Money Mag recently came out with their list of best money websites, so I thought I'd share 'em around and see what you all think. Along with my own two pennies, of course.

You would have thought that after 2 months of heavy research they'd have at least mentioned the all-time BEST site in it though (BudgetsAreSexy - duh!) but I suppose they must have overlooked it ;) Whatever, I'll continue reading your silly little financial mag...you've already got me hooked!

The 20 Best Money Websites:

1. Basic.esplanner.com - If you're wondering if you need to save more for retirement. (?)
2. Morningstar.com - If you're wondering if you have the right mix of investments. (popular one)
3. Portfoliomonkey.com - If you're wondering if your portfolio is too risky. Love the name :)
4. Finance.Google.com - If you're looking to find your next stock pick. Google is everywhere!
5. Nerdwallet.com - If you're wondering if it's time to dump your rewards card. What a site name! I'd visit just based on that...who isn't a nerd reading this right now?
6. Mint.com - If you're wondering how to cut spending and save more. Mad respect for the Mint team! They have one of the best budgeting platforms around...and noticed I said "platforms" here. We all know who has the best budgeting spreadsheets ;))
7. Credit.com - If you're wondering how good your credit is. They're also one of my sponsors :)
8. Billshrink.com - If you're looking for a better-paying savings account. Another place I've partnered up with before! Those guys are rrazy funny too - check out their blog --> Shrinkage Is Good
9. Neighborhoodscout.com - If you're wondering which neighborhood you should live in. (Sounds kinda creepy to me... like someone's peeking through your windows or someting! haha...)
10. Trulia.com - If you're looking for sellers ready to deal. Have heard great things about this site.
11. Diyornot.com - If you're wondering if you should hire a contractor or not. If your name is J. Money, then YES. Always.
12. Vitals.com - If you're looking for the best doctors in your network (I think I'm too lazy for this)
13. Healthgrades.com - If you're wondering which hospital you should go to. Or if you're a guy - the closest one ;)
14. Linkedin.com - If you're looking to find your next job. Also: Twitter, Facebook, Craigslist, blogs.
15. iTunes U - If you're wondering how to keep your skills sharp. As in, iTunes, iTunes.
16. Truecar.com - If you're wondering what the best price you can get on a car. (What about KBB?)
17. Pricegrabber.com - If you're looking for the best price on electronics. And I agree. Definitely NOT Best Buy, although it still doesn't stop me from walking in there ;)
18. Coupons.com - If you're wondering how to pay less for everyday stuff. (It seems that the best places also have the best (and most generic) site names too, eh?)
    
19. Kayak.com - If you're wondering how you can save on your flight. Which is funny considering what would happen if you actually tried to fly in one!
20. Charitynavigator.org - If you're wondering if you should give to a specific charity. I agree with this one 100%! GREAT site that I'm glad is around to ward off all those hacks.

They also listed their 4 favorite iPhone apps:

1. ATM HUNTER - For finding the nearest ATM that won't cost an arm and a leg.
2. REALTOR.COM - For finding out how much houses go for. (I use this every other day!)
   
3. REDLASER - If you're wondering if that price you're looking at in the store is a good deal. (Just downloaded after reading! Haven't tried it out yet, but I'm excited to.)
4. IXPENSEIT - If you need to hold on to your receipts but you always lose them.

What do you guys think? They leave any great sites or apps out? It'll be interesting to see what pops up on their list next time. So many awesome and creative sites show up every year - it's so cool we're a part of this online information age!

Labels: link lovin, money management, one of my lists, tools and resources

If there's one phrase I hate more than douchebag (although it's a close call) it would have to be - "I can't afford that." It drives me bonkers! Most people CAN afford "that," they just choose not to (right Evan?). It's a big difference if you think about it.

Saying you can't afford something gives all the power to a magical object out there looking to tease you. It knows you want it, but guess what - You can't have it! "Hah!" it laughs to itself. Little do they know how wrong they are. Sure, some things really are off limits (mansions, private jets, playboy bunnies) but the majority of stuff IS attainable - we just don't desire 'em enough to trade our money for the other things we could do with it. We've got houses to save for and debt to pay off, ya know?

We are the ones who decide where our money goes and how to prioritize it, not some $50 tee or 60" flat screen. So tell those jackals to back off. They're not in control of us, WE are. We may secretly lust after them, but we're not about to wreck our financial goals for the quick high... at least not today ;) And even if we did that would still be okay because it would be OUR choice - not theirs. We're the empowered ones here, it's important to remember that.

But before you nix it from your vocabulary (because I know you will now, right? RIGHT?), let's get these objects out in the open for everyone to see! We're not afraid of them - we just prioritize our money! We like money, and we like having options. So pray tell, what is something YOU can afford but choose not to? Here are some of the answers my V.I.P. Crew holler'd with:

• New cars, mountain bikes, Louboutins, flat screens, computers, $300 jeans, soda makers (what the?), canoes, golf clubs, fishing boats, blenders, sewing machines, furniture, Wiis, hair cuts, and on and on and on...
  

There's nothing wrong with prioritizing our money guys. It's time to empower ourselves and acknowledge we hold a lot more buying power than we let on! We're rock stars, and we're proud to spend intelligently ;)

Labels: get motivated, get your brain right, money management, saving, shopping

Guest post by Mrs. BudgetsAreSexy ;)

Life as a graduate student is notoriously tough. Generally, you're operating on a slim-to-nonexistent source of income, yet with the workload of a full time job and the expenses to go along with it.

I consider myself very fortunate to be a married grad student. It's great to know that I am not forced to work out housing and other living expenses all on my own; however, even with this "safety net" of sorts, I still strive to maintain my own expenses as much as possible. My husband may be "Mr. Money" on this blog, but I try not to call him that at home - wouldn't want to crouch his fiscal style if I can avoid it! ;)

Many of you may be aware of how we generally operate financially as a married couple. Typically, we get our paychecks deposited into our separate personal accounts, and we each deposit a certain amount of these into a "common account" for home-related items like the mortgage, groceries, etc. This worked out great when I was working with a full-time job, but as a student, my tiny TA stipend just isn't enough to cover the same monthly needs. Thanks to personal savings, some financial help from family/selling off some inherited stocks, I was able to put together a good chunk of money to pay off my "share" of the common expenses for most of the first year or so of my being in school (much of which is noted in the "cash savings" area of J's net worth updates).

