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How do you budget?

flyingsaucerflyingsaucer member
in Parenting
How do you and SO budget? Do you write it down? Use an online program? Do you include goals such as retirement and college savings monthly? We used to be early good about his, but things have gotten really busy lately and I really want to get on track.
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Re: How do you budget?

  • smlowe9311smlowe9311 member
    As stupid as it sounds what's working for dh and I right now is using cash for things like groceries, gas, personal spending and other weekly expenses. We have this amount already set up between us. Then the rest we leave in the checking account to cover bills and just to keep it "untouchable".
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  • jillyjill1026srjillyjill1026sr member
    edited August 2014
    I created an Excel spreadsheet for our budget. It lists money coming in, all our bills, discretionary money, my IRA, DD's 529, etc. I have the spreadsheet all formulated so it automatically calculates the money in vs. money out.
    Edit: we also incorporate the envelope system, so things like discretionary money are in cash.
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  • cattuccinocattuccino member
    jillyjill1026sr said:

    I created an Excel spreadsheet for our budget. It lists money coming in, all our bills, discretionary money, my IRA, DD's 529, etc. I have the spreadsheet all formulated so it automatically calculates the money in vs. money out.

    This; exactly!
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  • quidditchcapn1120quidditchcapn1120 member
    We use Dave Ramsey's plan. I know it's cliche but it really did change our lives through changing our thinking about money.

    We have modified it over the past year and a half to work for us though. All monthly expenses are paid through autopay. We make a detailed budget per his forms about a week before the start of the month. We focus on paying extra toward one debt with any extra. Once that debt is paid, what would have been the minimum payment for that debt plus any extra goes to the next debt on our priority list. Retirement and savings are automatically taken out of my paycheck. We do not use cash as much as Ramsey suggests because until recently we lived in Chicago and worked in shady areas so I didn't feel comfortable carrying that much cash. We meal plan at the beginning of the month and only go grocery shopping once per month.
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  • jillyjill1026srjillyjill1026sr member
    Discretionary money is stuff like DH grabbing a beer with his friends or buying a new phone case, me getting a pedicure or a Starbucks, etc. Things that are not necessary and not part of our typical budget.
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  • kelisaidkelisaid member
    edited August 2014
    We follow a plan that I found somewhere on the interwebs and I can't remember now. The guy recommended paying bills twice a month on the 1st and the 15th, especially if you get paid twice a month (even if you don't it's a good practice to make sure everything gets paid if everything is not automated). 


    I created this sample excel spreadsheet to simulate what SO and I do, it mimics our own. I provided it in case anyone wanted to copy and use it for themselves. We each have our own personal checking accounts and then a joint checking account. You'll see on this spreadsheet that our incomes are listed and the dates we get paid on the bottom. Then I use some columns to calculate the percentage each person has deposited from their check into the checking account. The rest is deposited into our own personal checking accounts we use for whatever.

    Above the income calculations are all mandatory monthly payments separated by two sections - which gets paid on the first and which gets paid on the 15th. You can determine that on your own. Then it calculates how much money you need to pay all the bills due on the 1st and same for the bills due on the 15th. I have 2 columns to designate how much each person contributes to that bill. You really don't need to use this if you don't want to, but I have it detailed out that way because in our situation, one person many have wanted something the other person didn't want to pay for and thus the other person said they would pay for it out of their own paycheck (contributing more to the joint checking than their own checking account). Then you can see what each person needs to contribute to the checking account each pay period (if you get paid twice a month). 

    Then there is a portion that calculates total monthly income vs total monthly expenditures and what is left over from that which you can put into savings if you want or use it for whatever else.

    I also make sure to check off the bills I pay after I pay them so I know for a fact that I paid them without freaking out if I paid it or not - because I've been known to either pay bills twice in a month or not pay them.

    It's a good tool as well to see what you can actually afford to be spending your money on. Currently I'm working from home and make way less than I used to, so all of my money goes to the joint and we rely more so on SOs money in his own joint account to go out and do things.I was able to adjust my income in this spreadsheet, see what we could actually afford and remove services we could no longer afford due to a decreased household income. 

     

    I know this is lengthy! Sorry. OH I also hope this made sense. 

     

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U8FlPUnTUFYbRS9OtZbjm2E6NC3Gc-1BUQUbCgalCIU/edit?usp=sharing

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