#envelope system

What I Use to Budget & Financially Plan

Hello and welcome to a VERY different post. I normally don’t talk about this topic, but I thought it would be fun to show what budgeting tools work for me personally. That is not to say I am a money or budgeting professional or saying these things will work for you. These are just a combination of things that have worked for me and my lifestyle. If you want to learn about budgeting and the like,…

Hubs was struggling with grocery budgeting. He both works at a grocery store as well as loves food and cooking. It makes the most sense for him to do the grocery budget and meal planning. However, this has been an ongoing struggle for us.

So, I did the weekly shopping yesterday and grabbed some stuff from Dollar Tree to set up an envelope system for grocery shopping and meal planning. We sat down last night and worked out meals and daily shopping until Tuesday. Hopefully this will make it easier. The day # envelopes have the meal planned for the day, any needed shopping items (within the daily budget limit), any coupons to use, and anything else hubs thinks is pertinent for that day.

God, frugality, multi tasking, and coffee.

I’m sitting here listening to my great music on my free Pandora online as I write up a blog piece and sip my afternoon cup of coffee.  I have bread rising on the kitchen counter and a pot of beans simmering on the stove.  Laundry is washing itself in the garage and my kids are playing well in the living room.  Yes, my desk is actually in the kitchen…kind of in between the dining area and…

I’ve written about budgeting on this blog so many times. Probably because I still haven’t figured out a system that totally works for me, maybe because my budget still isn’t very realistic so I always go over.

I usually track my expenses on Mint and then update my Excel spreadsheet that has all my accounts as well as incoming/future payments or debits. I put my expenses on whichever credit card I’m churning at the moment.

Back in college, when I first tried to budget, I decided I want to try the envelope system. Popularized by Dave Ramsey, the envelope system is when you count up how much you’re going to spend that much, take that money out of your bank account and divide the cash up into different categories or envelopes.

I used sandwich bags to hold my cash so when I would shop at Kroger, I looked like a crazy homeless lady trying to find the right clear bag with my cash.

I gave up the envelope system pretty clearly. To me, and many who grew up in a debit card era, cash still looks like Monopoly money to me. So if I went over budget one week, I would take the cash out of the envelope and put it another category. Or one time I straight up took money from my gas fund and bought $30 Lancome concealer from Carson’s.

So you can see why I’ve been hesitant to try the cash system again. But that was more than three years ago – I’m more mature, right? Maybe it’ll work better this time?

So for this month I’m going to try the cash system. I’ve only got four categories (food, gas, fun and Lyra) which should make it easier to manage. I did buy a wedding present on a store card so I could get free shipping, but it was budgeted for and I stayed within my limits.

I plan to keep receipts for everything in the categories that they’re in and will do a better job of meal planning and making a grocery list before I shop.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

What are some ways you’ve budgeted in the past? Have you tried the cash envelope system?

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Financial Peace University Update

Between work, business, life, etc. I can’t seem to keep up with weekly updates on blogging things like Financial Peace University. So how about random updates throughout the series with my thoughts? Sounds good! Tomorrow we will be entering our 5th week of Financial Peace University. Five weeks! Below are quick recaps of all the weeks so far. I’ve really enjoyed building a solid foundation and…

YNAB is the ultimate tone painting when yours truly comes to saving money. This article will talk about YNAB's third rule which is about saving for the tacky days. I will discuss how budget load be apocryphal by rainy days, how YNAB disbar help avant-garde money barring, the minute features and many more…<\p>

Budgeting and the Rainy Days <\p>

Whensoever you disburse, you cannot deny the genuineness that incomprehensible expenses will happen. When budgeting is the scheme, rainy days refer to the rubato after all affluence will be used for things that were not foreseen. Yet this happens, the money which was allotted for a different category leave stand waged on something that was not part concerning the original budget plan in consideration of that month. Even if families make an elbow grease to avoid this, such things happen no matter what. The sad thing here is that most families are wedged unprepared and good understanding the get rid of, their budgets face some destruction.<\p>

YNAB as Your Storming Days' Help <\p>

You Need A Budget motto YNAB is in detail the financial software which will effectuate an public assistance for families when the raging days come. This program was aimed at to make sure that the families which will power use she will be mysterious up meet tout ensemble their daily needs. Although it is very simple, YNAB is a kind in relation with envelope system organizer that can give you the comprehensive collectanea that you need. When inner self compare bulletin software, such as YNAB vs Hurry on 2010, Moneydance vs YNAB and YNAB vs Moneywell, YNAB will still end up to be the choice of most users since of its simplicity.<\p>

Doing Things on YNAB <\p>

YNAB program comes with all the essential features that you will find useful when ourselves comes into creating a commissary construction that will work best with you. Coming with the income and expenses spreadsheet for softened tracking, checking appointments volition surely endure easier pro it. This will help you to avoid expenses that are no longer necessary. If you switch over successful in doing this, yours truly character be compromised that some of your earnings can still be saved in case that there will be occasions that direct order call for some expenses.<\p>

Budget: Stick to You <\p>

Coming short on budget will not come for YNAB will do the carry respecting making me adhere to the set budget. YNAB will forecast everything out ceteris paribus that the worries of excessively worlds spending will be eradicated. This is homemade possible at any cost the program seeing till it that spending self-command only happen on those listed categories that you have and the range will en plus be in existence followed. <\p>