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Budgeting

December 26th, 2011 at 06:40 pm


I need to do a lot in this category. I have vague ideas where my money goes and comes from, but its been a while since I've looked at specific financials.

Its hard for me to care in too much detail when my mortgage is so high. I pay $2600/month (includes taxes). So adding up my $3 coffees spent once a week seems a bit silly. But I really should do it so I can actually quantify this view, and perhaps the numbers won't actually be like my perceptions.


Here's a good place to start. Add to my TODO...

Text is http://financialplan.about.com/od/budgetingyourmoney/tp/budgeting-101.htm and Link is
http://financialplan.about.com/od/budgetingyourmoney/tp/budg...

Posted in Budgeting, To Do Lists | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Budgeting”

  1. gamecock43 Says:
    December 26th, 2011 at 07:13 pm 1324926838
    1324926838

    I agree that you need to add in all those expenses. It will give you a real sense of where you can cut back and what your indulgances actually cost on the long term range.

  2. Tightwad Kitty Says:
    December 26th, 2011 at 07:37 pm 1324928235
    1324928235

    I have been tracking all my money for the last 30 years and I have been very strict in totalling up since being on a pension for the past 13 years.
    As I always was on top of my bills but not on my living day to day expenses.

    Want tracking daily and totalling your budget monthly does help you find areas to cut back on if you need find money in hurry, you then can cut back in your over spending area without cutting back too much in other areas.

  3. baselle Says:
    December 27th, 2011 at 12:27 am 1324945657
    1324945657

    The exercise is all about focus. If you track it even to the coffee candy bar level, either you spend less or you understand/are happy with how you spent your money. As you lose focus, your spending goes up.

  4. EarlyRetirementJoy Says:
    December 30th, 2011 at 07:23 pm 1325273035
    1325273035

    The other purpose for tracking daily is it forces you into a state of conscious vs. nonconscious spending. So often our spending is done without real awareness, which often leads to too much spending and not enough joy about it. By having to stop and reflect on whether you really want to take out your spending notebook and mark the item down, you can begin to assess what purchases add to your life, vs those that simply add to the stress level in your life (i.e., when the credit card bill comes you feel absolute dread).

    I was honestly shocked at how my nickle and dime habits added up after I'd been tracking my spending for a couple of weeks. And that helped me begin to identify those spending habits that really needed to go.

  5. EarlyRetirementJoy Says:
    December 30th, 2011 at 07:38 pm 1325273931
    1325273931

    My apologies - I just noticed that I restated in a slightly different way what baselle also stated. Which goes to show just how important we both think tracking is! :-)

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