seems like a lot of stuff going on: adopting, decluttering project, money management project, TTC, photo booking projects. Weird, but I don't feel overwhelmed! I just feel like I'm getting things in order and getting things done :)

Next Steps: 

1. Track spending for August in YNAB 
2. Baby Step #1: Save $1,000 Fast to start emergency fund.