The Terrible Twos

The oldies discuss who eats and in what order

Given my parents' (and husband's) scandalous lack of a trust fund, my plan for funding two horses involves a lot of careful budgeting. The good news is that I am an organizational nerd who lives off of lists.

I took a few minutes yesterday and made "The Binder". I plan to dress it up more in the future, but for now it has two sections--one for Cuna and one for Courage (trying this name on for size).

Not exactly doing dressage yet

Each section has an expense list, a monthly calendar to track progress and events, a copy of their pedigree, and their race record. Cuna's also includes his USEF record. I'd like to add coggins, brand inspections, and potentially dressage tests, but all in good time.

Oh yes we have a pink halter

Good thing I got it done. I was thinking Courage' first big expense would be his farrier bill on Friday, but homeboy stuck his leg through the fence yesterday and I got to beef up my first aid kit. He'll be fine and I got to add something to my brand new list.

 I want to be deliberate about tracking expenses, so I have my expense sheet divided up in sections. I track the date I spent money, what I purchased, what payment method I used, and what it was for. So far, my divisions are:
Upkeep (board, feed, farrier)
Tack (obv)
Showing (straightforward)
Education (lessons, clinics, training rides)
Other (vet supplies, random stuff)


Here's the thing: with two, I don't exactly have an unlimited tack budget, so I'm forcing myself to economize and be honest about money coming in and going out. My budget tells me it's possible--I'm hoping my expense sheet keeps me focused on the budget.

If this all sounds miserable to you, well, you're probably not a compulsive list maker like myself. The other motivating factor is this:

OMG!