Hello again!
Today I wanted to share something that is dear to my heart. Budgeting. I actually started getting in to budgeting about a year ago, when I made an uninformed financial investment decision that put me in the hole quite a bit more than I was prepared for. I quickly learned that debt makes me uncomfortable. Like, REALLY uncomfortable. So, I wanted to make a plan that would enable me to pay it off in as little time as possible. I’ll explain to you how I listed out my expenses, as well as describe the method I’m using to pay off the largest expense (my debt).
To start with, I wanted an easy to use program that had cellular organization. Excel is the obvious choice, but I’m big into Google applications, so I chose Google Sheets. I liked that it auto saved all my work, and was accessible on any computer via Google Drive. Then, and this is the part that is dependent upon the person, I listed out my expenses. I thought about the big stuff, all the way to my tiny little monthly subscription fees (looking at you …), and then just put them all in the Sheet.
I included the following:
Rent/ House Payment, Utilities, Cable/Internet, Cell phone, Groceries, Gas, Dog expenses, Car maintenance, Car insurance, Medical expenses, Debt payments, Monthly fees and Miscellaneous (presents, hair cuts, clothes, dinner out, trips, entertainment).
You may have more categories than I do, which is perfectly okay, just list them out like all the rest. I lumped Miscellaneous into a pile because I don’t spend on those things every single month, but I wanted to allocate some of my income for those things in case I did want to splurge a little. These categories will all be listed to the far left of the Sheet, one right underneath each other, so that they are all in the same column. In the next column over, put in how much you spend on that category. Now, for the things that aren’t monthly, like my car insurance and car maintenance, I add a third column. This just initially keeps them out of my monthly total, and allows me to either allocate a lump sum for them, or figure out how much they cost me per month so I can then add them to my monthly total.
For the debt, I recently began handling that differently. I now write out each loan or credit card or whatever account it is attached to, and then the total debt remaining to the side. I start with the smallest amount at the top, and increase in dollar amount going down the list. I am a very visual person, so it really helps me to see exactly where everything is when I write it this way. Starting with the smallest debt, each paycheck, I will put as much as I can spare towards it, and pay the minimums on the rest. I do this until it is payed off, then move to the next one down the list. Using this method, I have determined that I will be debt free by April (YAY!!!).
I really hope this helps some of you become more comfortable with organizing your expenses!! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, and also follow me on social media for behind the scene info!
Love,
Jess
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