Cannot believe i have just learned how to budget correctly

A question about : Cannot believe i have just learned how to budget correctly

I cannot believe that I have been so stupid all these years and not budgeted correctly, I just used to roughly estimate and hope for the best no wonder the debt kept rising.
Also I feel annoyed at myself for all the money i have wasted buying things that we did not really need. I am hoping that by doing this I am also helping my children as I don't want them to get into the same mess that we have. I probably could of had my mortgage paid off.

Best answers:

• Some of the big blunders people make is to view the money each week/month as "the money: set aside for bills, spend what's left" ...then they wonder who put Xmas on 25 December when it's mentioned in November as being the following month.
  Budgetting needs to have a pot for "future stuff I know about" (Xmas, birthdays) - and "future stuff that might suddenly happen" (boiler replacement, big car repairs and a puncture)
• I had this convo with a friend today.
  She thought budgeting was writing down all her bills. I asked her about other spending and she asked what i meant.
  I then told her to get a pen and paper and write down what else she spent money on....she couldn't think of anything so i grabbed the pen and paper and wrote down some categories i thought she may have....
  DS school dinner
  DS pocket money
  DS clothes
  Groceries
  Hairdresser
  Travel
  Christmas
  DS birthday
  Gifts for others
  Fuel
  Car Tax
  Car Repairs
  Household
  Knitting fund
  Her clothing
  I handed her the paper and told her to guess the amounts she was spending per month and add any categories she needed....well she was SHOCKED.
  She said, 'but if i add this lot to the list of bills Ive already got I won't beable to afford it.....
  I witnessed a Lightbulb moment.
• It's really easy when drawing up a budget to just include household bills and not think about the small stuff. I keep a notepad with me at all times and us it as a spending diary.
  I track everything I and the family spends throughout the month and build that into the monthly budget. When there are 4 or more of you in the household things like the odd coffee from Starbucks, bus fare and a number of other small expenses can add up.
  The good thing is that if you keep a track of them, they are a lot easier to cut out. Especially when you see how much you're spending!
• Proper budgeting is THE key to getting a grip of your finances. I have only just started to do this and it has revolutionised my relationship with money.
  I am budgeting for every single known expense i have (and a few unexpected ones via my Emergency fund) for the first time in my life. I have found it strangely comforting to know that there are no unexpected surprises coming over the horizon. (like Christmas!!!)
  Good for you.
• Tell me about it!!!
  After a shaky start with YNAB I have got the hang of budgeting properly.
  If I'd learnt how to budget correctly 30 years ago I've no doubts I'd be leading a different life by now but hey ho onwards and upwards.