A Simple Monthly Budget Template

An interesting snippit on how the Koosh Ball made millions.

Budgeting.
BWAH.

I KNOW.

Budgeting reminds me of a Koosh Ball ---  

"Income" reliably combines one, two, maybe three items on a budget sheet. "Expenses" is a much longer list [48 times longer using our template as an example]. Expenses can reach BEYOND Income altogether with credit, loans and debt.    

I love the Koosh Ball.  

It looks like a MESS with its *2,000 rubber "threads."  

If you look a Koosh Ball over carefully, you'll find that it has a rubber loop. With the loop around your finger you can bounce, twirl, and control the Koosh Ball. It can be surprisingly good for focus and stress-relief!

Income is the core of a budget. From it, various expenses extend. It can look like a MESS.  

But by looking it over carefully, we can spot certain expenses that aren't as fixed or important as they once appeared. We likely have more control over our expenses and budget as a whole than we realized. 

All of this means MORE MONEY. Earning more money is quite difficult. But, when you can spend less, you can keep more and actually grow your account balances. In this economy. 

A few of us have to get creative and put forth a bit more effort to find that wiggle room. Baby steps.  

I started with A SIMPLE MONTHLY BUDGET [Oh no, a broken link!]. Neither "food" nor "groceries" are listed because
◊ you can spend more than you earn on either one [both open-ended expenses].
◊ The "Balance" in our budget is meant to give you an idea of how much you have for open-ended expenses, once you've budgeted for the most important expenses.

[Thanks for your patience while I tinker with this broken link.]

Not everyone will have the same list of expenses.  If you have trouble editing our workbook, please leave a Comment.

Expenses in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS have their own worksheet.  Each worksheet's total will appear on the first worksheet automatically.

If you don't have your last month's bill, guess high.  A number is better than no number.   

Let us know what you think.

*Wikipedia

Cool Math For The Procrastinating Budgeter

Because a bit of basic math [no, no...cool math] felt like more fun than math with real numbers this morning... 

◊ $7.25/hour : Federal, and Utah, Minimum Hourly Wage Rate  
     [for non-exempt workers]   
◊ 8.25 minutes at minimum wage pays for one *99¢ item
◊ $368 : monthly cost to feed a family of four, one *99¢ item each per meal
◊ 93 : meals per month per person
◊ 14 hours at minimum wage buys $100 in groceries
*before tax.  Numbers based on 3 meals per day, per person [no snacks].
a few more [less cool] numbers
A person earning minimum wage, working 40 hours per week, will earn roughly $1,160 per month BEFORE any taxes or deductions.  

For a $1,500 monthly income, Dave Ramsey's recommended Housing budget is $350 [25%].  For our number above, our Housing budget would be less than $290 per month.

less than $290 per month.  

How would you afford NOT TO split rent/a mortgage with your  parents, or roommates?  I'm grateful for the Dave Ramsey's of the world, and for the internet. We CAN improve our financial situation.  and we must confront the numbers.

image from SIMPLE ORGANIZED LIVING

SIMPLE ORGANIZED LIVING understands why we resist the budget:
10 Reasons People Don't Use Budgets

How often do we think "I need to make more money,"  when Income is often an area of the budget you have little control over.  Our time and energy is valuable. Instead, let's focus on the areas we have some amount of control over.  

I think we may be in need of a budget makeover...

Until then Lovelies, a certain blogger has a bit of math left to do.

Have you written a post about budgeting?

Feel welcome to share a link in Comments.

Holiday Budgeting Simplified

Tomorrow we ring in a new month and many of us will refresh our budget in preparation for the month the holidays.  But, as we near the end of the year and prepare to celebrate two holidays within one week of each other, many of us will experience

HOLIDAY BRAIN:

Our overtired brain's inability to think clearly due to the endless list of merriment-related plans we must make in preparation for the holidays

HB can cause us to...

...put an ice pack in our purse and a car key in the freezer.

...walk into a room and completely forget why we're there.

...drive away from the ATM with JUST the receipt, leaving behind the cash and 

our card.

Budgeting plays an important role in the month of December because retailers everywhere are competing for - and will gladly accept - our money.  

But, we too live with HB at this time of the year, and what follows is a quick refresher course mainly for ourselves that may also be helpful to you:  

. . . BUDGETING FOR SMARTIES WITH HOLIDAY BRAIN. . .

. . . . . . .

A budget is:

MONEY IN - MONEY OUT

If you're interested, I've listed examples for each HERE.

If we want more money:

We need to     }  add items to MONEY IN or make those numbers larger

                         }  remove items from MONEY OUT or make those numbers smaller

. . . . . . . . .

Once we know exactly how much money we have coming in and from where, along with every expense we could possibly throw money at, it's easier to see which expenses/purchases are most important and should come first.  By cutting out optional and less important expenses/purchases, it's even possible to "find" money you didn't realize was there and put on a wonderful Christmas for a neighbor struggling with the most basic of needs. 

FOOD is an important purchase that has no cost limit.  We enjoy good food and hanging onto as many of our hard-earned dollars as possible.  You can Follow by Email below and continue to follow our blog as we work to make this number as small as possible for families everywhere, without sacrificing good meals. 

Finally, we realize that with "budgeting" we've pulled at the threads of THE UGLY "MONEY" SWEATER, of which "credit," "debt," and "interest" are all a part...

It was important to my parents to put on a magical and memorable holiday for their family, and many parents who hope to do the same may feel desperate to find money in the budget, that just isn't there.  

Remember that growing your MONEY IN numbers will require your time and energy, while money goes out all too easily.  It may also help to imagine dollars spent in credit this month appearing on next month's MONEY OUT list, and every month's thereafter until the amount is paid off.  

Wishing you happy budgeting and happy gifting.

What is your funniest Holiday Brain story?

. . . . . . . . . 

Budgeting [categories]

. . . BUDGETING FOR SMARTIES WITH HOLIDAY BRAIN. . .

. . .EXAMPLES [as promised]. . .

MONEY IN

}  your paycheck + any bonuses 
}  money as a gift
}  loans, grants
}  money from government programs
}  child support
}  money from items you sell 
...

MONEY OUT
In no particular order of importance, but the BOLD items are typically non-negotiable:

}  RENT/MORTGAGE
}  UTILITIES:  gas, power, water...
}  FOOD and groceries
}  CHILD NEEDS
}  INSURANCE:  car, home
}  DEBT:  credit card or loan payments, child support...
}  Other insurance:  dental, medical
}  Education
}  Transportation
}  Phone
}  Pet needs
}  Cable/TV/internet
}  Contributions/donations
}  Clothing and shoes
}  Home items
...

Once you have your lists, the trouble you go through to get your numbers for each will be well worth it.