This is too funny, so far noone has a budget, and I thought I was the only one, too.

I hate the term 'budget'. I prefer 'spending plan'. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan. Me? I need to plan more and spend less.

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"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."

No written budget. But, we're doing very well working toward our financial goals.

Every month, I balance the checkbook to Quicken, and look at how that month's spending and saving compares to past months. I can see exactly where our money is going because I categorize everything. It used to be time consuming, but it's easier and goes more quickly now. I love seeing the stats on paper!

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Attaining financial freedom is like eating an elephant . . . it takes one bite at a time.

well, if you are looking for a budget these ladies can help. We are out of control. I do not want to think about how much we spend going out to eat. It is crazy. But I cook tons of home made stuff too. If we quit going out to eat we would be doing good, but.........

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MrsMom43 = Happily Married mom of three wonderful children!

Phew Guys I Feel alot Better!! LOL

I Looked On Hear and thought , " Oh $hit There are 2 Pages Of People telling Me how I HAVE to Get on a Budget or I Am In for a disaster."

I Guess its Like Anything else, You Hear about it so Often you assume Everyone else but you has One.

I Also Rarely Balance the Checkbook.
I Do Seriously Hope to Sit Down More Next yr. when Ds is In Preschool , and really Work On A Spending Plan.
Yeah Thanks Cookie , I think Budget sounds Way too Confining and For people with Money Problems Spending Plan Sounds Sophisticated.

Well, I have a household expense budget but it is rare that I actually make my magic number each month. My dh does the bills and does everything online that he can. We don't carry credit card balances. We have money taken out for retirement and all that every month. We have a large cushion in our checking account. We aren't really uptight about it, but we try to be careful about our spending on the things we can control. We sit down about once a year and discuss our finances and talk about how much I should be spending each month, since I am the one that spends the majority of the money to keep the house running smoothly.

My budget is $1500 a month and this is supposed to include stuff like gas, groceries, eating out, birthday gifts, Target runs, etc. (no bills). I write down my expenses on a page in my calendar to keep myself on track. If I didn't do this, I would do like someone else posted and spend way too much on groceries and eating out. Those are my problem areas. My dh takes $80 out of the ATM each Friday and that is his spending money for gas and eating lunch out a couple of times a week. It used to be plenty for him, but now that it costs him $60 to fill up his car we are going to have to reevaluate that. For the last 4 or 5 months I seem to be going about $200 over my budget each month because of gas and grocery prices, so we will have to reevaluate that as well. It is probably time for another sit-down. Blah!

But as far as having cash in an envelope or whatever, no we couldn't do it. We need to be more flexible than that. I like being able to check my list and see what I have left for the month though, because I am a planner. It makes me feel like I am doing my part for our family too, since dh works so hard to take care of us.

After 20+ years of being together, we don't have a budget. Not even a splending plan. Our bills get paid first. We use our charge card for everything that we can and it's always paid off each month. If anything's left over, it goes into savings. Needless to say, we don't have much savings.

We really do need to be more aware of where $$ are going, especially since we are getting older and our oldest child is nearing college age.

I am surprised as well that there are more of us without a budget. I'm glad you posted this thread, as I would have never admitted it before.

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SAHM of 4

August food budget (groceries/take-out): $500.00/$75.00
Total spent: $238.97/$14.12

July budget/spent: $500.00/$650.00

No budget here either. I would like to have one but "DH" and "budget" do not go together. He is a great provider though, so I don't complain much. I just think about how much more "wise" we could be with our money.

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I don't have one. Never have. I just keep track of our spending in my head. I have a general idea about things. I am kinda a "general idea" type gal.

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~Happiness is a large family~

We do. Simply because I need that discipline. I give into temptation easily, and this keeps me in check

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You must be the change you want to see in the world ~ Gandhi