It's not supposed to be this hard updated at 59

[8 Bit WWBG]

I've been more diligent about putting it into a spreadsheet on my Droid so that I have it with me at all times.

Like the OP, its the "you hope its not going to happen but deep down know it probably will anyway" things like a vet visit that have been black holes for us.

[The Captain]

For what it's worth, I now use Quicken (used to use MS Money). It's ok and better than a spreadsheet. My hubby was very disengaged from the finances and it was very stressful for me to be the only one minding the "financial" house.

To get on a more even keel we agreed to sit down every sat morning for 30 min and we'd review the prior weeks spending and categories to make sure we were keeping track and sticking to our budget. Things are much better now that we are mostly on the same page.

[writer88]

The trick is to set up budget categories that are right for you. What fits your neighbor may mean squat to you. And the more you connect with the categories, the better the chance you will keep the budget, which is, after all, the key to the kingdom.

Here are the categories I use:

Food
groceries -- includes all paper and personal hygiene
health foods
bakery
fun foods - ice coffees, eating out
Education
Insurance
home
car mandatory
car supplemental
life
assisted life
Long Term & other savings (ret)
work
Social Security
savings accounts
Medical taxes & premiums
health fund
medical tax
income tax
Utilities
electric
gas
cell ph
telephone
internet server
TV tax
Transportation
gas
oil
bus
clothes
property tax
dental bills
pet food / expenses
Entertainment + Fun
household repairs
computer
car repairs
medicine
Bank commissions
Bank Loans (principle)
bank Loan (interest)
I have a column labeled "estimated" and a column labeled "actual" which helps me tweak the budgeted sums from month to month.

I pay expenses with credit and/or debit cards. The purchases are entered onto the spreadsheet(s) the same day they are bought.

I track my income and keep a running bank balance on the same spreadsheet. I keep budgets for the current month as well as for one-to-two months in advance. I use color codes to mark amounts that are estimated, and to give myself reminders.

[teppe2]

Well, I am the perfectionist type, I have 57 categories. Looking at your receipt I would have clothing (kids clothes), diapers/wipes, (yep, diapers), personal well being (vitamins), household (sheets), appliances (juicer).

That said, I just really like to play with Excel, I also have lost of pretty charts and graphs

Our food bill alone has three categories, food (bought at the store), school lunches, and eating out.

[haapai]

One of the wonderful things about double-entry accounting software is that you aren't wedded to the categories that you initially choose. You can always resort and add subcategories later. The program retains information regarding who you bought something from and allows a comment line. You can comfortably all food expenditures -- groceries, pet food, dining out, and take-out -- into a food category and then come back later, sometimes years later, and resort them into subcategories. Sometimes it isn't even necessary to resort them to get the information that you need. For example, if you always bought dog food from a specialty retailer and want to know how much the beast ate all you need to do is pull a report on that vendor.

In the meanwhile, you have a manageable number of categories and reports that fit on one page.

[kristi28]

Jan 6, 2011 11:13:23 GMT -5 @writer88 said:

The trick is to set up budget categories that are right for you. What fits your neighbor may mean squat to you. And the more you connect with the categories, the better the chance you will keep the budget, which is, after all, the key to the kingdom.

Exactly! (It always sounds so much better than I could have said.)

We also have a bunch of specialized categories; they would be ridiculous to most others, but they work for us.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I told DH that I'd posted about this here. He agreed with haapai that I bailed and he punted.

I need to send the link for us to my home computers though because I can't find it online.

[atthebeach]

Jan 5, 2011 17:57:22 GMT -5 The Captain said:

For what it's worth, I now use Quicken (used to use MS Money). It's ok and better than a spreadsheet. My hubby was very disengaged from the finances and it was very stressful for me to be the only one minding the "financial" house.

To get on a more even keel we agreed to sit down every sat morning for 30 min and we'd review the prior weeks spending and categories to make sure we were keeping track and sticking to our budget. Things are much better now that we are mostly on the same page.

I love using Quicken. I download everything from all my accounts and once you set up the categories, it automatically gets them right about 95% of the time. I find it very "set and forget."

