Do you just do Expenses/Income or do you do Spreadsheets or programs? Do you have savings and money set aside only for investment? Do you plan for the future/retirement? What are your best tips on budgeting?
Sometimes I make a spreadsheet in Excel of my incomes and expenses. That way it is a lot easier to decide wisely where to spend money and how much I can invest on a monthly basis.
I have two different methods to do this. I have a set spreadsheet to allow me to project my future expected income. This allows me to properly, and intelligently make decisions over purchases. The other way, to track actual expenses is via Mint.com (which is owned by Intuit, the same folks as Quickbooks). It syncs up everything for me, and I am able to view, in real time budgets, and what I am spending on currently.
For my general expenses I do have a spread sheet that details the income and expenditures for the household, car, etc. I find it to be the easiest way to read everything out. I don't add money to my investment account until the end of the month and I have covered my expenses. I am not a big time investor and most of what I earn from investing gets reinvested.
Unfortunately.I just do expense and income, there is not much left for investment planning or retirement.
I make sure that all my earnings go to a savings account. If I need money for my expenses I make a list of the things I need and only withdraw the amount of money required to cater for this. I debate whether I need something or it’s a luxury. I had made wrong financial choices in the past; I am doing my best to ensure that I save as much of my earnings as possible.
I'm currently not setting aside money for investment, but I do put aside money for savings when I receive my paycheck, so I just add it as another expense, that way I think of it as a mandatory thing and have a better idea of what I'm working with for the month
I keep track of everything on my computer. Expenses and income. I also set a target goal in terms of how much of my income I want to save on a monthly basis. It's a pretty good system for me. And it really does help me stick to what I'm trying to get accomplished.
I try to write things down in a notebook to keep a personal record for myself. I would also use Excel to keep an more organized spreadsheet to keep track of the expenses. I do not have a job so my own income is from Postloop which is the only thing I am doing right now to make some cash a month.