As with any savings, however, they start to dwindle when you actually need to use the money! Thus, I have made a tremendous effort during my grad-student days to continue to build up my portion of the "home fund" for the duration of my schooling. Below are a few of my favorite frugal-living tips on a grad student (or any kind of student) basis:

1. Save, save, save. It's the same tip that everyone tells you, and there's a good reason for that: It's just hands-down the most important. Since my portion of our "shared" expenses comes out of the stockpile of cash I accrued before starting school, the rest of my salary (a whopping $12K annually), almost entirely goes directly into my savings account. If I have an immediate personal expense, I pay for it out of this money, but otherwise, it's all stuffed into my own "home fund in waiting" account.
2. Conserve your travel expenses. If you're a commuting student, trying to condense your class schedule into 2 or 3 days a week can save a ton on daily commuting costs.
3. Keep an eye out for extra work opportunities. If you can find some good RA or TA jobs on campus, even the pittance that these jobs pay can definitely add up in the end - I think I added a solid $3K to my salary last year based on RA jobs alone. (Just remember not to take on more work than you can handle!)
4. NEVER buy your textbooks at full price. EVER. Go through Amazon, Half.com, or any other online textbook source - or if you don't need to keep your books, get them from your campus library! Take the extra time to shop around for good book deals; it def. pays off in the long run.
5. Avoid falling into the campus Starbucks/fast food/vending machine traps. Pack snacks, drinks, and a lunch from home as often as possible.
6. Alcohol can be a major drain on expenses when you're in college. Though this would apply more to most undergraduate than graduate students, my advice would be to A) drink less, B) drink cheaper stuff, or C) drink at home or at a friend's house. If you must go out on the town, options A or B can at least keep the cost at a more manageable level!
7. Become well-versed in the art of window shopping. And if you're shopping online, make use of the "save for later" option instead of buying things on impulse. You'd be surprised how waiting a couple of days can give you the necessary perspective on whether or not you "really need" a certain item.

All in all, life as a grad student doesn't have to be a total sacrifice - besides, so much of your time is spent on schoolwork that you tend not to worry about a ton of frivolous spending anyway! Just stay focused, save as much as possible and remember that light at the end of the tunnel. Now back to the paper-writing cave I go...

Labels: advice, grad school, money management, one of my lists, saving

Stocks are great to know about, yes, but even BETTER would be basic financial management. Who gets right out of high school and starts investing before landing their first job/credit card/own apartment? I know people do it, I just don't see the logic (although I'd admit it does seem more fun).

Check out this comment by girlwithredballoon on an older post of mine:

"You know, I took Personal Finance in high school, but they didn't teach anything about credit cards, compounding interest, different types of student loans - none of that! They taught us how to write checks, and then we had to play a stock market game where we chose companies to invest in. I know investing is important but knowing the dangers of credit cards ahead of time may have helped me to avoid them in college!"

Exactly! I learned how to write checks and balance a checkbook in Senior year too, but that was about it. There was no mention of 401k, IRAs (were they around in the 90's?), credit cards, or just plain saving. But of course we had to play those stock investing games! God forbid we leave school without doubling up our FAKE money.

Maybe I'm naive, but I just don't see how investing in individual stocks should come before the main pillars of personal finance. Think about it. Say a student triples his/her money in the "fake" market and then thinks he/she can make it big in real life and tries to out game it all? The odds are against them, especially if they think they can do it again in the 3-4 months allotted like in class. They then lose a chunk of their money and end up walking away thinking investing isn't for them.

Only INVESTING isn't about just individual stocks! It can be a main ingredient, but there's plenty of other places you can put your money - CDs, bonds, mutual funds, target-date funds, treasury bills, etc etc. Stocks can do wonders for your portfolio (I love 'em to death!) but you should have a grasp on the rest of the areas before jumping in and playing.

You teach a kid how to save 10% of all their income, or pay their debt off on-time, and it's a whole new ball game! Not as fun to teach I'm sure, but it'll stick with them MUCH longer than some crazy stock game. Am I right? Am I missing something here?

Labels: education, in the real world, money management, personal finance, stock market

Let's get to know each other some more :) I filled out this questionnaire for a series Automatic Finances put together recently (he interviewed a few of us bloggers), but I thought it would be a great discussion tool for us too. After all, we see each other almost every day, yes?

If you'd like to participate (and I hope you do), list your answers in the comments below. You can be as short, and anonymous, as you'd like. And if you'd rather not, no worries either - you can always stalk us from behind that computer of yours ;) Let the getting to know each other commence!

1) How do you spend: cash, debit or credit?
As much as I can on credit card baby! I find credit cards to be an excellent budgeting tool as long as you stay on top of it, and pay 'em off in full every month (which I do). If you're spending roughly the same every month, why not pay with plastic and milk 'em for all those extra rewards?

2) Do you bank online? How about use a financial aggregator (Mint, Wesabe, Yodlee, etc.)?
I bank online at USAA.com aka the best bank e-v-e-r. Since most of my 10+ accounts are there, I find a trusty excel spreadsheet & google doc is the only other thing I need to manage it all and stay on budget. Although I could certainly see the value in personal finance software like Mint & the rest. If I didn't like manually updating my budget so much I would have switched out long ago ;)

3) What recurring bills do you have set on autopay?
Oddly enough, only a few things: Comcast, condo fee, and insurance. My income gets staggered so I like to manually pay the rest to make sure all is on point.

4) How are your finances automated?
Currently, they're not as automated as I'd like. I deposit my paychecks, xfer out the money to the right accounts, and then manually pay a chunk of the bills asap to make sure I don't forget. I'd like to have *all my finances automated* but it's gonna have to wait until things are more concrete.

5) Do you write checks? If so, how often?
Checks? What are those? :) They only get the pleasure of my bad handwriting when it's time to pay a stray bill or give a wedding present to somebody. All other times they stay in my drawer sobbing, knowing the end is near.

6) Where do you stash your short-term savings?
In a regular ol' savings account. I like the freedom to xfer out at a moment's notice, and having your accounts in one spot makes it even easier to manage it all.

Your turn! How do you manage your finances?

Labels: about j., banking, bills, interview, money management

Even if it's the most boring advice ever? I was talking to my boy Brad the other night and somehow we got on the topic of simple easy advice, and he used millionaires as a perfect example of this. And it's so true!

Most millionaires make their money slowly, over time. Getting Rich Slowly, if you will, yet not many care to put it into use because it's so boring. And, well, slow. But the truth is this stuff works! It takes a lot of hard work and frugality, and many times sacrificing, but the end goal of becoming financially free is some damn good motivation.

If you like this sorta stuff, I highly recommend reading The Millionaire Next Door. It's one of the greatest books in this field and really breaks down the common traits of millionaires out there. And you'd be surprised that not everyone in the book makes a ton of money! A lot of them do, but many also get wealthy by living below their means, saving 20% of all their income, and staying put in their paid-for homes (something I wish I could do myself! Haha...stupid military blood in me).

Living "for today" is cool too if that's how you see the world, but you better enjoy what you're doing because you'll be workin' for a looooong time. One of the benefits of creating wealth is that it shifts the power from the outside world to YOU! That means YOU get to decide how much to work and how to live your life, no one else. It's called financial freedom, and millionaires cherish it like no other. (It's also what I keep in mind whenever jealousy takes over from watching people lavishly spend their money ;))

Millionaires are millionaires for a reason. If you truly want to learn how to grow your money like them, listen up! The old excuses of "it's not for me" or "I would do that, but...." don't fly in their world. They set up a plan, save their money, and enjoy all their spoils. If you're lucky enough to know any of them, buy 'em a beer and pick their brain! It just so happens they also enjoy giving back ;)

Labels: education, millionaire love, money management

Net worths, financial snapshots, personal financial statements - they're all pretty much the same. They tell you WHERE your money is, and give you an overall status on your finances. I've done a variety of these on this site before, but this last one I just filled out rocked.

