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:

• Keep your budget in front of you

Photo by: enea

(Yes, I was trying to think of a super cheesy post title.)

Over the weekend my wife and I discussed making good choices with some teenagers. I posed the question “How does being ‘good’ affect those around you?”

It was a broad question and I wasn’t getting much response. In these situations I sometimes explore the flip side of a subject to see if it’s a little more obvious.

• What if I spent less time helping around the house and replaced that time playing video games?
• What if I picked up a filthy vocabulary? Would that affect my wife and kids?
• What if I started using our credit card to spend money we really didn’t have?
• What if I spent our paychecks on wants, and ran out of money for the mortgage that month?

It’s easy to take for granted the small simple work we each put in every day for those we love because they’re not as obvious sometimes.

They may be every-day things we do, but they’re still good choices, and the people we care about depend on us to keep doing them.

Think of the quiet “good” you do every day and take a moment to appreciate how it affects your friends and family.Similar Posts:

• Real newlywed’s share their budgeting story

Photo from: ffffound

When you build your own budget, it can be as simple or as complicated as you want.

The more categories you add, the more control you’ll take, and the more information you’ll have to make better decisions in the future. Having more categories also makes it easier to find leaks in your paychecks.

It doesn’t take long to find your own comfort zone once you start.

So, how simple can you make a budget?

The ultimate purpose of starting and following a budget is to help you live two main principles: Live Within Your Means, and put your Needs Before Wants.

The simplest budget plans can be as simple as three categories:

Needs, Savings, and Wants.

Savings (even a little) will help you live within your means – and funding your Needs first makes sure you won’t get into trouble. And Wants are important too, just not as important.

Everything else is just fine tuning your unique personal budget to your unique life.Similar Posts:

• How To Turn Emergencies Into Inconveniences

Photo by: iwona kellie

Is there something you want?

Are your needs being met first?

How much does it cost?

How long would you be willing to save up for it?

Could you pick a specific date as a goal?

How much would you have to set aside every month to have that much by then?

Can you afford that amount? (If not, could you extend your goal date?)

Where would that money come from?

Is there something you value less than your goal that you’re currently spending money on?

It could come from that.

Make it a category on your budget and set that money aside every month.

Prioritize it on your budget between something you value less, and something you value more.

(Crazy idea, I know.)

Stick with it, and it will be yours.

No guilt, no debt.Similar Posts:

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Photo by: schmilblick

Months ago the wife and I decided to cancel our TV.

This was a big decision for us, and I actually fought against it for a while. I was a bit of an addict.

What was interesting was that we knew that TV was a Want, but it was actually part of our Needs on our budget.

Now, TV is obviously not a need (for most people), but the bill for the TV was attached to the Internet (which is very much a need for us) and the telephone. It was just easier to lump the same bill into the same category – so it hid there for a long time.

But it wasn’t accurate, so we made it a Want.

With a new and more correct perspective, it was easier to realize we wanted our 95% going to more important and more satisfying things.

(Also, pretty much anything we want to watch is available on the internet these days.)

I’m not saying everyone should cancel their TV, but maybe you can re-look at your “Needs” and see if any “Wants” are hiding in there.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: silent-shot

It rained all last week here in the AZ, and the wife and I passed our fair share of accidents on the road.

Coming from a slightly wetter climate than my wife, these sightings often lead to short conversations between us about driving habits between different states.

The thought I always seem to return to is that when roads are wet they play a trick on you.

Most of the time you feel just as in control as you are on a dry road, and most of the time you might be. But it only takes one awkward puddle, or slick spot, or glare (or another bad driver) to take that control away. And on a freeway that’s all it takes.

The best thing, as most people know,  is to simply give yourself a reasonable buffer between you and other cars.

Some months, for my family,  it’s tempting to live right at our means, or even beyond – but it’s just like hugging a car on the freeway. Most of the time we’ll get through the month just fine, but it only takes one instance of “life” to take that control away.

Try to live within your means and give yourself a bit of a buffer. The more you save each month, the safer you’re driving. You may run into heart pounding situations (that may leave you using colorful language), but you just might have enough room to avoid an emergency.Similar Posts:

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: worldislandinfo

My thoughts have hovered around “planning” lately.

Maybe it’s the new year.

It’s incredible the difference a little planning can make in almost anything.

A budget is simply a way to plan what you’re going to spend your 95% on.

When we don’t plan where our money will go, it might go towards our wants before our needs.

We might even spend more than we earn.

When we fail to plan where our paychecks go, they tend to leak out into less important, or irrelevant things.

Budget’s don’t have to be perfect to make incredible improvements in your life – the simplest budget plans are infinitely better than not having any at all. When you learn how to start a budget plan, and stick to it, you set yourself up for a lot more success down the road.

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PS – A huge round of applause for those of  you who signed up for the January 2010 Challenge. I have been quite inspired by how many have signed up.

I hope you’ll email me when the month is over to tell me how you did!

And it’s not too late to start your own first month of budgeting. Just sign up for the emails in the sidebar to the right. It’s wicked easy.Similar Posts:

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Photo by: wwworks

I saw the movie Titanic for the first time last year.

I made it through the whole thing with the help of a Rifftrax.

Back when the film first came out I remember reading somewhere that James Cameron had an interesting problem. He had tons of extras, and he had tons of “panic” scenes. The problem emerged when he’d direct everyone to “panic” and once they said “action!” all the extras would run around screaming and wildly waving their arms.

Needless to say, it wasn’t very realistic.

Eventually they came up with a numbering system. They defined what a level 1 panic scene is (mildly concerned) up to level 5 (the previously mentioned screaming and arm waving).

Over Christmas break, someone asked me “How much am I supposed to budget for groceries?” I couldn’t give her a solid number, or even a percentage of her income. Everyone’s situation is too different, and I’m no James Cameron. Giving her an amount wouldn’t be very realistic either.

Everyone should match their budgets to their own situations.You need to find your own “level.”

Sometimes this takes a few months of budgeting to really feel out how much your comfortable with, how much you can afford, and how much makes you happiest in each category. Your first month of budgeting might not be very realistic. Fortunately, you don’t have a release date and your budget can take all the time it needs to find it’s sweet spot.

Unfortunately, few of us can enjoy a budget like Titanic’s.Similar Posts:

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