Well, I haven't been around for a while, but I have had some pretty interesting events in my own personal life over the last six months or so. These events have led me to fall off my own personal budgeting wagon. And, it doesn't take long to see the effects of it, and the necessity to get back on!
I had a very good (if I do say so myself) Excel spreadsheet that I used to track my spending, allocate my available money into sub-accounts (envelopes, if you will), and see how well it was going. The problem is, with some of the changes, I do not have the time I once had to do my financial planning. My spreadsheet requires manual entry of all transactions, and it can be rather tedious to enter all transactions from a stack of receipts in your wallet. Normally, it is good to manually enter everything, as they say that it keeps you more in touch with your spending. However, it is time consuming.
So, I know the gains that I made by concentrating on financial planning over the last year. That was all of the motivation that I needed to get back on board.
So, given the time constraints, I searched for another solution. I needed something that would either download transactions on its own, or allow me to do so easily.
Right now, I am trying a 60 day trial of YNAB, which stands for "You Need A Budget." The software tracks money in envelopes, or categories, and allows for balances to carry forward. It uses a zero based budgeting approach. Most experts agree that a zero based budget is the best way to plan for financial growth. The methodology of the software is that you eventually get to the point where you have a buffer of one months expenses. In other words, you spend the money that you made last month, this month. This months earned money is earmarked for spending next month.
Of course, you still use sinking funds for upcoming expenditures, such as property taxes, car insurance, and the like. You can set aside funds for vacation, car replacement, home improvement projects each week, month, or whatever your pay period is.
And, what worked the best for me, was the fact that I could download the transactions from my banks website. All that I have to do is categorize them myself.
I encourage everyone, especially our new people, to get into a written financial plan for your money. It is the only way to long term security! Even if you fall of the wagon for a bit, feel free to jump back on!
I had a very good (if I do say so myself) Excel spreadsheet that I used to track my spending, allocate my available money into sub-accounts (envelopes, if you will), and see how well it was going. The problem is, with some of the changes, I do not have the time I once had to do my financial planning. My spreadsheet requires manual entry of all transactions, and it can be rather tedious to enter all transactions from a stack of receipts in your wallet. Normally, it is good to manually enter everything, as they say that it keeps you more in touch with your spending. However, it is time consuming.
So, I know the gains that I made by concentrating on financial planning over the last year. That was all of the motivation that I needed to get back on board.
So, given the time constraints, I searched for another solution. I needed something that would either download transactions on its own, or allow me to do so easily.
Right now, I am trying a 60 day trial of YNAB, which stands for "You Need A Budget." The software tracks money in envelopes, or categories, and allows for balances to carry forward. It uses a zero based budgeting approach. Most experts agree that a zero based budget is the best way to plan for financial growth. The methodology of the software is that you eventually get to the point where you have a buffer of one months expenses. In other words, you spend the money that you made last month, this month. This months earned money is earmarked for spending next month.
Of course, you still use sinking funds for upcoming expenditures, such as property taxes, car insurance, and the like. You can set aside funds for vacation, car replacement, home improvement projects each week, month, or whatever your pay period is.
And, what worked the best for me, was the fact that I could download the transactions from my banks website. All that I have to do is categorize them myself.
I encourage everyone, especially our new people, to get into a written financial plan for your money. It is the only way to long term security! Even if you fall of the wagon for a bit, feel free to jump back on!
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