Being frugal is a life path, not a destination. For any good journey, it helps to have a map. The budget is the first, and the biggest, plan I draft every month. Knowing where the money is going before it arrives helps keep priorities in order.
I have a spreadsheet with rows for all the regular monthly bills like the mortgage, water, electric, and car insurance. Most of these bills stay the same month to month, some of them vary slightly. For those that vary, I assign a higher amount than I anticipate the bill being in my spreadsheet until the bill actually arrives. For example, our water bill is between $20 and $25 most months. Until the bill arrives, spreadsheets for coming months all have $30 listed for the water bill.
It may not seem like much, but a small cushion can be a big help, and the lack of one can lead to disaster.
What to do with your cushion, should you not need to use it, is up to you. What I'll be doing with mine is a whole other post.
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