Help!! I really need to start a budget!

[luvsgrumpy]

Please Help! I feel really clueless when I think about doing a budget. (Not sure why, I'm a college grad, worked in banking for almost 10 years, DH, DS12, DS9, and DD5) Anyway, if anyone can give me some basics as far as how to go about starting one, I'd really appreciate it. Are there websites with spreadsheets to help, etc. or do you just write it in a notebook? Things are getting really tight and I need to do something ASAP.

Thanks for everyones help, I always get the greatest tips and ideas from the boards!

this is the cutest!!

 

[DVC Sadie]

First of all I would write down every expenditure that you have, (outgoing) then I would write down all incoming revenue just to see what you should have left after all the bills are paid.

I would then keep track of ALL monies spent by everyone in the family for at least two weeks to see exactly where your money is going.

There is Quicken, Microsoft Money and other tools available online to help figure out all of your finances.

 

[lisaross]

i give myself and my husband an allowance monthly - we can spend it however we wish!

We also have a family weekend budget that we usually stick to.....

my biggest problem is the credit card -- i am really trying to STOP using it!

Also, maybe just one card for your foodshopping/gas and see how much that runs you after a couple of months so you can see exactly how much you are spending, or need to spend!

I also use envelopes to separate everything!


Write down on paper all your bill everymonth example

Phone - 50.00
Mortgage - 1000

and then figure out when you pay them w/what paychecks etc.

it will take a couple of months - its actually fun

lisa

 

[jeankeri]

I would track all of your spending for a month to get a sense where your money is going. Food, clothing, entertainment, eating out are all adjustable expenses and you will probably be very surprised at how much you spend on these things every month. You may look at the totals that you spend at the end of the month and think they are reasonable, or decide that with budgeting you can cut back on certain expenses. If you are charging many expenses and not paying your CC statements in full, cutting out wasteful/unnecessary spending is a must to buy only what you are able to afford. Also, write dow all your set bills- rent, electric, phone, insurance and savings. Then see how much you have left from your pay after paying these- this is how much you actually can spend on the flexible expenses like clothing and food. It took me about 3 months to set a realistic budget. It takes a while to figure out how much your family spends on certain items and what you are comfortable with limiting.

 

[jeankeri]

I write all my budgets down on computer/ copy paper. Each month is a new sheet with two sides- Expenses and income. On the expense side I list all dated bills- mortgage, car, electric, phone, Visa, insurance, etc with the amount, date due and a box to check it when paid. The next column is the list of income- amounts of pay and when the checks are coming in. This is how I decide which bills are getting paid out of which paycheck. I sit and do bills at the beginning and middle of the month- I check the list once a week to make sure I haven't missed any due dates.

 

[luvsgrumpy]

Thanks for the ideas so far, things are starting to make sense. Any other suggestions?

lisaross: when using the envelopes, do you basically just pay everything in cash or just deposit the cash in the bank when it's time to pay the bill and then turn right around and write out a check so it's not spent in any other way?

I guess I'll have something to keep my busy while waiting for the boys at sports camp (free to township residents - YEAH) this week!

 

[nightowlky]

I use an Excel spreadsheet and keep track of everything I spend and categorize it.

I break it down by each paycheck (paid bi-weekly) so I know what to expect to pay with each check.

I made a template of the spreadsheet and filled it with some sample numbers and put it on one of my websites. I also added some categories (like Home Maintenance Fund and Furniture Fund) that I don't have use for. There are also categories like Birthday Fund, Christmas Fund, and Car Maintenance/Taxes Fund. Breaking down once per year type expenses into Fund categories helps you to budget for those expenses so you're not cutting back on necessities when the time arises.

Here's a link to that spreadsheet.


Feel free to PM me if there are any issues w/that file.

 

[aristocat]

Check out Microsoft Office online (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/default.aspx?Application=OF&Ver=11) for tons of budget and other templates. (so long as you have ms office )

 

[lisaross]

are just for our monthly spending!

I'll have a weekend envelope and put in the money for the month.

I'll put my spending in my room

my husbands in his

When the money runs out we are done spending for the month!!!!

then i have a separate one for extra big outings - like an amuesment park day or long weekend and throughout the year whenever i get some extra money or left over money from the month it goes in here!