Then I look at the pie chart to see where I'm spending all my money. Proceed from there

[kinetickid]

Jan 5, 2011 8:49:56 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

It's not supposed to be this hard, right? DH and I have a hole in our budget. It's the categories of "cash" and "stuff" which basically have been black holes. So starting Jan. 1, we began tracking every penny spent.

DH is an Excel god, so he's using that. I'm an Excel peon so I want to learn what he's doing and how but that's a different issue.

For those who track every penny onto spreadsheets (or whatever) what categories do you use? I think we spent almost as much time discussing that as we did entering 4 days of receipts, well, except for the Target one. We've got food, kid clothes, kid needs (diapers, vitamins, etc.), several others and the one DH seems to hate the most - "infrequent purchases" for basically one time purchases - sheets for DD twin bed when we move her out of the crib in a couple of weeks and a new juicer for DH. How do you handle that type of thing?

We also use Excel.

We have EVERY conceivable category in our budget including for those rare or once-a-year expenses like auto registration, vet visits, prescriptions/co-pays, car maintenance, etc.

We accrue money for all of these accounts each month even if we don't actually have any expenses for those categories during the month. By the time we actually do have an expense, we have the dough in our account for it.

[kinetickid]

Jan 5, 2011 17:57:22 GMT -5 The Captain said:

For what it's worth, I now use Quicken (used to use MS Money). It's ok and better than a spreadsheet.

With Excel, you're not limited to spreadsheets. If you're experienced with it, you can create all sorts of functions and formulae.

[DVM gone riding]

I budget but don't track-if that makes sense! You can have as many or as few categories that make you both happy. Personally I found to many made me even worse at figuring it out and that general categories worked better for me.

[hurricanegirl]

I, too am new at this - I started tracking expenditures Janyary 2010

track big items like utilities, house taxes, car insurance, gasoline and maintenance on auto's. etc seperately

I give myself 2 allowances...
grocery store expenditure (which can be anything I buy at the grocery store, aspirin, diapers, cat food, etc)
"my cash" which I use for whatever I want
If I dont spend all of my allowance this week,,,I give myself that much less next week, so my balances remain the same each week ( I make sure I dont overspend that allowance)
For a beginer it is working ok for me, I will probably get more sophisticated as time goes on

[ummboutthat]

The trick is to set up budget categories that are right for you. What fits your neighbor may mean squat to you. And the more you connect with the categories, the better the chance you will keep the budget, which is, after all, the key to the kingdom.

I send out my spreadsheet at the end of the year to email people I know. I would post it here but not sure how to (just yet)
my categories are:
......................................January
Auto / Nikita...................392.96
Bills................................4,088.92
Court.............................0.00
Dry Cleaners.................20.00
Entertainment............... 0.00
Food..............................648.66
Gas............................... 162.00
Gifts.............................. 15.99
Hair................................ 60.00
Loans........................... 0.00
Laundry........................ 30.00
Machine....................... 10.85
Medical........................ 126.94
Payback....................... 351.61
Stuff for me................. 173.34
Toll............................. 0.00
Vacation........................ 13.35

[phil5185]

Hair................................ 60.00

You spend $720/yr on hair?

[Deleted]

Jan 8, 2011 12:02:08 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

Hair................................ 60.00

You spend $720/yr on hair?

I was going to say that's no big deal, but it does seem a lot for a man. And the rest of the budget doesn't seem to be for a couple. Well the fact that there is a stuff for me line but no stuff for her line makes it seem like it isn't for a couple.

[motherto2]

First, Krist28, love the kitty!! LOL!

