How do you budget?

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mr_norris

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I'm wondering how everyone else manages their money. I have a "system", and to be quite honest, I don't think it works that well.

- I get paid on the 25th
- I wait for all my debits to go through
- I transfer what's left to my Credit Card

I then use my credit card the whole month, from buying petrol to food, to paying telkom. It's how I roll.

It's worked for me for years. I'm managing my debt, I'm careful with my Credit Card. I suppose the clear downside is not setting allowances for certain things, like food or entertainment. So the possibility of overspending is there.

So how do you do it?
 
Hey I basically do the same, except I only transfer half of what is left and try not to use my credit card.
If the cash is finished I will switch over to the credit card but only for necessities like petrol.
 
I have a CC with a limit of R100 (not R100k, literally R100)

I get paid into a current account and transfer living expenses to CC (~65% of pay. I aim to save 40% each month). I do not spend what I do not have. I use the CC purely for convenience and the insurance it provides. If my CC is running low towards the end of the month, I either don't bother going out or I do a once off transfer. The effort required for this combined with my laziness ensures that equilibrium is maintained. I am single at the moment though, and I'm sure that makes a huge difference.

Any money left over at the end of the month gets invested.

Another trick is to try live off of last month's paycheck. It gives you a comfortable buffer, but it does mean that you will have to eat beans and veg curry for a month.
 
mr_norris said:
- I get paid on the 25th
- I wait for all my debits to go through
- I transfer what's left to my Credit Card
Click to expand...

- I get paid on the last day of the month.
- On the 1st I transfer whatever is left from the previous month to my credit card, this is spending money or savings for a goal.
- Then my debits go off which includes whatever investments I've statically budgeted for.

That way if the **** hits the fan I always have at least a few grand sitting on my credit card. And when the **** doesn't hit the fan I have money to buy stuff that I really want but don't necessarily need. I already have enough invested every month (40% of my salary) but if it accumulates too heavily on the CC I look into paying over lump sums.
 
I get paid...usually a day before the end of the month. Wait for debits to go through etc.

Then I spend whatever is necessary and keep track of it all on an Excel spreadsheet. I have set allowances that I usually stick to, but don't find it that necessary since I am somewhat 'thrifty' and have no problems with buying stuff I don't need.

In the rare case I get close to a set allowance I cut back on that item if possible (Generous allowances FTW :D). Though I have spent weekends at home due to my petrol budget being depleted...This month I will go the entire month on one tank so the petrol allowance is safe. :whistle:

Oh and I have 2 set amounts I transfer for savings every month, one for immediate access in a savings account and the other to an Allan Gray fund. Have a credit card but only use it for Tolls. .|.. E-tolls.
 
mr_norris said:
I'm wondering how everyone else manages their money. I have a "system", and to be quite honest, I don't think it works that well.

- I get paid on the 25th
- I wait for all my debits to go through
- I transfer what's left to my Credit Card

I then use my credit card the whole month, from buying petrol to food, to paying telkom. It's how I roll.

It's worked for me for years. I'm managing my debt, I'm careful with my Credit Card. I suppose the clear downside is not setting allowances for certain things, like food or entertainment. So the possibility of overspending is there.

So how do you do it?
Click to expand...

I pretty much do the first two out of the three steps you mentioned above, get paid, wait for debit orders to clear, then budget the rest with the intention to save as much as possible. I have an app on my phone which I can use to track bank accounts, expenses, investments, etc. so I always know how much I have and how much I've spent on say groceries for the month. Much more convenient to use than a Excel spreadsheet because you can update it anytime and anywhere!

Although I'm not sure why you would transfer your money to your credit card. Aren't the new chipped debit cards just as secure and you don't pay additional charges or interest if you transfer money to someone? Just asking.
 
I have a spread sheet listing every debit order, cash purchase (electricity,maid,day care,etc) and our average weekly grocery spend multiplied by number of weeks left in the month. I sum those and subtract from my bank balance. Every few days I check which debit orders have gone off, which cash things I've payed and how much fuel/groceries I've bought. I then delete those lines of the spreadsheet and update my bank balance.
 
Macethy said:
I pretty much do the first two out of the three steps you mentioned above, get paid, wait for debit orders to clear, then budget the rest with the intention to save as much as possible. I have an app on my phone which I can use to track bank accounts, expenses, investments, etc. so I always know how much I have and how much I've spent on say groceries for the month. Much more convenient to use than a Excel spreadsheet because you can update it anytime and anywhere!

Although I'm not sure why you would transfer your money to your credit card. Aren't the new chipped debit cards just as secure and you don't pay additional charges or interest if you transfer money to someone? Just asking.
Click to expand...

I think they do that because Credit Cards come with insurance by default, but not sure don't have a credit card, still a student
 
- I get paid on the 25th
- Same day pay what ever bills i can pay via EFT (ISP, school fees etc)
- Let any Debits go off (try to keep as little debits as possible)
-Pay day to day with my Cheque card
-On the evening of the 24th I deposit whatever i have left in to my Credit card

We make a list of all Debits, payments and estimates for groceries etc, and try to come out with the balance at the end of the month that goes into the Credit card - Of course doesn't always work out like that.
 
agentrfr said:
I have a CC with a limit of R100 (not R100k, literally R100)

I get paid into a current account and transfer living expenses to CC (~65% of pay. I aim to save 40% each month). I do not spend what I do not have. I use the CC purely for convenience and the insurance it provides. If my CC is running low towards the end of the month, I either don't bother going out or I do a once off transfer. The effort required for this combined with my laziness ensures that equilibrium is maintained. I am single at the moment though, and I'm sure that makes a huge difference.

Any money left over at the end of the month gets invested.

