Oh, I've taken the whole budget thing into account. The TSL team is also working on a budget, and it's the patience and passion of its fans. Of course something will happen to cause you to slip schedule, but simply being afraid of bad news is not good enough.
It's far better to set a completion date, and miss it, then it is to just pound away on the code letting everyone guess how long they'll have to wait. People work in timeframes; otherwise, you'd go to work not knowing when you get to go home. You'd go to class, sitting there waiting for the professor to stop talking, but having no idea when.
I admire and understand all the hard work that goes into developing a video game, let alone an Indie game with no financial profit. However, without a release date (even if it is going to be missed) it just exhibits a lack of confidence in the drive of the team (warranted or not). You have to let people know what they're waiting for and for how long, otherwise no one's going to care by the time you finish.
It's like sending out fliers to everyone about a BBQ you're going to have at your house, but you don't say what time or even what day. People start showing up day after day asking you when it's going to happen, but you have no answer...here...have this piece of gum in the meantime. After awhile it's pretty clear that all you have prepared is packages of gum to handout with no end in sight to when the BBQ is going to be held. Eventually, people will stop showing up, stop asking, and by the time you have the BBQ...some will come and eat then disappear...no one will care.