Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 14:46     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t do a budget at all. I have 4 direct depots that happen with each paycheck.

1. Retirement
2. Brokerage account
3. Short term savings
4 college fund

I then blew everything else on whatever I want to spend it on. Sometimes I don’t blow it all and a bunch of money collects in my checking. In that case I usually add more to my brokerage and college fund.

Budgets are for people with spending problems and or cash flow problems.


You had to decide how much the direct deposits should be, right? That’s called…budgeting.


Sure, I do it as a percentage of income (though not the 401k due to maximizing tax savings). But no I do not “budget” for shoes or vacations. That’s what the OP asked. I’m going to Utah for the 3 day weekend coming up, I just decided this this week because it’s been so freakishly hot here and skiing the East is looking like it’s not happening this year. Did I budget? No. Did I look in my checking and see if I had the cash for airfare, hotel and lift tickets? Yes. Does that mean I can take another vacation in January? No.


Lol. You’re budgeting, idiot.


You sound brilliant yourself 🤣
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 14:46     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t do a budget at all. I have 4 direct depots that happen with each paycheck.

1. Retirement
2. Brokerage account
3. Short term savings
4 college fund

I then blew everything else on whatever I want to spend it on. Sometimes I don’t blow it all and a bunch of money collects in my checking. In that case I usually add more to my brokerage and college fund.

Budgets are for people with spending problems and or cash flow problems.


Lol what? Every business has a budget though. It's important to know where your money goes.


+1

Sound like PP got someone to think of a budget that would work with his/her brain/personality and set an auto plan in motion.

We are very HNWIs and budgeting season (Dec/Jan) is my favorite. I just "budgeted" $64k this year for vacations. (Now I look forward to planning them). I may not spend it, but it's been earmarked. Grocery $1.5k; property tax $30k; kid tuition $75k; I could go on... most wealthy people budget (or have someone do it for them). If not, they won't be wealthy long....

OP- start by setting up 3 categories
1. Essential Spend
2. Savings
3. Lifestyle

Define what goes where for you and track where you are. Then set some goals, like 50% essential spend, 30% savings etc.

You can lump or split however you want. For example, essential spend for us includes all home costs, taxes, groceries, medical, etc. I even include the lawn service, housekeeper, and private school there. Lifestyle are things like club membership, vacations, clothing, etc. These are YOUR categories, you decide how to define them.

I don't think twice about the cost, for example, of a carton of eggs (I notice, I just don't question purchasing) if I stay in budget month to month; or replacing a school uniform when the kiddo spills paint (again) as long as the allocation to that category is ok. Once you set your structure it's easy to maintain, fun even...

And you don't even have to know the price of a gallon of milk.


That someone was me.

Ever since I graduated college I put the max into my 401k, 10% net into brokerage, and 20% into savings. Once savings hit - comfortable level I moved that into short term savings. I’ve shuffled the numbers around as the years have gone on. Bull market got more $$ bear markets gets less until I feel we have hit bottom.

Despit how upset you people get about it, I do not budget for vacations or shoes. Sorry. I want, I buy.🤷🏽‍♀️
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 17:18     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
We budget for savings targets - retirement, 529s. We keep our emergency fund / available cash at a certain amount. After that, we just use our checking accounts for what we want. When our checking accounts (his, hers, joint) get over a certain amount, we sweep it into our investment account. For everyday things like clothes and furniture, we use checking. For something like a vacation over $10-12k, buying a new car, or buying a nearing conditioner, we look at our accounts and decide where the money should come from. Then we replenish any emergency/cash accounts as needed.

For something like a car that we will purchase in cash, we will talk about it 3-12 months out and start rearranging money and/or spending less to account for it.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 17:11     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
I've never really "budgeted" per se. We max out retirement and put a decent amount in college savings, are halfway through a 15 year mortgage, and don't spend frivolously in general. We take nice vacations and eat out when we feel like it.

One thing I do is move $1000 from checking to a "vacation fund" every month. But it's more so when I spend it, I can move it back to checking to keep my balance pretty flat even with a larger than normal credit card bill. I do the same with a "car fund" so I can eventually pay cash for a new car. For the vacations, it may keep me close to a $12k/year budget but if I overspend that amount, I don't worry about it too much.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 16:07     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:I don’t do a budget at all. I have 4 direct depots that happen with each paycheck.

