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Started By
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Posted on 7/29/20 at 7:37 am
Posted on 7/29/20 at 7:37 am
(no message)
This post was edited on 8/5/20 at 7:53 am
14
Posted on 7/29/20 at 7:50 am to LSUTigersVCURams
spreadsheet
income vs expenses
i did one showing weekly income since i was paid weekly. then start plugging in you monthly set bills (rent/car notes/car insurance/cell phone/cable ect.) then pick an average power/cable/water
run that a out few months out and see if you income > expenses. if you are spending less then you make, then then remaining money is what you have to save/eat out/entertainment/emergencies.
far too often, the set items almost max out peoples income, so no room left for the 2nd category..
income vs expenses
i did one showing weekly income since i was paid weekly. then start plugging in you monthly set bills (rent/car notes/car insurance/cell phone/cable ect.) then pick an average power/cable/water
run that a out few months out and see if you income > expenses. if you are spending less then you make, then then remaining money is what you have to save/eat out/entertainment/emergencies.
far too often, the set items almost max out peoples income, so no room left for the 2nd category..
Posted on 7/29/20 at 7:53 am to LSUTigersVCURams
First thing I’d do is get a spending tracking app. Literally every purchase you make, punch it into your phone in a category (eating out, house, gas, etc). Doing it manual makes you aware of spending, completely. Do that for two months and you’ll see exactly where your money is going. Then, compare that to your net income. Adjust accordingly if necessary.
I use Expenses Ok app.
I use Expenses Ok app.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 7:55 am to LSUTigersVCURams
you won’t know what your expenses are until you start recording them. Do that for a couple of months then do the income/expenses balance sheet
Posted on 7/29/20 at 7:58 am to LSUTigersVCURams
Add up all your needs first. See what’s left after that and the rest is discretionary. Some invest their extra, some spend it on nicer vehicles, homes, high end restaurants, etc. absolutely nothing wrong with this just make sure you know your retirement plan and run the numbers on what you need to be putting away. I always recommend having some sort of emergency fund set aside. Really it’s how you want your lifestyle to be after your basic needs some are spenders some are high impact savers/ investors. Make sure you spend less than you make and plan for big ticket items on a monthly savings basis that way you have it and you aren’t scrambling at the last minute for a car down payment or replacing an ac unit. I always save a minimum of x amount On base Pay and any overtime Is invested and some put aside for vacations. I move the money out the account when I’m paid so I don’t spend it. I don’t track expenses per say since I know I can save x amount a month I don’t really care about the details of the rest.
This post was edited on 7/29/20 at 8:08 am
Posted on 7/29/20 at 7:59 am to LSUTigersVCURams
I'd suggest using You Need A Budget.
There is a monthly fee (or annual if you choose) but it really helps get a hold of your spending
There is a monthly fee (or annual if you choose) but it really helps get a hold of your spending
Posted on 7/29/20 at 8:06 am to LSUTigersVCURams
quote:
How do you make a budget?
Posted on 7/29/20 at 9:14 am to Fat Bastard
dont be a dick.
many many many people dont keep a budget, and dont even know how to do it even if they wanted to
we are supposed to be helping each other out here
many many many people dont keep a budget, and dont even know how to do it even if they wanted to
we are supposed to be helping each other out here
Posted on 7/29/20 at 9:43 am to LSUTigersVCURams
Do you have Excel? If so download one of these. LINK
If you do not have excel or are not familiar then I would download a tracking app.
If you do not have excel or are not familiar then I would download a tracking app.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 10:00 am to mylsuhat
(no message)
This post was edited on 1/10/21 at 11:33 pm
Posted on 7/29/20 at 11:56 am to LSUTigersVCURams
I like personal capital for tracking my expenses/investments/savings.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 2:13 pm to LSURep864
YNAB is great for people who don’t know much about budgeting. There are several videos on how to both budget and use the software.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 2:39 pm to LSUTigersVCURams
YNAB is a good starting point if this is your first attempt to balance your books. For better advice you could provide general information about your income and bills.
