I can't make a budget work for us.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
I can't make a budget work for us.
10
Fri, 01-16-2009 - 10:01pm

I can not get a budget to work for us. I have been

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-20-2005
Fri, 01-16-2009 - 10:44pm

Sorry you're having trouble with your budget.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 01-17-2009 - 12:34am

I know people swear by set in stone budgets, but I've always had a hard time making them work for us. I budget (I'm using the term loosely here) in a way that works for us. It may not be how others view a "budget" but it works for us.


I simply write down everything that is due each month, the day it is due and when we'll receive a late fee if it's not paid yet. Then I take our paychecks and I figure when everything will be paid without getting any late fees added onto things. Some months it works out perfectly and other months? Not so much. I try and avoid late fees at all costs because why should we pay these companies MORE money? (NOTE: We do not have credit cards so by late fees I am simply talking about the cable company or cell phone company).


I think as long as you have a good grasp on what you owe, when it's due and such you'll do just fine. You don't need everything set in stone.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Sat, 01-17-2009 - 1:38am

There's other ways to budget.....let's think out of the box.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
Sat, 01-17-2009 - 2:12am

Mary Ann,


I am also in the budget per pay period, not per month group.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-05-2006
Sat, 01-17-2009 - 7:45am
Hey, congrats on the brand new pregnancy! How exciting...I hope you are feeling well. I know the first few months was my least favorite part about pregnancy.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-05-2006
Sat, 01-17-2009 - 7:52am

Hi Mary Ann, I have also done a budget depending on when I would get paid. I would take all of my bills, add them all up for a 12 month period, divide it by 52 so I would know exactly how much I needed per check to cover my monthly bills. I would take that money each week and set it aside, then I knew that I would always have enough for my bills each month. Each paycheck, I'd take out the amount I needed that week for groceries and gas and that's all I had to spend. Once it was gone, it was gone. Anything leftover would get divided into different accounts (on paper, not actual different accounts) for clothing expenses, savings, car expenses etc. I followed the debt proof living plan for awhile by Mary Hunt and it worked very well. She suggests different accounts for everything but I find that a little confusing.

But overall, you don't need a hugely complicated budget. I don't work with a set in stone budget either. I just try to stick to my Quicken Calendar. I plan everything out in there and I don't spend anything that's not already planned and budgeted in the calendar. And i have you to thank for the Quicken idea!

Well, I hope you don't get too frustrated by this budget thing, it really is hard, that's why no one does it!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2003
Sat, 01-17-2009 - 11:19am
I had the same problem when I tried to do an all ecompassing budget but it didn't work. I now use the same system that several of the PP's mention and budget pay period to pay period. Since budeting to the penny doesn't work for me, I allow myself an allowance of $100 a week for food and entertainment. Its not very detailed, but I can track it and see where I am spending it. Its not overly complicated and it keeps me accountable which I think is the point!

Bex -


"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift -thats why its called the present."


Bex -

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 01-17-2009 - 1:52pm
What we do is add up all the monthly bills and divide it by 2. That much goes into a separate account. I include annual expenses in my monthly expenses (take the expense and divide by 12). For example, our annual real estate tax is around $2600, which is $216 a month or $108 a pay period. DH gets paid biweekly, but since the bills don't always fall so that we have enough money if we divide our annual expenses by 26, we just assume 2 pay periods a month and then we have two "extra" paychecks a year. This works out OK as long as we don't use the account we use for the bills for anything else. Our spending money (gas, groceries, anything that's not a bill) comes out of our other account. Where we run into problems is that doing it this way there's not much to save for unexpected expenses like car repairs, home repairs, etc. The spending money isn't really budgeted, but we're working on that because we tend to run out of money in that account and then dip into the account for the bills.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Sat, 01-17-2009 - 3:35pm

ladies


Here is where I am stuck.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2008
Mon, 01-19-2009 - 11:44am

Hey Mary Ann,


Know the feeling.......it does look good on paper, right?


Norma

Norma


"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus