Sadly this WAS part of my high school curriculum in 1989. I had to put together a realistic monthly budget before I could graduate and one of our teachers reviewed them. If we didn’t meet his standards for the budget we didn’t graduate. What happened that high school students aren’t being taught this any more?
Great video. My mom taught me the envelope system when I was a teenager. She and my dad agreed this was the best way to manage their money and budget while raising 10 kids. A simple notebook to track spending and envelopes for the cash. When the money is gone, it's gone. That simple. They never used a credit card and taught us to live within our means. I have also passed these money-managing skills to my adult children. Peace-of-mind is priceless when it comes to having control over your finances; not your finances having control over you. Thank you for sharing the spreadsheet. I'll share that with my sons also.
Great topic. I’ve been doing something similar with a budget to live on my retirement income in my last year of working so I can adjust and see the reality of what my expenses are versus lower income. So far so good, plus Saving up my cash reserves.
I was more or less raising myself since age 13 after adoptive parents divorced leaving mom and me poor. I tried to be on my own so she didn't have to worry. I was a gymnast with expensive fees and so found part time job to cover fees. I saw other guys at school with lots of money and no problems. I knew I had to budget money but didn't think about it in those terms. Gym fees were only fixed costs I had. I bought clothes at Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. As I got older I got creative in making money and tried to have some savings for me and to help mom out. My life at age 21 is simple but will use your download spreadsheet to be intentional. Thanks. Anton
The best breakdown of effective budgeting IMO!! I do something like this and prepay monthly on expenses that come up annually or can vary in amount. I don’t stress on car or home repairs bc there is a fund already in place. Really like this system! Thank you for the easy to understand explanation.
15 years ago when times were tough, my budgeting process consisted of putting cash in my wallet at the start of the week. A credit card was only used for gas purchases and emergencies. When the cash pile dwindled during the week, purchases were reduced. Worked great. Since then I use Quicken as I can automatically download the credit card charges as they occur. Helps me catch weird charges like identity theft occurrences. I now mainly monitor the total expenses for the month. If I keep it below my goal, I'm happy.
I basic have money taken out of my checks, so it’s harder to access right away. 18 percent towards 401k, 7 percent towards stock, 500 towards savings. We try to make it work with what’s left. Some of its liquid, but moving money directly to savings makes you look at expenses if you’re having to dip into that money. I always increase those amounts when I get raises or bonuses.
Issue: love this system. The problem is HandR block when doing taxes charges per line per bank account. So that goes 600 bucks when paying for tax preparation. I'm in NY
I used to volunteer to do financial counseling for military families. One time I had a military wife come in who had trouble with family finances. She had two beautiful spreadsheets. One showing all their income and one showing all of their expenses. The problem is, she never reconciled the two, never marry them up. So they were constantly in the hole financially.... Point is, whatever is intuitive for some people is so difficult for others. Keep it as simple as possible. Your system is excellent for those who are attuned.
I've been struggling with my own budget spreadsheet and the "one off's" that impact the budget. I really like your recurring, non-monthly category and I think that will help streamline my own worksheet. Not sure about having that many bank accounts and debit cards, but I see your point.
Hi James, I’ve been going without a budget my whole life. It’s always been more of a hassle than it was worth, or so I thought. I’ve always kept a few month buffer in my checking and savings and monitored that amount. If it decreased, I realized I was overspending and adjusted. The same is true when a big, unexpected expense came up. I would pay for it and spend less until the full buffer was restored. However, if you ever asked me where my money was going, I only had a very foggy idea. Now that I am nearing retirement, I’ve decided to follow your advice, simply because it will help me do “tactical adjustments” to retirement account distributions and spending. It’s only my wife and me, so we haven’t had any of the typical kid related expenses, which has made things much easier. But, by doing a budget now (2 1/2 years before I retire from my job), I will be able to adjust our cash flow to be sustainable. I will work with both adjusting yearly withdrawals, as well as expenditures, to keep on track. Thanks for the video! Thanks to the motivation, I’m half way through the spreadsheet and am looking forward to having a tool to use for planning into retirement.
Love this. I basically do this, but I’m one of those who is 24/7 checking myself. One suggestion I’d make though is that you didn’t mention Charity/giving.
Really thorough and helpful James. We do something similar and my mindset has switched from a budget to more of a cash flow management plan over time to simplify things.
My daughter had a great idea for continuing to use a credit card ( and earn points) but still track spending. Pay with the card, but immediately pay that amount from the proper account back to the card, so you are staying in “real time, as far as the balance- which should stay close to zero. You will still earn the points this way.
