I thought you might like a glimpse into how I get ‘budget ready’ for a new month…which, to be as organised as possible, I do about a week prior to the new month starting.
- To start I get a blank piece of paper and write down all the extra expenses that I think will crop up during the new month – sometimes I’ll forget something, or murphy will visit, but in general, because I’m a
control freakplanner, I don’t miss stuff. - I then also write down a list of all the potential extra income we may receive.
- Under that I record all our essential living expenses which I take from our base budget (which I have a printed copy of)
- Then I record all our fixed income from salaries etc
I also write down any household projects that I want to complete (as these could be an expense), and our approximate mortgage figures (in the big circle) – the mortgage figures are guesstimates as I do this before the payment goes through on the 1st.
And to give you an ideas of what the finished result looks like…
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| It’s nothing fancy but it does the trick! |
Let me know how do you prepare for a new month?
Let me know if you have any questions?
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I use an excel file for a basic budget but I write everything down in my tried-and-true-and-deer-to-my-heart notebook. I guess, I’m old-fashioned this way. I’m usually pretty good with planning next month. Now I just wish I could get Hubby to be more involved…
I love excel too but you can’t beat writing it all down on paper! I love doing our budget and hubby only gets involved once a month at our budget meeting – this way works for us. I love spreadsheets, he doesn’t.
I find that nothing works out as much as a pen and piece of paper.
I agree! Much better than these computer things!
Thank you – it is SO helpful to see how other people do their budgets – especially when we are still not quite on top of budgeting successfully (almost there, though!)
In the past, we’ve had a “fixed monthly budget”, but it never works. We have a set amount for repairs, miscellaneous etc. but there’s always something extra…a fundraiser at school, something *extra* that breaks etc. etc.
I like your “Month-by-Month” approach far better – it will help us stay on top of cash-flow and not lose the plot!
Hi declutterer
In the past extra expenses would always throw our budget off course – now I’m more prepared.
We still save a fixed amount for gifts,repairs etc (into savings accounts), but writing a list of potential expenses means I have a good idea how much I need to withdraw from these accounts, or more importantly – if I need to add any extra from the budget.
Similar – I have a template I’ve made and juggle the numbers around at the beginning of each month. Then I print that off and it goes with me everywhere – I look at it every day updating it and reminding me of what’s coming up. It works.
my budget twin!
I use my budget spreadsheet, look at what I spent last month and then try to guess what I’ll spend in the coming month. I think I might have to add a list of possible expenses to my spreadsheet though, because I seem to be terrible at remember upcoming expenses.
Writing down possible expenses is great because it prepares you for them mentally. Before I would set a budget, something would come up and I would be unhappy that my budget went off course – now nothing bothers me (too much!!)
I’m also a control freak…err planner
I use excel for most of my budgeting, but also do old fashioned pen and paper too. A lot of my budgeting is done on the train on the way to work. I like to multi-task.
Hi Kari – there should be a club!
I love excel and use it to record all our financial stuff. But nothing beats using a pen and paper.
I also have a spreadsheet, but like the rest of you control freaks I love a pen and paper.