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Mustard Seed Money

Mustard Seed Money

Why You Need a Budget Badly

August 10, 2016

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

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The word “budget” tends to deter people.  I get it.  Who wants to feel limited in their spending?  Plus, some find it overwhelming to find out how much of their money is being allocated in certain areas.  Ignorance is bliss, right?  Wrong.  In actuality, a budget will empower you because you will gain complete control over your finances.  I hope to convince you why you need a budget badly.  

 

Crawl, Walk, Run

The easiest way to begin is writing down on a piece of paper all the expenses that you incur on a monthly basis.  Then, you can start creating a budget.  Here is a quick and easy budget that you can utilize to start writing down all of your expenses.  There are many great budgets, but the one that I like the most is the zero-based budget, which is very simple to use.  Each month, you determine where to allocate the money that you make into the various budget categories that you create.  If you have a paycheck that does not fluctuate, this means at the end of the month, you should not have any leftover money.  Each dollar should be allocated to a designated purpose.  If you are in sales or receive a paycheck that varies each month, this is a great budget for irregular income.

 

bag-and-handsIf you are married or thinking about it one day, I highly encourage that BOTH spouses are involved with the budget conversation.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  Talk to your spouse.  The number one thing couples fight about is money.  Breakdown these barriers, and start the conversation TODAY.

 

 

Ways to Track Expenses

Using Free Online Tools

The easiest way to budget is utilizing a free website online like Personal Capital or Mint.  These are two of the more popular websites, and I personally can vouch for both.  Both have very simple interfaces and are very intuitive to use.  The biggest problem with these websites when using them for a budget is you have to manually enter when you pay something in cash.  Overall, though, both of these websites are great to use.  In a future post, I plan to break down the advantages and disadvantages of both of these websites along with YNAB, which costs $5 per month.  Although I have heard great things about this website, I have not had personal experience with it yet, but stay tuned.

 

Cash Envelope System

icon-1332774For those who don’t use credit cards, the cash envelope system is a great budgeting method.  This is one of the methods that Dave Ramsey teaches in his courses with great results.  The science behind it is that you are more likely to feel the pain of the purchase if you pay in cash versus paying with a credit card.  Thus, you are less likely to overspend using cash. To utilize the envelope system, each month you will take out the budgeted amount of cash for the various expenses and place into the appropriate envelope.  It’s super easy.  When you use up all the cash in your envelope for the category, you are done for the month.  

 

Excel or Google Spreadsheet

Finally, you can go 90’s old school using an Excel or Google spreadsheet.  If you are familiar with spreadsheets, these are both easy options and will allow you to have more control while you enter your expenses manually.  The nicest option about Google Spreadsheets is the ability to share your spreadsheet with other Google users.  This comes in handy if you have a spouse that will share in the responsibility to track expenses.

 

With that said, these tools are only as good as the users that utilize them.  Budgeting is like dieting, if you don’t follow the program, don’t expect great results.

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Comments

  1. Jef Miles says

    November 6, 2016 at 11:32 pm

    Definitely agree on the needing a budget although I call them “spending plans”.. It’s the same sort of thing although good on you for promoting this.. I know this will make me a bit of a nerd although I’m a bit of a budget geek 😉

    Reply
    • Mustard Seed Money says

      November 7, 2016 at 6:25 pm

      Thanks for sharing Jef. Spending plan sounds much better than budget. I will definitely start using that term in the foreseeable future 🙂 Thanks!!!

      Reply
      • Jef Miles says

        November 7, 2016 at 8:40 pm

        You’re welcome MSM, it’s mostly semantics 😉 haha..
        Looking forward to reading more of your content!

        Reply
  2. Fiona says

    January 7, 2017 at 11:12 am

    We’re really good at saving money but don’t tend budget quite as hard as we probably should. Planning to try and do it gradually in various areas of our spending until we’ve got it down to a level we are happy with.

    Reply
    • Mustard Seed Money says

      January 7, 2017 at 9:31 pm

      Thanks for sharing Fiona!!! I definitely think it’s easy to get lax when you’re saving a good amount. I know at times that I do as well.

      Thanks for stopping by!!!

      Reply
  3. Holden Alexander says

    March 16, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    I love the way Jef explained it as a “Spending Plan.” That really captures the essence of what a budget provides: freedom! When you set budgets, you have total freedom to burn through that money up until the threshold. That actually makes it liberating. Let’s say you have a $800/month grocery budget (among other budgets such as savings, retirement, travel, mortgage, etc.). If you have $100 left over with three days remaining in the month, how fun and liberating is it to go out to a nice steak dinner, or buy those sunglasses you have been wanting, etc. The goal of a budget is to provide buckets or safeguards, much like the water-holds in a ship. Budgets keep you from sinking but don’t hestitate to have fun and empty the bucket if some is left over. Just my thoughts. Thanks MSM!
    Holden Alexander recently posted…Economics Experienced: A Hidden Gem from the DepressionMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mustard Seed Money says

      March 16, 2017 at 7:21 pm

      Thanks for the awesome comments Holden!!! I definitely agree that staying within budget is an awesome feeling. Telling your money where it belongs is such a freeing moment and definitely gets you on the life you want to lead 🙂

      Reply
      • Jef says

        March 17, 2017 at 12:42 am

        Hi Holden, appreciate the kind words from you here! Great feedback and a big part of what we and MSM blog about!
        Hope to see you around more 🙂

        Reply

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