How to Keep Track of Your Budget
I keep a running tab for my budget. That way, at any moment, I’ll always know exactly how much money I have in my bank account, how much I’ll have after I pay my bills, if I can afford a trip down the road, and so on and so on.
Before we begin, let me preface this by saying: we all have different organizational methods that work (or don’t work) for us. For me, it’s helpful to have a web-accessible version of my budget that I can check and edit at any time. Others may prefer a hand-written version or even (gasp!) in your own head.
Either way, a budget is a sure-fire way to maintain a sense of (fiscal) security.
In an Excel (or Google Sheets) document, I put together a simple equation: my current bank account balance plus (+) a debit or credit to my account in the future equals (=) my updated bank balance.
Then, I’ll load in all of my regular bills for the coming months plus weekly expenses (for gas, groceries, dinners out, and miscellaneous items) and any additional items (e.g. wedding gifts, travel expenses, etc.). Here’s an example of what a budget could look like:
| Date | Venue | Cost | In the Bank | Month |
| Today | 2,000.00 | 2,000.00 | March | |
| Equation | 0.00 | 2,000.00 | ||
| 3/15/2015 | Cell phone bill | (75.00) | 1,925.00 | |
| 3/16/2015 | Weekly spending | (100.00) | 1,825.00 | |
| 3/20/2015 | Biweekly paycheck | 800.00 | 2,625.00 | |
| 3/23/2015 | Weekly spending | (100.00) | 2,525.00 | |
| 3/30/2015 | Weekly spending | (100.00) | 2,425.00 | |
| 4/1/2015 | Mortgage payment | (1,000.00) | 1,425.00 | April |
| 4/1/2015 | Cable bill | (100.00) | 1,325.00 | |
| 4/3/2015 | Biweekly paycheck | 800.00 | 2,125.00 |
This way, if I’m curious if I can swing a trip, buy something substantial, or make a big payment on something, I can simply input the numbers and see if my future budget can swing it!
Happy Budgeting!