Budget Basics

I have yet to come across a person who says "Oh my God, I can't wait to do the budget tonight!" With that said, we all (unless you found a money tree, and in that case, you better start sharing) need to budget. No matter how much money you bring in, you need to make sure you aren't over-spending.

Let me tell you how I first realized I needed to budget. When I got out "on my own" I thought budgeting meant calling the bank to hear the balance in my checking account before purchasing whatever it was I wanted. Needless to say, it wasn't good.

So, Here is what we do in our house. You don't have to follow it exact, but hopefully it gives you some ideas on how to create and follow your own budget plan.

The first thing we do is post a list of all "bills" and when they are due. I have this in a spreadsheet so I can easily add-on or remove a bill as life goes on. I also note if something is automatically withdrawn from our account so I don't forget to make sure the funds are there. I have overdrawn in the past from forgetting something was to come out. We keep this on our refrigerator. (If someone is going stop over, it will be removed from sight)

The other budgeting tip I have is to track yourself. About every 3 months or so, I print out our bank report for a full month. I then go through it and highlight all fast food debits in one color and all other unnecessary spending in another color. I then add the totals together. This keeps us on track as to not throw away our money. (There is a birthday gift amount blacked out in case the birthday person sees this.)

I love to hear tips and tricks other people find works for them, so feel free to comment.