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Nifty Thrifty:  Budgeting for first time - help!  |
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missusprim
True Blue Farmgirl
400 Posts
Karen
Fostoria
Ohio
USA
400 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 12 2011 : 2:32:52 PM
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Well, it's high time hubby and I start budgeting and finding out where our money goes and where it shouldn't. I dearly want to start a budget but I don't want it to be so complicated that we get overwhelmed and don't follow it.
Any ideas on something simple?
http://onceinnabluemoon.blogspot.com/
"Never trust a fart." Jack Nicholson in The Bucket List |
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CurlysQuilts
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Sarah
Northeast Kingdom
VT
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Jan 12 2011 : 6:09:37 PM
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Do you know where your money goes? Before you even start a budget, I would suggest both of you keeping a journal of EVERY purchase you make for a month. Then get together and see where your money is going. There are so many ways to budget, but none of them will work if you aren't aware of what you are spending in the first place.
It can be a little overwhelming and intimidating starting on a budget, but I can say with confidence that it is the best thing you can do. Once you find your budget, you'll find the freedom that comes from having one.
Sarah
Curly's Quilts
www.curlysquilts.etsy.com
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Jan 12 2011 : 7:52:08 PM
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Hi Karen! I really like the financial calculators at Crown Financial Ministries. http://www.crown.org/ Just go to the bar at the top of the page, highlight the "Tools" button, scroll down to click on "Calculators," and then the first three calculators on the page that comes up are to help you set up your budget. The second one actually fills in your guideline percentages in each spending category, and when you enter your annual gross income and annual taxes (as well as your tithe, if that is something you do), it will automatically calculate guidelines for spending in the "usual" spending categories people have. You can, of course, adjust your budget to fit your needs, but it really does help you gain perspective about reasonable spending within your income. And the entire website is chock-full of information, including debt-payoff, loan and mortgage calculators, and the site also discusses many other areas of concern such as life insurance, savings, retirement, etc. It's an excellent resource, I assure you; so please do check it out when you can! Good luck! - Nini
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
Farmgirl Sister #1974 |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Jan 12 2011 : 8:06:26 PM
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I have found that if you take a few minutes each evenin to write out what was spent it is most effective. We kept all our reciepts everyday and then wrote them down at night. I then inventoried the list at the end of each week and kept a record of types of spendin.
I had a total for sodas and snacks bought while drivin, food for the house, gas, utilities, clothes, toy for kids, toys for adults, money spent on others, and smokes. I hate the last one the most, but it is a work in progress.
I actually found that we were spendin more on sodas and snack while drivin than on food for the house! We are only allowed one soda a day on the days we go to town and no snacks. I keep a small tote bag for throwin snacks and sodas from the house in hangin by the door. I have found that if you don't deny yourself totally you will do better.
I also learned that we weren't able to say no when asked to join others for shoppin or goin out to eat. To solve that problem we decided to announce our trips to go shoppin and out to eat to our friends, that way we feel like we still get that time together without any guilt at sayin no other times. We do enjoy carpoolin to the big discount stores that are an hour away, and it lets us kinda control the timin of the trips. We try to stress that we are limited on time so the out to eat trip for the month is at a later time. Two trips with our friends every month! Yea!
Take it slow if you have the time. Make sure you keep as acurate as possible on your records. Be sure to leave a little wiggle room in the budget if you have the money for it. If you're already in a crunch, there are a few places to get help in a hurry. Do some computer research for your area and you might even call your bank. I got some really great budgeting papers and articles from a bank website!
Good luck! You can email me directly if I can be of any help. Really!
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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Nifty Thrifty: Budgeting for first time - help! |
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Budgeting for first time - help!
