i love it. i'm not sure where i would be without it either. i'm surprised at the amount of my friends that have NEVER budgeted or even thought about budgeting a day in their lives.

there is nothing like being able to go to the bank to withdraw your OWN money...no need to ask permission....no need to wait for approval. just key in your PIN and take it out. :)

i always try to advise my friends to budget, just so that they can see where their money's going.

another thing i think people tend to mess up on is the fact that.....if you were getting by nicely on having $200 spending/pocket money for two weeks (all other bills paid for/monies set aside....including gas, tithes, phone cards, hair appt's, etc...), you don't need to increase your spending money if you get a raise. that's just MORE money that you can put into your account.

i think most people have their priorities mixed up, which is why, their future is the last thing they think about. but thank GOD for my MOM (hiiiii mom....;)) b/c without her....i'm sure i'd be one of those broke chicks.....living from paycheck to paycheck.

You've heard it say that you should consider using a budget to help you better manage your money. Do you use a budget and do you feel its working?

Well my hubby like to buget & he is great at it too.

i love it. i'm not sure where i would be without it either. i'm surprised at the amount of my friends that have NEVER budgeted or even thought about budgeting a day in their lives.

there is nothing like being able to go to the bank to withdraw your OWN money...no need to ask permission....no need to wait for approval. just key in your PIN and take it out. :)

i always try to advise my friends to budget, just so that they can see where their money's going.

another thing i think people tend to mess up on is the fact that.....if you were getting by nicely on having $200 spending/pocket money for two weeks (all other bills paid for/monies set aside....including gas, tithes, phone cards, hair appt's, etc...), you don't need to increase your spending money if you get a raise. that's just MORE money that you can put into your account.

i think most people have their priorities mixed up, which is why, their future is the last thing they think about. but thank GOD for my MOM (hiiiii mom....;)) b/c without her....i'm sure i'd be one of those broke chicks.....living from paycheck to paycheck.

That's great to hear. keep up the good work ,you get an A in my book sis.

I really like the idea of functioning on a "strict budget" but that's just the problem, when ever I say that I am not going to spend this money on "A, B or C, I spend it faster than the time I took to say i'm not going to spend it.
On average I spend way to much money on a daily basis, and I know this but I don't know how to control myself. I need Dr. Phil! Badly!
Here's routine spendage in one day..
I give both of my son's money every money for lunch. $3 and $4 dollars respectively.
Media guide $3 dollars
I buy my traditional "stew fish" breakfast from Mr. T's and a gatorade. $13 dollars.
I put gas in my car every two days. $30 dollars. So for a day, that will be $15 dollars.
Office supplies and other things for office $35 - $75. So lets say $55 dollars.
For lunch I spend about $25-30 dollars everyday. So that's $27.50 cents.
Afternoon snack that I bring for the whole family is like $20 - $25 dollars.$22.50 cents.
This is the a daily routine, so don't add no emergency fees or school fees and movies/field trip fees/fun day fees or none of that.
I spend about $145 - $150 everyday.

Do you have a plan for how you'd like to use your money?
Having a plan helps you to focus your resources on the goals and reduce unnecessary spendings. Without "SMART" goals then you are governed by your circumstances. Making it unlikely that you will ever achieve financial independence, which should be one of your goals.

i love it. i'm not sure where i would be without it either. i'm surprised at the amount of my friends that have NEVER budgeted or even thought about budgeting a day in their lives.

there is nothing like being able to go to the bank to withdraw your OWN money...no need to ask permission....no need to wait for approval. just key in your PIN and take it out. :)

i always try to advise my friends to budget, just so that they can see where their money's going.

another thing i think people tend to mess up on is the fact that.....if you were getting by nicely on having $200 spending/pocket money for two weeks (all other bills paid for/monies set aside....including gas, tithes, phone cards, hair appt's, etc...), you don't need to increase your spending money if you get a raise. that's just MORE money that you can put into your account.

i think most people have their priorities mixed up, which is why, their future is the last thing they think about. but thank GOD for my MOM (hiiiii mom....;)) b/c without her....i'm sure i'd be one of those broke chicks.....living from paycheck to paycheck.

