As promised I have started adding budget information in an effort to provide financial transparency to you, my readers. My reasons for doing this are twofold, first of all I think it may help others take control of their finances and put together a workable budget that helps them pay down their debt and save more (possibly in anticipation of a move to Thailand), and secondly it will make me more accountable knowing that my financial life is laid bare for all to see.

I can say that I do have some hesitation and trepidation in doing this. I have not always been such an open person. I hope that in the end I at least help some of you reading this and of course I hope it helps Golf and I to realize our goals and dreams. If you like following along with my financial transparency you may also want to check out ManvsDebt, a blog written by Adam Baker and my inspiration for doing this experiment. There may be others out there doing the same thing, but as of now I am not aware of them. Perhaps if Adam stops by here he can let us know of any other financially transparent bloggers out there.

You can find our current budget at the new page I created called Finances. We will begin adhering to this budget in January 2010 and I will be adding other items to the page such as projected savings before leaving for Thailand, projected (and eventually actual) budget for living in Thailand and savings, both cash and retirement. I will also show the actual income and expenses vs. the budget beginning in February. This page will capture all of our financial related information at a glance. You’ll find the budget is simply a formatted table as I haven’t been able to locate a better way to present the information. I’ve looked at both Mint.com and PocketSmith.com as online alternatives to a simple spreadsheet and honestly I prefer the simple method for now. Plus there are no publicly available widgets for either site that would allow me to show the information in real time.

So, go check out the budget and please feel free to leave comments both good and bad. I know I have not been the most financially responsible person in the past and I have been working hard to overcome this weakness in my lifestyle. That being said, I do feel that I’ve come a long way in the past 3 years. One thing is certain and that is that financial responsibility will be necessary if we ever plan on moving permanently to Thailand. If you haven’t already subscribed to Thailand Musings you may want to do so now so you get informed whenever I make updates to the budget.

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