best software

[dtr_angel]

how do you do it?

 

[grainsmommy]

We do our budget on paper every month and keep out "sinking funds" (funds for insurance payments, etc) in a savings account with a section of our paper budget showing what money belongs to what (for example: 100 for car ins, 50 for health insurance, 300 for homeowners=450 account total)

We keep our emergency fund in an ING savings because it takes 3 days to clear the bank, so we have to REALLY be having an emergency to wait. We have had other savings accounts in the past too, but now ING has Orange Checking, with a debit card, so that is nice for sinking funds like birthday and Christmas and vacation savings.

HTH!

 

[ShayBells]

I'm not to good at budgeting. But I am good at watching what I spend. I'm the type that monitors my bank account and I never let it under a certain amount. If it gets close well all extras stop until I get it back up. That way that is my emergency fund for things like car maintenance etc.

I know my mom she has a certain amt in her actual checking yet her check book balance sheet says something WAY under that way her emergency funds are safe from being used.

Budgeting is hard and I'm looking forward to responses.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[RitaE]

YNAB - On sale now.

Yes, that is exactly what it does. You put in your accounts, it sees how much money you have, and then you allocate it to all the different things you can spend it on. YNAB is an "envelop" system although it happens digitally and not in physical envelopes. If you carry around the smartphone apps than you can even literally take money out of the categories right as you spend.

Although if you want to set up some new accounts Capital One (formerly ING) has some nice new account bonuses through this weekend. $125 for a checking account after you make 5 transactions and $75 for a Savings account.

 

[mrgame101]

With Ally it is 6 transactions from your money market account a month. But ATM withdraws do not count at one. And you get the ATM fees reimbursed.

 

[dtr_angel]

We do our budget on paper every month and keep out "sinking funds" (funds for insurance payments, etc) in a savings account with a section of our paper budget showing what money belongs to what (for example: 100 for car ins, 50 for health insurance, 300 for homeowners=450 account total)

We keep our emergency fund in an ING savings because it takes 3 days to clear the bank, so we have to REALLY be having an emergency to wait. We have had other savings accounts in the past too, but now ING has Orange Checking, with a debit card, so that is nice for sinking funds like birthday and Christmas and vacation savings.

HTH!

I've tried doing a budget in excel and different things online/on my computer but just went to a paper budget - just works better for me to actually write it for some reason. I have all our accounts set up in mint which is great - but I just don't feel like the numbers are accurate and the transactions aren't always categorized right for me. I'll have to look at the orange checking and see if that might work for us, thanks!

 

[grainsmommy]

I've tried doing a budget in excel and different things online/on my computer but just went to a paper budget - just works better for me to actually write it for some reason. I have all our accounts set up in mint which is great - but I just don't feel like the numbers are accurate and the transactions aren't always categorized right for me. I'll have to look at the orange checking and see if that might work for us, thanks!

That's exactly how we feel. We've been FPU grads for 7 years now and have taught the class several times and tried many different things, but ultimately, we love having a paper budget. We keep them in a file and can easily recall what was happening last year at this time, what we did last month, etc. I think writing it makes it more real, kinda like spending cash hurts a little more.

I hope the Orange Checking works out for you! We are really liking it.

 

[donkeyandshrek]

I'm considering YNAB too. When does the sale end?

 

[pryncess527]

I'm considering YNAB too. When does the sale end?

Monday night

 

[tvguy]

I would go line by line at everything you spend money on to see if there are ways to cut a few dollars in each item, even the fixed expenses you pay for 6 months in advance.

Check the auto insurance to see if you have the highest deductible you are comfortable with. Unless you have a bad driving record, and you save the money you save, the highest deductible offered will save you money.

Check the cell phone bills, you really need the services, minutes and data you are paying for.

Check the cable/satellite bill if you have one. Are you paying for a higher level of service than you use.

Turn off lights and other electronics you aren't using.

