Do Any of You Have Your Budget down to a T?

I have been listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio. He is on from 1-4 pm on 570 AM. We plan on going to see him live in February here in Dallas. Here is his website:

http://daveramsey.com/

Good Luck,
J.
____@____.com

I also have a spreadsheet, probably like Stacy's, that breaks down income and expenses. I also have a budget plan, and the most important thing that helps us stay on track is that we get an "allowance" each week, that we can spend or save on anything we want without getting the other person's "approval". Any other expenses outside the budget we must have approval by both of us - that way we don't start spending like crazy on stupid things that we really don't need. Also, as far as the breakdown goes for other "extras" some I have included in the weekly budget i.e entertainment, while others, such as an item we may want like a new truck, or a piece of furniture, etc, comes from the Savings account. Each week I put an amount into our savings account and I keep a spread sheet with each sub-account listed on it and divide out each amount to get to the total amount I saved that week. This way we save up for bigger items over time, and I know exactly how long it will take to save that amount. Hope this helps. Once you get it up and running it is pretty easy to stick with as long as you are realistic about your expenses (average the bills out from a 12 month period); and then it gives you a clear idea of what you have left to save. Good luck.

I usually use the crown.org budget. even though it's published by a christian financial company it can be applied to anyone. go to the main page at www.crown.org. Click on "tools"and click on "spending plan" in the menu that comes down. you enter your annual income and taxes (tithe is optional) and press "calculate budget". it gives you a sheet of recommended amounts to spend per month determined by percentages of income (ie. 36% for housing, etc). the school/childcare category and investment category are extra--you would have to deduct from other categories to have that money available. I generally try to use this as a guideline--it's helpful and can adjust amounts according to what I actually spend. i like that it takes into acount the clothing and miscellaneous categories you mentioned. hope this helps!
Jennifer

A. can you send me your email address. I have a template excel spreadsheet that is very organized.

It breaks things down by income, Home Expenses, Daily living expenses, Transportation, Health, Recreation, Dues/Supscription, Personal (ie Clothes/Salon), Financial Obligations & Other Expensives... all with subcatagories.

I can email it to you or anyone else who may be looking for something like this. My email is ____@____.com.

I would love to get any help from you regarding getting on a budget sespecially since funds are VERY limited around here especially since I am a single mom of a almost 19 month old and have a almost 16 yr old that live w/his dad that I have to pick up every other wkend from Sulper Springs and bring back which is definitely an added expensive on my gas.
I love spending time w/my children but sometime I am not able to see my older son cause of gas prices and limited funds.

Thanks and all help is appreciated.
M.

We went to a budget counsellor at Denton Bible Church to plan our budget. It's been great. I have a sheet that basically lists all the areas to consider when you're creating your budget (we even take out a monthly allotment to cover for annual expenses like car tags, etc). After that it's just a matter of crunching numbers and moving funds from one item to another until you have a budget that's workable and realistic for you. I've done it long enough that I can help you with yours if you like.