One of the coolest things I learned from Darlene was how to budget. Nobody likes surprises when bills come in, so budgeting helps you breathe easier all month long.It's easy - buy yourself one of those 20 or 40 column ledgers. Label each column the name of a regular bill or expense, along with the amount and which pay (mid or end month) it comes out of. Leave room at the right side for 'balance', 'withdrawal', 'deposit'. Whenever you get paid, put the amount needed to cover an upcoming expense in that column. The columns are supposed to add up to the balance (withdrawal and deposit excepted). When a bill comes in, you simply deduct the amount from the appropriate column (leaving zero). What's left from each pay can be divided up between a savings, spending or whatever other columns you've identified. We even have a column for vacation. It's a great system, because you get a much better feel for how much your money can stretch. You can even reserve columns for items you need to save for - like a new couch, or a dishwasher.
2 comments:
or save a tree and use you 200 and some column ledger on your computer called excel.
It's my personal choice. I tried using Excel for my ledger. But I suck at Excel. I also don't trust my computer to really important personal financial data - call me paranoid. If you want to, then yes - use Excel - save a tree. After all, trees can't be re-planted or anything. Nah - it's much better to dig a few open-pit mines and build a computer to do it.......[frown] Dammit, there I go being argumentative before my morning coffee.
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