The wife is in the middle of getting her security clearance (hmm, should I be telling you this?), and one of the billion of papers she had to fill out was a nice and shiny Personal Financial Statement. When I first heard that I was like Aw yeah!! Mrs. BudgetsAreSexy's gonna have to dig into our finances! Which would have been a riot since she a) HATES doing anything associated with money, and b) would have had to research for hours had it not been for someone diligently tracking it for the last 2 years ;)



Needless to say, she gave it to me to do. And I merrily filled it out! Who am I to turn down such a beautiful lady? Or the chance to work on my financials in a new cool way? So I pulled out my financial snapshot, got my net worth breakdowns in hand, and off I went copying & pasting and taking care of my household duty! It was all rather exciting. And easy since I had all the numbers there in front of me - although I did have to tweak and edit a bit to fit in w/ their categories over mine.

But what was ALSO cool about this statement, was that it had you break down everything by MONTH to get at your disposable income! Which if you recall from last week, was the same importance I was stressing when looking at your budget - finding that number you have left at the end of every month. So it looks like the U.S. Gov't and I actually have something in common ;) (why they don't apply it to their OWN budget is beyond me.)

The point of all this is to get ya thinking about the entirety of your finances, and seeing how it all ultimately comes together. Focusing on savings and cutting debt are important parts of the puzzle, but the overall snapshot of your finances is KEY in determining growth. If you've never created one, knock one out today! You shouldn't keep it a secret from yourself...

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PS: Here's the very same personal financial statement I just filled out, and then the clean template for YOU to try out. If you don't have a lot of time right now, plug in estimates and come back to it later :) Then save and print so you can compare again in 6 months!

Labels: money management, personal finance, tools and resources

The whole point of budgeting, besides sharpening your math skills & getting an A+ from yours truly, is to figure out how much "extra" you're playing with every month. When all your bills are paid, how much do you have left over? Or an even better question to ask yourself - is there *anything*?

As crazy as it sounds, your boy J never cared about budgets until a couple of years ago. Or even managing his own money for that matter. In fact, if you were to ask me back then I would have told you I was The Man when it came to this stuff! Which was a) hilarious considering I was living paycheck to paycheck, and b) scary since I didn't even know how much I was spending every month! And if a financial catastrophe hit? Hah! I would have sheepishly ran right to the Bank of Mom & Dad ;)

You see, paying your bills on time and having enough to get by is fine if you want an average life, but if you're looking for something MORE - something that you can hold onto and build on over time - then "average" isn't good enough. You've got to dig in and find where you're leaking money! Where you can save more here, and chop off some there. And the motivation you'll need to see it all clearly is that number at the very end - the totals that shows you whether you've got $XXX left over or $XXX more in debt. THOSE are the numbers to focus on. Breaking even at $0.00 is still living paycheck to paycheck. What you really need to be focusing on is getting those numbers into the positives! The more you continue to make that happen, the closer you'll get to retirement. Or your dream house/boat/car/million dollar nest egg, etc.

For me, those totals were in bright red. Every paycheck I received, no matter how many raises I got or new careers I tried out, I was losing money. It wasn't enough to notice at first ($50 here, $90 there) but eventually it would have caught up and slapped me silly. How the hell could I be financially free if I never SAVED anything?! It's just not possible. If you really want to be financially successful, you've gotta be bringing in more than you're letting out. Plain and simple.

And the budget, as boring as you may think it is, will point you in the right direction. What a lot of people don't get is that it does more than just show you how much your life sucks - it shows you how it could be BETTER. It's the whole "ya gotta see the bad so you can see the good" kinda thing. The "knowing is half the battle" G.I. Joe type stuff ;) Even if you only follow a budget for a month or two! You will learn more about your spending habits in those two months than you will reading this blog or any other books out there on the subject. And you know why? Because we're all different. We all have our own way of living, our own way of spending, and our own plans for retirement.

Whether you choose to budget or not though, just find out how much you're GAINING every month, or how much you're LOSING every month. These numbers are the keys to your success. And until you can determine them, you'll have a helluva time reaching those dream-like goals of yours. Much better to work 'em out now than later, I say.

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PS: And if you are looking for a budget to start on, try out the one I use, or any others from the list of great budget templates/spreadsheets I've collected over time. Some are kinda purrty ;)

Labels: budgets, money management, saving

There are 3 simple steps I like to tell people when they're interested in managing their money. 1) To seek out the info, 2) to act upon it, and 3) to use time to your advantage.

Right now (unless I've already bored you) you're in step #1 - you're here reading this because you genuinely want to better your financial situation! And for that I congratulate you ;) You could be on facebook, or watching the latest viral video right now, but you're not. You're here with me on this personal finance site. So good work, step #1 has been completed.

Step #2 involves acting on what you've learned from your research. What will you do when you're finished reading this? Will you click away and totally forget what you just read? I hope not! Or else you just wasted 5 minutes of your life ;) Luckily there aren't many "actionable" items from today's post, but when you move to the next one on your list - My Money Blog, MSN, Consumerist, etc - make sure to pause for a second when you're done and reflect on what you've just learned (or what you'll need to do to make something happen!).

It's kinda hard in this fast paced world of ours, but taking that last step before switching over to the next thing really helps allow the stuff to sink in. And if you're too busy to act on it right then, draft up an email and type out what's important right there in the headline - then send it to yourself. I do this at *least* 4 times a day, and I can't express how helpful it is with keeping me on track.

The last step I like to advise (and my personal favorite) is to use time to your advantage! How often do you look back and wish you would have started saving 5 years earlier, or contributed to your 401(k) from day 1? Probably a little too much than you care to admit, and it's crazy frustrating. But you know what? We can change that! We can't do anything about the past, but we can sure rock out the future. If you're trying to get rid of debt, or start saving for a new home or emergency fund, get on it TODAY! Tomorrow you'll be much happier and every single day that follows will only help move you closer to financial freedom.

5 years ago I about $3k in my 401(k) and couldn't care less. Now it's at $110k+ and I appreciate every last paycheck that continues to fund it! $50 here, and a few hundred there is nice, but watching it grow and compound over time is simply incredible. The only way you're gonna get there though is by starting. Do yourself a favor and get on with the game plan! That way when we look back to THIS day, you can give yourself a hearty pat on the back and be that more thankful for taking action when you did ;)

Labels: advice, money management, one of my lists, personal finance

We spend a lot of time cutting back and saving, and doing whatever else we can to ensure a healthy nest egg, but there's something to say about SPENDING too.

You know that saying, "Money can't buy happiness?" Well, I believe it's only partially true. Money can't buy you love, or youth, or that feeling you get when you've accomplished something so amazing!, but it CAN buy you plenty of other niceties.