A first crucial step is identifying the things that you need to spend money on and the things you are doing impulsively but then regret. Setting up a regular savings approach and paying your bills immediately are helpful things to many people. The objective is artificial scarcity. Meaning you pay the bills, save some for retirement and emergencies and then (and only then) spend the remainder. Taking the money away from yourself so it can't be wasted is the trick.
If you overspend regularly and use credit cards then you should probably take those out of your wallet and only use them for necessary expenses you can afford to pay off completely at the end of the month. Discretionary spending is limited to the small amount of cash you put into your wallet once a week.
A first crucial step is identifying the things that you need to spend money on and the things you are doing impulsively but then regret. Setting up a regular savings approach and paying your bills immediately are helpful things to many people. The objective is artificial scarcity. Meaning you pay the bills, save some for retirement and emergencies and then (and only then) spend the remainder. Taking the money away from yourself so it can't be wasted is the trick.
If you overspend regularly and use credit cards then you should probably take those out of your wallet and only use them for necessary expenses you can afford to pay off completely at the end of the month. Discretionary spending is limited to the small amount of cash you put into your wallet once a week.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 2:43 pm to LSUTigersVCURams
A free option to YNAB is Intuit’s Mint.
Follow through with budgeting and it will change your life. Good luck.
Follow through with budgeting and it will change your life. Good luck.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 3:49 pm to LSUTigersVCURams
I use Dave Ramsey's Every Dollar program. It's free, works on desktop or has an app. Very easy to use.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 3:50 pm to LSUTigersVCURams
This is how wife and I did ours in excel.
Take home pay (after retirement & health deductions) * number of pay periods in years / 12 months
Pull all deductions from every credit card & checking account for 2019. Categorize each transaction appropriately (electricity, water..., dining, gas, household items, home improvements....). Make sure all monthly obligations are listed (mortgage, car note, student loan...). Include monthly savings for future items (vacation, UTMA account, home improvement projects...)
If something was a 1 time purchase (new dining room table, updated all windows), we remove them from the monthly amount as we have Home Imp savings.
When we started, we looked at all expenditures by month and set the highest month as the norm. This gave us some comfort to adjust as needed. ~10 years later, we use the average monthly amount.
We also use a weighted scale for how much we put in each account. My take home is 62% of the monthly income; therefore, I contribute 62% of the monthly expenses to the checking account & 62% to the savings/investment accounts (we have separate personal accounts).
Take home pay (after retirement & health deductions) * number of pay periods in years / 12 months
Pull all deductions from every credit card & checking account for 2019. Categorize each transaction appropriately (electricity, water..., dining, gas, household items, home improvements....). Make sure all monthly obligations are listed (mortgage, car note, student loan...). Include monthly savings for future items (vacation, UTMA account, home improvement projects...)
If something was a 1 time purchase (new dining room table, updated all windows), we remove them from the monthly amount as we have Home Imp savings.
When we started, we looked at all expenditures by month and set the highest month as the norm. This gave us some comfort to adjust as needed. ~10 years later, we use the average monthly amount.
We also use a weighted scale for how much we put in each account. My take home is 62% of the monthly income; therefore, I contribute 62% of the monthly expenses to the checking account & 62% to the savings/investment accounts (we have separate personal accounts).
Posted on 7/29/20 at 4:05 pm to LSUTigersVCURams
YNAB - you need a budget.
It’s the easiest way to do it by far. It’s a great starter tool.
It’s the easiest way to do it by far. It’s a great starter tool.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 5:19 pm to LSUTigersVCURams
quote:How much cc card debt did it take to say this?
Need to get finances under control.
Posted on 7/29/20 at 6:02 pm to Breesus
I’ve been a mint user for at least 5 years. I’m sure there are better apps now but I just link my banks and credit cards and everything is tracked monthly.
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