Poll: How Often Do You Write Out Your Budget?
Filed under: Blogging, Money, Polls
I’ve been talking a lot about finances this week and I thought it might be time for a reader discussion on the topic that has been on my mind lately - “How often do you write out your budget?”
New Update: New Polling Plugin
I have added a Poll to the site so cast your vote and then discuss why you voted what you voted in the comments here. If you are reading this in a RSS reader, then head on over to the site and cast your vote.
Share your own experiences and tips on how you manage and budget your finances while keeping the debt monster away.
What’s worked for you?
What hasn’t worked for you?
What would you recommend for someone just starting out in writing a budget?
I’m looking forward to reading your responses. The poll will go for about 5 days.
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June 20th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
I’ll start this out. We write out (copy and paste from excel and change the data) every month. This has been working for almost 9 months now and it has been wonderful.
We’ve tried other methods in the past, such as the “Paper Napkin Budget” or the “Sticky Note Budget” and I also started using Microsoft Money a while back to track our finances (which I still use), but budgeting in that never helped either.
I recommend the Zero-based budget for anyone starting out or starting again.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Well, mine is monthly, but that’s only because I’m married to such a good provider who manages our finances so well. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’d be in the “never written out a budget” category.
One of the many, many reasons I got the better end of the deal when we got married.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Mine is on a monthly basis since the Dave Ramsey class. Now, this last month or so, I’ve been kinda bad and have ignored the budget much to my wife’s chagrin, but come next month, I plan on getting right back on track.
I use excel for our budget and I do the checkbook stuff in quicken, which creates really nice reports of everything imaginable with your finances.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:26 am
I also write out a budget every month, but I usually tweak it on or around the 15th, since I get paid twice a month. I use excel for both my budget and balancing my checkbook. I used to have Quicken on my old PC, but I really didn’t use all the features it offered, so I just set up a spreadsheet in Excel when I got rid of that computer.
One thing I’d reccomend for someone just starting out is to have some sort of accoutablilty partner. If you’re married, that’s kind of built in, but if you’re not married then a roommate or friend will work as well. Someone who will ask you if the new shoes you’re wearing were actually in your budget, or will call you on using your debit card at a restaurant (for those on the cash only system, which I reccomend). When I first started living on a budget, my roommate and I were both doing it. Knowing that someone was going to be asking me questions about how I spent my money helped me develop the discipline I initially lacked on my own.
June 22nd, 2007 at 8:56 am
I do mine monthly, in Excel and update it for the following month, noting actuals and dates paid on the bills.
We have had alot of success in working this way, and for the few months that we did not keep up with it. We overspent and nothing went into savings.
It works if you work it.