Hi everyone, I just started working right out of college and need some advice for budgeting. I haven’t been great with budgeting my spending and I’m not in the red, but I have less money leftover after expenses than I’d like to have. I panic and get really bad anxiety whenever I try and make a budgeting spreadsheet or try and visualize my spendings. I know I have to bite the bullet eventually. Is there any advice for slowly starting to get comfortable with monthly budgeting?
Ok, so very basics. Start using a checkbook register. This was something I was taught in bankruptcy class. Second, try to organize your monthly expenses like rent, utilities, cell phone, travel, student loans, etc. Then figure out your monthly expense totals. Third, like another poster said, create a spreadsheet, and each tab will be a payday/paycheck. On each tab, subtract out half of what you need for each month to cover your absolute necessities from your paycheck total. When you get paid, input the income and half of the expenses you need for the month in your checkbook register. You want to tell the bank how much money you have and not rely on the bank to tell you. When you can and are willing, track your spending and categorize each expenditure. Put it in a spreadsheet to see what categories you’re spending the most in and how you could try to cut back. You have to really know where your money is going to make sure it’s really working for you. Khan Academy has free financial literacy courses that might also help you figure out how to budget and what financial goals you want to achieve. Good luck, OP!
It’s called ‘getting financially naked’ and yeah it can be a bit uncomfortable at first. But whether you see the numbers or not, they are still being spent. When you can see the numbers, you can have better control over them.
@Will
Gosh, yes. ‘Getting financially naked’ is such a great way to put it. It’s true—whether you look at the numbers or not, they’re still being spent. Knowing can really shift your perspective on money—it can help dissolve the fear and anxiety.
I had the same issue. I started budgeting based on my income schedule vs expense schedule and began finding money and being actionable based on the money coming in vs the money going out. It’s a different way to look at budgeting, but that’s why Budgetocity was created.
Read ‘The Psychology of Money’. You’ll need to learn to be forgiving on spending a little too much one month, as well as being disciplined with keeping a budget. In the end, though, you’ll learn that perspective is key. As long as you’re keeping a roof over your head and have food on the table, it doesn’t matter that you have a little less money left over in a month than you’d like.