1. Retirement
2. Brokerage account
3. Short term savings
4 college fund

I then blew everything else on whatever I want to spend it on. Sometimes I don’t blow it all and a bunch of money collects in my checking. In that case I usually add more to my brokerage and college fund.

Budgets are for people with spending problems and or cash flow problems.


+1. Take care of the saving and you won't have to have a budget or a spending problem.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 16:06     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
We just buy it. Or finance if it’s a car and rates are low.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 16:02     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:I went from making not so much (grad student stipend) to six figures in my early 30s w/o any responsibilities, so never really had to “budget” in the sense of saving a certain amount a month to pay for a vacation— when I was a student, I didn’t have enough to save up, and then when I was working, if I had the money, I decided if it was worth spending on whatever I was wanting. So, yes to a pair $100 shoes I really liked, but no to a pair of $500 shoes, even though I liked them and had enough money, because that is, to me, a ridiculous amount to spend on a pair of shoes.

I do have auto savings into a brokerage account on top of my retirement savings, and then occasionally dump money from my checking/savings into my brokerage account (or buy some i Bonds).

MAJOR expenses (like down payments/renovations) have come from saving, but it’s never been a “save X amount first” sort of thing, it’s more, we have X saved, we can spend Y on something.

I don’t think this is ideal, but it’s basically the way both my husband and I have operated, and it seems we’re living below our means…


This is me too. I keep close track of my spending on a monthly basis but my "budget" is generally more in a line with "that's too much money for that thing" than "I do not have the money in my bank account for that thing."
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 16:01     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
It always help to not accumulate Stuff that you may not need. That's usually clothing and shoes and household stuff.

It must feel great when you have enough money to not have to think about watching your wallet. When do i splurge on a gourmet meal - everyday! When can i replace that 10 year old car-oh wait, what is that noise coming from the car.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 15:55     Subject: Re:How do you budget for something you can already afford?
We basically keep track of our spending. We review it periodically to see if anything is getting out of hand or if we need to adjust the cash flows (eg add or lower savings rate). We have been married 28 years. It works for us.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 15:42     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
We are late 50s MC. Have never budgeted. Always spent out of one bank account (that represented the lower earner's income) and move money over to that account if there's a shortfall. That's it.

Simple checks each month -
Are the balances in Accounts A and B higher today than same time last month? Right answer - Yes.
Did I move money over from Account A to B (the spending account)?. Right answer = No.
If I did, why? Right answer = to support a one-time exp.

Sweep out excess money from B and all the money from A to invest - 529, brokerage, etc. Oh, 401K, Mega Roth, ESPP and HSA get deducted out of paycheck before hitting accounts A and B.

That's it.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 15:22     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t do a budget at all. I have 4 direct depots that happen with each paycheck.

1. Retirement
2. Brokerage account
3. Short term savings
4 college fund

I then blew everything else on whatever I want to spend it on. Sometimes I don’t blow it all and a bunch of money collects in my checking. In that case I usually add more to my brokerage and college fund.

Budgets are for people with spending problems and or cash flow problems.


Lol what? Every business has a budget though. It's important to know where your money goes.


+1

Sound like PP got someone to think of a budget that would work with his/her brain/personality and set an auto plan in motion.

We are very HNWIs and budgeting season (Dec/Jan) is my favorite. I just "budgeted" $64k this year for vacations. (Now I look forward to planning them). I may not spend it, but it's been earmarked. Grocery $1.5k; property tax $30k; kid tuition $75k; I could go on... most wealthy people budget (or have someone do it for them). If not, they won't be wealthy long....

OP- start by setting up 3 categories
1. Essential Spend
2. Savings
3. Lifestyle

Define what goes where for you and track where you are. Then set some goals, like 50% essential spend, 30% savings etc.

You can lump or split however you want. For example, essential spend for us includes all home costs, taxes, groceries, medical, etc. I even include the lawn service, housekeeper, and private school there. Lifestyle are things like club membership, vacations, clothing, etc. These are YOUR categories, you decide how to define them.

