Do you prepare a monthly budget?

[mooksmom]

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

Hi,
I am just wondering how many of you actually do this?
Do you actually sit down and write out a budget sheet, or type out a comperterized budget sheet for the coming month{s}?
Or do you "just wing it"?

~I plan out a hand written budget for every coming month, often preparing one up to 3 months in advance.
~I tend to over-budget for things that are "not fixed costs" {like gasoline}. For example: I we typically use between $75 and $150 for gasoline, I budget for $200.
~I round up for the fixed budget items.
~ I budget for 4 "other items" at $100 each...for unexpected items that may come up {like an unexpected medical bill or copayment}. It allows for 4 individual items OR for one or two bigger items up to $400.
~I actually budget for savings too.
~I try for balanced billing on things like utilities.

~when the actual amount{s} come{s} in lower, I painlesly bank the difference! {like the gasoline}
~if it comes in higher than usual, or the balanced budget gets changed, there is less of a shock to my planning.

It helps to add to savings quickly and keep the budget in tow. I often will re-work the monthly budget on a weekly basis as bills are paid or the surprise{s} come{s} in.

So: do you plan a written Budget?

Thankfully, the fixed income I live on prevents that...but saves me a ton of time and hassle. Once all of my bills are paid in full I have $130. left to eat and 'play' on. I do it...not EZ, but I DO it. Can YOU do that without any paper and pencil??? I bet NOT. I bet I am happier, too.

[Lacerta]

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

Of course, you'd probably kill for that 40x125sqft lot instead of a townhouse, now though?

Ugh, no.

I love my small townhouse lot. My house was exactly what I wanted, where I wanted it. I have very little yard to take care of.

I grew up in a 6000+ square foot house on 3/4 of an acre, with a pool, volleyball court, and basketball court. I've lived that life. What I have now is exactly what I want.

[Bungalove]

I used to budget rigorously, but stopped when I retired. I know what my monthly income is to the penny (although it increases annually a little due to annuity/retirement fund increases), and all my monthly expenses are pretty much set except for gas for the car and groceries. I pay an extra sum monthly on my mortgage principal so I can have the house paid off in the next 5 years (I've got 10 years left on a 15 year mortgage), but I can leave that off if an unexpected expense comes up and still be just fine, obviously. All credit cards are paid in full monthly; FICO is 840 to 850. I have a good cushion in savings, and my social security will go up either next year or in 2020 when I start collecting on my own account instead of my late husband's. Fortunately I live in a low-cost area; my property taxes are $750/year total for a small but nice bungalow near the Potomac River. Plus I live a generally low-cost lifestyle - the pets are my biggest expense overall, unless I do a major house improvement.

[StAcKhOuSe]

I have a budget just to have an idea of where my money is going. whether or not I follow it 100% is up to me. I already save off the top with the 401k. my IRA contributions are included in my budget though, savings too. I have mint keep track of my monthly expenses

right now, my goal is to build up my e-fund. something always seems to deplete that down to nothing and its getting annoying.

[WellShoneMoon]

I don't have a budget because I don't know what my income is. I live on SS and whatever I withdraw from my investments.

I've found that carefully tracking expenses has been very helpful. I've been able to identify areas where I can reduce expenses, and thus reduce the amount of withdrawals from investments. I've cut out cable and land line phone, switched to a cheaper basic cell phone plan, cut back on food expense, stopped buying clothes (I have more than enough clothes to last me a long time), taken steps to reduce utility bills, stopped buying books (use library instead -- we used to buy a lot of books), raised deductibles on insurance, etc., etc.