My wife and I have been doing this for over 30 years. We have 14 different accounts, some joint and some separate. It has worked great for us. We were laughed at when we started and now it has become increasingly popular.
I love your videos-thank you! This information aligns with my budget strategies and helped me fine-tune things as I head into retirement in a few months. 😊
I don’t overspend because I have lived below my means for my entire life. I would like to know exactly how much I spend on food, and what I spend on this misc slush kind of fund. If is Kroger or sprouts I know it’s food but once I look back on my statement at Walmart Costco Target, I have no memory and once I get home I don’t write it down, so it’s all a blur. I can’t make myself write my spending down. And I don’t know what I bought.
@@RootFP it's easier because I have the time. It only takes about 60 seconds everyday and I take advantage of the travel rewards program. I use my credit card like a debit card. I am actually a better money manager as a retiree.I
I use a spreadsheet with a column for each month. At the beginning of each year, I plug in all my expenses and income for the year. Every month I plug in the actual amounts. Hopefully in December, I have spent less than my income.
I'm 66. tried budgeting and tracking expenses several times in my life. Didn't enjoy iit. IMO budgeting and tracking is actually more like training wheels. Once you learn you can be happier spending less you don't need the training wheels.
So the sheet I keep is very similar except I have a third sheet that extrapolates my savings for the next couple years. So with all those categories accounted for I can see my projections and I have columns next to all the expected balance in my checking account. I plug in things that deduct against that month’s projected balance. So I can put in hypothetical vacations and purchases and see how it affects my future plans. End of every month I just replace the formula with the actual number and I have a new projection. I keep track of difference and it’s become a game, can I stay under budget. Individual expenses is overkill for us, and the bank apps are annoying because they don’t always categorize correctly and I’m not going to spend time recategorizing constantly. Just have to answer ONE question: Can I beat the projected balance?
Love the content James. So to confirm, you have a separate debit card for every category and bank account? That’s a lot of cards! Do you always carry them? Thank you.
I just carry my personal “fun money” card and gas. The others I don’t have as much of a need for in person so they’re just connected to various online accounts where I can use them for payment.
It looks like this is for people who have taxes taken out of their paychecks. I pay quarterly and although my a counting estimates this for the next year, my income really does vary from month to month so it gets pretty frustrating. You may be in the same boat.
Hey man, your video is awesome, I redo my budget from scratch to begin using this… I had been using for only 3 months, making small changes month to month to fit better the way I use to spend. Only 1 question how can I set aside an amount per month to the “not planned expenses” if the expenses is happening month to month? For example I can not set aside $4,500 pesos mexicanos monthly if that month something happens and I need to use $3,500 because something suddenly happened to my car And I need to fix it :( sorry for my grammar, saludos desde Mexico
Thanks to take the time to reply… but I mean, how can I build a fund for car repairmen if I constantly have “not planned” expenses? Do I have to save at the same time I have that kind of expenses, in order to build different funds for unexpected expenses while the unexpected expenses are happening? :S I hope I could explain myself 😅. Thanks a lot
What is the easy way of spending money out of each account on a real time basis? That seems like the nuisance that makes this great concept hard to do.
Excellent job James - this video should be included as part of every high school curriculum
Thank you!
Sadly this WAS part of my high school curriculum in 1989. I had to put together a realistic monthly budget before I could graduate and one of our teachers reviewed them. If we didn’t meet his standards for the budget we didn’t graduate. What happened that high school students aren’t being taught this any more?
Great video. My mom taught me the envelope system when I was a teenager. She and my dad agreed this was the best way to manage their money and budget while raising 10 kids. A simple notebook to track spending and envelopes for the cash. When the money is gone, it's gone. That simple. They never used a credit card and taught us to live within our means. I have also passed these money-managing skills to my adult children. Peace-of-mind is priceless when it comes to having control over your finances; not your finances having control over you. Thank you for sharing the spreadsheet. I'll share that with my sons also.
Thanks, Sharon
Agreed!
Great topic. I’ve been doing something similar with a budget to live on my retirement income in my last year of working so I can adjust and see the reality of what my expenses are versus lower income. So far so good, plus Saving up my cash reserves.
I was more or less raising myself since age 13 after adoptive parents divorced leaving mom and me poor. I tried to be on my own so she didn't have to worry. I was a gymnast with expensive fees and so found part time job to cover fees. I saw other guys at school with lots of money and no problems. I knew I had to budget money but didn't think about it in those terms. Gym fees were only fixed costs I had. I bought clothes at Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. As I got older I got creative in making money and tried to have some savings for me and to help mom out. My life at age 21 is simple but will use your download spreadsheet to be intentional. Thanks. Anton
Glad it was helpful!