It nice to hear of a sista budgeting.

I dont have an official budget, I dont make that much (i work 14-21 hours a week) nor have that much different expenses to have on (basically my COB tuition, books etc).

So basically its take money out to buy lunch and bus, leave the rest for school fees for the upcoming semester and if any left over buy something for muh self.

My ppls budget and it works wonders.

I have been using a budget system for over 10 years now..Without it I know that I would have been in debt up to my eye balls!!
I have a sheet that I make up every year that has all of my bills on it and each month as I pay the bills I would put a tick next to themIt works perfectly..
Every month I know what my average monthly bills are. What I also do is quote the utilitiy bills higher than they usually are and if they come lower (which they usually do) that's my extra spending money because my savings is already calculated in the budget.
I also do extra work on the side and the monies from those are split between my wife and I...
Believe me, if you have a decent system in place it will work and it definitely helps you to save otherwise you always find yourself overspending and in most cases running a deficit!!!

Thanks for your comments. You seem to have a really good system going there not only for controlling expenses but generating additional income as well.
What percentage of your income would you say you save each month? It's a question I'm asking in another thread "How Much Can You Save?" and would like your comment...

It nice to hear of a sista budgeting.

Not only a sista but a young sista who says that her mother is the influence she uses for her money habits. I think more parents should begin having this kind of influence on their children...

I dont have an official budget, I dont make that much (i work 14-21 hours a week) nor have that much different expenses to have on (basically my COB tuition, books etc).
So basically its take money out to buy lunch and bus, leave the rest for school fees for the upcoming semester and if any left over buy something for muh self.
My ppls budget and it works wonders.

Bugeting has nothing to do with the amount of money or bills you may have. In fact the less money you have the more concern you should be about how it is spent.
Bugeting is a financial tool that allows you to manage the inflow and outflow of your financial resourses, two very distinct roles. Unfortunately most persons only uses it to manage outflows. Which has created a negative attitude toward this very vital planning tool.
If you are to achieve any degree of financial freedom you will have to use this tool.

Budgetting is good I guess...lol. j/k.
Does it count if it's all mental and you don't keep receipts or write anything down? I'm sure having a spreadsheet or a book would be beneficial, but it also seems like a chore. Any loopholes?

p.s. I appreciate your threads.

Budgetting is good I guess...lol. j/k.
Does it count if it's all mental and you don't keep receipts or write anything down? I'm sure having a spreadsheet or a book would be beneficial, but it also seems like a chore. Any loopholes?
p.s. I appreciate your threads.

i started to keep a cash account in Quicken, after a couple months i stopped as what i was spending was stressing me out big time ..!! Plus it is so hard getting receipts in Nassau, some stores the clerks want to slap you if you ask for one .. they probably tiefing is why though!! :D

BTW, you dont need Quicken or other programs, you can just use NotePad, right click on the desktop and Right click New Text Document, Name it something .txt ... open that and enter your spending in there .. save it by weeks or months or whatever .. . quick easy way to keep track .. if you have a USB Drive or Jump Drive, just slap it on that and you can take it with you and edit it when ever you need to, oh yeah and a virtual calculator comes with Windows. ;)

BTW, you dont need Quicken or other programs, you can just use NotePad, right click on the desktop and Right click New Text Document, Name it something .txt ... open that and enter your spending in there .. save it by weeks or months or whatever .. . quick easy way to keep track .. if you have a USB Drive or Jump Drive, just slap it on that and you can take it with you and edit it when ever you need to, oh yeah and a virtual calculator comes with Windows. ;)


That's a good idea. Grazi!

I need to practice being frugal...lol. This might give me a push in the right direction.

No more $8 Cosmo magazines:sparky: lol

Come on, go ahead and share your feelings...

I have a budget and stick to it. No problem.
It helps that we only eat out maybe once a week and I cook every single meal.
I have a budget prepared on Excel and every time I withdraw money from the ATM I come and check it off the budget. I make sure the moneys go to what they are supposed to go to and don't ever spend it otherwise.
We don't use credit cards or checks unless is absolutely necessary. Is what helps me stay in the budget.

Anyone want to share how they really feel about budgeting?