How long does it take to finalize a budget?

[Wendy99]

We have $4.58 cents left to last us until payday the end of next week. We do have money in the EF if needed ($106), BUT we are trying really hard not to use that or go into debt any further. We will have to get fruit and milk before Thursday, but unless something happens we should not need much else. We are working on getting our budget balanced and finalized, but it takes time to understand fully what your expenses really are --- How much do we really spend on groceries and can we live with the budgeted amount for groceries, can we go lower. How much is the pet food really costing us - how long does it last Toilet paper, paper towels, gas etc. How long does it take to find out if your budget is functional? I'm hoping to have it fully functional by January and find a way for it to balance by then (without using any overtime money). We are just over $60 short right now on our monthly budget. I'm trying hard to put any overtime money into our savings fund until it's funded at $1000 (we are going to pay the smallest visa first). Then it will go to our debt. But overtime is few and far between for us so we have to watch every penny of it. I finally got DH to understand our urgency with money this week by showing him how much we had til next pay, what was needed and let him decide how we would do it. He was surprised at what I go through each pay period trying to figure things out and why sometimes I tell him to drink water and save the milk/applejuice for meals or for the kids. It's hard, but I want to do this. Any other time we got in this situation (2-3x now) we have rolled our debt into our mortgage to start clean - but there's a huge pattern there and it's not helping us. I want us to be able to pay it off on our own without rolling it into the mortgage - we will have a long road ahead of us ..

[Ceashels]

Think of your budget as a work in progress. It is a little difficult at first and can seem like a wild beast but in time it settles down and you will feel you have more control over it.

Your budget may require tweaking every week for the first month or two until you get your system settled in. After that it may take tweaking periodically. Greebo and I tend to tweak our budget a few times a year but we've been putting it on paper since 2008. Sometimes there are big tweaks but most of the time they are just little things we want to include or separate out of a larger fund.

The more you can plan and think ahead of what your upcoming needs will be, the easier it will be to reach your goals.

[ladytoysdream]

I think a budget is just a on going work in progress. You set it up, and continue to tweak it as you go.

It really helps to track the money. I use a small notebook and write down monthly bills as they get paid. I been doing it long enough, I can quick check back a year or several years, and see what goes out the month we are heading into. For example, I know we have a couple of things coming due in December that are only once a year payments.

Early in January, I am going to redo a section of our budget. We did a sinking fund this past year for our school and property taxes. It was working oh so fine, untill we had vehicle repairs. It got tight even though my hubby was able to do his own brakes and we put 4 used tires on his 4x4 truck instead of new like what is normal procedure for us.

I also am going to do something different this coming year for his winter OT money. It seems to get swallowed up in the budget real easy for things we need but keep putting off.

Basically I found that tracking the money and saying NO a lot works. It's just the way it is in this household.

[khaski]

I think it takes 3-4 months to get the hang of the whole budget thing, and then minor tweeks along the way after that.

Don't forget- Dave Ramsey often mentions people UNDER budget on food, you really should allow enough (initially) to feel like you over budgeted a bit! If you have a little over $4 left this week for milk and fruits, it sounds like you may need to try to UP your food budget a little bit...don't worry, like anything else budgeting takes practice, and it's always hardest starting out. Stick with it, sdjust where you must, you'll get the hang of it.

[Wendy99]

thank you, I was hoping we would be able to iron out most of the kinks come january. i've created an multipage excell spreadsheet to track our money. i input the details on one page & it automatically updates on the main page. that way i can understand when we purchased what, how long it lasts, was it 'really' needed etc. I'm trying to find the holes in the budget so i can find that last $60 to make it balance. or cut enough to make it balance - either way, but we just want it balanced (without counting extra money earned). this is our first month of keeping track, looking forward to the end of the month to see where we went over / under. also what are the most common things that people find they forget to account for? I've already added a few things that I forgot like our annual long distance plan, dentist, etc.

[Wendy99]

I apparently forgot to add that we paid for cat food this week so we are now short $21.47 until our next pay and those figures include $55 extra of overtime (which I didnt want included) - so frustrating!!

[frugalwarrior2]

Not to get too flighty but I think of my budget like this.
At first it feels like a river you've never canoed before. Things coming at you from all directions you can't anticipate. Neither of you have great paddle work and aren't used to working together. Each of you ends up pulling your own way.

But,as time goes on you learn techniques,learn to work together and think in group thoughts,and know where the bumps are. WHAT??

You will move from a reactive to an anticipatory budget.
1-sit down and list all the things you have to spent money on-no amounts.
2-find out and list all your fixed costs. now amounts
3. Take paper (yes not the computer) and put the amt. at the top and start subtracting all the fixed costs first. spend to zero.
4. now start to think about things that happen that specific month each year. like every 3rd month you pay water/sewer,when you fertilize,when the dogs shots are to be do. winterizing,oil changes,taxes due,flu shots
Moving from a reactive budget to an anticipatory takes time and tweaking. Constant tweaking.
I have been doing this for 10 years. and still tweaking.

