Organizing your Budget

[tink576]

I'm trying to find a good way to start figuring out how to organize my budget. I just graduated grad school and I know I'll need to budget differently now that I'm out of school. I figure it's better organize my finances now rather than later, anyone have any recommendations for where to start or what programs or systems you've found beneficial to keep your finances on track?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Swmr359]

I use something called FinanceWorks through my online banking, you might check to see if your bank has something similar. Mine shows me in a pie chart what I am spending on and also what my income is for the month and what my spending amount is so I can see if I'm saving or not.

 

[rnorwo1]

I've used YNAB for the last year and love it. I tried Mint and various excel spreadsheets in the past and I just find YNAB so easy and practical, and you can do reports and such easily. It has a philosophy built into it (Live on last month's income) so it not only organizes/tracks your spending, but if you use it correctly, it truly helps you to budget and manage your money better.

ETA: Congrats on the graduation! And on being proactive in starting your financial future in the right direction!

 

[toddlerhouse]

Another YNAB vote here.

 

[tink576]

Is YNAB run through the internet? I'm not going to have constant access to the internet, I hope that won't cause problems when using it. It appears to me that it would only need internet if syncing accounts but that's just from reading around their site.

 

[lisaross]

I do it the traditional way - Paper and Pen LOL

I suggest writing down all your bill for the month - don't forget the bills u pay quarterly or yearly - divide them by 12 and add them in as well! Also include your weekly spending money and any savings.

My husband gets paid weekly so i figure out what week pays what bills..

Good luck

 

[elcodfish]

I also do it on paper. For me, if I have to write it out I feel more responsible for my spending. I would break it down into categories. I use eating out, utilities, groceries, bills and then "other". In each category, when I spend money I write the date, what I spent the money on and how much it cost. Once you've accounted for your spending for 2 to 4 months you can start seeing where you are overspending and where you can cut back.

 

[vicki_c]

YNAB. And it's resident on your desktop, not on the Internet. They have the best support - forums, web tutorials, video lessons, etc. I wish I had had that when I was first out of school.

 

[dizluvah]

I just create a spreadsheet with a tab for each month - list all my bills, due dates and monthly payment due

then list paydays

I "budget" based on a week, not month - so If rent is $1000 - then I budget $250 from each weekly paycheck for the rent - so I just designate that money for rent and don't touch it until rent is due.

My husband hates my weekly budgeting but it works for me, and I do the bills.

Any method that works for you is fine - over time I have tweaked mine, added color coding, etc.

The most important thing is tracking everything regularly - so at the beginning update your budget frequently (daily if you need to) to be sure to get an accurate picture of where your money is going, etc

Best of luck

 

[mrsklamc]

We like Dave Ramsey and also use quicken.

 

[Mickey1Fan]

Gail Vaz-Oxlade's site is my favourite. She breaks budgetting down to the basics and how much you should be spending and/or saving in different areas of your life. I use the interactive budget worksheet in the excel format.

Tink576 - you are very smart to start now! Good luck.

http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources.html

 

[preschoolmom]

Our budget has evolved over the years.

We used to use Quicken and an Excel spreadsheet (for years - and I loved it!). Now we use You Need a Budget.

I agree with everyone else - first you need a couple of months to track your spending, then you will be more able to predict your spending for forecasting.

I also liked Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book.

 

[tink576]

Thanks everyone for the advise! I'm going to start looking into these programs and see which one works best for me.