How do you come up with a personal budget?

[GalleyGirl]

Okay, so I am horrible at managing money, and need some advice on how to come up with a budget, and track my incoming and outgoing finances. If you have a personal budget, how do you keep track of it? What are the categories you use to organize it, the software you use to store it, etc? TIA

 

[kaliraksha]

I use excel and foremost I look at how much I make/bring in a month.
If you use excel browse these:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/do...aspx?qu=budget

I like the "Personal Monthly Budget" - brings up lots of forgotten items.

I write down exactly how much rent, car payment, cell phone, insurance, tuition, credit card payments, bills. All my important financial commitments essentially come first (and I always over estimate to be safe). Then I look at necessities- groceries, gas, toiletries, pet items, monthly subscriptions, savings (its in this tier for me... it may be higher or lower for you) and estimate that. Then I look at how much money I have left over and if I'm being anal I will split up how much goes to eating out and entertainment... and the rest I call spending money... sometimes I save my spending money for a big purchase or add it back to savings.

I budget very loosely... because once you get it down it doesn't change much from month to month. Hope that helps as a starting point =)

If you are having problems with shopping or spending too much, do a week or two of writing down everything you spend and then you can see where your money is going and it will help you budget. It may also shock you!

 

[Beauty Mark]

I use an Excel sheet, and I write in every single item I buy. The lattes, bus pass, rent, pack of gum, whatever. I have a highlighting system where the necessaries (rent, grocery food, etc.) go in, and then everything else is a different color. The first time I did it, I was shocked how much little stuff adds up. I always knew that, but being confronted with a real number was terrifying.

I also have this thing where I translate dollar amounts to what I use it for. Let's say a new lipstick is $15. $15 for me is half my electricity bill, almost an entire week's worth of groceries, a quarter of my transit pass. Suddenly, even though it's just $15, it suddenly has a lot of meaning

If you don't find that works, keep your credit cards and bank cards at home and away from your computer. Only carry cash.

 

[MacMonster]

that's an awesome idea.

do you know which template you use, Beauty Mark?

 

[Beauty Mark]

I don't use a template. I never bothered looking into one.

If you're looking to save money, also throw any loose change in a jar if you tend not to use it. It adds up fast.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Since I don't have a set monthly income, I keep track of my finances this way:
My paychecks come into my student checking account (debit card) every other wednesday (twice a month)

My Nordstrom and VS bill are almost always due between the 16th and 19th of the month; so for example, if I get paid on the 9th, I obviously don't expect to get paid again until the 23rd. Therefore, I pay those two bills (as much as I can afford, if not the entire balance due) on the 9th, or whatever date my paycheck comes in.

My regular Visa is always due on the 8th, so I pay that right on schedule, or early, since it's an instant transfer through my online banking website.

My cell phone bill is always due on the 21st. This creates a problem, as for some reason, I always get paid AFTER this date. Lucky for me, T-Mobile doesnt' flip out if you don't pay right on time. So I pay that as soon as I get paid, I try not to let it go more than 5-7 days unpaid.

After I've paid these bills, I then go and transfer an amount, usually around 40 or 50 dollars(or more, depending on the check/bonus season), into my savings account.

The rest of the money in my checking account goes to gas/food/personal expenses. I spend about $30ish on gas a week, and I try not to spend much more than $20 on food per week. I keep track in my head and frequently check my online account to make sure I'm not spending too much money on things I don't need to be spending money on.

It's not the most effective system, but it's working for me. You kinda just have to find a system that works for you. My parents both have written checkbook ledgers. I never use these, cuz they're usually wrong lol

 

[kaliraksha]

MAC_Pixie04, you should consider calling T-mobile and asking them to change your due date... I'm sure they would oblige and it may save you from problems in the future.

Beauty_Mark, I do something that you do sort of... I gage how much an item "really costs". I work in Customer Service so... if I want something I'll be like "Crap this sweater is going to costs me 3 hours on the phone with upset customers" - that quickly puts things into perspective for me, haha. I measure it to how many hours of work I have to work to pay for it.

Also though, with clothes and items- especially if I find them on sale... I ask myself "would I spend twice the price for this?" or "would I pay the original price for this?" that way I ensure I'm only spending my money on stuff I would really love to have and would pay more for.

I think the biggest step is coming out of denial and committing yourself to know where your money goes! I have a friend that definitely makes enough money and has less expenses than we (group of friends) do.. but she is always broke... because she treats money like something that if she ignores it will go away.

Good luck =)

 

[m4dswine]

I keep an excel spreadsheet with all our essential outgoings on it, then a sub total, and our monthly income, then the difference.

Everything else is just spending money, and I have a couple of spare boxes in the outgoings list for things we know are coming up, big spends that we want to do.

I usually know my movements each month in advance of pay day, so I can budget for a shopping trip etc. I usually do a shopping trip the first weekend of the month, give myself a budget and don't go over that.

It works quite well, as it ensures that everything gets paid on time.