Today I want to talk about the "B" word. You know the one... BUDGET. It is easily my least favorite word, along with "running" and "homework." I've never been great with managing my money, but with all of the expensive things coming up in my life, I have to try to learn how to be pretty quickly. I've actually been doing really well this past month, since I have been trying to make a conscious effort to be more responsible in that area of my life.
To help myself, I created a worksheet that outlines everything from my weekly income, credit card & bank account balances, expenses, and savings. It has really helped me to understand where every penny goes each month. By thinking of things in this way and filling in the blanks of my worksheet, I am easily able to see what my "overflow" is, which would be my spending money. I think that aspect was especially important for me because it has helped me to see what I really can and cannot afford each week. Before, I would just go swiping my debit card all around town without a care in the world, not really keeping track of where my money was going. Now I am much more aware and selective of what I choose to spend money on because I have an actual number in my head that I know I need to stick to each week.
The worksheet I created keeps me on track and accountable by clearly outlining my finances. After developing this worksheet, I thought it might help some of you as well! I decided to make it available as a free download for all you lovelies, and leave blank lines so you can customize if for your own specific needs.
I hope that this worksheet helps you as much as it has helped me so far!
What are your thoughts about budgeting? Do you have a system? Tell me, friends!
What are your thoughts about budgeting? Do you have a system? Tell me, friends!
I started working about 7 months ago and decided that I should get into the habit of budgeting early, so it's easier to get into the groove of spending less. I know I still have a lot of things to improve, in terms of budgeting. I'm currently using an app that has a budget for each category I create and I can see how much I've spend in that category and how much I have left to spend. I think it's a great app and it helps me to see how much I'm spending.
Your worksheet is so organized! I will have to give it a try. I like seeing the breakdowns of each category, by week. Sometimes I feel like the money I save for my savings and traveling is just floating around. With your worksheet, you can see exactly how much you're spending/saving.
Ahh, I feel exactly the same way about budgeting. That worksheet looks like a perfectly simple & easy way of keeping track of everything, though!
Have you heard of Mint? They have an app and a website -- basically you link it up to your bank account and it keeps track of everything for you. You can set up a budget for different types of purchases and create savings goals... and it can send you notifications if you are getting close to going over budget. I've found it to be supersuper helpful.
Glad I could help! Definitely let me know how it works out for you :)
Yeah I recently downloaded Mint! I linked everything up, but I am kind of lazy to input my income and everything haha but maybe this week I'll try again. It seems like a great app and it is nice that it tells me when all my bills are due.
I have seen a few apps like that, but I think I am old fashioned and just need a simple pen/paper! I hope that this worksheet helps you and the reasons you mentioned are exactly why it has been working for me. It is also much easier for me to think of things one week at a time, rather than the whole month at once. Let me know how it works for you!
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