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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 349
 
| Ok so I'm trying to "grow up" and figure out how to budget properly but not quite sure how to lay it out properly. Any tips are welcome and apreciated | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
| The first thing you should do is make a list of all of your expenses, and if you have online banking, or keep your receipts, going back and tracking what you spend and breaking it out into categories is the best place to start. Get an idea of what you spend each month on your fixed bills (car payments, insurance, phone, tv, mortgage, etc) and then the things that vary (barrel races, food, entertainment, gas, etc.)
Depending on how much you make, and at what part of your life you're in, this may not be realistic, but try to put 10% of what you bring home in savings. I'll be honest, I'm 27, and only in the last year or two have I been able to afford to do that.
I have an excel budget that I'd be happy to send you if you want it, and you can tweak it however you want. For me, I'm a visual person. If I see what I'm spending broken down, and see what I could have saved and leftover, I'm more encouraged to actually save it. | |
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  That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| 1. Spend less than you make.
2. Balance your checkbook and use a register, online banking doens't keep track of what is in between.
3. Track your expenses...you will be shocked how much you waste each month.
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 "Hottie"
Posts: 1373
Location: Okemah,OK | When I first got married, I would think we were having a good month but by the end, we'd have less money than the month before. I got tired of it and started a budget. It was tough but I roughly figured my expenses for a month and saved enough for one months spending (groceries, utilities, eating out, fuel, feed, entries, unexpected expenses, 1/12 of all yearly bills, 1/6 of all bills due every 6 months, cash savings, retirement savings, etc). So ever since, I live on money made the month before. Like right now, March bills are covered by money made in February. If you make more than you need for bills and spending, you save any overages. If you go over on any of the spending categories, you alter one of the other categories. For example, if you want to enter more barrel races than you have budgeted for the month, you lower your eating out spending . Also, you need to have about a 90 day emergency cash fund built up. And when it comes to retirement savings, start with a Roth. You can put $5500 in annually so start a monthly savings with that goal in mind. Little by little, you can get there. | |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| Budget - we use a good ol' excel spreadsheet of expected expenses, subtract those from your income, and "tell" the remaining dollars where to go; savings, mortgage, etc. Your online banking will only tell you what has gone through the bank, use it to reconcile against what you spend (make sure they are accurate) and use your spreadsheet to budget where your dollars should go.
Spend less than you make.
Dave Ramsey has some incredible stories and has helped many people - my husband and I took his class and use his tools. | |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| Whiteboy - 2016-03-07 12:18 PM 1. Spend less than you make.
2. Balance your checkbook and use a register, online banking doens't keep track of what is in between.
3. Track your expenses...you will be shocked how much you waste each month.
Ditto, write down every penny you spend. | |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I will preface this post by stating that I am a Dave Ramsey follower.
1. Excel budget spreadsheet!! I have one I can send you that automatically updates totals and whatnot. (Dave Rasmey does have an app called Every Dollar but I like tinkering on my except sheet because I'm a nerd).
2. Once you have your budget, TAKE OUT CASH. I pay all my bills and literally clear out my account every payday (all but pending bills). I highly recommend getting the envelope system from Dave Ramsey.
3. Listen to the Dave Ramsey podcast. I listen EVERYDAY. Helps me stay motivated and on track and there is SO MUCH good info to learn by listening.
PM if you have any questions...this is a newfound passion of mine. You have to figure out what works based on your personality. I follow the Dave Ramsey method of giving every dollar a name. But my personality is that if there is money in the account I will spend it so I take out cash for just about everything. I also have a lot of sinking funds....things I'm saving for in envelopes....xmas presents, car repairs, Costco trips, etc. | |
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 Expert
Posts: 1395
Location: Missouri | hammer_time - 2016-03-07 1:20 PM
I will preface this post by stating that I am a Dave Ramsey follower.
1. Â Excel budget spreadsheet!! Â I have one I can send you that automatically updates totals and whatnot. Â (Dave Rasmey does have an app called Every Dollar but I like tinkering on my except sheet because I'm a nerd). Â
2. Â Once you have your budget, TAKE OUT CASH. I pay all my bills and literally clear out my account every payday (all but pending bills). Â I highly recommend getting the envelope system from Dave Ramsey. Â
3. Â Listen to the Dave Ramsey podcast. Â I listen EVERYDAY. Â Helps me stay motivated and on track and there is SO MUCH good info to learn by listening. Â
PM if you have any questions...this is a newfound passion of mine. Â You have to figure out what works based on your personality. Â I follow the Dave Ramsey method of giving every dollar a name. But my personality is that if there is money in the account I will spend it so I take out cash for just about everything. Â I also have a lot of sinking funds....things I'm saving for in envelopes....xmas presents, car repairs, Costco trips, etc.Â
#2....Yes! A few years ago my husband and. I caught ourselves getting 'swipe happy' with our debit cards on things like groceries, eating out, fast food, clothes. It didn't matter if I had a set $ amount budgeted, we were always over budget. This changed drastically once I started getting the budgeted amount out in cash every payday. Once it's gone, it's gone! | |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | MOGirl07 - 2016-03-07 11:25 AM
hammer_time - 2016-03-07 1:20 PM
I will preface this post by stating that I am a Dave Ramsey follower.