I use YNAB. Same concepts. Super easy to update and maintain. The 5-10 minutes a day it requires keeps me in and ontop of my finances.
I know many people that also like YNAB. I'm glad it's easy to use and works for you.
excellent how to!!! nothing like running your life on an excel spreadsheet - fully data driven!!!
Thank you
The best breakdown of effective budgeting IMO!! I do something like this and prepay monthly on expenses that come up annually or can vary in amount. I don’t stress on car or home repairs bc there is a fund already in place. Really like this system! Thank you for the easy to understand explanation.
Thanks for your feedback!
15 years ago when times were tough, my budgeting process consisted of putting cash in my wallet at the start of the week. A credit card was only used for gas purchases and emergencies. When the cash pile dwindled during the week, purchases were reduced. Worked great. Since then I use Quicken as I can automatically download the credit card charges as they occur. Helps me catch weird charges like identity theft occurrences. I now mainly monitor the total expenses for the month. If I keep it below my goal, I'm happy.
Often times the most simple approach is the best approach
I basic have money taken out of my checks, so it’s harder to access right away. 18 percent towards 401k, 7 percent towards stock, 500 towards savings. We try to make it work with what’s left. Some of its liquid, but moving money directly to savings makes you look at expenses if you’re having to dip into that money.
I always increase those amounts when I get raises or bonuses.
Issue: love this system. The problem is HandR block when doing taxes charges per line per bank account. So that goes 600 bucks when paying for tax preparation. I'm in NY
I used to volunteer to do financial counseling for military families. One time I had a military wife come in who had trouble with family finances. She had two beautiful spreadsheets. One showing all their income and one showing all of their expenses. The problem is, she never reconciled the two, never marry them up. So they were constantly in the hole financially.... Point is, whatever is intuitive for some people is so difficult for others. Keep it as simple as possible. Your system is excellent for those who are attuned.
Thank you
I've been struggling with my own budget spreadsheet and the "one off's" that impact the budget. I really like your recurring, non-monthly category and I think that will help streamline my own worksheet. Not sure about having that many bank accounts and debit cards, but I see your point.
Ally Bank and some others have "Buckets". I love them, it works great! I put stuff like car repair, etc.
Hi James, I’ve been going without a budget my whole life. It’s always been more of a hassle than it was worth, or so I thought. I’ve always kept a few month buffer in my checking and savings and monitored that amount. If it decreased, I realized I was overspending and adjusted. The same is true when a big, unexpected expense came up. I would pay for it and spend less until the full buffer was restored.
However, if you ever asked me where my money was going, I only had a very foggy idea.
Now that I am nearing retirement, I’ve decided to follow your advice, simply because it will help me do “tactical adjustments” to retirement account distributions and spending.
It’s only my wife and me, so we haven’t had any of the typical kid related expenses, which has made things much easier. But, by doing a budget now (2 1/2 years before I retire from my job), I will be able to adjust our cash flow to be sustainable. I will work with both adjusting yearly withdrawals, as well as expenditures, to keep on track.
Thanks for the video! Thanks to the motivation, I’m half way through the spreadsheet and am looking forward to having a tool to use for planning into retirement.
I’m glad it was helpful!
Love this. I basically do this, but I’m one of those who is 24/7 checking myself. One suggestion I’d make though is that you didn’t mention Charity/giving.
Great idea!!
Really thorough and helpful James. We do something similar and my mindset has switched from a budget to more of a cash flow management plan over time to simplify things.
Thank you! The mindset shift helps a lot.
My daughter had a great idea for continuing to use a credit card ( and earn points) but still track spending. Pay with the card, but immediately pay that amount from the proper account back to the card, so you are staying in “real time, as far as the balance- which should stay close to zero. You will still earn the points this way.
My wife and I have been doing this for over 30 years. We have 14 different accounts, some joint and some separate. It has worked great for us. We were laughed at when we started and now it has become increasingly popular.
Great vlog. Always interested seeing different ways to save.
Thanks, Leslie.
Excellent. Thanks for spreadsheet which I will use moving into retirement. Excellent viewpoint and video 👍
Thanks James for creating and sharing your budgeting spreadsheet.
One thing that really helps me is to have one credit card and one one account or as few accounts as possible.
Outstanding job sir, thank you.,....
This is so helpful! Thank you!
I love your videos-thank you! This information aligns with my budget strategies and helped me fine-tune things as I head into retirement in a few months. 😊
Thank you 🎉
I don’t overspend because I have lived below my means for my entire life. I would like to know exactly how much I spend on food, and what I spend on this misc slush kind of fund. If is Kroger or sprouts I know it’s food but once I look back on my statement at Walmart Costco Target, I have no memory and once I get home I don’t write it down, so it’s all a blur. I can’t make myself write my spending down. And I don’t know what I bought.
