who has a budget

[mumof2]

Just wondering on here who actually uses a budget, I know some people are living pay check to pay check...some have no debt...and others have millions...all in different places...I was wondering who actually uses a budget? I do and since our income doesn't really change much I base it on less than we make and work it with that...we have no debt but are saving for a house, we have monthly bills but I love my budget written out...old school...and by august each year I have the next years written out...so do others bother with them or just pay when the bills come in??

[kork13]

I'm no longer very disciplined about our budget. For us, it's more of a spending/saving plan, but we don't track everything in alot of detail, or cut off spending when a category is exceeded. I mostly just use it to forecast rough estimates of our expenses during the month, plan out what we can save out of our income, then let the rest just get spent as needed. At times, I wish we were more deliberate about it. But with our income at the level it is, I'm slowly learning not to stress about the little stuff... As long as we're saving sufficiently, and not going into debt for stuff, we'll be fine.

[MonkeyMama]

We do use a budget. Probably some combo of budgeting and tracking spending. We come up with an annual budget, which is just basically writing it out to see how much we have to spend. Income minus savings goals = money left to spend. I don't belabor the details or the individual categories too much. Instead of strictly keeping track of every budget category, etc., we more just evaluate at the end of every month and make sure our spending stayed within budget. If we go a little over, might have to be careful the next month. I probably more believe in tracking spending than a strict budget. But every time there is a big income or expense change, we just do the math (update annual budget) to make sure it works, and to decide how new income and expenses (or decreases) are allocated.

[riverwed070707]

I hit budget burnout a few years back. Once my debt was paid and I was comfortably meeting my savings goals, I loosened the reigns quite a bit. I don't live near as frugally as I used to (although still more than most). I still track spending through Mint but really only check in every month or two to categorize and make sure things look in place. If a big unexpected expense comes up, I cut back on discretionary spending to cover it with cash flow instead of pulling from my efund. There's plenty of flex and I don't feel the pressure to hurry up and hit the next goal like I used to because things are on track. I think the shift largely came from realizing that I don't want to achieve FI sooner at the expense of time and experiences with my kiddo. Guess that's not really an excuse not to have a budget, but it feels good not to "need" one and know we're still moving forward

[disneysteve]

We don't budget in the strict sense of planning how much we will spend in each category and stopping when we reach that limit. I do track our spending though. If I see it creeping up in a certain area, I'll take a look at that and see if it's something we need to address or if it was just a one off kind of issue. So if the credit card bill was up for the month but we went on vacation during that period, I obviously know why it was up.

This year has added an extra level of tracking. Thanks to COVID, I've been doing all of my mom's grocery shopping and some of her other shopping as well. So when I look at our credit card bills, I need to back out the stuff that was hers and got reimbursed for.

[HundredK]

I have a very detailed budget going out 3 years which includes expected cost increases, but doesn't include any expected income increases (it's more fun to assign extra money after it arrives). I also track every single expense via an excel spreadsheet I built that pretty much simulates a double entry accounting system. We just recently got out of debt, so I don't know if I'll find it necessary to continue doing all that, but it's part of my routine and my life now. Something I actually find enjoyable. I don't see any reason to stop, and I love being able to pull up our income statement and balance sheet at any time and dig as deep as I like for details. Sometimes you find surprising trends when you do that.

[Jluke]

All I know is the grocery store budget has seen an uptick. Can’t seem to get out of the store each week without the bill being 120-150. Even when I feel my cart is empty. Pre-COVID 120 was a top.

otherwise I just track spending and expenses. And I know how much I save/year in my retirement accounts (Max) and non-retirement accounts.

one advantage to COVID is no daycare costs for our 2020 baby.

[disneysteve]

All I know is the grocery store budget has seen an uptick.

We're definitely spending more on groceries but we're spending WAY less on dining out so we're still coming out way ahead.

[corn18]

We still track every dollar spent. My budget spreadsheet goes back to 1996 and goes out to 2024. My retirement budget goes out to 2061. We want to retire next year, so I feel it's important to know what we might be getting ourselves into. So far, our only issue is food (groceries/dining out). I have $1,500 / mo in the budget and we are averaging $2,000 / mo. All other categories are staying within limits without trying too hard. At least we know exactly what we are dealing with heading into retirement.

[HundredK]

So far, our only issue is food (groceries/dining out). I have $1,500 / mo in the budget and we are averaging $2,000 / mo.

That's such a tough one. I just read in a book the phrase "invest, don't ingest", and I told my husband we should plaster that phrase on our fridge and our front door to catch us when we go out to get food. And probably on our computer to remind us not to order in. Ha! We have good months and bad with that, but it's for sure our most challenging.

[Like2Plan]

I did a real careful budget analysis just before I retired (tomorrow will mark 9 years retired ). I have updated a couple of times since to do some spot checking, but that is about it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I did a real careful budget analysis just before I retired (tomorrow will mark 9 years retired ). I have updated a couple of times since to do some spot checking, but that is about it.

Congrats on 9 years of retirement! Amazing!

I do an annual budget for spending. We typically just assume some savings from our set amount of base and all bonuses we tend to save. We have always saved first then spent the rest. I didn't really work too well tracking spending. But now I really need to reel us in so i'm trying. But the first step is always tracking what you spend before trying to cut it. It's hard use a budget if you have no idea what you spend.

[Like2Plan]

Congrats on 9 years of retirement! Amazing!

I do an annual budget for spending. We typically just assume some savings from our set amount of base and all bonuses we tend to save. We have always saved first then spent the rest. I didn't really work too well tracking spending. But now I really need to reel us in so i'm trying. But the first step is always tracking what you spend before trying to cut it. It's hard use a budget if you have no idea what you spend.

Thanks. Yes--tracking what you spend is important. When I first did the analysis I was surprised at how much we spent on insurance (of all types: life insurance, car insurance, long term care insurance, health insurance, home insurance, etc) and in particular life insurance. A lot of times--there are payroll deductions (his and hers) or annual payments that don't really shine a light on it like putting it all into one category on a spread sheet. It really made me prioritize reducing that category.

[mumof2]

In 2014 I also started a book that has all the bills we have paid and the dates/receipts etc....so if anyone comes in saying we haven't paid something we have it in the book...has almost 6 years worth....I like this idea as well

[myrdale]

I do not have a written budget. At the start of the month I set my checking account to $3k, and keep a rough eye on the total though out the month. I try to keep my total amount of cash available at $20k, between checking and savings. Everything past that goes towards IRA, or currently truck fund. Pretty much the only time I blow my budget is when I save too much.