How detailed is your budget and do you keep a spending diary?

tara747

I keep a very detailed monthly budget spreadsheet that takes me right to the end of this year, when I should have £30,000 saved. I'm also about to do up my budget for 2010, when I hope to up the ante and save £11,000 more plus whatever pay rise I get.

I also have a daily spending diary in which I record EVERY PENNY I spend, while subtracting it from my budgetted totals so I can see how I'm doing through the month. It started off tiresome but is now as natural as brushing my teeth every day.

It's actually fascinating to see what I spend and on what, and has definitely stopped me wasting money. I also highlight in blue items that need to be returned because I don't like them/they don't fit. So I never forget to return anything within the specified period! :T

(I really need to get a life) :rotfl:

What do you do?

LeeSouthEast

My budget is extremely well managed, and worked out 12 months ahead.

I've yet to step into the spending diary, primarily because I want to sort one out in Excel that automatically talks to my budget spreadsheet... and I've not had the time yet.

Lokolo

I sort my future budget when I know what I am doing. At the moment I know I am working until June. For definate. It may go on after but may not, I don't know when I am going to university for my final year yet either, so I can't budget further than June.

I record everything, but not by date. I just do it by month.

It's not really a budget though, more of a diary so I know what I've spent and where, although I do use it to work out how much I could save and by when.

glider3560

I keep a spending diary too. Mine is simply just a sheet on a speadsheet that has a column the date, amount, name of shop, where the shop was (helps jog my memory) and a brief description of what I bought (e.g. groceries, shirts, etc) Absolutely everything that I spend my money on in recording in this spreadsheet. I always ask for a receipt in shops to ensure that I remember to record everything. For "nights out" where you might not remember where/how much you spent, I make a note of the amount of cash in my wallet before going out and then the next day subtract what I've got left.

That sheet on the spreadsheet is then linked to another sheet where all the maths takes place. As a student, I find it easiest to budget an academic year in advance but break everything down by term. The spreadsheet works out how much money I have left each week/term as well as adding up all my bills plus providing me with statistics like average weekly spend.

I then use Microsoft Money to keep track of what I have in each account and to produce lovely reports of things like my total income or my "net worth" (which is very low due to the huge student loan!)

tara747

glider3560 wrote: »

I keep a spending diary too. Mine is simply just a sheet on a speadsheet that has a column the date, amount, name of shop, where the shop was (helps jog my memory) and a brief description of what I bought (e.g. groceries, shirts, etc) Absolutely everything that I spend my money on in recording in this spreadsheet. I always ask for a receipt in shops to ensure that I remember to record everything. For "nights out" where you might not remember where/how much you spent, I make a note of the amount of cash in my wallet before going out and then the next day subtract what I've got left.
...

I do this too!!! Thought it was just me! :rotfl:

Oooh, I want to use Microsoft Money too but no idea how!!!!

Mudd14

I use my iPhone app to track day to day spending then I ahve a spreadsheet showing a cashflow forecast for the next 3 years for me and the wife. Everything is budgetted to the penny.

anna42hmr

i have just started using this site for a spending diary i find it good so far and can work out % of spending on certain categories (ie food etc) http://www.spendingdiary.com/main.php

atlantis187

Mudd14 wrote: »

I use my iPhone app to track day to day spending then I ahve a spreadsheet showing a cashflow forecast for the next 3 years for me and the wife. Everything is budgetted to the penny.

Whats the app called mate because im interested in this.

Thanks

eschaton

xxxxxxxxxx

D1zzy

Soooooooooooo glad I'm not married to any of you lot. :eek:
Its bad enough sharing a life with someone who's plotted every gas/elec bill for the last 30+ years, if we'd had too record every receipt as well, I'd a bin long gone

anna42hmr

D1zzy wrote: »

Soooooooooooo glad I'm not married to any of you lot. :eek:
Its bad enough sharing a life with someone who's plotted every gas/elec bill for the last 30+ years, if we'd had too record every receipt as well, I'd a bin long gone

LOL i have decided to only do the spending diary for a few months any way just to open my eyes up to how much i spend on c%!p that i dont want/need!