Take traveling for example. You think you can fly around the world (comfortably) without any money in your pockets? Or experience a 4 day bender with all your friends in New Orleans scot-free? It's possible if you're a super hacker, but not for most of us. This stuff costs money, and the more you have of it the more you can take advantage IF you so choose to. Money gives you options.

The same goes for entertainment. Hitting up the movies, playing video games, looking at "membership" sites (you know who you are), taking your significant other to a nice dinner - it all costs something. $hit, even sitting here blogging costs money! I gotta dish it out for my domain name, the hosting, the internets, the itunes playing in the background, all stuff I look forward to every day.

You can do your best to save save save, but if you don't spend spend spend (within reason) you'll drive yourself bonkers. It reminds me of an old friend who used to study his ass off at college and refused to socialize. Whenever I'd invite him out he had the same ol' line for me - "Gotta lot of reading to do! Sorry, man." It was like clockwork, and actually really freaky. You can probably guess where I'm going with this, but he didn't graduate with the highest of honors. Maybe he didn't test well, or was just lying to me the whole time (never!), but I'm pretty sure he just maxed himself out. Ya gotta have some stress relievers in life, and money can help that.

Good financial management is all about balance. As soon as you stop treating yourself you're heading toward one of the extremes. Make sure to catch yourself and pay for some of that happiness! I don't wanna see you sad with a million bucks in the bank, okay? ;)

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PS: That painting up there is another example. It cost me $98 to complete (48 of which came from dollar bills alone), but every time I look at it I freakin' smile! Love that thing.

Labels: in the real world, life, money management

If you're in college and reading this,YOU ARE SMART! Not only for getting into college (naturally) but for wanting to get a head start on your finances. When I was your age the only thing I cared about was women & beer pong - and in that particular order. As long as I had enough to survive, I didn't want anything to do with financial management ;)

Unlike me though, you want a head start in life and you're doing something about it! So today's post is directed at you, along with a fellow student of yours looking for some help. We'll call her Miss Roxy for the fun it. Here's her dilemma, along with my thoughts on it:

"I'm 19, in college, planning on marrying in summer of 2012. I can't save much right now, but I know eventually I'll have a job and I want to put away for retirement. The problem is, I'm not sure how to. I know that sounds silly because there are posts about this all over the place. But the problem is, there is a chance that my future husband and I might be moving to a different country within the next ten years. How does that effect my retirement savings and can you help me?"

First off, good for you in trying to plan all this stuff out! I couldn't tell you what I was doing for lunch each day, regardless of planned weddings, moving, etc so good job. That being said, I think life is too crazy and will change when you least expect it - esp. in the next 10 years. That doesn't mean planning for retirement and the wedding shouldn't be done right now (it totally should!) but just that I wouldn't worry about having the *perfect* game plan at this point in your life. It'll always be a work in progress.

THAT being said (again, haha...) the answer to your question depends on a slew of variables. Here are a few things I wish I had thought about back in the day:

5 Financial Tips to Get Your Mind Right

1. Save save save! Every time you get paid, get cash presents, win the lottery, etc, stash at least 10% of it away. You do this for the rest of your life you'll have plenty of money, believe me. It's one of the simplest things anyone can ever do.
2. Find as many income streams as you can. Work side gigs while in college, get a good job when out (and if it takes a while to find one, at least work others in the meantime!), etc. Without income you can't do squat. This applies to both you and Mr. Roxy ;)
3. If you're looking for an investment vehicle, besides a saving account, try a Roth IRA. You can put in $5k a year that will grow TAX-FREE for the rest of your lives. As long as you don't hit the maximum income to be able to contribute (it's over $100k so you don't have to worry about that right now), it's one of the first places people usually advise to put money in.
4. Contribute at least up to your employer's match in your 401(k) plan. This doesn't apply now as you don't work full-time yet, but once you do make sure to contribute at least whatever they're matching as it's FREE money for doing nothing saving (which you should be doing anyways).
5. Create a simple budget and review it once a month. It's boring at first, but once you get into the habit you catch yourself spending more than you should be ;) Give free budgeting sites like Mint.com (affiliate) a shot, or see if any of the excel spreadsheets I gathered does the trick! As long it gets you to take action, it really doesn't matter which.
   

You & your man follow a few of these, and you'll be just fine :) People make this stuff a lot harder than it actually is. When it comes down to it, it's all about spending less than you earn, and saving the rest. That'll leave you with plenty of money for the wedding, retirement, and whatever else you're planning up.

Anyone want to add anything else? Maybe some tricks/lessons YOU learned in college?

Labels: advice, money management, one of my lists, reader mail, retirement

I read an interesting article in USAA Mag recently, "Budgets Are The New Black," and I thought it did a great job of breaking down budgets by percentages (plus, what a killer headline!).

It was written by famed money guru & best-selling author Jean Chatzky, and among other things pimped out an excellent graph of where all our money should be going. Or, at least where we should strive for it to go! You see a lot of recommended graphs & lists out there (which are pretty much the same), but this one really stood out. And not just because of the pretty pictures either ;) If you're looking for a great benchmark, this could be the one for you.

According to Chatzky, our NET income should break down like this:

• Housing: 35% This includes not just your rent or mortgage, but utilities, maintenance, taxes and insurance.
• Transportation: 15%. Again, not just your car loan, but the money to pay for gas, parking and upkeep, as well as any taxis or public transportation.
• Other debt repayment: 15% Not your mortgage or car loan, but student loans, credit cards or other debts.
• Savings: 10% Non-negotiable (includes retirement contributions)
• Life: 25% This is everything else. Your clothing, travel, health care, food, fun.

Pretty simple (and safe) stuff. By following these guidelines you're pretty much guaranteed to live a more financially secure life. And, there's only one other rule she adds here: Borrowing is allowed, but NOT from savings. You can take money from one bucket to use in another (say, for paying mortgages that are higher than the average because of where you live), but you've got to leave savings alone. I REALLY like that idea. Imagine if you ALWAYS saved 10% of your income no matter what? We'd be sitting a lot more prettier, that's for sure. So if you haven't started already, get to saving buster!

And here's how J. Money's NET income breaks down:

By the way, this isn't necessarily a recommendation of mine, just the way it is right now. Also keep in mind it's pretty rough as I had to single out my own portion of the money & bills from the Mrs' since we have them all combined (you could see our breakdown from Jan, '09 here though). Being the curious cat I am, I really just wanted to see how I'd compare alone going by the same guidelines above.

• Housing: 42% ($1900) - Washington D.C. costs substantially more than the country's average, but I'd still like this number to drop more (more than the 37% in our combined breakdown too). It's the one area of my financial life that really screws with me.
  
