Yeah! Dh *wants* to make a budget! Need ideas and links!

[KD]

We have a budget but we save nothing and I would like to change that! DH has agreed to give it a go! Yeah!!
Ideas? Even about the bills.... How do I know what is a normal ammount for food for a family of four?

many thanks!!

[maryalene]

Yea! That's so cool that your DH wants to work on a budget with you! I don't have a links handy, but I think one of the best ways to make a budget is to track all your spending for a month. I think the easiest way to do this is to buy some 3x5 index cards and then cut them in half so they will fit better into your wallet/pocket/purse. Then for 30 days, using one card for each day, write down *everything* you spend right down to the last cent. Then at the end of the month, sit down with your cards and tally up everything in categories (i.e. groceries, entertainment, utilities, fast food - whatever categories work best for your expenses). Now compare what you spent to your net take home pay. Now you can tweak what you spend to fit your financial goals. For example, let's say that you want to save $50 a month. You would want to go over all your spending from last month and figure out where you can cut expenses. Obviously, some expenses are fixed such as your mortgage payment or car payment. So you would want to look at your discretionary funding and see what you can cut there. Maybe you can spend $20 less on groceries next month or skip fast food one night and save another $20. But once you know where your money is currently going, it is much easier to figure out where you can cut back.

Now, I think making the budget is the easy part and sticking to it is the hard part. I love, love, love budgeting (seriously!). I have an awful time to sticking to my budgets though. In an ideal situation, I would be able to take out all the cash for each category at the beginning of the month and then spend only cash for all our discretionary expenses. I think the cash method is easiest to track - when the cash is gone, you know you've hit your limit and can't spend anymore for the rest of the month. It's a lot more difficult for me to track my spending when I'm using my debit card or checks. Unfortunately, I never seem to have enough in my account to take out the cash at the beginning of the month so I resort to checks and debits and the budget seems to go down the tube. But I'm working on that..... Anyways, sorry to be so long winded, but I hope this helps. Good luck!

[mamannaturelle]

I recommend www.cheapskatemonthly.com

There is info on spending plans, debt reduction, savings(2 different ones each for separate things). I love the site

I can't tell you what your grocery goal should be, it depends on your costs, if you eat organic, meats, etc.I'd say save you receipts the first month then llok at them and see where you do better. We're a family of 6, I have $400 months and $150 months and sometomes less, but don't shop week to week anymore, I work with a pantry... The higher months tend to be summers with camping and stocking seasonal fruits in the freezer. And around Christmas when we have house guests.

I'd say to try and save 10% to tuck into savings. If you can't do that much, even 1% works. It builds a cushion over time. So when $hit happens there's ay least a little something for groceries, and if you do it long enough the goal is 3 months living expenses(yeah right..lol). Also things that you need only pay once or twice a year, should have a savings account for. Christmas, birthdays, school fees, kids sports, insurance, car repair budget etc. Take each one and divideinto monthly or per pay checks(bi weekly is 54) and tuck into the account, it'll grow slowly, but when these things come up it won't dip into your household budget, kwim?

Just a few ideas.

[KD]

Sorry I didn't thank you both sooner!!!
THANK YOU MAMAS!!!!!