Tag Archives: getting started

Budgeting Basics (Part 3): Setting Up Your Budget and Reverse Engineering Your Goals

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Welcome back to the budgeting basics series. Today we are going to get your budget set up.We will set goals by starting at the end and reverse engineering them to make them attainable. So far, you have put together a priorities list to help guide where your money should go and you have tracked your income and expenses so you can see where your money has been going. Now we can start putting the two together in your actual budget. Start With Your Actual Spending They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. That’s 21 days of repeating an action without going back to your old way of doing things. I think the magic number for budgeting is more like three months. Though you may be fired up to slash your budget and save tons of money toward your goals, you will quickly find that you overspend in … Continue reading →

Budgeting Basics (Part 2): Tracking Your Income and Expenses

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Welcome back to the budgeting basics series! Last week, we talked about creating a priorities list to use as a filter for where your money should go. I ended the post by suggesting that you should write down your income and expenses to see where you money is going and to compare that with your priorities. I realize that this is no small task, especially for someone who has not ever put together a budget or been honest with themselves, or their spouse with exactly where every dollar goes during the month. I want to break down the process a little bit to make it an easier pill to swallow and to help guide those who would like to try this for the first time. Start With Your Income I have realized over the past few years that if I sit down with my wife and talk about budgeting, when … Continue reading →

Budgeting Basics (Part 1): Laying Your Financial Foundation

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If you know me, you know I love budgets. Like, borderline obsessive about it. My spreadsheets are  simple works of art, delivering powerful, functional information that helps me get a handle on our daily spending and overall financial picture for the month. I can easily say that, without our budget, we would not have a home, my wife would not be a stay-at-home mom, and we’d most likely be BROKE. Now, before we jump into the details of getting your budget started, let’s talk about the basics. Your Priority Filter Over the years, I have learned that I can’t simply adopt someone else’s style of budgeting, because that person does not necessarily have the same life priorities as I do. While I do like having a solid structure to layout my financial plan with, I prefer foundational principles that guide my financial choices rather than hard and fast rules. I … Continue reading →

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