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How do you budget yourself?
 

offline cx from Norway on 2011-06-07 00:22 [#02415202]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



I just use the online bank website. Got one savings which I
transfer 30% to each month. Got automatic billing for
apt/electricity/internet in there, but I have to accept the
transfer every month so it's a nice balance between
automatic but without the paper in the mail.

Other than that I don't really have much of a system except
I keep an eye on my balance and try to keep count in my head
of what I buy and approximately how much I have left at any
point.
I've managed to save quite a bit now so it's all working
neatly:P


 

offline Cliff Glitchard from DEEP DOWN INSIDE on 2011-06-07 00:39 [#02415204]
Points: 4158 Status: Lurker



20% food, bills and clothes

90% drugs and booze

i always end up short though?


 

offline wavephace from off the chain on 2011-06-07 01:47 [#02415206]
Points: 3098 Status: Lurker



dont spend more money than u get


 

offline jnasato from 777gogogo (Japan) on 2011-06-07 08:37 [#02415215]
Points: 3393 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



Realize you already have every toy, then just buy essential
foods. You will then have a shitload of money saved, if you
actually have money coming in.


 

offline -crazone from smashing acid over and over on 2011-06-07 09:39 [#02415219]
Points: 11233 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



calculate how much pocket money you have left after you paid
all your bills ..split that in two and save the rest for
unexpected things..works fine for me. You can always donate
me some money when you have enough of it.


 

offline AMPI MAX from United Kingdom on 2011-06-07 20:39 [#02415275]
Points: 10789 Status: Regular



haha dagibit you are a very sweet kind of person but you are
obviously a complete fucking square! little folders? come on
just forget about it


 

offline freqy on 2011-06-07 20:50 [#02415278]
Points: 18724 Status: Regular | Show recordbag




turn all power ac/dc adaptors off at night from the wall.

turn off everyting but the fridge. turn down the fridge if
you eat your food within a day or two, why have it set low?
fridges cane your electric,.

saves many pennies and extends the life of your electric
thingies.


 

offline glasse from Harrisburg (United States) on 2011-06-07 20:55 [#02415281]
Points: 4211 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



I recently started keeping a budget instead of just randomly
paying bills when I could, which resulted in overspending
and getting stuck/behind.

Basically you need a planner/calendar and a check register.
You write down when each bill is due and/or when you can pay
it on the calendar, then you mark it off once paid. In the
register you write each time you make a deposit, withdrawal,
transfer, or pay a bill and add or subtract accordingly.

Then you know how much money you can spend and still keep up
on your bills and it will help you save money also.


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2011-06-08 03:47 [#02415307]
Points: 18367 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



-retirement accounts
-pay yourself first



 

offline Monoid from one source all things depend on 2011-06-08 16:10 [#02415336]
Points: 11005 Status: Regular



I budget myself by earning less money, pretty clever huh


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2011-06-08 18:32 [#02415340]
Points: 18367 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



no pc software, but i do use an app on my phone. allows me
to keep track of accounts. i use it especially for tracking
credit card purchases and then verify it online the next day
or so to make sure there wasn't a mistake in what i was
charged.

budgeting is simple. factor in how much you think you'll
need for certain expenses. the hard part is sticking to the
budget. that takes discipline. but if you cannot handle
this then you will never be good with money in real life and
unlikely to build wealth. you must stick to your budget if
you wish to succeed. even those who win the lotto have high
risk of going bankrupt because they do not understand simple
financial discipline and how to build wealth. your
financial habits determine everything in life, regardless of
how much money you make.

as you create a budget, it will take some time for fine
tuning. you'll also need to set money aside every paycheck
for vehicle repairs, home repairs (if required), etc etc.

the nice part about using an app on your phone to keep track
of purchases is that over time you can use detailed charts
to see what kind of income/expenses you have incurred - and
in what categories. the other nice part about keeping this
information and tracking it in your phone, is you are
constantly looking at it. you need to get into the habit of
tracking all your purchases and constantly looking at the
"numbers" in your bank account. you would be surprised how
many people dont have an exact idea how much is in their
accounts at this very moment. probably the same time of
people who just 'bleed' money on worthshit shit. you have
to stay on top of that. by constantly reviewing your
personal finance situation, you'll engrave it in your head
so when advertising kicks in and you're about to make an
impulse purchase, you may think otherwise. you'll also need
the discipline to deny yourself going out if you have
exceeded that portion of your budget.



 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2011-06-08 18:38 [#02415341]
Points: 18367 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



here's how i handle personal finance:

-use credit card for the bulk of all purchases. ive never
paid a dime of interest and take advantage of rewards cards
for cash-back.

some studies show when people pay with a card, they don't
"see" that as paying with cash (which has a different
signals effect within the brain). i can easily understand
that, but for me - it is opposite. if i have cash on me,
then i find it just disappears and i cant recall what i
spent it on. if i use my card, im forced to enter the
transaction into my phone (which requires work), which means
im less likely to buy something i dont absolutely need. it
depends the type of person you are. some people operate
better with cash (as it's hard for them to physically give
up the cash), and others (like me), i spend less when using
card.

-setup automatic bill payment. electrical, mobile phone,
internet, etc -- all that should be on automatic bill pay.
time is money. your time is important and shouldn't be
wasted paying bills or keeping track of bill due dates, etc.
setup automatic payment and never worry about that crap
again.

-credit card payment. i am paid bi-weekly. i always check
my online account every 2-3 days to verify transactions
(charged amount is correct), but i find it too tedious to
pay off my card balance immediately after the purchase. for
me, the sweet-spot is every 2 weeks. that way, i can budget
in fuel, food, etc...and then when i get paid i pay off my
balance right then and there. i do not like waiting an
entire month to pay off the balance. be pro-active on that.
if you do not pay off your balance every month and incur
interest payments, well -- you need to stop that.

