Well, I’m back from vacation.

Trips always do interesting things with my budget. I seem to be completely incapable of anticipating how much they’ll end up costing in the end.

Sometimes I over-budget and then feel great about spending less than I thought; often I spend more than I’d hoped.

Never am I right on.

Fortunately, budgeting isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being persistent.

Like lots of other things, budgeting gets better (and easier) the more you do it. But that doesn’t mean you’re immune from “Wacky Months.”

And when you have a Wacky Month, with trips or unexpected costs (or just flat out bad planning), you don’t need to stress too much because next month you’ll start a new budget and try again.

You’ll do better next month, and even better the month after that.Similar Posts:

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Photo by: theenglishguy

Sometimes the hardest part of active budgeting is simply remembering to update your budget.

Simple, quick, easy things like keeping your budget current are either easy to forget, or constantly shuffled into the back of our minds.

One solution is to take advantage of the ten thousand passwords you have to keep track of these days:

The next time you’re prompted to update one of your passwords, change it into something that will remind you to stay on top of your budget.

That way, everytime you log in, you’ll have to type out your own reminder.

If you try it, let me know how it works out for you!Similar Posts:

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Photo by: Gilles Gonthier

If I learned anything from elementary school, it’s that groundhogs have the cosmic ability to predict how long winter will last depending on their shadow.

This supernatural event only happens on the 2nd of February every year. If the groundhog sees his shadow he goes back down his hole to hide from six more weeks of winter. The universe will have spoken.

We have no ability to change whether winter will last another six weeks or not – that is up to the cosmic groundhog – but you do have the ability to choose to follow a budget for the next six weeks. Try signing up for One Month of Budgeting for some extra help:

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

(Ok, the One Month of Budgeting emails only last for five weeks, but you still get six emails.)

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PS – I was going to include a bunch of mildly obscure references to the movie Groundhog Day, to drive my wife nuts, but I deleted them.

Oh what the heck:

Watch that first step… it’s a doo-hoo-sie! Am I right, or am I right? Right? Right?Similar Posts:

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Photo by: emdot

WithinMeans dot com is getting older every week.

Today I wanted to re-visit three of my favorite posts so far:

1. My favorite post: A Strong Budgeting Foundation

When I was done with this post, I almost felt like everything had come together on its own.

The picture, the idea, the structure – it all seemed to say exactly what I was excited about that week.

2. Most proud of: A New Perspective on Budgeting

Is it possible to be proud of a post about how I need to be more humble? Seems like that would negate the whole concept.

3. Highest hits: Burn!

Not sure if I should be proud of this or not.

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Thanks again for all of your readership, subscriber-ship, comments, and budgeting efforts!Similar Posts:

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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.Similar Posts:

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Photo by: ajawin

A common mistake I make is to budget too little for food. It’s pretty easy for me to do.

When I see how much money I have compared to all the things I want, I start thinking “Well, I probably only need about $___ (or so) a week for groceries” and then budget the rest towards other things.

The problem is, of course, that I get hungry – then I get cranky – then I start hating my budget. Eventually I take money back from those other things so I don’t kill everyone in a starved craze.

There are certain parts of our different lifestyles that are more sensitive to change than others, and our appetites can be one of them

Of course cutting back on food isn’t a bad thing – it may be one of the goals you’re trying to accomplish with a budget – but give yourself a month or two before you start budgeting big changes to your lifestyle. By then your goals for your paychecks will be clearer, and if you want to cut back on food to achieve them, you’ll have a better grip on the how and why.

You might be more apt to sticking with your budget when you’ve found that balance between your budget and your stomach.Similar Posts:

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Photo by: Darby Elizabeth Photography

Stacy and Erik have recently finished their first full month of budgeting and were helpful enough to share some of their thoughts with us:

How has budgeting helped you so far?

I love that budgeting keeps us accountable for where we spend our money. I am a compulsive buyer by nature, so knowing that I have a limit and that I have to enter that number into the budget has really helped.

What’s the toughest part of budgeting?

The toughest part is when you overspend in one portion and you have to adjust the budget and take money from something else.

Are you making better buying decisions because of your budget?

Yes! It helps to reign in my compulsive buying nature as I step back and say, “Do I really need this?” or “What is more important to me? A candy bar now or Halloween candy later?”

Any tips for “sticking with it?”

Just do it! It takes time, but not that much, and it is so worth the time for that peace of mind. I have my GoogleDoc open on my computer all the time. Every time before I go to the store for groceries I check to see how much we’ve budgeted so I am sure that I can stay within the limit.

What advice would you give a first time budget-er?

