Hey GABbers, Long time no see just wanted to see how everyone is doing seen our last meeting, it was great meeting you all then.
So I've been researching budgeting, now I've been just doing research on what people have to say about budgeting and different options banks offer to help people save money. The concept sounds so easy so i figured I would put myself to the test. Can I do as I say?
So for the last few weeks I have taken all my credit and debt cards out of my wallet and have limited myself a certain amount of cash I can use per week. Turns out that is harder then it sounds. Im used to going to the store or hanging out at the mall with my friends and when the bill came I just swiped my card. Now I'm counting pennies by the end of the week.
So does anyone have any good budgeting methods? Thanks
Steven
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5 comments:
It is hard isn't it??? We don't realize how quickly and easily we spend money with that piece of plastic we carry around!
It's funny because I thought that the best tracking method for me would be to collect all my receipts and then diligently enter the information into a spreadsheet or a software program. As it turns out, it works better for me to give myself weekly "envelopes" of cash for my variable expenses (i.e. food and entertainment). After I tracked my spending the first time using receipts, I realized that my problem areas were those variable expenses.
I would encourage you to ask your parents or other family members to see what they do for budgeting (if they even have one!)
Hey Steve,
This is a really good post. Others before you have experienced the same thing!
One of our former young adult program students name Kristina, took me up on a challenge: to track her spending for 21 days on a pocket spending tracker, and at the end of those 21 days, figure out how she can cut her expenses and save more money just by reviewing her current habits.
At the end of the 21 days, Kristina not only had implemented a new habit (it takes 21 days to create a new habit!), but she also realized that she was spending nearly $100 a week on fast food. She also ended up cutting back on the amount of fast food purchased and lost 10 pounds!
I say all this to say that a great first step in budgeting is to track your spending for a month to figure out spending habits and learn where to cut back, save, etc. This is not only good for personal finance, but it could lead to a lifestyle change like it did with Kristina.
Good luck!
Hi Steve. It's good you've made a change to using a certain amount of cash per week. It's good that you are trying something new to approach a new wiser choice of spending your money. I think that's a good idea, but I also think it would be better if you took the time to write down what you spend, then you can see how much you spend per month as a total. Then take a more reasonable amount of money out for your needs. Then have a separate amount of money for your wants. When you take a look at that you can see if you are spending too much on your wants. If it's hurting you to spend as much as you do on your friends then you need to cut back. (You must be a good friend.) Maybe you and your friends can do something that's free. It's good you're discovering how you're spending your money, then you can make positive changes.
Gwen
So I just read a book by Suze Orman, I don't know if you have heard of her or not but the first part is about budgeting and a "financial Save Yourself Plan." if you need more information or you want tips for the outreach portion of the project you might want to check it out, Its probably in the library. Its called Women and Money and I know you happen to be the only guy in the group but you still can get some tips from it if you would like. I hope this helps.
Steve your method seemed very harsh. Its like you closed your eyes and went in your wallet and chose a rough amount to survive off of for the entire week. Im curious to how much did you allow yourself to spend? What did you spend your money on? and...What day of the week did you start counting pennies?
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