Doing a few things can help
-set your electric and gas on a payment plan if possible
-make savings a fixed cost
-make it a game to beat your own lowest costs for anything.
(if you have working cash its easier to jump on deals.
-always figure the real cost-gas,travel,taxes,time,interest) of the item.
-learn to have a wait but want category. I call mine outstanding.
I cut a tree last week that has been outstanding for a year.
hugs and be patient.

[frugalwarrior2]

wendy-make that list and figue out how much/how often you buy cat food and get it on the list. PLan.
We have a lg. number of animals so we can't get caught that way-devistation for budget.
I buy 6 20# bags of cat food at costco for 20. 3x a year. so $120. x3=360. so every 4 months I need $120. in the budget for cat food.

[Wendy99]

wendy-make that list and figue out how much/how often you buy cat food and get it on the list. PLan.
We have a lg. number of animals so we can't get caught that way-devistation for budget.
I buy 6 20# bags of cat food at costco for 20. 3x a year. so $120. x3=360. so every 4 months I need $120. in the budget for cat food.

Thanks, we have it on the list and we are trying to figure out how long it will last our cat. Our dog eats a set amount so we were able to actually weigh her daily food and divide and stuff to figure out her monthly food cost. Our cat is free fed - once we figure out how much she eats it will be easier to accurately calculate how much it takes to feed her. I had purchased the food, but forgot to deduct it from our budget which made us look like we had more left over than we did. I guess I need to ensure that budget sheet gets updated everyday that we spend to ensure that mistake doesnt happen again.

[zakity]

I budget backwards. I have DH's paychecks on a spreadsheet. I then deduct what needs to come out of each paycheck. I do it for the next year each fall.

I budget in our car insurance (twice a year), the motorcycle insurance (once a year), car tags (every other year), salt pellets for the water softener (every six weeks), cat flea meds (twice a year), etc on the paychecks when they will come due (like when I get them in the mail/email), not when they need paid (ie, the day the bill has to be paid by). Xmas and birthdays and such are on there also to make sure we will have the money for them.

When something comes up that we need to spend money on, I add it to the spreadsheet where appropriate (like every week, or every month, or whatever). It took a while, but our wholes lives are on there now. I can see where we need to be careful and where we might have some extra.

My spreadsheet looks like a whole long list of these:

1000 paycheck
-100 elec bill
-100 groceries
-100 thanksgiving
-100 range fee
600 total

-1000 paycheck
-100 gas bill
-100 fuel for vehicles
-100 groceries
-100 house payment
600 from above (ie, what is leftover from the week before)
1200 total

[Wendy99]

Listed a bunch of stuff for sale online today - sold $15 worth so far, so we are only just over $6 short and we got an email that another $10 worth may sell .. that would put us in the plus again..

[Wendy99]

I budget backwards. I have DH's paychecks on a spreadsheet. I then deduct what needs to come out of each paycheck. I do it for the next year each fall.

I budget in our car insurance (twice a year), the motorcycle insurance (once a year), car tags (every other year), salt pellets for the water softener (every six weeks), cat flea meds (twice a year), etc on the paychecks when they will come due (like when I get them in the mail/email), not when they need paid (ie, the day the bill has to be paid by). Xmas and birthdays and such are on there also to make sure we will have the money for them.

When something comes up that we need to spend money on, I add it to the spreadsheet where appropriate (like every week, or every month, or whatever). It took a while, but our wholes lives are on there now. I can see where we need to be careful and where we might have some extra.

My spreadsheet looks like a whole long list of these:

1000 paycheck
-100 elec bill
-100 groceries
-100 thanksgiving
-100 range fee
600 total

-1000 paycheck
-100 gas bill
-100 fuel for vehicles
-100 groceries
-100 house payment
600 from above (ie, what is leftover from the week before)
1200 total

That's a great idea, that's what I do each pay. I have approximately $350 - $400 each pay coming off to pay bills, then the amount for our mortgage payment and then the rest is figured out accordingly. I can't wait to finalize how much we spend each month. The figures may look realistic on paper, but we want to know if they are realistic for life.

[frugalfranny]

I budget backwards too............ and tweak often.......or at least review.

It is the once or twice a year bills that can throw me off if I don't watch it...........once a year car ins. but twice a year prop. taxes........UGH!! And the car ins. changed to once a year last year.......going to be a real change when due again.

[zakity]

When one comes due, I make a note at the end of my budgeted year. I put in the bill, the amount (and usually add a bit because things go up), and the month the bill comes due. The next year when I am doing the spreadsheet, I add in the list of bills the month before they are due to make sure I have the money for them when I get the bill.

[Birdie]

I have a budget binder with monthly tabs, Jan - Dec. I use binder paper and write each of the monthly bills for each month. When I pay them, I check them off.

Then I add in the irregular bills to the appropriate month; property taxes, house insurance, car insurance, car registration, annual bird seed, dog shots, birthdays etc.

If something new comes up during the year, I can add it to the following year by sticking in a new binder sheet for next year. I keep the old ones behind the correct tab which give me a history of what I paid in previous years.

It's a pretty simple way of keeping track and keeping history.