1. Â Excel budget spreadsheet!! Â I have one I can send you that automatically updates totals and whatnot. Â (Dave Rasmey does have an app called Every Dollar but I like tinkering on my except sheet because I'm a nerd). Â
2. Â Once you have your budget, TAKE OUT CASH. I pay all my bills and literally clear out my account every payday (all but pending bills). Â I highly recommend getting the envelope system from Dave Ramsey. Â
3. Â Listen to the Dave Ramsey podcast. Â I listen EVERYDAY. Â Helps me stay motivated and on track and there is SO MUCH good info to learn by listening. Â
PM if you have any questions...this is a newfound passion of mine. Â You have to figure out what works based on your personality. Â I follow the Dave Ramsey method of giving every dollar a name. But my personality is that if there is money in the account I will spend it so I take out cash for just about everything. Â I also have a lot of sinking funds....things I'm saving for in envelopes....xmas presents, car repairs, Costco trips, etc.Â
#2....Yes! A few years ago my husband and. I caught ourselves getting 'swipe happy' with our debit cards on things like groceries, eating out, fast food, clothes. It didn't matter if I had a set $ amount budgeted, we were always over budget. This changed drastically once I started getting the budgeted amount out in cash every payday. Once it's gone, it's gone!
I even take out money that I'm setting aside for rent. I typically allocate half the rent payment at the beginning of the month and then the other half comes in at the end of the month. We used to keep it in the account but we'd transfer it back into the checking! Now I take out cash for rent and just deposit it before rent is due. | |
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Red Hot Cardinal Fan
Posts: 4122
| hammer_time - 2016-03-07 1:20 PM I will preface this post by stating that I am a Dave Ramsey follower.
1. Excel budget spreadsheet!! I have one I can send you that automatically updates totals and whatnot. (Dave Rasmey does have an app called Every Dollar but I like tinkering on my except sheet because I'm a nerd).
2. Once you have your budget, TAKE OUT CASH. I pay all my bills and literally clear out my account every payday (all but pending bills). I highly recommend getting the envelope system from Dave Ramsey.
3. Listen to the Dave Ramsey podcast. I listen EVERYDAY. Helps me stay motivated and on track and there is SO MUCH good info to learn by listening.
PM if you have any questions...this is a newfound passion of mine. You have to figure out what works based on your personality. I follow the Dave Ramsey method of giving every dollar a name. But my personality is that if there is money in the account I will spend it so I take out cash for just about everything. I also have a lot of sinking funds....things I'm saving for in envelopes....xmas presents, car repairs, Costco trips, etc.
I agree with most of this, however I tried the envelope system and just am not a fan of having that much cash on me. I was worried with the slight chance that something could happen to my wallet with all of that cash and in general it is just a pain for me.
I have an excel spreadsheet that I have listed my reoccuring expenes (cell phone, loan payments, ect.), basically those expenses that I know I will be making every month. And then I also expense out XX amount for groceries, fuel, and horses. For me, I keep a total on what I allocate for each of those items at the beginning of the month and list out what I have spent so that it gives me a running balance throughout the month. | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| I have learned to budget by taking what we need for bills out of my husband's account and placing it along with my half in my savings until we need to pay the bills. I also take half of what we need from each check so that it seems as if we have more "spending" money each month. I am a saver by nature and will NOT use what's in savings for anything other than intended purpose. We also do the excel system and my husband does the cash envelopes. (I don't like having that much cash on me or in the house.) | |
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"Hottie"
Posts: 1373
Location: Okemah,OK | My system is basically like imaginary envelopes. I have my budget already written out for April and so every dollar made in March has a home. If by chance, we make more than needed, it either gets put on a big bill like mortgage or it gets saved. My husband used to get mad when I'd say we were broke. To me, that meant we didn't make enough to pay our bills and save in all my little imaginary envelopes and still have some left over. To him, it meant we couldn't buy groceries lol. I did have a friend from out of state that was gonna visit once. He had to cancel because he forgot his 6 month car insurance bill was due and so he didn't have any money. I couldn't understand why he didn't just save 1/6 of the bill every month??? It takes discipline but I couldn't live any other way honestly. I do it the cheap, old school route and just write it in a ledger style notebook. I gather up receipts and checkbook registers about once a week and balance all my little pots/imaginary envelopes and make sure we're on track for the month. An example, I had to make an in between grocery run last night. Since there wasn't enough allowance in the March grocery budget for that, I took it off what I label an 'extra' category. Now that won't be there to use to buy something else 'extra' this month but our budget will stay on track. | |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 434
Location: Northwest Florida | It must be in the air! I sat down and worked on our budget yesterday evening. My fiance and I haven't yet come up with a fair system of paying all of our joint bills, but we worked on it yesterday and have figured out a plan that works perfectly for both of us.
