{Budgeting,
tracking, and saving with free printables}
I know there are dozens of online posts about how “fun”
it is to save money, pay off debt, and participate in “no spend
month”, but much like the claim, baked cauliflower tastes like
chicken nuggets, these concepts are packed with lies that crush
your hopes and dreams. They taste like chewy cardboard dipped in
barbeque sauce and restraining yourself from that beautiful pair of
black heels sucks.
Let's face it. Nobody likes to save money, but everyone
likes to have money saved. I myself am a self-admitted Shopaholic.
Impulse buys are my thing and budgeting or browsing for good
discounts is just stifling my spending creativity.
Upon realizing that I spend way more than anyone should
on fast food and that my frequent purchases of a few dollars weren't
so harmless, I knew I needed to make a change. How does someone like
me refrain from spending foolishly and form the habit of sticking to
a budget?
Pretty binders and colorful budget sheets, of course!!!
I've recently developed the habit of banking within a
binder and I've gotta say, this simple budgeting method is
surprisingly effective! I've included PDF printables to help you put
together your very own bank in a binder!
I've been seeing a lot of posts about the “Envelope
System” lately. I'm sure you have too. It's a basic concept of
constructing a strict budget, dividing cash into separate envelopes
that are assigned to different spending categories, and basically
eliminating the use of your cards. A common line I've seen in these
posts goes a little something like this, “This is an exciting new
plan because once the cash is gone, IT'S GONE!”
Quite profound, really. What on earth could be fun and
exciting about having no more cash to spend? Sometimes I think these
stay at home moms are getting a little crazy with all the crayon
melting “art”, designing fancy printables, and baking cauliflower
lies. Once it's gone, it's gone!!! 'Gigantic, twitchy eyed smile'
I tried this envelope system for a while, but it just
didn't work for me. For one thing, there's the task of driving to the
bank and waiting in line. UGH. For another totally valid reason (not
excuse) asking to withdraw eight $20 bills, twelve $10 bills,
fourteen $5 bills, and twenty dollars worth of $1 bills just isn't
that appealing! Then there's the matter of remembering each different
envelope for any time you have something to purchase. Not to mention
the purse full of coins that I was carrying around for a month. The
whole thing made budgeting seem more inconvenient and miserable than
I was already expecting. Using cash was out! Despite the month of
hell, I did learn some valuable lessons:
Do not underestimate the power of a dolled up budget
binder!
And also,
Shame is a key factor in a successful budget. Embrace
it.
(You can quote me on that)
The binder reminds me of my financial goals every day
and the shame keeps me from stopping to buy another Big Mac or that
office supplies that nobody really needs!
If the cash system works for you, great! You can
implement your envelopes into this awesome bank in a binder!
The
Binder: An Inside Look.
What makes a budget binder effective? Use what works for
you! My binder includes my financial goals, sheets for each category
of my budget that I use to track my spending, a bill calendar,
envelopes for receipts, and a running total of what I've spent. With
my mandatory bills aside, I divided my spending into five categories
or “accounts” and assigned a budget to each.
- Childcare
- Food
- Entertainment
- Auto
- Personal
I also have two extra sheets with no assigned budget
labeled,
- Unexpected
- Business Expenses
At the end of each day, I pull up my mobile banking app,
jot down everything that I spent that day, and add it to my
accumulating total of how much money I have left in each budget and
how much I've spent overall. Writing down my purchases really puts
things into perspective for me. The experience usually goes a little
something like this,
“I'm so responsible, writing down my spending. Look at
how cute these budget sheets are. I should make printables for a
living. Wait. . . how did I spend $71.56 at Walmart yesterday?! That
can't be right! I only bought diapers and soda! Oh, and an iced
coffee drink, those fuzzy socks, another package of colored paper,
some stickers, those pens, a candy bar, and that cute picture frame
that was on sale.”
Enter, Shame.
The next time I ran to the store to grab some baby
wipes, I was more cautious with my spending, ignoring that
tantalizing clearance isle.
Treat
Your Binder Like Your Bank!
Being new to this whole awful budget thing, I exceeded
my “Personal” budget on the first day of the month. When I wrote
my expenses down for the day and realized I was in the hole on that
designated budget, I decided to “transfer” the negative amount
from my entertainment account to bring my balance to $0.00.
This brought my allotted allowance for fun activities down by $23.00,
but at least I didn't exceed my overall budget. By making that
transfer, I had easily corrected my misstep and was back on track to
meet my financial goals!
If you make a mistake, you may feel the impulse to call
it quits and try again next month. That was my first reaction. Treat
your separate categories as accounts instead, and transfer money
accordingly. As long as you're not exceeding your overall budget,
you're doing swell!
Building
Your Binder
To create your bank in a binder, you'll need the
following items:
- A binder
- Monthly goal sheet
- Yearly goal sheet
- Tracking sheets
- A bill calendar
- Envelopes
- Sheet protectors
Download the whole bank in a binder in this link, or follow the 6
steps below to customize your binder to your liking!
- First, you've got to sit down and craft a budget. Be realistic, but keep improving! Divide your budget into categories and assign a specific amount to each one.
- Next step is the appearance of the binder. It has to be adorable, of course. Customize your bank in a binder any way you'd like!
- Set your financial goals and write them down. Place them at the front of your binder so you can see them often. You'll benefit from being frequently reminded of your long term goals and it'll give you some motivation when sticking to your budget. Whether your goals are to pay off debt or to save up for a new computer, you can write them in the slots provided in these printables.
- Insert your tracking sheets. These are your most powerful tools and if you're anything like me, they will evoke that much needed shame. Print a tracking sheet for each category of your budget and monitor your spending by writing down each purchase you make at the end of the day. I've included two styles, each with a few specific categories and one that's entirely blank. The first is my personal favorite, designed in pink and gray. The other is black and white.
- Record your bills and the days they're due into this bill calendar. This way, you'll never forget a bill and you can keep those mandatory expenses in mind while tracking your spending.
6. If you'd like, insert a few envelopes to store
important receipts – or cash if you're into the whole awful cash
thing.
After these six easy steps, your bank in a binder will
be complete! It's that simple and remarkably effective! I hope this
works for you!
Happy budgeting, everyone!
Before you go, let us all take a moment to ponder this
odd photo I found while searching for visuals for this post. Let's
play that game where you add your own caption, and the funniest wins!
“Honey, I've been thinking about what you said about
opening that joint checking account.”
'Gasp!' “Are you finally ready to commit to me that
way?”
“No. So I got us a piggy bank instead.”
“Awww, Baldy! We're so great together!”
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