Who loves budgeting? Nobody. But you gotta do it, especially if you live in NYC and are in a lot of debt like me! Yesterday, I spent some time trying to figure out how I wanted to budget for 2014. For 2013, I used my own template that I created on Excel, I dabbled a little bit with Mint, and I used an iPhone app Toshl, but for the most part, I didn't really budget. For 2014, I've decided to revamp my own spreadsheet and use Mint in conjunction.
What is Mint? Mint is one of the more popular budgeting websites. It links up your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, mortgages (basically anything you have to your name), and it'll sort out your expenses by type. So everytime you swipe your card at a restaurant, Mint will record it and label it as "restaurant."
Pros: It's a great way to see where you spend your money and track your spending trends. It's also really good from a "big picture" standpoint. You can create budgets and goals on the site, which can really be helpful. There's also a nifty app that's nice.
Cons: It's so damn complicated. You have to categorize some of your expenses. It's only really helpful if you use credit/debit cards for everything. Cash withdrawals/checks are harder to categorize.
My budget is a little bit more user friendly, but I guess you can decide that for yourself. I've created a hypothetical budget below.
Part I: INCOME
How much do you bring home a month? This should be your paycheck and any other money you're bringing in. I have tax net savings on there, which we'll get to later.
Part II: EXPENSES
What are the 8-10 categories that you spend the most money on? Maybe you take cabs every night, so you could add public transportation on there. Maybe you go to a lot of broadway shows, so you could add entertainment on there. Be real with yourself, and really assess where your money goes. The percentage next to the amount is the percentage that you spend on that item with respect with your total income. This should be less than 100%. If it's over, that means you're overspending on your income.
Part III: Net Savings
This is the real important number. This should not be a negative number. If it's zero, that's fine (not ideal), but as long as you are not negative, you are not overspending. You can carry this through as "Net Savings" income for the next month.
Once you have the file set up, you have to make sure you update it monthly or that defeats the purpose. See how much you've actually spent (what you use Mint for) and then match it against this budget that you've created.
If you would like the actual excel file, feel free to comment and let me know. Happy to share!
Cheers!
Alison
What is Mint? Mint is one of the more popular budgeting websites. It links up your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, mortgages (basically anything you have to your name), and it'll sort out your expenses by type. So everytime you swipe your card at a restaurant, Mint will record it and label it as "restaurant."
Pros: It's a great way to see where you spend your money and track your spending trends. It's also really good from a "big picture" standpoint. You can create budgets and goals on the site, which can really be helpful. There's also a nifty app that's nice.
Cons: It's so damn complicated. You have to categorize some of your expenses. It's only really helpful if you use credit/debit cards for everything. Cash withdrawals/checks are harder to categorize.
My budget is a little bit more user friendly, but I guess you can decide that for yourself. I've created a hypothetical budget below.
How much do you bring home a month? This should be your paycheck and any other money you're bringing in. I have tax net savings on there, which we'll get to later.
Part II: EXPENSES
What are the 8-10 categories that you spend the most money on? Maybe you take cabs every night, so you could add public transportation on there. Maybe you go to a lot of broadway shows, so you could add entertainment on there. Be real with yourself, and really assess where your money goes. The percentage next to the amount is the percentage that you spend on that item with respect with your total income. This should be less than 100%. If it's over, that means you're overspending on your income.
Part III: Net Savings
This is the real important number. This should not be a negative number. If it's zero, that's fine (not ideal), but as long as you are not negative, you are not overspending. You can carry this through as "Net Savings" income for the next month.
Once you have the file set up, you have to make sure you update it monthly or that defeats the purpose. See how much you've actually spent (what you use Mint for) and then match it against this budget that you've created.
If you would like the actual excel file, feel free to comment and let me know. Happy to share!
Cheers!
Alison
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