Where my money girls at???

kc0721

Do you follow the DR plan and have a zero left over at the end???  Do you allot all things a category like gas/groceries?? Or do you just pay all your bills and whatever is left is fun money??

DH and I have been on a kick lately and we've been spending waaay to much.  Nothing on things of value either, just going out to much,  having way to much fun, LOL.  We don't follow a budget all that well, and we really need too.  We pay the bills, contribute to savings and whatever is left we spend on "fun things" lol.  I really need to get a little more organized and see exactly where our money goes. 

tippykins

i don't follow DR per se (i'm more of a suze orman kinda girl). but dh and i pretty much just pay off our cc balance every month. we started off trying to follow a budget, but it never really worked out the way i wanted. i plug everything into microsoft money, and just try to be aware of what's going on with our $. i also set aside a certain amount to go to savings every paycheck. i'm not sure if you guys use a money managing sw, but that really helped us get on track.

Iove.wins

My budget only has line items for bills and savings. Everything else is for gas and fun money. I usually have a little that carries over into the next paycheck... generally, I have more that carries over from my mid-month paycheck into my first of the month paycheck than vice versa because the majority of my bills are due the first of the month. But I must say this: I do NOT get paid a lot! I just grew up in a home where money was tight and I'm always scared that when I need it, I'm not going to have any.

We used to be really bad about blowing through our money, but we've just started staying in more, packing lunches, etc and have been surprised at what we have left over at the end of the pay period

edit: I *very* loosely follow DR.

rebekah_p

I pay bills, myself (which is savings), and everything else is gas, groceries, and fun money.  When its gone, its gone, and we eat whatever is left in the house.  I feel like the key is to take out bills and savings up front.  To each is own, I guess. 

Lauren80

We do not end up with zero at the end. But....we pay for our bills and savings goals from a joint account, and we each have our own personal checking accounts. All shared expenses or common savings goals are accounted for in the monthly budget, and we each contribute to that joint account (our contribution to the joint account varies monthly depending on the bills, and is calculated using percentages that are based on our salaries). Every pay period, we dump what we owe to the joint account first, and then whatever is left in our personal account, we can use as we want. We each contribute to our IRA's from our personnal accounts.

I am just very strict about keeping on some form of a budget and keeping all purchases accounted for, where Brandon is not that strict about it, and if all of our money was in one big pot....it would be a bad thing for us. LOL I have to log every purchase in my register....and I "control" the joint account and what is going on with it....I guess you could call me house manager. We talk about the budget every month, and we each have a say, but I keep the books...

That is just what works for us....

 

RachelJohnson

We budget for everything. I also work out a budget for the week rather than the month. I found its easier for us to stay focused and motivated if I do that. I make out a budget for the week and post it on the fridge. That way dh knows whats going where and how much gas he can get....how much fun money he gets...what our grocery budget is. I also put down how much I'm transferring to savings that week but I NEVER write down what is left over. I've found if we look at the budget and see that we have $350 left that week....we are gonna blow some or all of it. Its nice to let that 'mystery' money accumulate

 I hope I made sense...my brain is working so hot today :P

!!Nicole!!

Well I don't have a real budget I guess.  We pay our bills first.  If I have extra I put in savings.  I do allow for eating out and gas every week.  DH works off and he drives far and eats out alot.  I consider gas a bill.  I try not to eat out lunch but only one time a week.  I also try to fix dinners during the week so we don't eat out as much.