Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit about that, but still, it's pretty true. I've been living a bit on the crazy side of spending recently, nothing too extreme but certainly not saving as much as I should. I decided it was time to change that, so I came up with some rules for myself.
I hope that this helps you, I am NO expert on the matter, but I'm trying. If you have any advice I would love to hear it!
The Rules:
-10 dollars a day spending money in CASH (I will go to bank, take out 70 dollars for the week in 10s and put each 10 in a sealed envelope. The envelope will be dated and the money cannot be used before that day a.k.a. If I have leftover money from Monday I can spend it on Tuesday but I can't spend Tuesday's money on Monday.)
-25 dollars a week CASH for groceries (also goes in an envelope).
-One clothing purchase over 30 dollars PER MONTH. (This is just in case I need new jeans, "need" a date outfit, really love that dress from ModCloth, etc.).
-Only ONE subscription box a month. (I hadn't done these before this month but they're super fun and I love them, sadly, the budget really only allows for one, so one it is, at least it's something!).
-Save! I don't have a set thing for this yet but based on my math there should be extra, and that I need to SAVE and not spend.
-Track money via TheBirdy.com (this is amazing, scroll for more details!)
So there you have it, my rules for getting my spending on track. I hope that this inspires you a bit, it's been less than a week for me, but so far so good!
What is TheBirdy.com?
I found The Birdy randomly one day and as it turns out this site is amazing. All you do is give them your email address (it's FREE), and then every day the email you and ask you what you spent that day. In response you'll say something like "$19.45 #groceries #blog" You come up with your own hashtags and they keep it all organized for you!
These are my hashtags.
They also organize everything in to an interactive pie chart. I spend a lot on my blog, mostly because most of my groceries are for baking projects for le blog. It's worth it.
This website is so easy! It really helps me pay attention to what I'm spending and is an important part of the spending budget for sure.
*this post was not sponsored by TheBirdy.com these are my opinions on a product that I have found helpful*
Love,
Keely
Uh, this is fabulous. I'll be doing something like this for the year. It's just hard because with It's Paper Dear, just starting out, I have to be able to spend if & when I find something. Even if it doesn't work into my budget that week, you know?
ReplyDeleteBut def checking out the site! Thanks for sharing :]
-Zie
Oh my gosh the whole thing is tough, but I've survived a week which means I can make it! haha
DeleteI really, really need to budget since I am going to graduate school soon and it's private and SUPER expensive! I would LOVE to budget with you, but I can't until I'm back home in late August. Please keep this series going though, I would love to see if this works for you!
ReplyDeleteAnother good site is mint.com, though that links up to your bank account so it's a little more complicated and detailed.
Oh my goodness thank you so much! I fully plan on keeping this going for a while, it seems like a system that will work for me long term.
DeleteThanks for the mint suggestion, the thing I like about The Birdy is that I am accountable for it and not the other way around, if that makes sense, but every person needs a different system.