i suck at budgeting!! help

ateasha

I admit it ...i really suck at budgeting! I don't no what my problem is really..before it was our bills were way more then one-income could handle. We cut back and now im working so its an extra 3k a month an i still have no $ in the bank! WTF! I no its me..i dont budget really i just spend until theres nothing left. SMH I no I no..but i have to get a handle on this! Any suggestions ladies?

 I finally asked my DH if you would like to take over the bills and accounts and automaticly he says WHY what are we behind on. Which makes me feel like a failure but i no something has to change.

erinmorin

I am horrible at it too....when DH and I got married I gave over control to him.  Don't fell bad about it we all have our strengths and weaknesses and I am sure that you are amazing at other things!!

ateasha

erinmorin:

I am horrible at it too....when DH and I got married I gave over control to him.  Don't fell bad about it we all have our strengths and weaknesses and I am sure that you are amazing at other things!!

Thanks! Yeah i've tried a few times and he's never taken me seriously but i think enough is enough now. lol

HokieLaw

I recommend heading over to the money matters board on the nest.  Figure out what you are spending money on and post your budget there - those girls are great with money and can  help you figure out where you are overspending.

My first advice is use something like mint.com to track your spending so you can see where everything is going, if you aren't already doing so.  My second advice is set up a savings account and PAY YOURSELF FIRST.  Then don't touch that money, act like it's been "spent" and only use it if you have an emergency and must spend it. 

RyansMTCowGirl

Go to a cash only system.  I take $XXX amount of cash out of the bank every paycheck.  This cash is for gas, groceries, misc. household products, etc.  When the cash is gone, I am out of money until the next paycheck for this kind of stuff.  To make myself more accountable, before I got good at it, I also took all my debit and credit cards out of my wallet, that way if I was out of cash, I was completely out of money.  It definately cuts back on the silly trips to Walmart and Target and impulse buys.

ateasha

RyansMTCowGirl:

Go to a cash only system.  I take $XXX amount of cash out of the bank every paycheck.  This cash is for gas, groceries, misc. household products, etc.  When the cash is gone, I am out of money until the next paycheck for this kind of stuff.  To make myself more accountable, before I got good at it, I also took all my debit and credit cards out of my wallet, that way if I was out of cash, I was completely out of money.  It definately cuts back on the silly trips to Walmart and Target and impulse buys.

 

THats a good idea!

catch2010

HokieLaw:

second advice is set up a savings account and PAY YOURSELF FIRST.  Then don't touch that money, act like it's been "spent" and only use it if you have an emergency and must spend it. 

This.  Also, save your receipts and begin keeping a log of how much you spend and where you spend it.  For some people, it really helps to take out a certain amount of money in cash with each paycheck/weekly and only using cash to pay for things.  Once the cash runs out, the cash runs out. 

klovesd

ateasha:

RyansMTCowGirl:

Go to a cash only system.  I take $XXX amount of cash out of the bank every paycheck.  This cash is for gas, groceries, misc. household products, etc.  When the cash is gone, I am out of money until the next paycheck for this kind of stuff.  To make myself more accountable, before I got good at it, I also took all my debit and credit cards out of my wallet, that way if I was out of cash, I was completely out of money.  It definately cuts back on the silly trips to Walmart and Target and impulse buys.

 

THats a good idea!

DH and I started the cash envelope system at the first of the year, and our budgeting has improved significantly!

Also, look into some of Dave Ramsey's information. 

https://www.daveramsey.com/article/dave-ramseys-envelope-system/lifeandmoney_budgeting/

https://www.daveramsey.com/article/get-out-of-debt-with-the-debt-snowball-plan/

 

What we do is we first subtract all of our regular bills from our net monthly income (mortgage, utlities, cell phone, etc.). Then from there we budget out the other items that are not as set in stone (groceries, "fun" money for shopping and eating out, home improvement items, etc.). Whatever money is left from there goes into either savings or as an extra payment towards debt (student loans). 

 I can send you the Excel template that I made/use for our budget if you'd like. Just PM me! 

megs68

I love tracking our expenses, but it's a lot of work.  (I'm an accountant though so I'm nerdy like that).  People spend what they make.  That's why so many people don't even feel it when they get a raise because they automatically adjust their spending to compensate.  What I do is track everything.  Not all the time, but when I really want to pay attention to it, I have a spreadsheet where I track every dollar we spend.  I set up an estimated budget of monthly expenses and allocate our income accordingly.  Then I know how much extra money we should expect to have each month.  I include various savings categories that we want to include (add'l retirement, college, vacation, home improvement), normal monthly bills and entertainment.  At the end of the month, you'll really know where you blew the budget that month plus it keeps you accountable to only spend what you've budgeted. 

But this isn't for everyone. Honestly, if you really don't have a head for it, why doesn't your DH take over for a while?  It's a partnership and if he's better at it, then it can be his responsibility too.

And ditto PP about money matters on the nest.  Those women are awesome and can really help you out.  But first, you really need to know what you're spending your money on before anyone can give you any advice.