Photo by: doug88888

One month of budgeting!

I hope that a lot of people will be setting goals for 2010 that revolve around starting a budget, staying on a budget, and using their budget more.

My challenge for you is to start and stay on a budget for the month of January.

If you can do that, you’ll know you can keep it up for the rest of the year.

I like to think that the free One Month of Budgeting emails I give away make a difference to those who sign up for them. I always get a little excited to see when someone’s signed up because it means someone was willing to take at least one step towards getting their 95% in order.

If you’re willing to try out the challenge just fill out the form below (or on the sidebar to the right) and your inbox will get one email a week reminding you to update your budget, as well as listing a few tips for getting the most out of the experience. After your sixth email you can continue budgeting on your own, or sign up again if you enjoy getting the reminders.

*Edit – January has ended, but the One Month of Budgeting emails are always available – and this form still works if you want to sign up here.

If you’re reading this in a reader, you can click through here to see the form.

Photo by: olpc

I can still remember being a young teenager and my mom and I going to the bank to open my first checking account.

This was before debit cards were so common, so all I got was a book of checks, causing me to feel very grown up.

Then we went straight to a bookstore where my mom bought me a small booklet that went into the back of the check book. It was a simple booklet of “spreadsheet style” tables. She showed me how to fill out categories, how to use them keep track of how much I had and how much I wanted to spend on any given thing.

We discussed the benefits of watching your money and the potential consequences of mindless spending.

It was simple and easy to grasp (and I’m terrible at math).

I could see right away the advantages I would gain from such a simple system.

I doubt that if she hadn’t taught me how to budget my 95% at that age, that I’d be in as much control of my finances as I am today. I was lucky enough to grow up being very conscious of where my paychecks were going, and managing where they went. (Video games, mostly… at the time. And some savings.)

If you have children, consider teaching them how to budget while they’re young. It’s not a difficult concept for younger folks to grasp and the benefits to them can be huge in the long run.

How do you teach your kids about money?

Photo by: tintin1212

It’s Almost Done!

I’m excited to let you know that this week I’m hoping to finish a major WithinMeans project I’ve had in the works for a while now.

It will really change the way you’ll be able to use WithinMeans to get started on a budget and make it much clearer and simpler.

Without giving too much away, I can say that it’s goal is to easily walk anyone through starting a budget within a few minutes. Those who choose to try out this new feature will, I believe, get more out of life (and out of the blog posts).

I always get a thrill when I see someone has signed up for “One Month of Budgeting” (to the right in the sidebar) because it shows someone is willing to get started – that I’m making a small difference in some way. I hope this latest project starts making an even bigger difference.

If you’re not currently following the site somehow, this would be a great time to start.

Some of the easiest ways are:

• Subscribing to the Blog – If you check for updates in things like Google Reader or Blogger.
• Becoming a fan on Facebook – If you spend more time there. I really only post blog updates – no quiz results, I promise.
• Following me on Twitter -  If you really want to get to know me.