SAY HELLO TO YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND (AND SORT OF WORST ENEMY BUT IN A GOOD WAY)!
You made it this far, so thank you!
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Now, before you start using this budgeting tool please note: it is entirely analog.
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You may all of a sudden have been filled with anger directed at me, however, please bear with me as I explain why.
While high tech automatic budgeting tools are all the rage and can be quite helpful, I find they are a bit easier to hide-behind (for lack of a better word). When you have to input every charge you make on your credit card with your own hands into the correct category, you will very quickly come to terms with your spending. You will notice if it fills you with anger, happiness, regret, etc. These feelings are so important (trust me, even when they piss you off they are such a valauble experience -- and yes they will all occur more than once!). You will start to think twice about and really interrogate the reasoning behind what you are about to buy.
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Now, the goal of this budget is to help you get an idea of what you are spending so that you can hopefully save some amount of money at the end of the month! With that said, please note that my biggest takeaway from using this budgeting tool for amost a year is that there will be an exceptional expense every single month. No, I am unfortunately not joking.
Whether it be a car being towed, something in your house breaking, or just something you really wanted to buy, there will be a line on yours spreadsheet every single montht hat you didnt expect. And that is ok!This is not the end of the world, as long as you have planned for it!
Meaning, you should do yourself the favor (that I didn't do for such a long time and have lived to regret) of factoring in the monthly random expense into your budget. That way, it is a matter of saving a bit less this month, rather than ending up with a negative number (and yes, it did ytake me three months to stop getting negative numbers).
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All that said, here is a quick explanation of how I designed the template and why.
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p.s. if you hate explanations and would rather just jump in, the link is at the top (yes, I am one thjose too -- but I do always have to go back after failing and read the instructions so pick your poison and this is here when you want to read it!)
This will be very quick!
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1) I picked arbitrary numbers on this template just as a way to show how I fill out the columns.
2) The green section is an estimate of what you will spend, while the blue is your actual spending.
3) The description section is self expanatory so all I will say is that you will not remember how much you paid for the blue sweater, or that the 10.50 you spent was in fact not your portion of the uber, but the sandwich you bought at aiport cafe.
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4) I find the key helpful so you have something other than numbers to know what is what. I previously had many more sections
5) The money notes section is a less chaotic place than my reminders list to put notes relating to money (lent/owed to people, returns, etc.)
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6) While it is always upsetting how much the amount is, I like to see how much of my paycheck each pay period goes to taxes.
7) I also like to keep track of retirement saving contributions (by myself and my employer) as they usually land later than the exact day the pay period ends. This also helps me plan for the future in terms of contributing.
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