• Transportation: 9% ($400) - Most of this is due to train/metro costs since I barely drive, but it does include things like insurance and gas and all. Gotta love zero car payments though!
• Other debt repayment: 0% ($0) - I have no more consumer debt, leaving me with a plethora of extra money here :)
• Savings: 29% ($1,300) - Since the mortgages are "all" we have left, on top of paying less in transportation, there's a lot left over to be saved! Of course, I could be using this money to aggressively pay them down and all too, but instead I'm squirreling it away until this economy (and my job) becomes safer. Since it's kept pretty liquid, I could always apply it against the mortgages at any time anyways.
• Life: 20% ($900) - Not too bad in the % game here, but it could def. use some work. I'd say at least $200 of this goes to stuff I can't even account for, but I do like having this cushion of "not worrying" here. I can't be hardcore with *every* dollar I bring in, I'd go crazy!

I think it's great to compare your finances to a chart like Jean's every now and then. Not only does it put things in perspective (on top of it being fun running the numbers if you're a nerd like me!) , but it helps give you the confidence to keep working towards your goals. Or, at the very least, highlight some problem areas to work on!

Not everyone's situations are the same, but it's important to have guidelines to measure up to. And if you think Jean's breakdown purely sucks, then create your own! Just keep working on it and be sure to check back every so often to track your progress (I try for every 6 months).

So, do you know how YOUR income get distributed? And if so, are you happy with it?

Labels: budgets, money management, tools and resources

While I find finances and spreadsheets REALLY freakin' interesting, there are definitely times when I could care less. It doesn't mean I get myself into trouble or anything, but just that I work best while going with the flow.

I think that's the key to financial management sometimes - you gotta do things when you're in the mood. If you know you work better with numbers early in the morning, maybe it's best to start on it first thing? Or say you have to battle it out with a service rep to get a $35 late fee off your credit card bill - why not schedule it for a time when you can really put your heart into it? Or perhaps a time when you're incredibly pissed off and won't take no for an answer! haha..If you go this route, mind you, just be sure to stay cool and professional. As a manager of a customer service department, I can tell you that you'll get much farther on the call being nice than you would by cursing me out ;)

The downside to this "in the mood" theory, of course, is if you never get to that point. I highly doubt you'd even be reading this if that were the case, but it certainly happens to the best of us. When this happens, try bribing yourself with a dessert or a beer or something. Or maybe get all hocked up on caffeine or energy drinks - that's been known to do the trick as well.

Regardless, I urge you to give it a try. You could even start with other aspects of your life too! Say, with checking email or facebook? I know for me I interact and respond much more quickly and smartier (word?) if I check them before noon. It seems like I gain an ounce of laziness every hour after that until it's time to go to bed ;) So give it a shot. Start paying attention to what your body's telling you and strike when the mood is hot!

Labels: advice, money management, personal finance

Saving and managing our money now goes a long way later! This isn't the first time you've ever ever heard this, especially by me, but it's been rolling around my mind since seeing this quote by a fellow twitterer @JFuntanilla.

There's something about it that really strikes home:

"I live a few years of my life like most people won't, so I can spend the rest of my life like most people can't."

Yes! I know some prefer living like a king now since you never know what'll happen tomorrow (which I can totally understand), but obviously I'm more about preparing for the future ;) I'd love to get my hands on that Benz or splurge on some week long benders to Mexico, but it's just not worth the trade off at this point in my life.

There's something about saving and living a more simple life that comforts me. I like not having to stress over money or wonder what would happen if my paycheck came a few days late. I like knowing we can bring a baby into this world and not have to work 2 extra jobs to afford it. $hit, I like the fact of just being ABLE to afford half the stuff out there! It doesn't mean I'll actually go out and buy all of 'em, but it's a helluva treat knowing I *could* if I ever wanted to.

By saving and living more frugally now, we open up a sea of options for the rest of our lives. We're still free to do whatever we please, but by picking and choosing where our money goes now we gain stability and freedom to take advantage of life on better terms. It's similar to other aspects of our lives: career, education, you name it. Rarely do you hear advice telling you to screw college, or slack off at work and just worry about it all later. You might be able to fulfill yourself temporarily that route (which also implies you'd be smart enough to take advantage of this time created and actually DO the things that truly make you happy), but in the long run it's usually not best.

Think about what truly makes you happy now, and start on it. And if that means blowing through wads of cash like you're the next MC Hammer, so be it! Just be sure you know what you're doing - one day more people will count on you than yourself ;)

Labels: frugality, life, money management, personal finance, saving

We're all used to online savings accounts and banking now, but remember what it was like pre-internet? When we had to literally walk INTO a bank to get anything done? Or when we had to fill out 15 pages of paperwork and show 13 ID's just to create an account?

Well the times have changed my friends, and today we go back down memory lane to remind ourselves how grateful we should be for all this new technology! It's added a lot more distraction to our lives, but it's also done wonders for our financial management. Do you know how much FASTER we can do things now? Here's a list of all the differences I could come up with this morning, check it out:

Banking: Before the Internet

ING, Emigrant Direct, they were mere embryos waiting to come out and play. If you wanted your bank accounts, you had to roll up to a building and get them. Remember how UNTRUSTING people were even when the internet did come around? Trying to get people to enter their socials or xfer money online was like pulling teeth. Before the internet, we had a whole other way of doing our banking:

• You had to walk into physical stores to open/close bank accounts.
• You had to walk into physical stores to deposit checks.
• You might have been lucky enough to have automatic paychecks deposited, but if not then it was time to make yet another trip.
• And my favorite (by which I mean it makes me want to cry): You had to wait for statements in the mail to see how much damage you've caused on your credit cards! Something tells me this only encouraged bad spending habits as you could never tell how well you were doing until after that statement came in the mail. Bleh.
  

Bill Paying: Before the internet

You needed 3 main things before the internet: checks, stamps, and good handwriting (you mess up a check and it was the end of the world). We still use these in some fashion or another, like for those who refuse to live in the 21st century, but for the most part they're archaic methods. Back in the day:

• You had to write a check to pay the bills, no online bill pay.
• Attach those weird "payment coupons" along with that month's payment (for mortgages, car loans, etc - remember that?)
• You spent a lot more on stamps
• You allotted much more time for delivery - which probably was a good thing!
  
• Balance your checkbook (you still have to now, but not as much)

Budgeting/Money Management B.I.

No Mint, Yodlee, Wesabe, Google Docs, or Budgets Are Sexy :( We either used pen & paper (or, pencil I should say for all those mistakes!) or we booted up our computer and opened up Excel. Which, I might add, still does the trick just fine. For most people though, having your accounts pinged every day and seeing all your gritty details on a single page has done wonders. The fact that we can now see our savings, checkings, credit cards, mortgages, utilities, etc, etc on one digital page is unbelievable. I'd go as far as listing it in the Top 10 Best Uses of the Internet!

Stock Trading: Before Internet

Do you have a broker? You better. There weren't no Zeccos, E*Trades, or Scott Trades, or "Enter your name here"Trades. You had to ring your financial adviser or place a call to your long lost cousin in NYC to make it happen. And doing your research before you picked your stocks? Hah! I couldn't tell you what, exactly, you needed to do back then, but I can only imagine the pain you'd be in.