I'm very interested in Dave Ramsey's envelope plan. I've looked into it before. It does make me nervous taking out that much cash as I have always been strictly an online banker, but I do see how it would help out a lot. | |
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 Expert
Posts: 1930
Location: Not where I should be... | I too have started budgeting after reading Ramsey's book. I didn't like the envelope idea for most of my purchases, so I started using an app on my phone from Intuit called Mint.... It is free and links to your accounts (totally secure, same folks that developed Turbo Tax).
You can set up bugets for everything and use your debit, credit card, transfers, and even cash transactions. It also has awesome trend functions and pie charts and spending trackers for those categories. I love it and it has helped so much. | |
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Expert
Posts: 1395
Location: Missouri | hammer_time - 2016-03-07 1:41 PM
MOGirl07 - 2016-03-07 11:25 AM
hammer_time - 2016-03-07 1:20 PM
I will preface this post by stating that I am a Dave Ramsey follower.
1. Â Excel budget spreadsheet!! Â I have one I can send you that automatically updates totals and whatnot. Â (Dave Rasmey does have an app called Every Dollar but I like tinkering on my except sheet because I'm a nerd). Â
2. Â Once you have your budget, TAKE OUT CASH. I pay all my bills and literally clear out my account every payday (all but pending bills). Â I highly recommend getting the envelope system from Dave Ramsey. Â
3. Â Listen to the Dave Ramsey podcast. Â I listen EVERYDAY. Â Helps me stay motivated and on track and there is SO MUCH good info to learn by listening. Â
PM if you have any questions...this is a newfound passion of mine. Â You have to figure out what works based on your personality. Â I follow the Dave Ramsey method of giving every dollar a name. But my personality is that if there is money in the account I will spend it so I take out cash for just about everything. Â I also have a lot of sinking funds....things I'm saving for in envelopes....xmas presents, car repairs, Costco trips, etc.Â
#2....Yes! A few years ago my husband and. I caught ourselves getting 'swipe happy' with our debit cards on things like groceries, eating out, fast food, clothes. It didn't matter if I had a set $ amount budgeted, we were always over budget. This changed drastically once I started getting the budgeted amount out in cash every payday. Once it's gone, it's gone!
I even take out money that I'm setting aside for rent. I typically allocate half the rent payment at the beginning of the month and then the other half comes in at the end of the month. We used to keep it in the account but we'd transfer it back into the checking! Now I take out cash for rent and just deposit it before rent is due.
Now that you mention it, yes we do this too. Although I don't actually take out half the mortgage payment, I do move it to savings and then back to checking when it's due. | |
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 Expert
Posts: 1630
Location: Up North | Every payday the first thing I do is pay my bills. Second, I put money into my and my fiancee's joint savings account. Third, I put money into my personal savings account. The money I have left goes to pay for groceries, gas, etc. | |
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 Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| Speaking on groceries, how often do ya'll shop?.and how much do you buy.. a weeks worth 2 weeks, a month? I think that's probably my biggest expense, a family of 7. I feel like I run to town almost every other day to grab something from the store... I have a hard time figuring out a weeks worth of suppers sometimes. | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1129
Location: OH-IO | rodeomom3 - 2016-03-07 2:14 PM Whiteboy - 2016-03-07 12:18 PM 1. Spend less than you make.
2. Balance your checkbook and use a register, online banking doens't keep track of what is in between.
3. Track your expenses...you will be shocked how much you waste each month.
Ditto, write down every penny you spend.
Yes, do not use online banking b/c some debts take onger then others to show online...use a good old check book register.. ?Also I round everything up! If I spend 13.85 at the store, I write it in the check book as an even $15. That way down the road if you forgot that you stopped and bought that $2 coffee, It is covered. And say my paycheck was $973.84, I write it in as $970..... You would be amazed at how fast those few cents or dollar here and there will add up | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 806
Location: Arkansas | If anyone would share their excel, I would appreciate it! I write it down in my register but I like for my husband to be able to see what we have since he doesn't "do the money". I have been keeping a calendar out on the kitchen bar with every bill written down for the date, and a register sheet but the register keeps getting lost or the kids color it. I think the excel sheet would be easier to keep track of instead of writing it down over and over. | |
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Expert
Posts: 2457
| BigStarBound - 2016-03-08 9:34 AM
It must be in the air! I sat down and worked on our budget yesterday evening. My fiance and I haven't yet come up with a fair system of paying all of our joint bills, but we worked on it yesterday and have figured out a plan that works perfectly for both of us.
I'm very interested in Dave Ramsey's envelope plan. I've looked into it before. It does make me nervous taking out that much cash as I have always been strictly an online banker, but I do see how it would help out a lot.
We have a gun safe in our house with a designated shelf for the envelopes of cash. When we need something from one of them (like hay) we take what we need from the envelope, write what we removed on the outside (like a statement of funds) and only take that cash with for the items we're going for.
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