I'm awful at budgeting money. Help?

Question

I have a good income but my budgeting skills are really poor. Can someone please help me with how to start a budget & stick to it?

Answer 1

You need to write down what your bills are each month. Some bills vary, like heat, water, electric, so estimated maybe $10-$20 more per month for that. Divide by 4 (or 2 if you get paid bi-weekly) so you know how much money you need from each paycheck to pay those bills. I always add another $10-15 to this amount, just to be safe. Put that money in the bank every week so you know that your bills are paid for. The rest is for whatever else you need. Remember to include in that figure money for food. Don't spend everything that is left, but try to buy yourself ONE thing special for yourself every month, even if it's just a c.d. or pair of shoes. Budgeting really is that simple. I have the amount I need every week direct deposited so I really never "see" that money in my check, that way I don't spend it.

Answer 2

Sounds to me like you have identified the wrong culprit as to where the weakness lies. I would say that you have a *spending* problem rather than a budgeting problem.

If you have a good income, then you should not be spending all of the money coming in, and you shouldn't have to budget in the first place. I too have a good income, but do not budget, I do however keep track of my net worth on a monthly or so basis.

Buy and read the book "Your Money or Your Life"

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Independence/dp/0140286780/sr=8-1/qid=1161616812/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6388868-9549545?ie=UTF8

You will learn that many of your expenses do not actually bring you more pleasure, but less.

Cut your expenses, do yourself, your family, your bank account, your future and the earth a favor.

Answer 3

The answers above are good. But all the software, websites, and books in the world won't help unless you develop some self discipline. If you try to go "cold turkey" on the spending right away, you'll probably quit after a couple weeks. How about trying to cut expenses a little at a time? Let's say you eat lunch out 5 times a week. Cut that back to 3 and brown bag it for 2 days. Do that for a month then you can cut back more. But maybe keep one day as a bonus day...something to look forward to after 4 days of brown bagging.

Or cut lattes out and drink standard coffee.

Or only have a drink at a bar/pub (if you do that) when they are on special.

and so on.

Answer 4

I personally use Quicken. I put in all of my bills like mortgage, insurance, car payment, etc. Every expense that you can control, I enter as a certain amount. I also enter a specific amount to be saved back (it's nice if you send it to savings or increase the deduction for your 401K). You want to be realistic with expected expenses, but don't be a skin flint either. Also, I try to predict any car expenses such as oil changes, repairs, mechanical maintenance, etc.. You know what you have been spending and what you can control if you really want to. Putting money away where it is not so easy to get (such as an IRA or 401K or a credit union savings) helps to curb your excessive spending. I usually take out a certain amount of cash from each paycheck to cover that period of time. Good luck - it does take some discipline to stick to it.

Answer 5

The best way to keep to a budget for me is for me to bring the amt. of money in my budget. Then, I spend the maximum, which is the budget. If I cannot afford an item, then I can only put it back on the shelf. Soon, I can go out with more money soon afetr I have learnt to spend less! :)

Answer 6

I think the key to managing finances is tracking net worth, so that when you get to the end of the month you don't think "wow, look at my new big screen TV", you think "crap, my net worth is $5,000 lower than it was a month ago"!

Once you establish net worth goals then overspending becomes the evil force that threatens to rob you of your dreams.

Answer 7

Take 2 100 dollar bills and put them in a locked jar and dont throw away the key.

Answer 8

try this site http://www.debtsteps.com/