Thanks for cash flow sheet...
You’re welcome. I hope it’s helpful.
I'm trying to stay positive but Bidenflation CPI 8.3% combined with Stock Market Down 1200 points not helping much...
Amazing video and breakdown 👍🏼🙌🏽🙏🏼❤️💪🏽
Thank you
As a retiree its actually easier to track my daily spending.
Do you find it’s easier because you have more time to do so? Or for other reasons?
@@RootFP it's easier because I have the time. It only takes about 60 seconds everyday and I take advantage of the travel rewards program. I use my credit card like a debit card. I am actually a better money manager as a retiree.I
I use a spreadsheet with a column for each month. At the beginning of each year, I plug in all my expenses and income for the year. Every month I plug in the actual amounts. Hopefully in December, I have spent less than my income.
I'm 66. tried budgeting and tracking expenses several times in my life. Didn't enjoy iit. IMO budgeting and tracking is actually more like training wheels. Once you learn you can be happier spending less you don't need the training wheels.
Sinking funds: wonderful tool.
So the sheet I keep is very similar except I have a third sheet that extrapolates my savings for the next couple years. So with all those categories accounted for I can see my projections and I have columns next to all the expected balance in my checking account. I plug in things that deduct against that month’s projected balance. So I can put in hypothetical vacations and purchases and see how it affects my future plans. End of every month I just replace the formula with the actual number and I have a new projection. I keep track of difference and it’s become a game, can I stay under budget. Individual expenses is overkill for us, and the bank apps are annoying because they don’t always categorize correctly and I’m not going to spend time recategorizing constantly. Just have to answer ONE question: Can I beat the projected balance?
Love the content James. So to confirm, you have a separate debit card for every category and bank account? That’s a lot of cards! Do you always carry them? Thank you.
I just carry my personal “fun money” card and gas. The others I don’t have as much of a need for in person so they’re just connected to various online accounts where I can use them for payment.
Great job James, you’re gonna add the budget spreadsheet right? right?
Just added it, sorry for the delay!
Great Video!
Thank you!
Thank you! This is helpful and easy to understand. Do you still have the free retirement checklist? It looks like the link is broken.
I can't see anyone going through life without a budget, but to be fair, I'm a nerd.
is there a category for income taxes?
It looks like this is for people who have taxes taken out of their paychecks. I pay quarterly and although my a counting estimates this for the next year, my income really does vary from month to month so it gets pretty frustrating. You may be in the same boat.
So… separate bank accounts for each category means separate bank debit card? Or cash envelope? Separate debit card seems confusing too🤔
Yes, or at least separate debit cards for the categories you tend to overspend the most in. That's what worked best for us.
So you use a debit card for each bank account? Or make a lot of transfers each month into one account in which you have a debit card?
😊lookin Good😊
Hey man, your video is awesome, I redo my budget from scratch to begin using this… I had been using for only 3 months, making small changes month to month to fit better the way I use to spend. Only 1 question how can I set aside an amount per month to the “not planned expenses” if the expenses is happening month to month? For example I can not set aside $4,500 pesos mexicanos monthly if that month something happens and I need to use $3,500 because something suddenly happened to my car And I need to fix it :( sorry for my grammar, saludos desde Mexico
Glad to hear that. I would have a separate “car repair fund” to put some money aside each month so the next time that happens you’ll be ready.
Thanks to take the time to reply… but I mean, how can I build a fund for car repairmen if I constantly have “not planned” expenses? Do I have to save at the same time I have that kind of expenses, in order to build different funds for unexpected expenses while the unexpected expenses are happening? :S I hope I could explain myself 😅. Thanks a lot
Does this work in retirement when there is no longer an income?
I don’t see the link to the spreadsheet.
Hi Voncille, sorry for the delay! It's now linked in the description under the timestamps. I hope it helps.
wait so you have 8 debit cards??? holy moly.
Did I miss the link to the spreadsheet?
No I was just delayed in uploading it. It's there now and I hope it's helpful.
@@RootFP Thanks!
What bank allows you to change the title of your accounts or was that edited in video?
I used Navy Federal Credit Union, but many banks should allow this.
Ally bank, you can have one savings account with multiple buckets/goals
What is the easy way of spending money out of each account on a real time basis? That seems like the nuisance that makes this great concept hard to do.
I use You Need A Budget (YNAB) and actually enjoy it.
YNAB is a good one for a lot of people
Great Video!