I am having trouble trying to keep a couple of my accounts straight also. I have all of my fixed items, mortgage, savings, electric, cell, life ins., car ins., cable, etc. Those are the easy ones. They don't stray more than a few dollars here and there. The ones I keep stumbling over are gas for the car, groceries, misc. (lunches out, birthday expenses, etc), and pup. I allow so much for each category each payday (I get paid every 2 weeks). My problem is, I'll put gas in my car, but then have to turn around and put gas in one of the kids cars (I drive them to keep them running once a week while they are away). I'll buy groceries at Walmart, but then I might buy a few other things that don't qualify as groceries. The pup costs money on occassion for grooming, food, meds, etc. A prime example is running errands yesterday in town while waiting for him to be groomed. I run in here, run in there, and before I know it, I've spent my budget for the next 2 weeks, but not necessarily for what I meant to. Then I transfer money out of the clothing account for instance, and do alot of things in my head that takes into account a couple of different transfers, and before I know it I've lost the bubble. Not extreme or anything, but I lose track of the budget items. I don't have a smart phone, but I have a feeling if I did I could do a little better tracking. Not worth the extra $30 a month. My cell bill is through the roof as it is with me, the kids and my folks all on my bill. These four categories only take about $260 of the budget, so it's not a lot of money, but I just can't seem to find what will work with me. I've tried cash envelopes and that didn't work either. Suggestions?

[ummboutthat]

Jan 8, 2011 12:02:08 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

Hair................................ 60.00

You spend $720/yr on hair?

yea? well still putting together 2010 but 2009 was $595
I get a cut almost every week at $20 and on his B-Day I'll give him a $50.

[ummboutthat]

Jan 8, 2011 12:32:26 GMT -5 @justaposter said:

Jan 8, 2011 12:02:08 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

Hair................................ 60.00

You spend $720/yr on hair?

I was going to say that's no big deal, but it does seem a lot for a man. And the rest of the budget doesn't seem to be for a couple. Well the fact that there is a stuff for me line but no stuff for her line makes it seem like it isn't for a couple.

I live with my GF and this is money that comes out MY pockets. She was fired from work and now towards the end of 2010 my loan row is going to be a lot!

[Deleted]

Ok, if you have a flex account, do you still include it in your budget? I don't since I already budgeted for X amount of medical expenses. When we near the end of the $$$, then I start budgeting for medical expenses again. But not until then.

None of this was ever used for "miscellaneous" medical expenses. We have certain co-pays and certain maintenance doctor visits every year. A couple of times a year I might visit the Urgent Care place and have an additional 'script.

[mrsgords]

I use Quicken, which suggests categories. I've been trying to shorten my list of categories as it's gotten too long over the years. I hear mint.com will automatically create your categories.

[bobosensei]

DH and I have an AmEx category. We put most food and household and personal expenditures on the AmEx. As long as we don't go over what we want to spend on the AmEx for the month we don't track further than that. I guess we are lucky that we have never really had to do that.

[Gardening Grandma]

My problem is, I'll put gas in my car, but then have to turn around and put gas in one of the kids cars (I drive them to keep them running once a week while they are away).
So, if you are going to put gas in the kids cars, figure out how much per month (or pay period) your gas total is and budget that amount.


I'll buy groceries at Walmart, but then I might buy a few other things that don't qualify as groceries.
One option is to ring them up separately.

The pup costs money on occassion for grooming, food, meds, etc.
We have a "Dog" category for food, vet, grooming, etc

A prime example is running errands yesterday in town while waiting for him to be groomed. I run in here, run in there, and before I know it, I've spent my budget for the next 2 weeks, but not necessarily for what I meant to.
Take a list with you of what you absolutely intend to spend and what for. Get only what is on the list. Then take a book to read instead of running here and there.

Then I transfer money out of the clothing account for instance, and do alot of things in my head that takes into account a couple of different transfers, and before I know it I've lost the bubble. Not extreme or anything, but I lose track of the budget items. I don't have a smart phone, but I have a feeling if I did I could do a little better tracking. Not worth the extra $30 a month. My cell bill is through the roof as it is with me, the kids and my folks all on my bill. These four categories only take about $260 of the budget, so it's not a lot of money, but I just can't seem to find what will work with me. I've tried cash envelopes and that didn't work either.
Stop doing it in your head. Sit down and do it on paper or the computer. Save all of your receipts until it's accounted for. You don't need a smart phone. You need to simplify, then stick to your plan.

Suggestions?[/i]
Here is what I do - YMMV. DH and I put our purchases on one rewards card. We keep the receipts. I set the receipts next to my keyboard to enter into Quicken where I have about 20 categories. I enter the information - if I have to split a transaction, Quicken allows me to do that (one transaction might have groceries, wine and paper towels, for example). At any time, I can pull up a report from Quicken that shows the budgeted amount and the amount spent so far.
I keep track of the running total on the rewards CC and subtract that amount from my check register so that there will always be enough to pay off the CC in full at the end of the month.
hope this helps

[ummboutthat]

I recently joined the mint after reading about it here...on another thread..