Keep the house a few degrees cooler or warmer than you normally do.

Taylor your dinner menu around what is on sale this week on the store.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I just finished my 1st month using ynab and purchased the software this weekend. I like it a lot! Now if I could just get DH to cooperate with inputting his transactions I would be ecstatic.

 

[crisi]

A very simple way to budget for these things is to add up all the stuff that hits during the year that isn't monthly. Add ten percent or so for good measure, and divide by twelve. Put that money into a savings account. Be aware that moving this money out of a savings account is subject to some federal rules (you can't move it online more than a few times a month - you need to do it once a month or go to the bank for subsequent times - its bigger than once. You'll always be able to get to it, it just might be a trip to the bank to do so) This is the "short term savings" account that you can us to pay yearly things like Christmas, vacations, property taxes, whatever.

The first year, you might want more than 10% extra and you might need some seed money - bills may hit faster than you saved for them, and there will be something you forget.

For me, its more than 10% of what I'll need and so I'm simultaneously using it as my regular savings account. When the amount in that account reaches more than I'm likely to need in a year, I move it to my harder to get to a money market brokerage account that I use to buy stock.

 

[elgerber]

For those who use YNAB, does it work if you already use Quicken? I have several savings goals in Quicken, probably 20 of them, and those amounts do not show in my checking balance. I haven't had much chance to look at it, but I am just wondering if it would work for me, leaving those $$$ in the savings goals, and using the checking balance I can see.

 

[mrodgers]

I use a very elaborate Excel file that I created. My wife and I get paid on opposite weeks and I budget each week as opposed to monthly. I have a 2 checking accounts and a savings account.

I use 1 checking account for weekly groceries and gas since those are the most variable and also weekly recurring expenses. Also my wife works part time and pretty much only makes groceries and gas money for her 2 week paycheck. We spend a lot of money in these 2 categories living out in the middle of nowhere and driving a combined 50-55,000 miles a year and living in an area that has no coupons nor the capability to go to multiple stores.

Checking account 2 and the next section of the Excel file is for the monthly bills. It contains stuff like house payment, car payment, TV, phone, cell phone, life insurance, electric and anything else that comes every month. In the budget sheet, as I said it is laid out weekly. Each tab in the file represents a year and for each pay week that the bill is due the cell is highlighted. This is distributed through the whole year as I said and for each bill, I have an entry on the paycheck week that it is going to be allocated. I pay all the bills with my pay and on the weeks where my wife would get paid when a bill is due, I can allocate the money the previous week from my paycheck.

Next section of the budget is the non-monthly recurring bills and also any funded category that isn't recurring. This is heating oil, insurance, garbage, car registration as recurring non-monthly and also funds such as car/home repair and medical. These should be funded in the savings account, but there isn't enough money left of the paycheck to fund them. Stuff like this ends up being funded during bonus pay times. I can't seem to get the heating bill funded so it is funded with a year end bonus and car insurance is paid by a quarterly bonus that just happens to cover it. Medical and car issues, well, I'll just have to die or just drive it how it is as I am currently with my car. Wish it wasn't this way, but it is.

I don't budget things like hair cuts (we cut our own anyways), eating out (we only eat out a few times every few months), or any other non-bill. We may have $50 left of this pay or $15 of that pay and spend it as we can get it on things we need to do or buy like clothing for the kids and school fees.

The thing about my Excel file is that I can look ahead a month, a year, 5 years and tell what bills will be needed to be paid from the June 5th, 2015 paycheck and how much would be left over if I needed to. Every single cell now is a formula from the date, the paycheck, or the bills and copy and pastes easily to project the budget 100 years if I wanted to.

 

[Golf4food]

No need to spend money. Use Mint.com for free. They also have a mobile app so your bodget is always with you. I moved to Mint from an Excel spreadsheet system over a year ago and love it.

Mint isn't the only option, but it's the one I use. There are others you can explore as well.