It’s hard to give advice when we are still in the learning stages and I still consider myself a first time budget-er. But I would say be really vigilant especially that first month.

It took us 3 months to make it through ONE full month of keeping it updated. That first month is the hardest I think. If you are like me, you only have a vague idea on how much you actually spend on groceries, gas, etc. So keeping track that first month you may be suprised at what you find.

It was much easier to “cut” back and re-adjust things when we knew how much we were actually spending. It’s hard to be frugal if you don’t know what you spend. It’s become a game for us. Can we spend less on our grocery bill this month than we did last month? We’ve come up with different activities to do for dates so we can cut back on the cost of eating out every week. It’s been fun.

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Photo by: Billy Rowlinson

It’s true what they say: out of site, out of mind.

You’ve already got a lot going on in your life and every little thing is clambering to reach the front of your brain. Sometimes, to keep your budget going, you need something to remind yourself and bring it back up front. Without a reminder, it’s wicked easy to let updating your budget slip all the way to the back of your brain.

I have always believed that the most powerful thing you can do with your budget is to actively keep it updated. It’s the one little step that makes your personal budget come alive and the numbers start meaning something to you. It keeps your goals fresh in your mind and it keeps you on track towards what you want – and it only takes 2 or 3 minutes a week.

So how can we keep our budget in site, and in mind?

• One easy way is to sign up for One Month of  Budgeting email reminders. They’re just short little once-a-week emails that remind you to update your budget and give a few extra tips for staying on course. You can sign up any time by using the simple form in the sidebar to the right.

• I’m also a fan of Post-it notes. If I put one on my monitor, it drives me crazy until I’ve done what I need to to take it down. Plus there’s an added satisfaction of crumpling it up and tossing it.

• Some people keep to-do lists religiously. Having something to check off helps them remember to keep everything current.

How do you remember to update your budget? Any other ideas?Similar Posts:

Growing up, my family would periodically road-trip to Oceanside, CA. I still remember how strange it was to run out into the water and play for only a few minutes, look back towards my towel , and realize how far along the coast I’d drifted.

Photo by: TheWanderingAngel

Because we’re human, our monthly budgets can tend to “drift” over a few weeks.

At the beginning of the month your budget may be a shining example of accuracy, but after a few weeks and a couple of typos and missed purchases, that same budget can start playing tricks on you.

There are online systems and personal budgeting software out there that can circumvent this issue by monitoring your bank account, and your spending, and attempting to budget for you. This can certainly keep your numbers precise. Personally, I prefer to take about 2 minutes a month and quickly calibrate my budget myself. It lets me continue to actively budget and keep my budget flexible and customized to my family’s needs.

I only calibrate my budget once a month.

As a macro-manager, I tend to only be interested in making sure I’m mostly synced up. Small differences or inaccuracies don’t bother me – or warrant my time researching. If my budget is “close” to what’s in the bank (which is usually the case), if it’s nothing that won’t be automatically fixed when I set up the next month’s budget, I’m good.

The best time for me to calibrate is right after I get my second paycheck for the month. It’s usually the point at which what I’ve budgeted for the month should match what’s in the bank; I haven’t budgeted any other income for the month that hasn’t now come in. This makes it a pretty simple exercise of looking at my budgeted total and comparing it to my bank account’s total.

Stay active with your budget and it will reward you.Similar Posts:

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Mindi and Preston are good friends of ours who started a budget together shortly after getting married.

photo by: Darby Elizabeth Photography

They’ve done a great job staying with it and really taking advantage of manipulating the Skeleton Spreadsheet to make their budget their own.

I asked them a few quick questions recently about their family budget:

What surprised you most about budgeting?

How much we were able to cut back by simply setting up a budget and monitoring it. We didn’t have to work hard to make a difference.

How do you stay on the same page together with the budget?

We both have access to the budget anytime, anywhere, through Google Docs. We talk about it at least once a week,  sometimes more.

What has been the hardest part?

The hardest part was about 2 month into the budget when the novelty of it was gone and we wanted to go out to eat somewhere, and knew we shouldn’t.

What’s the best part of following a budget so far?

We feel more in control of our lives. We can actually see where our money is going and see money start going into savings.

What advice would you give a first time budget-er?

Have a little money for fun and make sure it is available. You may never use it, but just knowing that it is there helps to ease up some tension. Also, follow your budget closely for the first couple of months, and when you think you are okay not following it as close as you were… that is when you really need to follow it.

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Thanks again to Mindi and Preston. You can follow @prestoniscrazy on Twitter, and even catch him performing live if you’re in the Phoenix area.Similar Posts:

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