your budget

[ame8199]

Does anyone keep a running budget? I NEED to do this. I dont keep track of my expenses in my check book because I dont use my check book. I couldnt tell your right now exactly where my check book is. Does anyone use a type of computer program? Id love something on my computer because I see this every single day and it would be easier to check things. I tend to check my back account every day and get depressed when I see I have no money in there. I need to keep track of things BEFORE I spend it.

Any advice on keeping a budget? Thanks

[dspii]

If you have Microsoft Office...Excel works pretty good. They have some templates you can download for the MS Office website. If not, and you purchase something expect to pay more than $2.99 for a reputable brand that doesn't crash your system.

If you have MS "Works", it might have something. Software makes it super simple...but it does stink to enter every cent you spend, but required to keep accurate track.

[last2cents]

I've been using quicken for years......I think that intuit has an online version that you can use that's not too expensive.

And a lot of PC's came with / come with a copy of Microsoft Money - which is essentially the same thing.

[crashzx]

Here are some ideas that I have used.....

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC010233421033.aspx

http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/family-budget-planner.html

http://www.betterbudgeting.com/budgetformsfree.htm

Hope this helps

[ame8199]

Thanks guys,
I have a MAC but I do have MS excel. I'll check out those links.

Ive looked at Quicken. I've seen the trial version, but I bet its only for Windows. The MAC version is like 60 or so bucks. We'll see what I come up with. With quicken, I can keep track on my phone as well. hmmmmm spend money to create a budget.

[doingpoorly]

quicken online is free and works just fine on a Mac.....a budget is a necessity around here. I don't use a checkbook register and the online free version of quicken is a great solution.

[ame8199]

Yes, I just put all in info in quicken online. Is it only free for a while? I asked my mom to get me Quicken for Mac. Its 70 bucks, so we'll see. I like quicken, it just told me that Im living above my means....duh

[Never_Again]

The program YNAB is great (http://www.youneedabudget.com/) as it helps you track your money before you spend it. MINT on the web is another good one. Or, you can use your own Excel spreadsheet (I wrote one as well to do this.)

The problem with Quicken and most other types of this program is they do a great job at telling you where everything went, but aren't very proactive in showing you this before it has all happened. You need to be able to allocate money in the budget as it comes in. The ones that I mentioned above do this quite nicely. This is called a zero based budget, or an "envelope" budget.

It is the only way to keep yourself out of trouble in the future. Spend more time worrying about this than credit repair, and you will get yourself out of the hole, and build a future.

[ame8199]

It was interesting to see where all my money was going tho through Quicken online. I KNEW where it was going, but to see it right there was just wow.

Ya I probably do need to do a zero based budget, I will check on your links.

[ame8199]

The program YNAB is great (http://www.youneedabudget.com/) as it helps you track your money before you spend it. MINT on the web is another good one. Or, you can use your own Excel spreadsheet (I wrote one as well to do this.)

The problem with Quicken and most other types of this program is they do a great job at telling you where everything went, but aren't very proactive in showing you this before it has all happened. You need to be able to allocate money in the budget as it comes in. The ones that I mentioned above do this quite nicely. This is called a zero based budget, or an "envelope" budget.

It is the only way to keep yourself out of trouble in the future. Spend more time worrying about this than credit repair, and you will get yourself out of the hole, and build a future.

Looks great, but I need something Mac compatible.

[liz417]

I've used quicken for years and love it! It has bar and pie graphs and breaks things down into catagories to show me where all my $$ is going...

[ame8199]

I think im gonna stick with Quicken online, its free and it comes with an APP for my phone...so kinda cool. Hopefully it stays free

[adviceplease]

I keep a notebook on the end table next to where I sit and I write it down in that then I later transfer the info to MS Office.

[lovebirds]

YNAB is coming for MAC soon. I use it with Parallels now.

[jennordhavn]

I use Excel. I list each pay period and all the bills that are due. Then at the bottom I put my income from that paycheck plus any other money coming in and then subtract all the bills.