And those are just a few of the things that come to mind right now. I was only 15 or so when the internet first made it's appearance @ our house (kinda like my puberty), so if I've missed anything big or small, drop us a note! Regarding money, that is. We all know what porn and twitter has done to the landscape ;)

Labels: awesomely awesome, banking, life, money management

I like random questions like this because it gets you to stop and think about your spending habits. It's also fun to see how you compare to your peers :)

I know some who spend $300+ a month, while others have gone an entire YEAR (or three) without wearing anything new. I seriously don't know how they do it. Blogger Mapgirl just just calculated her amounts and she's only spent $373.98 this year! Incredible. I know we all have different shopping goals and all, but she's a GIRL! How could she beat me? haha...

I don't consider myself a hardcore shopper or anything, but I've def. spent more than $370 for the year. I don't have the patience to sort through all my c/c statements and add them all up, but if I had to guess I'd say I've handed over at least $600 this year. And compared to previous years of $1,000-$2,000, I've surely come a long way.

I have a shopping budget of $100 every month, and about $75 of it is set aside for clothes and accessories (man jewelry and all). And to be honest, I really haven't had the desire to go out and really look for stuff since I gave shopping up last year. The only times I end up looking around is if I have time to kill at the mall or I'm perusing some hot sales at Express or TJ Maxx or somewhere. And even then I usually only buy t-shirts since I wear them to work everyday with a pair of jeans. Luckily, spending $10 or $15 here and there will hardly get me into trouble. It's when I start looking for jeans or shoes that I end up dropping more than I'd like.

Since I budget everything though (in categories - "shopping", "food", "mortgages") I always know roughly what I'm spending. And all the money saved UNDER budget makes for some great motivation :) Plus, since any extra is sent directly to my savings account, I can look forward to spending it on something really important down the line.

Are you happy with the amounts you've been spending on clothes?

Labels: budgets, money management, shopping, where our money goes

Seriously, personal finance is not all that complicated. Sure it can get crazy when you throw in estate planning and charity foundations, but the principles behind personal finance are as easy as they come.

You can actually strip it down to just a few points:

1. Spend less than you earn.

Make $50k a year? Great, spend $49,999 or less (or whatever your after-tax amount comes out to). Got your paycheck and it's an even $1,000? Awesome, just don't spend any more than that and you're golden. It's really not that convoluted.

2. Don't go into debt.

Don't spend money lavishly and throw all sorts of stuff you don't need on your credit card. Don't take out $40k loans for a new car, or a new boat, or a new electronic robot that makes you coffee and brushes your teeth for you every morning. Again, nothing too complicated here.

3. Save money.

Whether it be in a savings account, a checking account, your 401(k), your Roth IRA, your safe, or even in your bed mattress (which I really wouldn't advise), storing away money is a pretty simple concept - all you have to do is NOT spend it ;)

I bring this up so matter-of-factly because a lot of people I know try to make this much harder than it really is. Wake up - it's not! If you're just looking for excuses to avoid responsibility, then by all means do your thing. But if you really CARE about making a change and laying down your financial foundation, then snap out of it and START. The basic rules of personal finance are easy, it's applying yourself that's the hard part.

Labels: money management, personal finance

I forgot to brush my teeth today, can you believe that? It's something I do twice a day going on 25+ years now, and yet this morning I forget to brush them. I couldn't tell you why either, all I know is that it sucks. In fact, it makes me wonder how many other times I may have forgotten! And of course, this naturally reminded me of finance ;)

Forgetting to brush your teeth is like forgetting to pay your electric or credit card bill. You deal with them time and time again, but every now and then you simply forget! It doesn't matter how organized or pimp you are, it just happens and you suck it up. The difference being, when you forget to brush your teeth you're left with only stinky breath. When you forget to pay your BILLS, you're left with a stinky late payment charge as well as a stinky kick in the pants. Personally, I prefer the bad breath.

What can a busy person do about this? Automate!

It won't help you in the teeth department, but automating your finances is one of the best (and easiest) ways to stay on track. Methods like auto bill pay, auto deposit, auto reminders, or even just ghetto ones in your Outlook or on your iPhone - it all helps. If you're REALLY good, you can automate almost 99% of your financial life! Check out this graphic from my girl Jenny over at Life After College:


Talk about a game plan! She sets it all up ONCE and then she's good. It's just a matter of checking in every now and then and making sure everything's kosher (thanks for letting me share this Jenny!). The more you can automate this stuff, the less likely you're going to forget something - and it also helps with big savings accruals over time! If you're still not convinced, try flipping through the The Automatic Millionaire and see what that does for you. It was CRAZY good in getting me off my a$$.

Now if you excuse me, I've gotta get on over to CVS and find me some toothpaste! One day the internets will be able to do that for me too ;)

Labels: advice, in the real world, money management

I got a pretty impressive email the other day, and I'm hoping it inspires you!

It comes from a reader here at Budgetsaresexy (we'll call him Smart Budgeter), and he does a wonderful job at summing up a few points that we often don't hear about - or at least in this way. And what's even more interesting is that he uses & reloads GIFT CARDS to work it all out! Hah! Whatever work...Check it out:

J - I am budget crazy! Have been on a solid budget for about 2 years now. In the beginning, the hardest part was figuring out where the leaks in our spending was. For us it was grocery/and loose spending at the supercenter. Now we purchase/reload gift cards at the start of every paycheck cycle. We prepare a 2 week food menu and shop all at once. What ever balance is left on the gift cards is spent on non-need items like new towels, or treats (toys) for the kids. This tactic has made the biggest impact on our ability to stay disciplined to our budget and I suggest it to everyone I know. Take care - Smart Budgeter

If you haven't found them already, there are at least 3 great points to take from this:

Find out where your spending leaks are.

The only real way to do this is to track your spending for a month or two and see where it's all going (I know, it sucks, but you only have to do it once!) When you find it, you can then work on improving it and feeling good about it all. When I did this I learned that I was spending $300-$400 a month on clothes, electronics, $40 bottles of water, and all sorts of random stuff that I could care less about. That may be higher or lower than what you spend, but for me it was horrible and I wanted to change it.

Do something about it!

Luckily, the only thing I had to do in order to quit shopping was to STOP going into stores ;) Since I don't shop much online, that pretty much cut out a good 50-75% of it (once I actively made an effort to not "shop for fun"). When I do shop now though, I'm always cognizant of the amounts I'm willing to spend in order to be happy with everything (roughly $100/mo) Sometimes I stick with it, and others I splurge - but at least it's a conscious decision I'm making now.

Reward yourself and allow "extras" every now and then

For Smart Budgeter, it's all about treating his kids or picking up things he'd LIKE to have, but that he doesn't NEED. For me, it's a tiny allowance for lottery tickets, coffee, and an occasional new outfit (yes, I'm sorta like a girl in that way). As long as it makes YOU happy, it really doesn't matter what it is - just that you allow yourself to be human. Allowances like this keeps you motivated and sane, so be sure to include them :) Now get out there and start plugging those leaks!

