In an earlier blog I talked about budgeting and dividing your income into categories while assigning a percentage for each. This was meant as a guide to get you started. It is fun and an eye opener when you realize just where your money is going.
When you are tracking, set up a spreadsheet with your categories and percentages so that you are working with 100% of your income. Then set up monthly income and another line to track your weekly budget. Tracking expenses by day will keep the categories up to date. Make sure to get all receipts so that nothing is forgotten and your budget stays accurate.
Setting up formulas will save you time working with a calculator. The formula I used to set the monthly expense amount is =sum(B5*D3) This is Monthly Income times the Clothes %. Then just set this formula for each of the categories and you will know what you have to work with each month.
To set the formula per week, =sum(B5/4) This is Monthly Income divided by 4. Then set this formula for each of the categories and you have a weekly number to work with which may be more helpful.
Now that we have the money divided, tracking the expenses and staying on target is the fun part. It is sort of like a game to find out how good you are at basic budgeting. This is a great method to easily get back to cash spending and out of credit card spending.
To calculate your remaining dollars the formula used was =sum(D8:D14) This is the Clothes Budget minus actual expenditures against it. Then set this formula for each of the categories and you will have an accurate end of the day reporting of your progress.
Everyone’s numbers will be different but tracking is the same. Once you have a grip on your expenses, your savings will grow and you can focus on retirement so that one day you can rest and enjoy all of your hard work. The more you save now, the more relaxed you will be later. However, you should be able to enjoy your money now so set up your categories and you will find that you will have money for that little black dress or that trip to the beach. And if you don’t have the money today, you have a roadmap and a timeline to get you there.
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