I don't think twice about the cost, for example, of a carton of eggs (I notice, I just don't question purchasing) if I stay in budget month to month; or replacing a school uniform when the kiddo spills paint (again) as long as the allocation to that category is ok. Once you set your structure it's easy to maintain, fun even...

And you don't even have to know the price of a gallon of milk.


Exactly! Budgeting helps you see where you might be spending too much or where you are allocating money you never spend.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 14:50     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t do a budget at all. I have 4 direct depots that happen with each paycheck.

1. Retirement
2. Brokerage account
3. Short term savings
4 college fund

I then blew everything else on whatever I want to spend it on. Sometimes I don’t blow it all and a bunch of money collects in my checking. In that case I usually add more to my brokerage and college fund.

Budgets are for people with spending problems and or cash flow problems.


Lol what? Every business has a budget though. It's important to know where your money goes.


+1

Sound like PP got someone to think of a budget that would work with his/her brain/personality and set an auto plan in motion.

We are very HNWIs and budgeting season (Dec/Jan) is my favorite. I just "budgeted" $64k this year for vacations. (Now I look forward to planning them). I may not spend it, but it's been earmarked. Grocery $1.5k; property tax $30k; kid tuition $75k; I could go on... most wealthy people budget (or have someone do it for them). If not, they won't be wealthy long....

OP- start by setting up 3 categories
1. Essential Spend
2. Savings
3. Lifestyle

Define what goes where for you and track where you are. Then set some goals, like 50% essential spend, 30% savings etc.

You can lump or split however you want. For example, essential spend for us includes all home costs, taxes, groceries, medical, etc. I even include the lawn service, housekeeper, and private school there. Lifestyle are things like club membership, vacations, clothing, etc. These are YOUR categories, you decide how to define them.

I don't think twice about the cost, for example, of a carton of eggs (I notice, I just don't question purchasing) if I stay in budget month to month; or replacing a school uniform when the kiddo spills paint (again) as long as the allocation to that category is ok. Once you set your structure it's easy to maintain, fun even...

And you don't even have to know the price of a gallon of milk.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 14:05     Subject: Re:How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think once you have enough money to pay for all of the things you want, "budgeting" means being intentional about how you spend and allocate savings; so if you have $x disposable income in a year, you decide you want $x for retirement, $x for college savings, $x for home improvement, $x for vacations, etc.


+1


This. I’m retired (and retired young) and have zero budget for anything but I’m thrifty and thoughtful amount spending money. Some things can cost whatever and I don’t care (like travel related expenses). Other things, I try and find better deals.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 13:49     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t do a budget at all. I have 4 direct depots that happen with each paycheck.

1. Retirement
2. Brokerage account
3. Short term savings
4 college fund

I then blew everything else on whatever I want to spend it on. Sometimes I don’t blow it all and a bunch of money collects in my checking. In that case I usually add more to my brokerage and college fund.

Budgets are for people with spending problems and or cash flow problems.


You had to decide how much the direct deposits should be, right? That’s called…budgeting.


Sure, I do it as a percentage of income (though not the 401k due to maximizing tax savings). But no I do not “budget” for shoes or vacations. That’s what the OP asked. I’m going to Utah for the 3 day weekend coming up, I just decided this this week because it’s been so freakishly hot here and skiing the East is looking like it’s not happening this year. Did I budget? No. Did I look in my checking and see if I had the cash for airfare, hotel and lift tickets? Yes. Does that mean I can take another vacation in January? No.


Lol. You’re budgeting, idiot.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2023 08:37     Subject: How do you budget for something you can already afford?
Anonymous wrote:I don’t do a budget at all. I have 4 direct depots that happen with each paycheck.

1. Retirement
2. Brokerage account
3. Short term savings
4 college fund

I then blew everything else on whatever I want to spend it on. Sometimes I don’t blow it all and a bunch of money collects in my checking. In that case I usually add more to my brokerage and college fund.

Budgets are for people with spending problems and or cash flow problems.


Lol what? Every business has a budget though. It's important to know where your money goes.