Budget Yourself, a How-To from Experience
by Opal Peachey

I’ve tried to budget before – wads of cash hidden under the bed, leaving the debit card at home – we’ve ALL tried. What I realized last spring was that I was trying to regulate a shadow, telling myself I had to spend a certain amount without knowing EXACTLY how much I was spending. My budget was based on how I thought I should be, not how I am. It’s time to keep a record of my rights and wrongs.

It’s laughable that at 27 I consider myself crotchety and set in my ways. Yet at any age, a willful decision is no walk in the park. So here I am, raising my glass of Vino Verde to an entire year of managing my money. If you’re nodding and thinking “yeah girl,” keep reading.

•    Pay UP! I get money from three different paychecks. Though I list these numbers at the top of each two-week entry, how much you start off with isn’t so important and I don’t look at them very often. What I do watch is what and where I spend.

•    Know Thyself. Split up your budget into less than 5 simple categories. I use:

Bills. Groceries. Eating Out. Expenses.

$12 for fishnets ordered off sockdreams.com is an expense. Deli pasta salad at the co-op is eating out. Save those receipts and mark down the totals, the automatically debited car payment, the money you count out in quarters from the tip jar.  Staying on top of the paper is the most annoying bit, but it keeps me on track with my budget maintenance because once there is more white than green in the pocketbook, it’s time to evaluate.

•    Knowledge pays. I began shuffling money into my savings account within the first month. By that point, I had noticed a trend in my spending: roughly $60 bucks a week on non-essentials like manicures and beers at the Duck Island. So, if I didn’t spend the expected amount I would simply pull open a new tab and transfer it into savings.

•    Keep it simple. I use Excel, but a notebook and a calculator will suit. Do the math yourself; let everyone else play Sudoku.

It sounds too easy, but trust me. Once you start writing it all down and focusing on where your money goes – you’ll spend less. And it’s not about ‘accidentally’ charging appetizers and french75′s at Oliver’s Twist and having to forgo going out for a week to make up. I splurge, totally. Having a budget simply let’s the smart girl know what cards she’s willing to throw down on the table.

Let me put it this way: my spreadsheet is better reading than a diary. When you can read through your budget the way you look at old photo albums there will be a new understanding that takes place. Those little white slips of paper will start to mean something; they are proof…of who you are and how you can change.

photo by jeff keen

bills, budget, excel, expenses, finances, money, organization, paycheck, savings, sudoku Hide