Labels: advice, budgets, money management, reader mail

As I mentioned in my last post, Borrowing from yourself first is key. There's no financial point in taking on more debt when you have the means sitting right there in front of you.

Psychologically it might be a different story (who wants to deplete their nest egg?) but desperate times call for desperate measures....or something like that. The point is, emergencies and other *needs* justify the right to dip into your savings accounts or emergency funds. It may suck, but you could always fill it right back up as needed! You already did it once, right? (I'm sure you'll tell me if I'm wrong :))

The Best Order To Take Out Money.

So let's say something comes and you need X amount of dollars in X amount of days. Where would you start? Your savings? Credit cards? 401(k)? (Lord I hope not) With all the options we have at our disposal, I thought it would be a good exercise to run down the list in the order I'd personally hit up myself. After all, not all tools are worth using just because we have easy access to them! It's all about starting from the smarter routes first, and checking them off as the amount of money (and the emergency) grows. In my opinion, here's the best order to take out money:

1. Savings Accounts

I keep only what I need for bills and monthly expenses in my checking account, so all extra cash goes right into our savings accounts (after investing, paying extra towards mortgage, etc). This is the first place I'd look because this money isn't *needed* or being used for anything in particular. It helps with all splurging desires, over budgeting issues, or anything else that requires smaller amounts of money not accounted for. (we usually have anywhere from $500-$2,000 in there at a given time)

2. Emergency Fund

I'd hate to do it, but life ain't perfect and I ain't trying to break my debt-free (besides mortgages) record right now. We have $10k stored in our emergency fund to cover worst-case scenarios and to help us sleep better at night. It also works great for floating money and instances when someone asks to borrow money - and I offer it ;) Again, pulling money from here isn't desirable, but it's there for a reason and you could always fill her right back up when issues pass over.

3. Fun Fund

It sounds weird listing this as #3 here, but I never like playing around with the money stored in my fun fund: A box at home specifically set aside for true-life actual FUN. As hardcore as I am about saving/investing/being frugal, I've gotta allow myself a little breathing room to really *enjoy* what money can buy us in life. Plus, I never have much in here anyways ($200-$500 max), so it would have to be getting bad if I started extinguishing options #1 and #2 above. And in which case I'd need this money even more to help pep myself up at that point ;)

4/5. Family Members/Credit Cards

I'm not sure which I'd choose first if it came down to this, so I'll put both here under the assumption it's going to take some time to repay. If it's 3 months and under, I'm rolling with my friends/family. If we're talking 6 months or even a year+ to pay back, then it's on to the credit cards! We have some serious limits on both our house cards & personal cards, so I reckon we could grab up to $70k here. Not optimal, but with rates hovering around 6% for us it would be better than what's next on the list. Plus, USAA is always rockin' out special rates when you call BEFORE using it (either purchases or cash advances) so I guarantee we could lock one in around 4% at the most. *If you have jacked up credit or jacked up credit CARDS however, consider this your #7 option - It could seriously screw you up.

6. Bank or Credit Union Loan

The only bank loans I've ever taken out were for our mortgages, so other than those I'm not sure what loopholes or rates you're really going to get. I'm assuming if I need money for something non-housing related I'd take out a personal or business loan (if applicable). And I'm guessing that would run us at least 8-9% with GOOD credit. But again, I have no direct experience with this one so I'm hoping someone else could share. Regardless, you're still swimming above water here. Update: Be sure to check out local Credit Unions too! Totally forgot about those - you can usually get a loan a bit cheaper than your average bank. The last car loan I had was through a credit union and I want to say I got it for only 4% when rates were 6%+ a couple years back.

7. Home Equity Line of Credit

Or a "HELOC" as many of us like to call it. I drop this guy here at #7 due to the recent fiasco going on with the housing industry. If you're in the same situation as I am and your house is underwater, you can forget even having this option. Homeowners that have equity in the house, however, can usually pull from that by either taking out a loan against it or by refinancing and "cashing out" the difference. Neither option is that great since you're backing it up with YOUR HOUSE, but it's still better than the options that are soon to folllow. HELOCs can have interest rates ranging from the mid 2%'s (it's rare, but it's possible in this economy - ours is at 2.8% currently, un-locked) up to 10%+ depending on your situation and your credit. Just be sure to do your research before jumping in and using your house as an ATM.

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*****Now, from this point forward $hit has either hit the fan or you're up to some cool business plan that requires a major investment - or at least I hope ;) Either way, here's how I'd personally proceed:
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8. Roth IRA/Traditional IRA?

This is where it starts getting scary! Anytime you're forced into pulling from your retirement funds things BETTER be bad. Don't be one of those idiots who uses their 401(k) as an Emergency Fund - that's not what they're intended for!!! But if you've exausted all other options, then yes start pulling from your Roth. Take out only what you've contributed so far over the years and you won't pay a dime in taxes (you already paid that before you xfered in the money). Be VERY carefull here though because when you start pulling out everything, including any profits you may have earned over the years, you'll start accruing hefty fines! It may not matter to you at this point, but just keep it in mind. Read the IRS' online IRA resource guide for further information - I'm not a professional!. You could also pull from your Tradional IRAs as well if you have those accounts. I don't so I'm not too familiar with them, but it would still fall under #8 here in the list. Check out more on the IRS's site concerning Traditional IRAs.

9. 401(k)

By this point you're running out of options and your 401(k) is basically your last resort. The first thing to do is to see if you qualify to take out a loan against it. In a perfect scenario this would mean taking $XXXX out, and then paying $XX back on a scheduled basis until it's filled back up. It'll cost you a relatively small setup fee, but you won't have to deal with tax penalties and the lot. You WILL, however, have to make sure you remain at your employer the entire time. If you quit or get laid off, you're usually responsible for paying it back ASAP. Call your plan holder for additonal details, or start researching the IRS' website on 401(k)s (again, don't take my word for it)

10. PayDay Loans/Cash Advances

Most of you know how much I despise payday loans, but it's still "an option" even if not much of one. At the very least it's worth a little research in seeing what the best offers are here. Make sure to determine *exactly* how long you think it will take to pay it all back! The more you extend it or stop paying it back, the higher your fees and interest rates go (we're talking 30-40%+). In other words, this is one of your last options.

There you have it - the best order to take out money! There are some other avenues I've skipped along the way (certain types of insurances for example), but they're a bit out of my scope for this blog and probably don't affect most of the readers here anyway. I do hope this list helps though!! Once again it all comes down to personal preference and what YOU are comfortable with - don't go and do something drastic before consulting a professional (have I hinted, enough?) :) Now let's just pray you never have to make it past option #7!

Labels: advice, debt, money management, one of my lists

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This is a guest post from video blogger Vik Tantry. He runs the personal finance site Kanjoh.com, and has some pretty wicked videos uploaded there - I highly recommend checking them out. A fun (and different) way to learn!
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It is fascinating how our tastes change. Back in college, I used to happily eat cereal and Ramen Noodles three meals a day. Once I graduated, I was actually able to afford real meals at fancy restaurants. I was earning more, and my spending had increased substantially. This is lifestyle inflation: when your spending starts to catch up with your income.