-fuel. if you drive an automobile (like me), i prefer to
fill up my vehicle at the start of every work week (monday
morning). this way, it is much easier to track my weekly
driving habits versus just filling up whenever the tank is
on empty. i know my average gallons used per week, and this
is helpful for planing my fuel budge


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2011-06-08 18:46 [#02415342]
Points: 18367 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



-your paycheck. you need to pay yourself first. that
means before all of your bills, etc - you need to pay
yourself and transfer that into savings. most people pay
their bills, see how much they have left over, go out
shopping/do whatever.. and *then* if they have money left
over, they toss that into savings. that's bullshit.
transfer (automatically, preferred) a set % from your
paycheck into savings every pay period. you'll quickly get
used to the reduced paycheck - and you can then budget off
of that (just pretend the money you just transferred into
savings doesnt even exist).

-savings. interest rates are shit right now (at least in
the USA) thanks to the fed and the cheap money supplied to
the banks. thus, your money in savings is likely earning
absolute squat - and certainly not even beating inflation
%s. however, you still need to keep liquid funds on hand
for emergency repairs (auto repair, home repairs), or loss
of income/loss of employment. a good rule is 3-6months of
living expenses in liquid savings. i am risk averse in the
current economy, and prefer a full year of living expenses
in savings. sure, you could keep this money in the stock
market or other investments, vs having it earn almost 0% in
savings, but emergencies generally come at the worst
possible time ... and it would not be pleasant to have to
cash out of your securities/stocks/etc to cover an emergency
when the market is down.

-investing. once near-term liquidity issues are solved and
you are continuing to save money, you seriously need to look
into retirement accounts. if your employer offers 401k and
offers a match? take it. that's free money (and pre-tax, so
it will lower your adjusted gross income when tax time rolls
around). leftover funds after that, definitely open a Roth
IRA. if you max that out, go back and fill up your 401k.
roth ira's freaking rule. it's post-tax, meaning the
contributions and earnings will all be dispersed tax-free
during retirement. would you rather pay taxes on the seed or
th


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2011-06-08 18:48 [#02415343]
Points: 18367 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



would you rather pay taxes on the seed or the crop?

-summary. overall, budgeting is the first step and of the
most importance to your financial future. the discipline of
sticking to the budget will not be easy. it will take time
to fine tune your budget, and there will always be emergency
expenses that come out of no where that will sometimes throw
your plan out of whack. press on. the discipline is worth
it. automatic bill payment, automatic savings transfer from
every paycheck, etc... all of these things are very easy
steps to get you started. automatic savings transfer is
very important because you will automatically pay yourself
first, and you will very quickly adjust to having the
smaller paycheck -- and you can begin budgeting off of that.
it's 90% mental.


 

offline cx from Norway on 2011-06-09 00:35 [#02415353]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular



Very nice elusive. Which phone financial app are you using?


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2011-06-09 01:54 [#02415358]
Points: 18367 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



splashMoney

i tried a million. they all do about the same; just find
one that suits your aesthetics.


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2011-06-09 01:57 [#02415359]
Points: 18367 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



but i don't allow it to sync with my bank accounts. i dont
trust anyone for that, including mint.com. regardless of
how 'secure' it may be ...


 

offline cx from Norway on 2011-06-09 02:15 [#02415361]
Points: 4537 Status: Regular | Followup to elusive: #02415359



no never. shit getting hacked all over the place.


 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2011-06-09 11:41 [#02415375]
Points: 14292 Status: Lurker



spend

 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2011-06-09 11:42 [#02415376]
Points: 14292 Status: Lurker



spend < earn


 

offline mappatazee from ¨y¨z¨| (Burkina Faso) on 2011-06-09 11:45 [#02415377]
Points: 14292 Status: Lurker



"-setup automatic bill payment. electrical, mobile phone,
internet, etc -- all that should be on automatic bill pay.
time is money. your time is important and shouldn't be
wasted paying bills or keeping track of bill due dates, etc.

setup automatic payment and never worry about that crap
again. "

I would say no to this. It's better for me to wait until
they send me late notices. That way I only have to login to
pay about half as frequently. Plus you don't want to be
charged for things you haven't authorized.


 

offline diamondtron on 2011-06-09 11:52 [#02415378]
Points: 1138 Status: Lurker



pay rent or buy some land
grow or buy some healthy food
sort out wind/solar/bio diesel etc energy solution
save the rest up for when you have a family, or re-invest to
make more
apart from that maybe buy an album one a week-once a month
if that's possible. and a computer or a battery powered drum
machine+self sequencing synth.
?


 

offline welt on 2011-06-09 14:34 [#02415389]
Points: 2036 Status: Lurker



i manage my money by being stuck in berlin, germany. 50% of
the population (according to some statistic) here doesn't
work, so it's not difficult to get by. ... when i lived in
the uk i saved money by only buying the bare minimum of food
needed + sufficient amounts of beer; when i lived in the
states for a short time i did the same thing. (it was more
difficult in the us, though, cause, at least in california,
the beer was expensive as hell.)


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2011-06-10 01:41 [#02415424]
Points: 18367 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



"If you don't pay your property taxes which will be high
for
decent farmland,"


that a lot of assumption in one sentence


 

offline Moot from Antarctica on 2011-06-15 23:50 [#02415750]
Points: 169 Status: Lurker



Spend only half what I make, invest the other half
Make more than I intend to spend
Don't buy something unless I can pay it cash


 


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