The winds around here have been insane this last week. I have Two sections of fence that need to be repaired or replaced This is why we have the emergency fund but its not what I want to be spending our money on. I guess that since we had planned on gaining intensity on paying off the debt that something had to come up and give us trials.

That’s OK! Trials are for our growth, James 1:13 points out that God doesn’t tempt us, but makes the point earlier in the passage that the trials are for our development. Development in Christ, being grown from glory to glory (II Cor. 3:18) is a good thing - I’ll take the wind and the fences because they’re good for me… even if they make the budget a wee bit tighter.

Have you ever wished you had an extra $200.00 a month? I know I used to wish that. The moved buffer theory is the theory that you should be putting the buffer in your budget at the ‘top’ of the budget rather than in each category. A buffer is an excess amount of money that is put in place to deal with a greater demand on your finances than is normal. If you’re familiar with “emergency funds” then you might describe the buffer as a preventative emergency fund built into your plan. If you are like me then you originally set up your budget with the buffers into different categories so that each category could absorb fluctuations in the category.

Evaluate the chart above representing a traditionally buffered set of categories. Can you see that the categories with buffers are theoretically more likely to use the buffer? By giving yourself access to more money you are more likely to absorb the buffer. The problem is that you should have some buffer somewhere because in real life all of the numbers are not known ahead of time (unless you are super lucky). By setting yourself up with a ’safe’ budget you are more likely to overspend potential savings (which is not the same as blowing out every budget category in overspending).

Instead, I would propose that you actually calculate a conservative amount for each budget category. What would you say to cutting each category by 20% and moving that buffer into its own category that goes untouched and your target for expenditure is reduced? That way if you over-spend in a category (or the water bill shows up and you find out you took showers that were too long, or watered the garden a wee more liberally than you had expected) you have a buffer category with funds for paying the water bill, but you don’t find yourself likely to spend a lot more in each category. The weakest link in your budget, the category that you’re overspending on, is dealt with, and you can review it for next month to see if it needs more funds, but you don’t just feed all of the categories excess money each month.

There is little doubt that real life will happen, and the potential for surprises is great, but by taking out some of the waste where it didn’t appear to be in the first place, you may save yourself a lot more money in the long run. If you can save $50.00 a month in reduced buffer excess and put it into an investment fund, pay off debt, or possibly grow other areas of your life, its worth considering! I have begun to see a several hundred dollar a month buffer that I didn’t know existed because before I was spending it. Consider your choices as you budget. This method may not work for everyone, but for us, it has been a real relief.

Note: The Moved Buffer Theory Budget is based on the Theory of Constraints by Eliyahu M. Goldratt - only applied where I haven’t seen it applied yet. You might consider checking out Critical Chain, a book that applies the Theory of Constraints to business management.

This is a guest post by Brooke at a DollarFrugal.com, a 20-something PF blogger who paid off debt quickly and is trying to pay off her mortgage by November 2009 while sending her husband back to college. And doing it one dollar at a time. I strongly recommend you subscribe to her RSS feed and learn some things from her great blog.

Open Lines of Communication Open lines of communication that are needed with a budget shared between two people also transfer to other parts of your marriage. Should we raise our child(ren) in a certain way? I don’t know, let’s discuss it. It’s the same premise as where to spend budgeted monies.

Set a Check and Balance Limit We are all adults, but sometimes our “wants” get the best of us. Set a limit ($100 or $20, depending upon how tight the budget is) that is the “discussion limit”. This will use your spouse check how badly you want an item and reaffirm your joint endeavor to kill debt or raise net worth.

Set Financial Goals Together Setting goals together will cement your relationship and show the other just how much you care about them. You could try brainstorming separately (no peeking!) on what financial goals should be, then come together to discuss each idea.

Build an Emergency Fund For your sanity and your spouse’s. An emergency fund is the easiest way to feel secure and not rely on the evil credit cards. Seriously, just do it.

Even Thinking About the “D” Word Is Bad for Finances Divorce is sad for people and our finances. If you go into the commitment with the idea that marriage is forever, you won’t even consider divorce (of course, there are extenuating circumstances, but you get my point). With divorces come two households and the support of these separate households.

Use Joint Assets to Build “The House’s” Assets The stay-at-home mom is a classic example of this. She can attend one online class per semester, coming out after 5 years with 15 classes (equivalent to more than 3 semesters of college), just using naptime. What about retirement funds? My husband made a lot less than I do, but I funded his IRA because I know it will benefit both of us.

Attack Finances as A Team This supports your “one team, one fight” mentality and solidifies your stance against the rest of the world (or at least corporate America!). Have at least a binder somewhere for the non-bill-payer of the family to reference in case anything should ever happen to the bill-payer. Go over the binder together once a year to ensure it is understandable and current. Agree how much to pay each month and make a budget together.

Find Cheap Hobbies Mountain biking is our favorite pastime these days. Spending time out in the fresh air can’t be beat, in my mind. With cheap hobbies, you are spending quality time together, but not spending a ton of money. We constantly play cards. Another place we spend a MULTITUDE of time is the library. Both of us are college students and our son is learning to read, so we kill a bunch of birds with one stone here. Cheap hobbies are cheap (duh, Brooke) and doing them together means you’re spending time doing something you enjoy together. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Buy a Present for the House Instead of Each Other This may be arguable for some relationships, but it’s worked out great for us. Instead of buying each other trinkets, we buy a quality piece of furniture or sports equipment that we pre-discuss and find at the lowest price. It makes me a lot happier than blingy jewelry or flowers that die! Or try funding just $100 of a Roth IRA for each other instead of presents. It will pay off in a large way later.

Shared Sense of Accomplishment The sense of accomplishment that came when we paid off our debt (Oct 2002) after a year of scrimping and clawing was an adrenaline rush. This is a shared experience much stronger than any night out on the town with friends or flashy car. It is part of our shared identity that no one can take away from us!

Personal finances strengthen marriage in a huge way. Money is often cited as the most common reason for divorce, but I would argue lack of money education is the most common reason for divorce. Educate yourselves together and you’ll gain more than just knowledge!