Better Budget Challenge: Week # 2

Better Budget Challenge: Week 2: "if you already have a successful budgeting system, tell us about it."

A brief not-so brief overview of my budgeting system:

In the past, I've used a spreadsheet that I adapted from the original Pearbudget. As usual, I took their solution and adapted it in a manner that worked best for me. I had finally gotten it tweaked properly and then disaster struck. The dog and I were horsing around one day, this resulted in a bottle of water spilling on my laptop and external drive. Needless to say, that version is gone forever. I've slowly been putting together a new version (see below) in Numbers.


















If you want the actual template file, leave a comment, and I'll get it to you.

The spreadsheet is nothing more than a glorified ledger, in which, I track my expenditures on a daily basis. I usually print out a hardcopy, put it on the fridge, and update it daily. About twice a week, I'll sit down, plug the numbers into the spreadsheet and get my updated net differences. I like having the paper version as it lets me stay updated without being tied to the computer.

The first column is a list of the fixed expenses I occur each month. Since I have these withdrawing on the same day every month, I know what they are just by looking at the date / dollar amount. If the actual for this column does not equal the budgeted, something funky is going on.

The second column is for my electricity payment; I simply plug the amount I paid on the proper date. That's it! Once I have a few months of data at my disposal, I analyze any trends to get a big picture idea of my electricity usage. On the hardcopy, I'll make sure I note the # of dryer cycles for the month as that's my wattage 'hog.'

The third column is for my water bill. I record the amount of the bill on the day I send in the check. I wish I could automate this expense, but the company my apartment complex uses charges a $2.50 service fee for paying online. I'd rather go through the hassle of mailing a check if it saves myself an extra $2.01 each month. I record the number of dishwasher and dryer cycles on the hardcopy; this helps to me keep a running tab on what the bill should be.

Gas goes into the fourth column; I aim to spend no more than $150 each month. At my usual weekly mileage, I can get 2 weeks worth out of a single tank. The remaining $50 dollars is reserved for any weekend trips I take to visit family, friends, or enjoy one of my hobbies. If I go over the $150 in gas, I'd better have a damn good reason.

Any food expense goes into the fifth column; I love to cook, so most this column's expenses are groceries. 'Food' also includes any money spent at a restaurant, coffee shop, or any pit stops on a road trip. Again, for my life, it made sense to lump it all together. I try to cook all my meals but my crazy schedule doesn't always work that way. Since I'm single and frequently raid my parents fridge (when I make the 4 hr round trip), I can eat really well on 5 dollars a day.

Car expenses go in the next column, I budget for any car related expense that is not a tank of gas. I do the vast majority of my own maintenance as well as own my car outright, so I'll often go months without having any car related expense. At the end of each month, I transfer the money into my easy access savings until it's needed.

House is for any home related expense; I budget this amount for any light bulbs, cleaners, decorations, etc.. that go to keeping my apartment in order. I could skimp in this category, but to ME, it's worth the few dollars each month to feel help keep my apartment clean and homey.

I budget 20 bucks a month for any personal items. Face cleaner, contact solution, over the counter medication, etc are my usual 'personal' expenses. This is one of the categories that I am usually within a few pennies of my budgeted amount. I'm such a creature of habit that at any given time, I can usually tell you how many more days/uses of X product I have.

The final column is for miscellaneous expenses. I always go over in this column because my running expenses are classified as 'misc.' I go through a pair of shoes in about six weeks ($90-$100) and then race registrations usually run me about 30 bucks every other month. I love to run, it's an investment in my health, and I do spend a large amount of my 'free' time (35 hours in December) in running-related pursuits. As long as I'm not a large amount over the budgeted amount, life will move on. My other typical miscellaneous expenses include dates, extra pet expenses, and gifts.

The last column gives me a daily expenditure by day. You'll notice at the bottom, I have the difference for each category. This is vital and lets me keep track of the month rather easily. I can also grab the data from this column, do a quick analysis and adjust my next months budget accordingly.

I recently signed up for Mint and I have been impressed so far. My one complaint has been the inability to create custom categories. I didn't immediately delete my data out of Mint which is more than I can say for Quicken or Microsoft money.

Two Jimmy Buffett albums later, I hope I have to presented a clear idea of how I budget. It's rather complicated but by having everything so meticulously earmarked and recorded, it works wonderfully for ME.