- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
I love mint.com. When I want to do some hardcore saving I'll spend a month tracking and categorizing every last penny and tally it up at the end of the month to see where my habits are and if there is any needless spending being done. Then I'll update my mint.com budgets with current expense figures and establish goals. Or sometimes I'll determine a goal, determine how much I want in my checking and any money left above that amount in my checking at the end of the month will get transfered straight to savings to pay for that goal.
I second the mint.com suggestion. DH and I just started using it at the beginning of January and we love it so much. It's really easy to set up financial goals (like emergency savings, paying down debt, retirement) and it will tell you how much to contribute each month and when the expected completion date is. It will also track your spending and show you trends over recent months. I have it integrated with my credit card, so whenever we buy anything, it automatically gets recorded and categorized by mint.com. H and I use their smartphone app to keep track of the budget when we're out so we know how much money we have to work with.
Wow that sounds awesome! Anything I can take with me is SO what I need! I'm checking it out now! =)
I agree that getting a handle on where you money goes is the first step to cut down on ways you waste money.
There are some people that have rules of thumb for what you spend, I'm not sure if it's really necessary to go by any of those if you just make sure to cut down on what you spend to be able to afford what you want and save.
@MissAsB: I currently keep up with all of our spending in Quickbooks so I know where everything goes... guess I just need some help in moving some of our spending and projecting for future stuffs =)
Hmm if you already have something to track your expenses, I don't think Mint would help too much though it does show averages for what other people spend on things so that might help you realize you are spending too much. But other than that, there isn't really a magic formula, just cutting back to what you think you can spend and then re-evaluate after you spend a little time with the budget to see if the numbers work for you.
@MissAsB: Hopefully the "budget" and "goals" will be what I can put to use. Even knowing where everything goes I'm just not seeing how it should be going. Really new to the whole telling my money where to go rather than it just going. =/ lol
I've checked out mint.com, but I don't really feel comfortable letting a website have that much access to my personal accounts. Every month after I pay the bills I download all of my expense information into excel. I have built a budget and have my finances broken out by month in a pivot table. I also prefer to do everything this way since I can categorize my expenses myself and create budgets within budgets if i choose. For example I have a clothing budget within my overall expense budget. I statrted the process of my expense by seperating out the necessity spending from the optional spending, I looked at all my bills from previous months, and figured out what I have to spend to survive, to feel comfortable, and what I could live without. From this I coule figure out what I could save per month, and would be able to afford as a mortgage payment. I'm a lil crazy when it comes to money though, not that I don't spend it, I just like to know where it goes. I am a financial analyst as my profession and I bought my house at 23.
@clairykoo: Yea... after getting setup and looking at it I don't think I really like it. Given I don't want to make our budget off of what's curretnly IN our account but what we bring in for the month.
It sounds like you have a great system and I'll just have to make something and play around with it till I have something that works for us.
Yay for learning something new!... sigh =S
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| MrsOliveBird | 11 |
| aussiebee | 10 |
| janetsnakehole | 8 |
| ticatica | 7 |
| j_jaye | 5 |
| Rivendeler | 5 |
| simpleandchic | 4 |
| kat2014 | 4 |
| Scottish_lassie | 4 |
| MrsMSmith | 4 |
Sorry, there are no users yet.
Can any of you awesome ladies point me in the direction of budget making help?
DH and I want to start making preparations for getting a house here in the next yr or 2 and I need some help with making a plan.
I primarily manage our finances and get everything paid just fine but I don't know the first thing about making a plan & budgeting.
Any help or suggestions would be great ladies! TIA