Don't forget the money jar - we just cashed in 700.00 for our upcoming Disney trip this Summer. we were collecting for a couple of years!

 

[PaulDavid's mom]

I also use envelopes to separate everything!
Write down on paper all your bill everymonth example

Phone - 50.00
Mortgage - 1000

and then figure out when you pay them w/what paychecks etc.

it will take a couple of months - its actually fun

lisa

I do this too! It works wonderfully for me. After 4 years of bills I'm ALMOST out of debt. It takes some willpower to stick to a budget, but it's well worth it IMO.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I write all my budgets down on computer/ copy paper. Each month is a new sheet with two sides- Expenses and income. On the expense side I list all dated bills- mortgage, car, electric, phone, Visa, insurance, etc with the amount, date due and a box to check it when paid. The next column is the list of income- amounts of pay and when the checks are coming in. This is how I decide which bills are getting paid out of which paycheck. I sit and do bills at the beginning and middle of the month- I check the list once a week to make sure I haven't missed any due dates.

Wow, my system is almost exactly like that. I have budget forms I made in Excel. I print 1 for each month & keep them in a notebook. The forms list each category of expenses with amts due or limit to spend & due date if applicable. As I write out bills, I check it off & right the amt pd (so I can see if I'm over or under). ALSO, each time we spend cash, I keep track of where the cash goes & its noted next to the correct column as the amt & date. At the end of month, I add up each category. I can then say to DH, you were allowed X for spending, but you spent Z this month. Be better next month. (we have a little room in our budget for extras, but this lets me keep it under control)

At the end of the month, add up spent column, & compare it to the income column, to get a sense if we are still on track or not.

Also, end of month, I got back to the excel program, & input those monthly category totals. At the end of the YEAR, it tells me what each category total was. Then that gets divided by 12 months, & THAT becomes next years new "monthly" budget (due to price increases & such). Again I compare that to monthly income. If we don't make enough, I need to adjust some categories limits NOW so we don't get into trouble later.

I've done this system for almost 20 yrs. I used Quicken at one time, but this just works easier for me.

THE HARDEST PART ABOUT ANY BUDGET, IS WRITING DOWN EVERY PENNY COMING IN & GOING OUT AT THE BEGINNING. You've got to find out where its going.

Using my forms, I can also see what expenses are coming up, OR if a bill hasn't arrived in the mail like it should, I can call about it before it becomes a late bill with late fees.

This system has worked so well for us. Never paid a bill late. Always pay savings. Capable of paying credit card in full each month (& it's used alot). Only debt is small mortgage balance. I don't think we could have accomplished this if we weren't keeping track.

BTW, I'm an ex-asst bank manager. Don't know about you, but I'm anal about everything balancing (checkbook...) & know where EVERY PENNY went. Not in a naggy way, just in a extremely knowledgable way. I hardly use cash - but DH does. I use checks or debit card so I have record of what spent so its easier to include in budget. The credit card is used for gas & groceries too. So, I break that out of the credit card bill & put them into their own categories since they are large & need controlling.

 

[mousiemom]

We're on the disney budget! We almost have our dd's AP pass paid for. Every week, whatever $ we have for our passes, we go to the Disney Store and get Disney Dollars. That way we cannot spend it! Of course, when I go inside the store I end up buying something that is a really good deal. This week they had the extra 25% off of clearance so I got dd one of the gowns for $6.00, and a cute mickey picnic basket for $7.00. We don't eat out and we are saving so much just by doing that!
Good Luck!

 

[Chicago526]

What I have found in my own process of working out the "perfect" budget, and sticking to it (which is the hard part!) is to be 100% honest about what you spend money on every month.

A lot of people start out saying "No more eating out" or "I'll only spend $150 a week on groceries" or "I only go to Starbucks once a week" And they'll stick to that for a month or six weeks and *poof* they are off the budget diet and back to their old ways.

