Why I Make Use Of A Budget Binder (Instead Of Easy On-Line Tools)

For quite a long time, I every fiber in my being was against budgeting.

As you can picture, that didn’t work out well for me. With financial obligations and particularly personal duties have grown in adulthood.

I then attempted to do on-line applications like Mint to keep track. Really I hated the idea, of what a binder gives a home to that would clutter my space for example receipts, gift cards, coupons, and so on.

With that in mind, I’m going to go into my very own creation of one and what I find works.

If you’re looking for a good online programs for budgeting, I include that at the ending, so if you don’t care for the binder idea you can jump down there!

Decorate! Allow It To Be Joyful And Fun

I started with a 1 ½ inch binder because that’s what lots of people implied, also it ended up working great. (sometimes online advice is good advice 😉

Like many of the bloggers, I also made mine nice to take a look at. I mean if I’m coping with an incredibly irritating issue I at least want it to look pleasant.

I put pictures of my lovely family round the cover playing with their puppies (cause, duh, they’re adorable). When you see your adorable children and a few pups, it’s difficult not to be crazy.

Pockets And Pouches Are Lovely

I’ve adored the vinyl binder pouch notion from acultivatednest.com. This binder pocket keeps my receipts organized. I also like storing my pencils and pens in one as well.

(Credit: http://acultivatednest.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/zippered-pocket-for-receipts.jpg)

I also use this card holder sheet to hold gift cards and credit cards that I don’t use frequently. This decreases the burden on my wallet (I’ve ripped a whole lot of them up because of this), and when we intend to go out, we just turn to our sheet to see where we can save cash! I really like how this functions.

And then, needless to say, I use these sheets (and page sheets) for coupon organization. I’m not a huge coupon-champion yet… However, this has been an efficient way for me to organize.

(Credit: http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC_0057-1024×682.jpg)

Think About Your Financial Plan As A Whole

Budgeting apps helped me break this down. It just highlighted everything I spend money on that I’m not always alert to. (so yes the digital budget apps help set a good foundation)

  • Food—This is a big one. Who knew you spend 20% of your check on food?
  • Gas—Soccer practices and work can actually empty this one.
  • Energy bills—I’ve cut done a good deal on this one. Check out my blog post on energy savings!
  • Bills —This is my catch-all for bills…whether they’re medical, telephone, mortgage, etc. Energy has its own compartment because I’m genuinely interested in energy efficiency.
  • Entertainment—Cause we all need just a little enjoyment.
  • Savings— put away for a rainy day If you can,.

Short Term Investments and Long —and don’t forget yearly investments for example pest management.

After you’ve accounted for everything you must contemplate, then determine how you want to organize your binder. You can use page separators, tabs, or whatever you like.

I use this wonderful front page from amomstake.com (you can print them for free off their site!) it helps me organize.

(Credit: http://www.amomstake.com/family-budget-worksheet/)

This page is amazing because it allows you to make adjustments to your financial plan from month to month.

Meal Preparation

(Credit: http://www.lushzone.com/binder-ideas-to-decorate/)

I love this meal plan coordinator notion from Mama Whimsy. You don’t have to erase or mess with dry-erase marker mess. You also don’t have to print off a lot, AND also if you forgot to pick up something at the food store it’s easy to make changes.

Simply use sticky notes and plan your meals out on each one including what you must have (you know ingredients) to make the meals. I use another page to keep an eye on budgeting for market shopping.

(Credit: http://officetemplatesonline.com/7-shopping-list-templates/)

This is my favorite template which I found to keep an eye on what groceries cost. It’s simpler when I can quickly figure out the price of an entire meal, for me to stay on budget with meal plans!

Budgets Resources

These resources are for printing off pages and planners. So look around and locate the best means for you to budget!

Freebie Locating Mother Budgets Sheets

Wine And bonfires Paycheck to Paycheck Budget

Pinch A Little Preserve A Lot Cash Management Budget Sheets

Though I’m not a huge fan of doing online budgeting as I said at the beginning, here are some excellent budgeting tools:

  • Mint: Really clear and helpful. The nice things about these kinds of budget tools is the fact that it links to your bank account, so it does a great number of the bookkeeping and recording as you spend.
  • Quicken: This one costs a little cash, but it could be beneficial for budgeting companies.
  • Budget Pulse: Consider Budget Pulse in the event that you don’t wish to link your private bank accounts to your budget planner.

 

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