Getting budget started

KTdidit · May 2013

My fiance and I have no set budget, we have a spreadsheet that we keep track of what our bills are and on what paychecks to pay them, but the remainder gets spent/blown without us tracking where it goes. For example, I can make a guess at how much we spend in gas or groceries but I really don't know for sure. So I'm guessing that before we can set a budget we need to know where it all goes right now, right? How does everyone do that? Just an Excel spreadsheet, or do you have a program like Mint.com? (that's the only one I've really heard of.) What's MM's suggestion on how to get started?

vlagrl29 · May 2013

keep receipts of everything for a month so you know where ever penny is going. I still do this 3 years later. I use an excel sheet to keep track of it

CuriousKiddosMama · May 2013

We use an excel spreadsheet to track everything for the month. We didn't exactly know how to start either, but we just decided to jump in. We over budgeted on some things, and underbudgeted on others. We adjusted as we went and now about a year and a half later we have it figured out. When we first started we looked at the spreadsheet weekly to see how we were doing, and adjusted as we needed to.

Prime · May 2013

I use Mint to pull everything in one place then I log everything in a spreadsheet I made.

You definitely need to find a system that works and stick to it to get control of the situation. Since you already use a spreadsheet then that might be the route to start with. Track your spending in the spreadsheet you already have. You are already doing part of it with your bills.

KTdidit · May 2013

Thanks everyone. I made a spreadsheet last night and started filling in everything that we've spent since April 1. Oh my goodness we spend way more than I thought on non-necessities! I figure I will do this until a few months after our wedding next month, since our spending is a little inflated because of wedding things. I also signed up for Mint.com, although it won't sync with my bank account. I'm well on my way, thanks for the suggestions!

lbalek2 · May 2013

Too bad mint won't connect to your bank account. I signed up for mint a few months before our wedding too and it was so helpful. Both of our bank info, credit cards, loans, etc are linked to mint and I can see where we are spending and set a budget each month. Which bank do you have? I have chase and sometimes mint has trouble connecting to it.

KTdidit · May 2013

lbalek2:
Too bad mint won't connect to your bank account. I signed up for mint a few months before our wedding too and it was so helpful. Both of our bank info, credit cards, loans, etc are linked to mint and I can see where we are spending and set a budget each month. Which bank do you have? I have chase and sometimes mint has trouble connecting to it.

I have a bank local to NW Indiana, I contated my bank and they said it should work so I will be calling Mint to see what the problem in. I'd really like to take full advantage of it

Getting budget started

Re: Getting budget started

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