[suziq38]

I used a small, spiral notebook to track all expenses.
He would have one, and so would you.
This way, both of you should be recording every purchase.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Jan 10, 2011 3:17:37 GMT -5 suziq38 said:

I used a small, spiral notebook to track all expenses.
He would have one, and so would you.
This way, both of you should be recording every purchase.

Currently, we're collecting receipts and sending emails. He pays the bills and does the majority of the shopping (I have a problem sticking to a list...), I basically pay dcp because I drop and pickup the kids. Oh I sometimes buy lunch and I pay "house dues" at work that covers tea, coffee, bread, condiments, etc. It's a fire dept. thing.

We do the combined money thing, if I didn't mention it. And the other poster is right - the 'regular' bills are easy. They don't vary a whole lot. It's trying to get the free spending under control or at least catagorized that's the problem.

Oh, DH started a new diet plan. So the food bill is going up (it's lots of organics/whole grains/raw veggies) but he can't drink so that part is going down. And I'm eating the leftovers since he can't so me buying lunch a few days a week is pretty much over too. Well, it's a work in progress, right?

[Wisconsin Beth]

we started a separate line for my house dues. I do support for our Fire Dept. and the house dues were a condition of employment. I know the field does some kind of meal fund + house dues but I have no clue how it works out.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I think we also go against conventional wisdom with how we budget for non-reoccurring expenses. My example for this is firewood which we buy each year. In September we typically buy 2 cords for ~400. I really don't see the point in saving a portion of that each month when I know It's going to come up in September. So when that month comes up, I have an 'other' line with a side note that it is for wood. Usually our savings, entertainment, hh misc are less that month.

The same with random presents throughout the year... we don't have a gift line item, we just figure out what non-essential line we can take from

We're trying to figure out what the lines are and then how essential/unessential they are. We are changing the categories as we go.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Well, the first month is just about over and it was interesting. We're at a hair over $1600 for the month on food and "stuff"

Our cc bill for Jan is set and it's a bit under $500. Lowest we've had in quite a while. I have a vague thought that food for 4 was around $450. DH is on a gluten free, organic diet right now so while there's probably some room to play in there, we're actually kinda happy with it. That includes takeout and treats (soda/vending machines for me at work) which wasn't bad either.

We spent a couple hundred dollars on a juicer and kids clothing so next month should be lower in those categories. I think I like the categories we've ended up with.

I should add, we track the regular bills just fine on a different page of the spreadsheet. They're pretty much cut and dried, with the exception of dcp, utilites and heloc. DH refuses to use the budget plan for the utilities and dcp is a "pay only for the days you use" deal. Feb. will see us using more days as my parents who watch the kids 1 day a week will be unable to watch them for 3 days due to Jury Duty and vacation. I may use some vacation time to combat that, we'll see. We usually pay $500 to the HELOC every month (min. is like $40) but we short that as needed.

[ca]

Um...$720 is not a lot for hair cuts for a year if you like your hair short and neat and respectable. Everyone's hair is different. I'm a man, I go every 3-4 weeks to a great hair dresser. She charges $38 including tax and I give her a $5 tip. So $43 a go, say eveyr 3 weeks at 52 weeks a year is $745 a year. Toronto is expensive, but I get a great cut and look good and feel good. Totally worth it. I could go to the mall and pay about $25 including tip at some walk in place, but I wouldn't get a good cut every time and I wouldn't have a great talk with my hairdresser either, who knows my friends and me and is fantastic.

So...please stop berating people for their $720 a year in haircuts. It's not bad at all. You people sound like the kind who make their own goddamn deoderant in their crockpot. Shut it.

These are my expense categories in Excel, OP:

Rent Groceries Eating Out Drinking/Bars Personal Care Gifts/Charity Auto Cable/Internt DVDs Books Ent Clothes Vacation Household

[ummboutthat]

Thanks CA well said!!