Budget Pad Patter|3.4

[bestcee]

I end up in charge, mostly, of the budgeting and finance stuff around here. It's something that works for us because I like math and such. So, I wondered:
Do you budget? Is it your job? Is there a system you use?

 

[StefanieS]

My hubby is an accountant so I leave the finances up to him.
Generally he works out what we spend where and creates a year to date (past) and a budget (future) with that information.
I do discuss large purchases with him before hand. It works for us.

 

[HavaDrPepper]

Yes, I budget. Even more important now that I am retired.

As for a system, I don't use any specific one. My process has evolved over the years. Even though I majored and worked in accounting, I didn't follow through with a budget at home for many years. I never got into deep trouble financially but I did make some stupid decisions.

An online scrapbooking friend started talking about Dave Ramsey over 10 years ago and I started out reading his books. That led me to taking his Financial Peace University course. His main thing is to budget and only use cash by putting your money into cash envelopes at the beginning of the month. So I started doing that and stopped using the credit cards.

Fast forward a few years and the process has evolved. Whenever I go out to eat, I pay cash. When I go to the grocery I only use my debit card. I plan out my virtual envelopes at the beginning of every month and record everything on my array of spreadsheets I use. A lot of my spreadsheets have evolved from the forms he has in his books. I made them to reflect me and my situation.

I do have 1 credit card that I will use for online purchases. All of the purchases are budgeted. I have a separate small bank account connected to my paypal account and I budget money into that account each month for fun stuff (like digi supplies).

Budgeting turned my life around.

 

[amien1]

I just closed out our budget right before I came here! I do an excel spreadsheet for our budget every month. My hubby works at our credit union- so he has a good handle on whats what, but I am the person who budgets, balances, pays bills, etc. We are both on the same page as far as spending habits, where we are financially & our goals so it works well for us!

 

[kelley]

Well, I'm single, so unfortunately it's my job. I don't do anything too formal. I just write everything down in a notebook and figure it out each month. It's definitely not my favorite thing to have to do!

 

[BevG]

We use Quicken to track after the fact. I do the current cash flow, bill paying, and he does the investments, retirement accounts. We use our credit card a lot but it is set to automatically pay off the entire balance every month, so that keeps us from going crazy.

The hard times are when unexpected expenses pop up like the car breaking, or a doggie/cat illness, or wisdom teeth needing removal. I have wanted a new couch for years now but instead we have repaired the cat and dog multiple times and removed DD's wisdom teeth. Maybe this year??

 

[A-M]

My husband mostly looks after the budget as it is mostly his money that pays the bills. He keeps a notebook of all the bills and it goes back some years so he will at the end of each year work out how we are going with our finances. He works out figures to see how our money will do over the years ahead leading up to me being of age to receive a pension ( another 6 and half years to go ) - Ken is 13 years older than me so is already receiving an aged pension.

 

[IntenseMagic]

I'm the bookkeeper of the family, always have been through two marriages and my single parent years. It's the control freak thing in me and I'm the one who is more responsible . I don't think DH has any clue at any given time how much money we have in the bank. I tell him if we have money to spend or not. No strict budget, I have a notebook that I write everything down in and go from there. I pay all the bills the first of the month no matter when they are due, because that's when I get paid. Then we live on hubby's income throughout the month. We both have a credit card that we use through the month and then pay off. The points and cash back are a nice bonus. I've been in crazy debt (one of many reasons for my divorce), and I made it to debt free for the most part...in 2 more years my house and both cars will be paid for!

 

[Cherylndesigns]

My husband is in charge of the regular finances. I have my own "mad money" so I can pretty much do whatever I want with that. It's not unlimited (unfortunately) but I can use it for anything (within reason) that I want/need. He's much better than me with numbers, etc., so I'm happy to let him pay the bills.

 

[SeattleSheri]

It's me. The only part I hate is doing the taxes. I'd hire someone to do them but the hard part is gathering up all of the crap and I'd have to do that either way, lol. We don't have a budget, so it's just paying bills and managing accounts.

 

[Tree City]

We don't have a formal Budget-Budget, like with a spreadsheet and other smart financial tools lol! I keep saying "We should sit down and make sure we're on the same page," but we haven't lol. Maybe we'll do it this week. Thanks for the nudge, Courtney! We don't spend more than we bring in, but having a budget is of course a great idea.

