The importance of budgeting

FuzzyCub

Palema wrote: »

I don't use a spread sheet - I use an iPhone app called accounts. It took me a couple of months of things not balancing for me to realise if I added an account in there just for cash things would work better! I record every penny I spend or put into savings and can see the totals of each. Other than Facebook it is probably my most used app and I couldn't be without it!
P
X

I use this app too. It's the best £1.19 I've spent this year. When I phoned up the bank the other day one of the security questions was "can you tell me the approximate balance of the account." - nope I can tell you to the penny!

I never leave a checkout without popping in the details of my spending, seeing the balance reduce is a real disincentive to spending!

vka1

I can only agree with all of the above. It's lovely to feel in control.

I'm only in month 2 of spreadsheet obsession....when I have das where I don't feel like, reading here give me the kick I need to crunch the numbers. I read this, sorted my spreadsheet, now Im replying....i'll get there.

I have a question though. I've made some overpayments and when I do it throws my month's budget for that account out of sync, and looks like my actual 'spending' for that month look way over bduget. How do you record things or manage this soyour total doesn't look depressing 'red'?!

V

throughtherain

I echo all of the above. I am in utter disbelief when I look back and realise how much I buried my head in the sand! I didn't even know the login details to several credit cards! As a result I had no idea how much debt I had, which is unbelievable. I also never checked my online banking or statements so never really knew how overdrawn I was either. When I did check every few months I used to have palpitations waiting for the balances page to load :S

Now I too have a spreadsheet and check every day, and I feel much more in control even though I am more aware of my debt problems. It's great to be doing something about them at least!

chevalier

thank you for reminding me that i have a spreadsheet. this is just the distraction i need today so i will get it up to date

canidothis

vka1 wrote: »

I can only agree with all of the above. It's lovely to feel in control.

I'm only in month 2 of spreadsheet obsession....when I have das where I don't feel like, reading here give me the kick I need to crunch the numbers. I read this, sorted my spreadsheet, now Im replying....i'll get there.

I have a question though. I've made some overpayments and when I do it throws my month's budget for that account out of sync, and looks like my actual 'spending' for that month look way over bduget. How do you record things or manage this soyour total doesn't look depressing 'red'?!

V

I have to make sure that my monthly spends are lower than my income, so if there is not one item on my spreadsheet that I can shave down then I wouldnt make overpayments that would turn my spreadsheet red. With my fixed income Ive already worked out what my maximum overpayment can be.

If one of my cells turns red eg Food or Fuel then I would reduce my pocket money allowance to compensate. I guess if I got really stuck I would transfer some money back into the account - not my preferred choice tho. So it would be looking at each outgoing to see which one could be reduced and put the reduced amount into the cell that turned red (not keen on red :cool:)

lilly81

2 months after meeting my boyfriend I sat him down and got him to do a budget!

Im proud to say 6 months on he's cleared his car loan and creditcard debt :j

He now buys a 5 pack of chocolate bars at the supermarket to take to work instead of using the vending machine, because I pointed out that just because u have money doesn't mean you should get ripped off!

The funny thing about my friends is that they turn to me for money advice/best deals and say I should right a book, to which I say sorry but Martin Lewis beat me to it :rotfl:

SpendlessKaren

Can anyone recommend an easy spreadsheet to use as I would really like to give this a try ? thanks

Million_Percent

SpendlessKaren wrote: »

Can anyone recommend an easy spreadsheet to use as I would really like to give this a try ? thanks

Hi Karen,

The best option would be the Open Office Suite. This is an open-source (free) software bundle which is comparable in features to Microsoft Office and is more than sufficient for home needs. It contains a word processor, spreadsheet etc.
www.openoffice.org

Another option would be Google docs. This is a 'cloud' based option so your documents aren't stored on your computer but are accessed via your web browser. It's free and there is no software to install - you set up an account with Google and get started. The advantage of this is that you can access your files from any PC with internet acccess.
www.google.com/docs

Hope that helps.

foxgloves

As reformed 'spenders', we are completely sold on budgeting. It's a word that would have once made me think it was all about 'not having stuff', but actually, the reverse is true, as if we stick to our budget for all the boring stuff, it makes sure we have a bit of money spare for holidays & things. We will be debt-free (apart from the mortgage) for the first time this month. We are both in our 40s & estimate that we have been in debt since we were about 19. better late than never! It's a great feeling. All the card-tarting, finding cheaper providers, etc, is very worthwhile but in itself won't attack debt & prevent it reoccurring....the only way to do that is making a realistic budget & sticking to it. So I hold my hand up to being a budget anorak & join the rest of you!! :-)

tbourner

I'd just like to add that I'm absolutely rubbish at backing up my files. We have pictures and videos and music and all sorts, hundreds of GB of stuff - some of it is on Facebook etc but basically I very rarely back any of it up.


My 'Finances' folder is copied to my USB drive, and copied to my work server every time I edit it. 3 Copies in case I lose any.