Lifestyle inflation is dangerous because it can decimate our savings, and it is encouraged by our consumer-driven society. Saving isn't sexy, but it is always exciting to buy the next fancy gadget. When our income goes up, it is very easy to spend it all quickly on things that "we've wanted for a long time but never could afford." Lifestyle inflation often creeps into our lives slowly and steadily. We start eating out a little more, and spending more on clothes. We take fancier vacations and buy more expensive cars and furniture. Before you know it, our increase in income isn't covering our increased costs!

After a few months of working, I realized that I was not saving nearly as much as I would have liked. I also realized that my "improved lifestyle" did not make me substantially happier than when I was in college. I tallied up my expenses and identified several areas of spending that I could do without. I realized that I didn't need to buy new clothes and shoes so often, and I could go out to dinner a little less. After all, I didn't need these things back in college, so why would I need them now?

When faced with lifestyle inflation, take a few days to adjust. Consider your increase in income first and foremost as an opportunity to save more. Then, take a few hours to sit down and prioritize. Make a list of things you've wanted and figure out which ones really mean the most to you. Once you have defined your priorities, stick to them. This way, you can save and invest while still spending money on the things that are truly important.

Controlling lifestyle inflation is more about having the right values than anything else. However, its important to not take it to the other extreme. A balanced approach to saving and spending will maximize both your happiness and your financial stability.

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Editor's Note: One of the best ways to avoid falling in this trap is to up your 401(k) or savings whenever you get a raise or promotion! Getting in this habit will not only help you save more over time, but you'll never miss any of it because you'll never see it ;)

Labels: career, guest post, inflation, life, money management

These are the best free budget templates around - mostly from fellow personal finance bloggers! How awesome is that? ;) I have to put mine at the top, of course, but ANY of these have the potential of working well nicely.

Remember, none of these budgets are perfect, but you can tweak & edit and use the one that's the most perfect for YOU. I change mine up every once in a while - getting rid of the parts that don't make sense any more, and adding in those which do - but the important part is FIRST choosing a workable template. So hopefully one of these works.

Best Free Budget Templates:

Here are the best free budget templates I've found so far! If you come across any others you think are worth adding, drop me a note. I'm always looking for some more great ones ;)

"Financial Snapshot & Budget" @ Budgets Are Sexy Google Doc | Excel | Example (filled in) | More details A colorful and easy way to track your budget and overall Financial Snapshot! Room to budget per paycheck, detail your net worth (if you want), credit card balances, savings funds, total income, and an extra budget just in case :)

"4 Step Budget Template" @ Life After College Google Doc | More details Most budgets are too cumbersome to be useful (in my humble opinion). Check-out this handy four-step budget: After filling in income, must-have expenses and nice-to-have expenses, you'll get a "monthly allowance" for you to spend on discretionary items as you'd like, with the peace of mind of knowing that your main expenses are taken care of.

"Personal Monthly Budget" @ My Money Shrugged Google Doc | Net Worth Google Doc | More details This budget spread sheet works because it allows you to put in projected and actual income and cost and then shows you the difference. It is a great way to be able to compare each category or individual areas. This budget is also broken up into different categories based on major areas of your budget - housing, transportation, insurance, food, savings, etc.

"2010 Budget Spreadsheet" @ Finance for a Freelance Life Excel | Blog Income | Freelance Income | More details This budget spreadsheet is very basic and is meant to be adapted to any person's unique situation. It's easy to add or delete lines and to change the names of categories to better fit your life. For convenience in tracking specific purchases throughout the month, it has a spending log as the first page. This way, you can not only see how much you spent in each category at the end of the month, you can track how purchases added up.

"E.O.D. Deluxe Budget 2.0" @ Enemy of Debt Excel | More details EOD Deluxe Budget 2.0 is a comprehensive budget spreadsheet including a zero-based budget, an allocated spending worksheet, a checking account ledger, a savings allocation worksheet, as well as a lump sum payment schedule.

"Monthly Report Template" @ Fiscal Fizzle Microsoft Word | More details A monthly financial report presented to your family or significant other keeps everyone accountable, aware, focused on goals and progress, and gives you the opportunity to celebrate success. This short but powerful financial template includes areas for monthly cash flow review, net worth tracking, credit score monitoring, goal tracking, and a notes area to explain unusual financial activity for the month or upcoming months. While it's easy to read and review with everyone out of "the box," remember to customize this template for your own system!

"Free Budget Spreadsheet" @ Money Under 30 Excel | Really Simple Budget | More details Using the spreadsheet is easy. Enter the monthly amounts in the appropriate categories, estimating any value that fluctuates from month-to-month. Once you've entered the values, the spreadsheet will tell you how much you will have left at the end of the month to save or put towards debt. It will also tell you how close you are to an ideal income allocation (such allocation models are frequently used by banks and other lenders for determining your financial balance).

"How Much Debt Costs You" @ Debt Free Adventure Google Doc | More details Complete with CHART. Figure out how much your debt costs you each month. Specifically, how much of your loan payments are allocated toward interest (paying for the debt) and how much toward principal (paying the debt down.) *Included are 3 sheets: Data, Chart, and Print*

Other Great Templates & Spreadsheets:

Sometimes less options are better, but I didn't want to leave you hangin' if none of those above options did the trick for ya. Keep in mind that all these spreadsheets & templates are customizable, but see if you like any of these better: (I'm listing them out or else this page would go on forever ;))

• USAA: Budget Worksheet (.pdf)
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade: Wedding Budget Worksheet (html)
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade: Gail's Interactive Budget Worksheet (excel)
• 27 and Frugal: Beginner's Budget (google doc)
  
• My Money Blog: Within Your Means (excel - created by leisure guy)
• My Money Blog: Spreadsheet #2 (excel - by Neil Rothma)
• My Money Blog: Spreadsheet #4 (excel)
• Pear Budget: Original Spreadsheet (excel)
• Punch Debt In The Face: Monthly Budget (google doc)
• Rate State Blog: Zero Based Budgeting Tool (excel - based on Dave Ramsey's "zero based budget")

Aggregate Template Sites:

And if you STILL can't find anything good...or you're just addicted:

• Google Docs: Handful of Budget Templates
• Microsoft Online: Top 25 rated templates! (excel - out of 100+)

Best Online Budgeting Sites:

And now, we've got the places online where you can budget & track all your financials instead of manually doing them yourselves. Well, you'll still have to manually keep up with this stuff online, but most of these places make it super easy for you - my favorites being Mint & Yodlee (although I personally still use Google Docs). The best online budgeting sites around:

• Yodlee MoneyCenter (free)
• Budget Pulse (free)
• Mint (free)
• Geezeo (free)
• Wesabe (free)
• Pear Budget (online version: free for 30 days, then $3/mo.)
• You Need A Budget (free for 15 days, and then 1 time cost of $49.95?)

Labels: budgets, money management, tools and resources