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What's involved in your budgeting method? (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I think budgeting and practical finances should be taught at multiple stages throughout a student's life. I thought I knew the general idea but didn't appreciate how much neglecting it would set me back.

What is your process for budgeting? As a starting point this article lists a few methods.

I use zero based budgeting where every dollar is assigned a purpose. I don't end up sticking exactly to the plan, but I do keep a spreadsheet which lists my current balances and all expected expenses, so I can see my future balance and avoid going in the red. A couple times a month I cross off expenses which have been paid and update the balance. This is especially helpful to me because a big portion of my income is irregular month to month.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I started with zero-based budgeting via YNAB ages ago when ynab was a local-only app. Over time though I've adjusted and focus on tracking my expenses rather than budgeting. I've found that for me, budgeting is hard to stick to because I can never predict well enough. Ynab helped back when I used it but even then I always had a "rollover" fund I had to steal from almost arbitrarily to make things balanced.

I do keep a rough spreadsheet budget of my fixed expenses though (rent, internet, phone, electricity, etc) that I use to understand how much of my money is "locked-in" and what is discretionary.

For tracking, I have a spreadsheet I input all my expenses into every month or two that I use to see how Ive been spending my money, and I use that to decide if I'm happy with where I am.