 

[littlekiwi]

I should budget, it might keep me on track a bit more but I never have a blow out cause there isn’t enough money there to start with (the joys of government assistance).

 

[HavaDrPepper]

Look at a budget as spending your money on paper before you actually get it. It helps you to see where your money is going because 9 times out of 10, people who don't budget don't really know where the money is going. As long as they pay all their bills, they think things are just great.

The other thing I found when I started budgeting after realizing how I was wasting money, was I found more money to put towards retirement.

Good job to those that do budget and good luck to those that are considering it.

(Can you tell this is something I am passionate about??? )

 

[bonnenuit]

When my husband was forced to take early retirement from his previous job, developing a budget and learning how to stick to it was our first priority. It kept us afloat for several months before he was employed again. We still use the budget to guide us as we prepare for retirement in two months. DH pays the bills and enters everything into Quicken and also keeps track of our cash flow in his specially designed spreadsheet. I use Quicken just for my personal checking and credit card.

 

[rach3975]

DH started his professional life as a budget analyst for the government and still works in budget, so he's in charge of all things financial. For the most part, we're on the same page about spending. We have a budget and do our best to live within it. I wouldn't say we live frugally, but we spend reasonably and put a lot into savings, too. Right now our only debt is our mortgage, but our cars are 12 and 15 years old so we're going to replace one soon and will have to take on that debt for a few years.

 

[Scrapping with Liz]

Me! I budget, balance, pay bills. I usually keep my hubby up to date on where we are. He does all the taxes at the end of the year.

 

[bestcee]

An online scrapbooking friend started talking about Dave Ramsey over 10 years ago and I started out reading his books.

I read a lot of his books, and used to listen to his podcast. But it wasn't working for me. I ended up switching over to YNAB (You Need A Budget) and that has really resonated for me. Similar concepts.

I just closed out our budget right before I came here!

Um, that may or may not be why it was on my mind....Reconciliation!

Maybe this year??

Go for it! Hopefully DD won't grow anymore wisdom teeth...

I made it to debt free for the most part...in 2 more years my house and both cars will be paid for!

That's so awesome! 2 years is short to reach those goals!

I have my own "mad money" so I can pretty much do whatever I want with that

Oh! I like that! I think it's technically in our budget as "Fun money". I like mad money better!

We don't spend more than we bring in, but having a budget is of course a great idea.

I'm surprised at how much more money we have now that I started tracking it more regularly. It's not that income has changed really. It's just the knowing where it's going part. And seeing how much is spent eating out makes me go to the kitchen and cook!

He does all the taxes at the end of the year.

Sigh. I end up doing taxes too. But I let him make all the money right now.

 

[cfile]

My hubby is an accountant so I leave the finances up to him.
Generally he works out what we spend where and creates a year to date (past) and a budget (future) with that information.
I do discuss large purchases with him before hand. It works for us.

ditto... although the last two months I have been paying the bills so I know how he does everything as when I paid bills back in the day I wrote checks... he does a lot of on line banking so now my reconciliation and accounting principles come in to play. I, like Stefanie discuss big pay items... if I want a shirt or book or something little when I am out no big deal but I have always been in charge of the grocery budget and I get all excited when I am under budget. I then get to spend the difference on something else We continuously are under budget as we do a grocery list based on what we are having for the week and I do not do impulse buying so happy happy!

 

[Tree City]

have now that I started tracking it more regularly. It's not that income has changed really. It's just the knowing where it's going part. And seeing how much is spent eating out makes me go to the kitchen and cook!

That's my thinking too (excep the cooking part: DH loves to cook and rarely wants to go out lol). I also think that it's just a good idea to have a plan, and a budget is a plan. I'm a planner, I guess.

 

[Karen]

Yeah, the budget and paying bills is under my umbrella, but my hubby takes care of the retirement investments and recently he's been doing the taxes at the end of the year too. I have a spreadsheet that I use for our budget so we know approximately what "free" money we have each month. Of course that always changes as the month goes though. Lol. We also get an "allowance" for play month each month. We started that right up front when we got married because my hubby and I have totally different spending habits. I save until I want something and he blows through all his month at the beginning of the month. I knew that about us and this way he knows what he has to spend and not to ask for more. lol. It's one of the best decisions we made before getting married. This way we don't have to fight about money ever. phew!