In interviews, I'm often asked what the best budgeting system is. I think it's a trick question - because I truly believe the best system is one you can stick to; whether it's the old fashioned envelope system or something fancy and computer-generated. It really depends on the ease of use for you as a family.

What is the budgeting system that works best for YOUR family?

__________________
Read my recent blog: My Frugal Mistake
Check out the Mommysavers Group on Facebook

Let's see a Mommysavers Member featured on Oprah! Click here for more information

You know your answer was the one I was going to give and it really depends on the type of event.

I do well with my holiday budget just keeping track of how much I spend and then stopping

With Eating out of Vacations I think cash is the way to go

Groceries it is adding up the total in my head as things go in the cart.

You have to combine systems use what works and toss the rest

__________________
Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

I make up a budget spreadsheet in Excel and then every day I check my online banking statement against my budget, writing down where I spent money (and how much) to track what I have left and where my pennies are going (in case I need to knock some sense into myself for being wasteful). It works VERY well for us. I think twice about buying something that only costs a couple dollars with my bank card, whereas I would spend $5 cash at a drive-thru and not remember where it went a week later. Cash system doesn't work at all for us. I'm terrible at managing a checkbook, so we rarely use checks (only to pay our rent and tithe). It's probably unwise to rely so much on technology, but it's easy to get sucked into the convenience of it, especially when it (online banking) is free.

__________________

I have a spreadsheet that has all of our bills we need to pay each month; then I use Microsoft Money to track all of our financial activities (bill paying, deposits, savings, etc.). I cannot use the envelope system as I will not hold myself accountable to every last penny. But I have more money in my checking account these days as I watch every penny we spend!!!

__________________

Check out my weight loss journey ~ sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=MAMAOF3KIDDIES

Whatever works for you! I know some people swear by the envelope system but truthfully I know I wouldn't follow it. And I can promise you that my husband most certainly wouldn't use it. And I guess, in cases where finances are shared, such as husband and wife, you have to take in account what works well for your partner as well.

I have made a spreadsheet in Word Spreadsheets and this is the simpliest and cheapest (free) system for me.

On Wednesday night's I pay money off the bills, Friday is shopping day and all the rest stays in the bank and we can take money out for milk and bread through the week.

If the money was sitting in an envelop in my drawer, its too tempting for me to spend so I pay off the bills as I go week by week.

__________________
Melanie.
Mum to Lillianlee- 1st September 2006.

Monkey Mia's Savings... (my blog)

We use Quicken. All money in and out is recorded, there is a budgeting function. Problem is that it shows you "after the fact" versus real time. I try to input info right away, and we always pay credit cards in full each month. For big events (like Christmas), I track all spending in an excel spreadsheet. There are a lot of people we give to and we ship a lot so I like to track mail/shipping coast also.

I don't use the envelop system but I haven't move up to the high tech stuff yet eight. I use a note book I usally budget a few months at a time on our basic things. For each month I write the paydate and under that date I write what needs to be paid. When it's pay day I just open my notebook and see what needs to be paid. Sometimes I need to add and delete things and so it can get messy some times. I also save all my receipts for the month and than add them up at the end of the month.

It probably is easier to use a spreed sheet and maybe I will keep on top of my finances better. For the month of December I'm going to try to use a spreed sheet.

My budget was forced when I took my current job as I only get paid once a month. It took a few months of tracking to see what monthly things we used (i.e. diapers, wipes, shampoo, soap, etc) and what frequency.

Now I have it down to a science so on payday, I pay all my bills (including a prepaid card that holds the gas money for the month), then go shopping for the "monthly supply list". Whatever money is left over is what I have for the month. The prepaid card cost me $20 (one time) but it was a neccesary evil because of having to budget for a month at a time.

I had tried every single budget I could come up with before and nothing worked for me. So when I forced to figure it out, it just kind of clicked. Just recently I was able to actually work in saving as well into that equation!

__________________
If it wasn't on a clearance rack, it's not in my house!

The best budget is the one that works for you.

I used to put money away for bills but soon found that it was too tempting to use and "pay" back so now we bpay every fortnight.

__________________
Melanie.
Mum to Lillianlee- 1st September 2006.

Monkey Mia's Savings... (my blog)