Do you despise budgeting or feel overwhelmed by the thought of trying to create and maintain a workable budget?
Hop on over to Amy’s blog for another installment of The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget Book Club. She’s talking budgets (or lack thereof!) today. I think you’ll be encouraged by what she and her commentors have to say!
And if you want step-by-step instructions on setting up and sticking with a budget, be sure to get a copy of my book, The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget. I tackle realistic budgeting in chapter three–and I break it down into bite-sized pieces so it’s not overwhelming. And it just might change your whole financial situation!
Tiffany says
I think that in order to get any where successfully, you MUST have a game plan. If you want to be financially successful (whether that’s thousands in the bank or just paying all the bills each month), you must have a budget. Many people don’t realize that creating a budget isn’t constraining you – in fact it’s quite liberating! You know exactly what has to go out, so you then know what you have to “play” around with. Of course, most will advocate to save, but at least you know that even if you don’t, you will have only spent what you have allocated to spend.
Cassi says
We live on a budget and I love it! For the first 5-6 months my husband and I sat down and did it together. We discussed every decision and figured out what categories need more or less money. Towards the end of those months there was little discussion and mostly just my husband waiting for me to ask him a question (I write it all down) so we decided that we would talk about any changes we thought were needed for the upcoming month before that first paycheck came and before we put the budget down on paper. Now I write the whole thing out myself making adjustments that we discussed. It works great and we feel in control of our money which is the best feeling ever! We recently saved to replace our roof, replace our laptop, and we just paid off the last of our credit card debt this morning! None of that would have been possible without the budget. I hate to think of all those years where we threw money away because we didn’t plan where it was going! Tonight we are celebrating a big milestone for us (with money we budgeted for it of course!)! :o) Only 2 debts left-Van which will be paid off by the end of the year and my student loans which have such a low interest rate that they deserve to be at the bottom of the list…we are working our way through it all though!
Maegen says
What I have figured out is that budgeting works only if you remember that a budget is both a noun and a verb.
It doesn’t work to Budget if you don’t have a Budget!
And it doesn’t work to write a Budget but not follow it!
Amy says
Yes, yes, yes!
Meredith says
Whoa, first month on the cash envelope system and I put 80% more into savings than I normally do. Still, not a lot but 80% more! That’s how well budgeting works!!! My husband, who would probably rather use the debit card, was impressed.
Christina says
I was “fine” getting by without a budget, but then again, I had very little savings, a little debt, and had to borrow from “Bank of Mom and Dad” when something like the flywheel on my SUV went out ($2000 car repair). Yeah. I guess I wasn’t so fine, after all.
My mom pointed me in the direction of Dave Ramsey. I devoured his books “Financial Peace” and “The Total Money Makeover”. His points made so much sense, and he gave some good, practical, step-by-step approaches to righting the ship and getting on track. I’ve been implementing his principles by following the Baby Steps since 2007, and when I got married, my husband and I had already been through Financial Peace University together so we were both on the same page for set up and run our household budget, including establishing priorities.
Oh my goodness! Prior to meeting my husband, I had already become debt-free and started establishing some savings for an emergency fund (no more borrowing!). My husband came into the marriage with about $27,000 worth of debt, so when we got back from the honeymoon (which we paid cash for, by the way!), we tackled that little mountain. 12 months later, we were debt-free! God truly blessed us with overtime opportunities, an inexpensive little apartment, and we really cut the extras out of our budget. 7 months after that, we had fully-funded a 6-month emergency fund! 5 months after that, we put 20% down on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage for our home (with payments being less than 25% of our take-home pay—we got a really good deal on our house!)! Now, we’re saving up because we’re expecting our first child in June (11 months after buying the house)!
So yes, budgeting works! I will never go back to the old way of doing things, even though I didn’t think I was in “that bad of shape”. Recently, I came across a great software program that helps you set up a budget and track your spending. It’s called You Need A Budget (youneedabudget.com). I’m in no way affiliated with them, other than being a satisfied customer. I’ve been writing budgets for five years and, armed with the principles taught by Dave Ramsey, this program makes the whole process so much easier!
Yes, budgeting works!
Laura Vanderkam says
Does budgeting work? I think it depends on your temperament. If your recurring expenses are a relatively low percentage of your incoming cash, no one has extravagant tastes, and you can see your savings rising every month, then you may not need one. Of course, if that doesn’t describe you, then maybe you do…
Tips4savingmoney says
I must admit its not easy to set yourself on a budget, its hard to for go all the luxuries in your like. But once you start budgeting your money wisely the rewards are great. You can easily build your emergency fund and save for other things in like such as buying a new car or even building your pension fund. So I would say budgeting work for me.
The Frugal Free Gal says
I am a very frugal person but I have a hard time creating a budget. I take care of all of our finances so I have a great idea of what comes in and what goes out financially so this helps me stick to “smart spending” when I am out and about. I usually know if we have extra money to use to splurge and when we don’t. So long as I am paying the church, contributing and maxing out the IRAs each year, and fully funding what we think should go into our emergency fund, we use what is extra for our needs and then wants. I have to say though that He always takes care of us. I see it every month. God never fails to provide!
Angela says
I do budget my money but I feel like I still can’t get what I need..don’t make enough so I short myself on my grocery budget..living the poor life that no joke
Anonymous says
Angela, there are ways for you to budget and get everything you need. You just have to cut things out.
Instead of having a cable television service, check out movies and television shows from your local library. Check out books and read them. Cut your entertainment budget.
Try meatless meals, and incorporate stews and soups into your menu. You can make a pot of stew that you can eat on for two days for about $5!! With all the veggies in there, and with some lentils, you’d be amazed at how far you can stretch it.
The less you make, the more creative you need to get with your money. Crystal does a great job showing people how to stretch their money. Don’t get discouraged 🙂
Meredith says
I feel empowered when we make our budget!!! How you manage your money is more important than how much you make. By creating a budget, we got out of debt, paid cash for our son’s private speech and OT therapy (which weren’t covered by insurance), and are now working on our EF, even now with my husband on a second job lay off. I highly encourage everyone to write a budget, whether you’re in debt or not! People work so hard for their money, I don’t get why they wouldn’t work hard to manage it.
Leighann says
Heck yes! Budgeting really works! You know where you’re spending your money, you know where you can make cuts, you always know what your bills are going to be, and it makes life so much less stressful.
Six or seven years ago I didn’t have any sort of budget and, even though we were making nearly twice as much money, we kept bouncing checks! Now I budget very carefully and pay close attention to every single transaction we make. We make half the amount we did a few years ago but our savings have increased dramatically, even with two little ones!