Sneaky Budget: Tip #5

Write it down.  Be honest.

"we more or less spend one salary and save the other"
"I "max out" my 401k"
"the best cable package just costs a little more"

People who are otherwise pretty sincere about wanting to be more intentional and responsible with their money will often fall into the trap of using approximate language when describing their spending.  Best practice with the household budget is to be as explicit as possible, to put it in writing, and to be totally honest.

The difference between a $70 per month cable package and a $100 per month package is not "a little more", it's 42.8% more, $30 more per month, $360 more per year, etc.  That's not to say that your family cannot choose the $100 package -- it just means that you really understand the impact to the household budget.