Percent Budgeting

[jazzhepcat]

Is there a program that helps you calculate a budget based on the percentage of income?

I'd like to keep track of my income better and where it goes. I like the idea of budgeting a percent of my income towards savings (say 10%), and another 10% for retirement, etc... But is there a program that helps you do this? Does quicken or something else do budgeting this way? I like setting aside a specific amount of money too, like $100 per month to medication.... but I also want to do it by percentage.

[snafu]

Statistical median averages posted by Cnd. government in our region

Housing 30%
Auto/transportation 15%
Food 17%
Health & Life Insurance 5%
Entertainment 7%
Clothing 4%
Medical 6%
Debt Repayment 5%
Savings/Investment 5%
Misc. 6%

USA percentages https://www.creditdonkey.com/where-money.html

[HundredK]

It would probably be super easy to set that up in Excel.

[disneysteve]

Is there a program that helps you calculate a budget based on the percentage of income?

I'd like to keep track of my income better and where it goes. I like the idea of budgeting a percent of my income towards savings (say 10%), and another 10% for retirement, etc... But is there a program that helps you do this?

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking. You don't need any special program to figure out percentages. A simple calculator will do that for you.

Are you trying to figure out what percentage should go to each category? That's a more involved question. A good overall target is 50/30/20 which is 50% for needs, 30% for wants, 20% for savings. How you break things down within those 3 categories is somewhat personal preference. If you spend a little more on housing, you can cut back a little on groceries. If you spend extra on a car, you might reduce your entertainment spending. But if you stay within the 50/30/20 structure, you should be in good shape.

[sv2007]

Put everything on credit card, then you'll get a summary at the end of each motnh in the form of a CC bill. After a few months, you'll get a good pictureof your spending.

[disneysteve]

Put everything on credit card, then you'll get a summary at the end of each motnh in the form of a CC bill. After a few months, you'll get a good pictureof your spending.

The only downside to this method is that the credit card statement only tells you what you spent where. It doesn't break down how it was spent. Knowing you spent $150 at Target, for example, doesn't tell you if it was on food, clothing, household items, pet supplies, or video games.

If you really want to figure out where your money is going, get a notebook that you carry with you at all times and write down every penny you spend. Then you can review that and see the real picture.

[DaveInPgh]

The only downside to this method is that the credit card statement only tells you what you spent where. It doesn't break down how it was spent. Knowing you spent $150 at Target, for example, doesn't tell you if it was on food, clothing, household items, pet supplies, or video games.

If you really want to figure out where your money is going, get a notebook that you carry with you at all times and write down every penny you spend. Then you can review that and see the real picture.

I had a card that did a breakdown by category, but it was based on how they categorized the merchant. So far from accurate.

My grocery percentage was fairly accurate because the stores I bought groceries at was identified properly. However, not sure how they would categorize Walmart, Target, etc.

[disneysteve]

I had a card that did a breakdown by category, but it was based on how they categorized the merchant. So far from accurate.

My cards do this but again, it only says where, not what. Just because I bought something at Wegman's Grocery Store doesn't mean it wasn't greeting cards, a toy for my kid, pet food, or a gallon of window washer for my car, all of which are sold at the grocery store.