maize Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 We bought a (new-to-us :) ) van--Yay! Unfortunately it comes with a car payment, which means my budget is tighter than it has been in awhile. I used to be really good about budgeting, but as life has gotten more complicated and we had more flex in our budget I've become worse and worse. Need to tighten back up. So, what are your best budget tracking tips for someone whose time and mental resources are already stretched very thin? I've come up with a proposed budget for the month of August using my bank's budgeting tool, I figure I need to track everything this month and then re-evaluate and adjust if necessary. Groceries is one area I really hope to cut back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth 2 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 I was going to type a rambly post on grocery savings, but this gal is great, on the spot, and has videos! http://funcheaporfree.com/how-i-grocery-shop/ The one thing she doesn't mention is a price book to keep track of prices of things (household or food) over time and by store. It makes a huge difference since this is a long term change. Congratulations on the new van! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Quicken helped here and I had the bank download current expenditures into the program every week. I could track everything with just a couple of clicks, could project out where we might be really tight, track savings, track loans, track specifically budgeted items, see where we had already been spending and where cut basks would need to be made, etc. I don't use it anymore so I don't know what the latest version is like but it was awesome when I used it. And congrats on the van! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth 2 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Oh! Mint is great too if you tend to use your cards rather than cash. You can set budget amounts, and get alerts when you near them. It's free! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 I like mint too - I set budgets for everything and it really helps keep on track for groceries and miscellaneous spending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edithcrawley Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 We use an online service called "You Need a Budget" there is a 34 day free trial, then after that it is just a few dollars a month. We like it because of how easy it is to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Back when I tracked, I did it the hard way. I created a form with columns that let me record every purchase we made. Through trial and effort, we figured out how much to budget each category. We started with the static bills like mortgage, car, and utilities. Then I had forms for things like groceries, household (non grocery items like paper towels and hair products), gasoline, and clothing. I can't remember all the ones I had. But I was faithful to record each purchase. It sounds like a lot of work but it only took a few minutes to sit down each night and record the day's receipts. It's not like we were buying stuff all day so we didn't have many receipts on a daily basis. We tracked for over a year and felt we had a handle on our budget so we stopped. At this point, it might be prudent to go back to it now that we're spending a lot more on having two in college. I'd love to know where our money goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 I also do it "the hard way" with a spreadsheet (Excel or the Google equivalent), although I have tried various apps and found them difficult to adapt to our specific needs. The single biggest help has been to pretty much giving up on cash and rely on our debit card (note NOT credit card as our debit card charges show instantly and credit card charges can take a few days to show). This makes tracking spending much, much easier. I usually fill things in on the spreadsheet a few times a week. Also, when dh spends cash he will text me the amount he spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnold Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 I use an app called spending tracker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Envelopes. You can't overspend, there's no overdraft, and your record is all kept right there as you shove your receipt in and see how much money is left. It is seriously the easiest budgeting tool out there and has pretty guaranteed success. Dh and I are supporting two different households right now and this keeps us on track better than any other method we've tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemiSweet Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 We use a free program/app called Good Budget, I tried You Need a Budget but I liked Good Budget more. We log everything we spend, I get notifications so it's super easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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