if you live on a budget it is important to include everything you spend money on each month- in order for your budget to 'work'
if you are on a tight budget you may need to assess what you spend your money on---do you have clothing in your monthly budget? do you actually need to buy clothes every month? it is usually a give and take thing- you start by keeping track of where your money is going- then decide where you could cut back- and re-assign where you would like to spend the money.
i do live on a budget- and no matter what the bills are paid first out of my pay check- then the gas tank in the car is filled- then groceries are purchased-
if i need something for quilting i then know what is left and what i can buy- we are very good at planning ahead for what ever we want to do outside of the normal day to day---if we want to take a long weekend and go somewhere we decide that 2-3 months in advance-and set aside and save for it- we reserve rooms, and pay for everything possible ahead of time-
if i know there is a good sale coming up-or if there is something that i need i can plan for it-
if i want to stop at the lqs on friday after work- i might skip that morning cup of coffee at the gas station all week- (since it usually includes a few other goodies-$5-$15 a day)
it just takes planning-organization- and taking care of the necessities first.
we do like many people kind of live paycheck to paycheck- but we have some extra for extras too- we just plan ahead and choose how we want to spend that extra-
i'm pretty good at not even looking (too much temptation) if i don't need anything- and if i do need something (quilting related) i shop around find the best prices- and make sure i either do not have to pay shipping/postage fees- or if i do they are very low....if i need thread- and the company i shop with has free shipping at $50 i will also buy battings-or other things i also need to get that order up to $50- i hate paying shipping-when it's so high i could buy a whole yard of fabric with it- or more...so i only shop where i can get it cheap or free...or i buy locally where i don't have to worry about it.
i might go 3-4 months without buying anything quilting related---then i might spend $200-$300 --- it all depends- but i save and plan for it regardless if it's a package of needles- or a new fabric collection.