backstreetboy
Honorary Master
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No thanks. Not going to live like a hermit.
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Question of the Day: Will you be subscribing to the new Disney+ R49 streaming package?
Do you keep a monthly budget?
- Thread starter Herr der Verboten
- Start date
ShaunSA
Derailment Squad
Starting a budget helped get us out of a financial hole. So while we may not live like kings we certainly don't live like hermits.
I studied on a student loan and learned to make every cent count (and where the cheapest beer is). I’ve kept doing a budget for the past 20+ years. Do we stick to it. Mostly. The budgeting led to the principle that we don’t buy anything (except house and car) if we don’t have the cash for it.
konfab
Honorary Master
I have been living on what is effectively the same Google sheet budget sheet since about 2015.
I divided expenses into "weekly", "monthly" and "yearly" expenses. Weekly expenses are things payed for on a weekly basis, like groceries and household items. Monthly expenses are things that are payed once a month, like electricity, water, rates, levies and fuel (and now cat food). And yearly expenses are things like saving up for car services, etc. I also had an unplanned category that I put money into as well.
This broadly reflected what Capitec could offer, as they only allow 4 extra sub accounts.
This spreadsheet has everything on it, including debt orders, stuff I send to my mom and all that. It also has toggle buttons that I use to check when a debt order goes off, so it gives a running total of what I need to have in my account in order to make sure debt orders are all clear. (I am still paranoid, so I try not move some items into their accounts, like my discretionary spending amount until all of them have gone off) .
Fast forward to 2022, and we have Bank Zero, with its infinite amount of sub accounts. Now I have separate items for things I want to save up for, like birthday presents for my wife, holidays, as well as a dedicated medical expenses fund. I also have a hobby account which is used to fund my two hobbies. I also don't buy groceries anymore, as that is a responsibility I have delegated for my wife. So she has a similar system with weekly grocery budgets and I just pay her every month.
I divided expenses into "weekly", "monthly" and "yearly" expenses. Weekly expenses are things payed for on a weekly basis, like groceries and household items. Monthly expenses are things that are payed once a month, like electricity, water, rates, levies and fuel (and now cat food). And yearly expenses are things like saving up for car services, etc. I also had an unplanned category that I put money into as well.
This broadly reflected what Capitec could offer, as they only allow 4 extra sub accounts.
This spreadsheet has everything on it, including debt orders, stuff I send to my mom and all that. It also has toggle buttons that I use to check when a debt order goes off, so it gives a running total of what I need to have in my account in order to make sure debt orders are all clear. (I am still paranoid, so I try not move some items into their accounts, like my discretionary spending amount until all of them have gone off) .
Fast forward to 2022, and we have Bank Zero, with its infinite amount of sub accounts. Now I have separate items for things I want to save up for, like birthday presents for my wife, holidays, as well as a dedicated medical expenses fund. I also have a hobby account which is used to fund my two hobbies. I also don't buy groceries anymore, as that is a responsibility I have delegated for my wife. So she has a similar system with weekly grocery budgets and I just pay her every month.