It is true, as much as I love budgeting I also hate it. Having to track every penny is annoying. Trying to stay within budgeted categories stresses me out. But I also love budgeting. Without it I would spend endlessly. I also like to be able to look back and see how much money I spent in any one category.
It has taken me a long time to create a budget that works for me and it has a few essential components.
- I don’t care about categories as long as I stay within my total budget.
- Savings will always be a part of my expenses, as if it is a regular bill.
- I can categorize something as cash and then I don’t have to worry about how I spend it.
- I use my budget as my checkbook/credit card tracker. It keeps me organized and I know when I’ve paid things off.
- I keep track of how much money I have left per day. This gives me a sense on how well I’m budgeting out the month.
Below is an example of my budget. On the top I keep track of my net worth every month. Then comes my fixed expenses – from cell phone bill to savings. Finally, I live on whatever money is left over. I can spend it however I want as long as I stay in budget. Some months I spend a lot on food, others on yoga. On the right side I do have a place to categorize my expenses. But I categorize them after I spend not before. In my example I would have $870 left for the rest of the month.
Do you believe in budgets? If so, how do you budget?
