Need a good Budget Worksheet or website

[disneyfan'ole]

What do you guys do to keep your budget in check? I write it down but would love something that shows how much I am spending for this and that. I can just keep track of where the money is going. (like gas etc...)

I just need something simple that I can put all my expenses in one spot and
it can break it down in different ways?

This is a new year and I want to try to be really organized!

 

[minnie1928]

Quicken will do everything you need it to do. Invest some time to set it up the way you want it and after that, it's very quick and simple to use.

 

[rockiesfan]

I love You Need A Budget, YNAB dot com. I first heard about it from someone here on the BB. It is a spreadsheet that you download and use. You can customize all the categories so that they are ones you want (so we have "skiing" as a category, but someone on the water might make one for "boating".) I started in October 2008 to see if I would like it and keep up with it, then kept with it faithfully for all of 2009. It was very easy to get into the routine of saving receipts and logging them on the register. I liked being able to see what I was spending as the months rolled along, as well as how much I had saved up in each category for emergencies and future expenses. And last week, when I put in the last 2009 entry and could see an entire year's spending, was terrific. DH and I finally have concrete spending numbers to use in our financial planning.

 

[Evi]

mint.com Its free I haven't tried it but it came recommended by a friend as a good place to start out.

Good luck

 

[mom2brina]

I second the YNAB recommendation! We started using it Jan. 1st of last year, and WOW it has made a huge difference in how we spend our $$.

 

[LoraJ]

I also just started using YNAB and really like it so far. I tried to do a budget in Quicken 2010 and it does not seem to work at all. I am going to spend part of my weekend planning out sinking funds with YNAB. It's really easy to use and set up.

mint.com is free, and also has a budget section, but I haven't had a chance to really play with it. Not sure how good it is for planning ahead. YNAB is great for planning ahead.

 

[Irin997]

I tried to use YNAB and I LOVED the principle of it, plus it was pretty easy to use. BUT, I had a very hard time trying to figure out the whole this month's money versus next month's money and I couldn't rely on it to really know what was in my bank account. I can't quite explain it. And now I can't remember the term they use for that either. Plus I didn't feel like paying so much for it after only getting a 15 day trial. I wish they still offered the 60 day trial.

 

[LoraJ]

I tried to use YNAB and I LOVED the principle of it, plus it was pretty easy to use. BUT, I had a very hard time trying to figure out the whole this month's money versus next month's money and I couldn't rely on it to really know what was in my bank account. I can't quite explain it. And now I can't remember the term they use for that either. Plus I didn't feel like paying so much for it after only getting a 15 day trial. I wish they still offered the 60 day trial.

I think the key is for you to build up a buffer so that you are not living paycheck to paycheck and build up at least a months worth so that come the first of the month, you can pay all of your bills then and there and then build up your buffer for the following month.

I am still learning how it works, but it is starting to get me to change my mindset on how I spend and save my money. I have found the videos on the homepage of youneedabudget.com to be very helpful.

If you just want a program to track your money and what you are spending things on, Quicken or mint.com will probably be all you need. But for budget planing, I really like YNAB.

 

[disneyfan'ole]

Thank you all for the great ideas! I am going to check each one out and see how they work.

My goal is to get really organized this year, plus lose weight but that is a whole 'nother story!! lol

 

[mom2brina]

I tried to use YNAB and I LOVED the principle of it, plus it was pretty easy to use. BUT, I had a very hard time trying to figure out the whole this month's money versus next month's money and I couldn't rely on it to really know what was in my bank account. I can't quite explain it. And now I can't remember the term they use for that either. Plus I didn't feel like paying so much for it after only getting a 15 day trial. I wish they still offered the 60 day trial.

I do know what you mean - it is a bit complicated at first. I also agree that it is difficult to really balance your bank account, but if you assign EVERYTHING to a budget category, you should be okay. It does take work to think about what category you want to put that toothbrush holder you just bought in, but it makes you conscious of EVERY dollar you spend.