How many of you keep a budget?

[JDgreen]

Many people make a New Years resolution to keep a budget, I have kept one for over 20 years now, meaning I can easily look up how much I spent on groceries or diesel fuel or pet care on any certain month going back that far, as well as being able to track energy use.

I am not so detailed that I record auto-payment items like car insurance or mortgage payments, although it would be easy to do so. And unlike some folks keep a budget that is online, mine are always paper and pen recorded. If you keep a budget it's a lot easier to control your impulse spending because when you see the dollar figures written down, its REAL, not wishful thinking.

I've always compared it to something I saw on a TV show many years back, the program was about restricting your spending by paying cash instead of charging things, the tagline was:

"You spend less when you put Uncle Ben on the counter instead of paying with plastic..." thinking of that always makes me laugh. :laughing::laughing:

 

[KennyV]

I did LONG ago...
When I first discovered it was possible to out spend your income...:laughing:

After using it for a while, I did eventually learn to buy only the things I needed and to know where the best prices were for those things.
Credit Cards are very handy for on line. I have never used a CC for regular purchases... :smile:KennyV

 

[JDgreen]

I did LONG ago...
When I first discovered it was possible to out spend your income...:laughing:

After using it for a while, I did eventually learn to buy only the things I needed and to know where the best prices were for those things.
Credit Cards are very handy for on line. I have never used a CC for regular purchases... :smile:KennyV

I keep a pretty set spending routine...for everyday household expenses like insurance payments, mortgage payments, etc. auto-deduct for my savings account. Purchases over $100 and online, credit card. Under $100, like gas, groceries, dining out, etc. cash only.

 

[KennyV]

I have been 'thinking' of doing the auto deduction for some time... I may have to look into that.
Making things automatic makes good sense in a lot of ways... :smile:KennyV

 

[JDgreen]

I have been 'thinking' of doing the auto deduction for some time... I may have to look into that.
Making things automatic makes good sense in a lot of ways... :smile:KennyV

We have all our paychecks etc. deposited into our credit union account, who also has our mortgage deduction in-house, insurance premiums for both house and cars (discount given for CU membership) are made that way...can make utility bill payments and credit card payments by transferring funds online...in olden days we would go thru a roll of 100 stamps in two months paying bills via the post office and now the same 100 stamps last for two years, also, no worries about theft of mail and we can easily check online to follow up on payments.

Warning...to those who want to do online payments, invest in a good security software suite for your computers and keep it updated, and do regular scans. Online bill paying and banking is reasonably secure, but I will not even log into my AOL mail without activating the Webroot security software that protects my PC first. If you get hacked, it's a huge, time consuming headache trying to straighten everything out. A lot of people say "My ISP provides security software" yeah they do, you get what you pay for....

 

[jd335]

to me keeping a budget has been the best thing sense they put handels on out house doors or pocket's on shirts.just think how good our economy would be if people lived by the rule if i can't reach in my pocket and pay for what im buying i don't need it.:smile