Do you budget and track your money?

MommyToAshley wrote: I know some people do a monthly budget and track every cent they spend ... right down to the 50cent pack of gum. If you do this, how do you find the time and was it hard to get started?

I think it would be an eye-opener for me because I am sure I waste money on frivolous things. I don't spend a lot on myself, but I tend to splurge on Ashley when we are out... I am sure a few dollars here and there really add up. Plus, I never carry cash. I always charge it, and pay the balance off at the end of each month. I think it's easier to spend money when you use the plastic kind.

So, just curious as to what you do, and do you think it makes a difference?

Maddie&EthansMom replied: We have a budget, but I'm horrible at sticking to it. I always spend less when I have cash, too. I just never carry cash. It doesn't last as long.

mummy2girls replied: Yes i do.. i have too because i am a single mom. I dont want to end up broke top a point where i am homeless. LOL

I budget my bill sand such and i just follow through with it:) i do once a month put aside money where i can go nuts and get what i want to for myself...but in the end i get for jenna! LOL

MamaJAM replied: We've pretty much had to for quite a while now....and it's going to be _really_ bad through Jan now (with DH's changing job situation).
We've been working hard at getting back on our feet after DH had no work for 18 months -- and we penny-pinch so things can get paid down.

C&K*s Mommie replied: We do not, if it is not I who will spend money on random things (mostly for the house, or the girls) Chris will spend money on sports cards.

I would like to create and stick to a budget, but in the 7+ yrs, we have been together, we never had one. Even when we were poor, poor, poor (but happy ) we always found money to spend and not save.

gr33n3y3z replied: I used to use plastic for everything
But over the past 2 years if I dont have the cash I wont buy it
Ed has a budget in his head.

Kaitlin'smom replied: yes for the bills I have a buget, and then we have an over all food/entertainment fund, I dont track that one. SOme times I dont get to follow the buget as close as I want to but most months I am right on track. Oh I treat things like savings, retirement fund and Kaits college fund as a bill so money goes into them every month.

kimberley replied: when i was on my own and solely in charge of finances, i did budget everything because i had to. it helped a lot because you can see where you waste money unnecessarily. unfortunately, money burns a hole in DH's pockets so it is impossible for me to do anymore.

jcc64 replied: Occasionally, we will sit down with a spread sheet, to really get a good idea where the big chunks of money go, but I do not/cannot account for everything we spend. Alec is at the age where he needs $20 here, $10 there, and he's not old enough to completely finance his activities on his own. I don't spend money frivously often, and I'm not big on buying alot of "stuff" for the kids for no reason, but I will admit to an occasional Target extravanza. I really should own stock in that store.

kayla's mama replied: We try but we never stick with it If we ever want to get out of debt we need to try harder

5littleladies replied: We have been trying to stay on a budget for years and are just now starting to really stick to it. December always throws us off though so I'm sure we will have a mess to deal with in January. I've never done the "keep track of every cent" thing, but I'd like to because I hear it is eye-opening. I think Sara's husband was doing it for awhile. Sara correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he used a program like Microsoft Money and every time he would get home after they spent money he would enter all of their receipts into the computer. It sounds like a bit of work but I can only imagine how much money we would start saving if we actually saw where some of it was going!

kit_kats_mom replied:
try moving right next door to super target. BIG mistake. Aye yi yi! I know that we blow at least $300 per week there (including groceries). Their marketing people are geniuses at getting me to buy crap that I don't need I kinda love them & hate them at the same time

Anyway, to answer the original question...Yes, I enter every reciept into quicken and I break it all down into categories. I do it every night & entering the reciepts & downloading/reconciling all of the bank accounts & credit cards takes about 15 minutes. We each have a "spending money" category that things like beer, magazine subscriptions & impulse buys go into.

We don't stick to a real budget but I do run a cash flow report at the end of each month so dh can see where all of our hard earned dollars go.

I also like to see how much we spend on tips & dining out too. That's the beauty of quicken.

toady_buckshot_noodle replied: Believe it or not, I don't have a credit card, we payed them off and don't want them!! the only plastic we use is a debit card attatched to the checking account!!

Hillbilly Housewife replied: we try. Actually, I try.

But I haven't been as good with it as I should be....

I've set up Excel spreadsheets, they're ready to go - starting in January - all our credit info, bills, spending, EVERYTHING is going into this spreadsheet.

Engouh is enough. We're not broke... we have a nicely flowing income... yet we always seem to be on the short end of the stick. If only I hadn't memorized the credit card numbers to uise online...

I can't say my excuse is that I stay at home with my baby so I can't go shoping... wrong! That's what the internet is for!!

Doh!

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: We keep a very strict budget each month, like a set allowance (it's the same amount to spend each month), but I don't track everything we spend in a spreadsheet format. We always use cash or the debit card. This way I know what we have and how much is left at all times. I check our account online at least once a day too, so I guess it tracks it for me.

We have several other accounts, but money usually only goes in those unless there is an emergency. And DH pays bills from another, so of course he tracks that. My DH is very strict about our finances...I'm fortunate that he does this because we carry very little debt.

MamaJAM replied:
We have one credit-card.....but never touch it. We use our debit for everything (I hate carrying much cash). It's hard to overspend when you can't use what's not in your account.