Another trick is to try live off of last month's paycheck. It gives you a comfortable buffer, but it does mean that you will have to eat beans and veg curry for a month.
Click to expand...

Great advice. I certainly wouldn't mind getting to that stage sometime. I've been using my CC system for years now, because back when I got it, Sub-Standard Bank used to charge for swiping my debit card.

My CC has no yearly fee or card fees, unless I pay for petrol using the garage card.

You don't have to share as I understand that it may be a bit private, but do you invest in something like SATRIX 40, or dump in a savings account?

SauRoNZA said:
- I get paid on the last day of the month.
- On the 1st I transfer whatever is left from the previous month to my credit card, this is spending money or savings for a goal.
- Then my debits go off which includes whatever investments I've statically budgeted for.

That way if the **** hits the fan I always have at least a few grand sitting on my credit card. And when the **** doesn't hit the fan I have money to buy stuff that I really want but don't necessarily need. I already have enough invested every month (40% of my salary) but if it accumulates too heavily on the CC I look into paying over lump sums.
Click to expand...

Would you mind sharing how what you invest in? I understand if you'd rather not though :)

nicbst said:
I get paid...usually a day before the end of the month. Wait for debits to go through etc.

Then I spend whatever is necessary and keep track of it all on an Excel spreadsheet. I have set allowances that I usually stick to, but don't find it that necessary since I am somewhat 'thrifty' and have no problems with buying stuff I don't need.

In the rare case I get close to a set allowance I cut back on that item if possible (Generous allowances FTW :D). Though I have spent weekends at home due to my petrol budget being depleted...This month I will go the entire month on one tank so the petrol allowance is safe. :whistle:

Oh and I have 2 set amounts I transfer for savings every month, one for immediate access in a savings account and the other to an Allan Gray fund. Have a credit card but only use it for Tolls. .|.. E-tolls.
Click to expand...

Nice, almost like me, except I'm only looking at investing / saving from now.

I thought there would be a lot of people using fancy budget applications. Guess I thought wrong :P
 
Macethy said:
Although I'm not sure why you would transfer your money to your credit card. Aren't the new chipped debit cards just as secure and you don't pay additional charges or interest if you transfer money to someone? Just asking.
Click to expand...

It comes from putting myself in debt due to unforeseen circumstances.

I try minimise the interest I have to pay by dumping as much cash as I can into it every month. After a while of transferring and spending, I work my way back to a positive balance and then fall back to using my cheque card.
 
We work on a 12 month budget due to the nature of my income i.e. not regular in amounts and or time.

So towards the end of the year I usually make one large withdrawal and or many smaller ones and this is split into two parts. The first part is stashed into a good interest bearing account i.e. Capitec. All fixed monthly expenses are then paid in advance for the year from this account. We however only pay those where we get a good discount in advance, the rest just goes off monthly from this account by debit order meaning that we still get relatively good interest on the balance.

70% of the second part is split between my wife and I and go into our separate personal accounts. The other 30% is held in reserve for unplanned expenses and or to plug any holes until such time as I can bring funds over [usually 5 days].

Any large purchases, i.e. anything exceeding 2 months 'pay', like for example a new vehicle is planned for a year in advance and the necessary funds for that is then included in the next years withdrawals.

What ever is left in any of our accounts come end of the year is transferred directly to our savings/investments and we start all over.
 
Please, let me start off by saying I do not work for this particular company or trying to endorse a product, but for me budgeting used to be a necessary evil for me to even come out OK every month.
Have a look at Pastel My Money - its an online budgeting system I now use and it really gives insight into your spending habits with graphs etc. It really is cool and has helped me immensely.
It does take a few minutes to set up but well worth it.
Again, I am not trying to spam - just thought I would let you know what I use.
 
*I get paid on the 25th
*Debits go through on the 26th
*I transfer what's left to my mortgage account
*on the 30th, I settle my CC bill in full (I do a transfer from the mortgage account)

Works like a charm
 
ivusi said:
Please, let me start off by saying I do not work for this particular company or trying to endorse a product, but for me budgeting used to be a necessary evil for me to even come out OK every month.
Have a look at Pastel My Money - its an online budgeting system I now use and it really gives insight into your spending habits with graphs etc. It really is cool and has helped me immensely.
It does take a few minutes to set up but well worth it.
Again, I am not trying to spam - just thought I would let you know what I use.
Click to expand...

Why would you need such a detailed view e.g graphs, of your spending? Why not just use an excel spreadsheet?
 
Last edited:
- Paid on the 25th
- Pay any accounts that need to be paid by EFT (Telkom, Levies, Rates etc)
- Tenant pays me on the 31st
- Debit orders go off on the 1st
- Pay back outstanding amounts on credit card
- See how much is left over
- I try keep a balance of X amount to use for the month.
- Leftover - Y = X
- Chuck Y into bond
- Then use X for the next month
- Any unforeseen purchases go on my credit card and try split it over the 60 days interest free period to pay back

I try to use my credit card as little as possible as I'm trying to keep my mind set out of the "It's fine to be in debt" if that makes sense?
 
mr_norris said:
Pretty website, and it looks useful, but what's your experience with it?

IE: is it worth paying the subscription when you can just figure things out in Excel?
Click to expand...

It’s amazing, you could do everything in excel but for R25 a month this is totally worth the time you could be spending doing something else instead.
 
F1 Fan said:
*I get paid on the 25th
*Debits go through on the 26th
*I transfer what's left to my mortgage account
*on the 30th, I settle my CC bill in full (I do a transfer from the mortgage account)

Works like a charm
Click to expand...

I used to do something similar, but quit using the CC because of the extra E-bucks fee. :whistle: Using my debit card for most transactions now.
 
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