Engrained behaviors are hard to change. My theory is, why fight it? I budget for eating out a certain amount. I budget a realistic amount for groceries. I budget for my cup of coffee from the company cafeteria each morning (and my co-workers thank me! ) I go to Target about once a month, and I can't walk out of there without spending $40 no matter what it is I have to buy, so I have a line item on my excel budget that just says "Target: $40" . One month it's dog bones the next it's laundry detergent. Yesterday it was air freshener, toilet bowl cleaner, 401 spray cleaner refill, a bag of candy, 2 greeting cards and a $20 gift cert I need to give as a present (really, that's what I bought yesterday!). But no matter what, it's around $40 to walk out the door. So in the budget it goes.

I found if I just budgeted strictly for the nessesities and left out stuff, promising I'd "stick to the budget 100%" that I'd just wind up short every month and transfer the shortage out of savings. So I added in stuff I knew I'd spend money on and just put less in to savings. Now it balances perfectly every month and the only time I transfer money out of savings is when I truely have an unanticipated expense, like paying $500 to a tree doctor to save our ailing 80 year old sycamore tree out back.

Now, my method is based on having more income than expenses, giving me room to play around a bit. For those that are paycheck-to-paycheck and have no wiggle room, this obviously won't work. But for me, this works great, I find that it's much easier to stay on budget when I'm allowed to spend money on things other than the phone bill and gas for the car.

Edited to add: Now this doesn't mean I spend money on what ever I want, whenever I want. What I'm trying to say is that I'm realistic. I don't say "We'll never eat out". I know us (DH and I) and we'll go out at least once a week, even if it's only to Applebee's. So I budget the appropriate amount. BUT whatever I budget, we do stick to!

 

[DVC Sadie]

What I have found in my own process of working out the "perfect" budget, and sticking to it (which is the hard part!) is to be 100% honest about what you spend money on every month.

A lot of people start out saying "No more eating out" or "I'll only spend $150 a week on groceries" or "I only go to Starbucks once a week" And they'll stick to that for a month or six weeks and *poof* they are off the budget diet and back to their old ways.

Engrained behaviors are hard to change. My theory is, why fight it? I budget for eating out a certain amount. I budget a realistic amount for groceries. I budget for my cup of coffee from the company cafeteria each morning (and my co-workers thank me! ) I go to Target about once a month, and I can't walk out of there without spending $40 no matter what it is I have to buy, so I have a line item on my excel budget that just says "Target: $40" . One month it's dog bones the next it's laundry detergent. Yesterday it was air freshener, toilet bowl cleaner, 401 spray cleaner refill, a bag of candy, 2 greeting cards and a $20 gift cert I need to give as a present (really, that's what I bought yesterday!). But no matter what, it's around $40 to walk out the door. So in the budget it goes.

I found if I just budgeted strictly for the nessesities and left out stuff, promising I'd "stick to the budget 100%" that I'd just wind up short every month and transfer the shortage out of savings. So I added in stuff I knew I'd spend money on and just put less in to savings. Now it balances perfectly every month and the only time I transfer money out of savings is when I truely have an unanticipated expense, like paying $500 to a tree doctor to save our ailing 80 year old sycamore tree out back.

Now, my method is based on having more income than expenses, giving me room to play around a bit. For those that are paycheck-to-paycheck and have no wiggle room, this obviously won't work. But for me, this works great, I find that it's much easier to stay on budget when I'm allowed to spend money on things other than the phone bill and gas for the car.

Edited to add: Now this doesn't mean I spend money on what ever I want, whenever I want. What I'm trying to say is that I'm realistic. I don't say "We'll never eat out". I know us (DH and I) and we'll go out at least once a week, even if it's only to Applebee's. So I budget the appropriate amount. BUT whatever I budget, we do stick to!

ITA! Being honest and realistic with the budget is a huge step in not backstepping into splurging or I deserve spending.

There are some cases that the people who are in serious debt can't afford to add the 40.00 Target (or whatever) in their budget until they get a handle on debt, and thats okay too.

 

[disneysteve]

What I have found in my own process of working out the "perfect" budget, and sticking to it (which is the hard part!) is to be 100% honest about what you spend money on every month.

This is excellent advice, and that is why it is so vital to keep a spending log for at least a couple of weeks to track your spending habits. That way you can sit down and see where you spend your money. Then and only then can you decide what things you can cut back on, what things you can eliminate completely and what things you just don't want to give up. There is nothing wrong with splurges: eating out, getting Starbucks, having your nails done, whatever, as long as you can afford it. That way you can plan for it.