How to budget

[Anonymous]

I make a budget, but there are so many things I've never thought of. I am never ON target. How does one do this?

[Anonymous]

I started using mint.com. I took my income and then worked down from there.

Take home: $10K (monthly)

Expenses
mortgage
childcare
car insurance
utilities
gas
food
student loans
parking
shopping
dr/prescriptions
home services (cleaning person, gardener)
charity
travel

Some of these are fixed expenses, others you guestimate but after you use mint for a month, you can classify all your expenses and see what you are actually spending. I found it really helpful. If I am spending $1000 on food, it will be unrealistic for me to set a budget of $500.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started using mint.com. I took my income and then worked down from there.

Take home: $10K (monthly)

Expenses
mortgage
childcare
car insurance
utilities
gas
food
student loans
parking
shopping
dr/prescriptions
home services (cleaning person, gardener)
charity
travel

Some of these are fixed expenses, others you guestimate but after you use mint for a month, you can classify all your expenses and see what you are actually spending. I found it really helpful. If I am spending $1000 on food, it will be unrealistic for me to set a budget of $500.

I do pretty much the same but also have $400 for miscellaneous. I take out $400 in cash and this covers coffees, eat out at work when I don't bring in, party gifts, impulse buys at home goods - like scented candles. , holiday decorations, annuals for the yard, etc. Everything else is auto paid or on my credit card. The credit card is only used for gas, parking at work, and groceries, nothing more.

Other categories we have: kids classes, savings (direct deposit into a separate account)

[Anonymous]

I use YNAB. I like the discipline of only spending what I earned last month, this month. The forums and classes are also helpful at the begining.

[Anonymous]

Dave Ramsey's website has tons of freebie forms, including a long budget sheet to help prompt you to think about all of those random expenses you might not think of. Good luck OP.