How to make budgeting a reality

Sunflowerpatch

Hi, I have been keeping a very tight record of everything I spend for the last 3 years and I know I have over spent on eating out so this year I have cut that and am cooking everything at home. I want advice on how to budget properly and how to stick to it. Is there someone out there not necessarily an accountant, who can help with sorting out the budget from what the actual spend is and help me to go forward?

copperclock

You might have more luck on the Old School Moneysaving boards. Or, if you're in debt try the Debt Free Wannabe board.

datlex

copperclock wrote: »

You might have more luck on the Old School Moneysaving boards. Or, if you're in debt try the Debt Free Wannabe board.

Not sure if you have noticed the title of the board, however this is the "budgeting" board so the OP has posted in the correct place!. The fact that the vast majority of posts are around banking is irrelevant.

I would say OP the best way to budget is to piggy bank. Put money aside into separate accounts or into jars (whatever works for you) at the start of your pay period. Then only allow yourself to spend the amount in that pot (physical or account) on the specific thing it is allocated towards. Having everything in one place leaves you open to temptation to over spend on your budget.

Sunflowerpatch

Thank you this is a good idea!

Sunflowerpatch

I have been thinking an issue I have is that money comes in over the month in bits. Any idea on how to do that?

Jo_Blogs

Sunflowerpatch wrote: »

I have been thinking an issue I have is that money comes in over the month in bits. Any idea on how to do that?

You could still put money aside into separate accounts / jars as and when it comes in - each pot could equate to a different type of expense

Anthorn

Sunflowerpatch wrote: »

I have been thinking an issue I have is that money comes in over the month in bits. Any idea on how to do that?

Snap! I have my pension, part-time wages, rental income from caravans and income from savings accounts all paid on different dates during the month. The turning point for me was leapfrogging over a month so for example in month 3 I spend income from month 1. Or you could spend in month 2 the income from month 1 but there is not so much of a buffer. An idea I got from YNAB. Easy for me to do because I already had savings to smooth over the transition.

bobobski

I believe there is a specific YNAB tutorial on how to budget with irregular income - they're free and you don't need to be a YNAB customer to attend so you could look into that?

Dobbibill

I am a fan of the piggybanking method too.

set out two lists to start with
1 - all income throughout the month
2 - all pots you want to fund

Prioritise the pots eg - bills would be higher up the list than holiday savings simply because bills have a shorter due date but you will only contribute to holiday savings for a longer end goal.

When the bulk of your money comes in allocate every penny a job - bills, spending money, car repairs, holidays, EF and then allocate it to the pot.
This can be done manually, via standing orders or a mixture of both.

There should be one particular income you regard as the main for day to day living and work to that date each month.

Once you have set it up initially, it will become habit and you won't think about it on a month on month basis.

Ken68

Hi SP...you need also to identify and list the cheaper/cheapest alternatives for each spend.

datlex

Sunflowerpatch wrote: »

I have been thinking an issue I have is that money comes in over the month in bits. Any idea on how to do that?

Jo_Blogs wrote: »

You could still put money aside into separate accounts / jars as and when it comes in - each pot could equate to a different type of expense

I get paid weekly too. To be honest I would not like to go back to monthly pay. I find my money goes further being paid weekly as I have to be organised to ensure bills are covered.

I have a pay/spends allocation account, a bills holding account (where my money goes ready to be allocated to bills), various bill paying accounts (for rewards), savings accounts, card mirroring account (when I make a payment on my card I transfer in money into this account from my spends allocation or for larger saved for purchases a savings account so that when the card bill comes it can be paid IN FULL no direct debits come out of this nor do I withdraw cash or spend on this account).

My pay/spends account is where my weekly pay comes in. On pay day, I transfer a set amount into my bills holding account and a different amount into the savings account (this is a set amount plus any unspent funds from end of the last week). I am then left with a set amount I can spend. (Note CAN not MUST)

In order to work out how much I need to transfer each week into my bills holding account I have a spreadsheet. The amount does not vary each week and can be higher or lower than bills due this week. Over the month it is sufficient to cover all payments plus a built in extra.

The spreadsheet also shows when each direct debit is due from each of my bill paying accounts. On the pay day before the first payment is due on any account, I make a payment from my bills holding account to that account which will cover all payments due from that account for the month. This is repeated for each account.

I usual do it whilst having breakfast or on the way to work. (depending on what I am having for breakfast