is budgeting important to you?

@yanjiaren (9031)
February 1, 2007 7:46am CST
what i do is estimate money for everything..when we get paid..put that aside...then i see what is left to either play woth or save, though at the moment we have to save more cos we need a miracle to sort marrage and visas out..i want us both to have legal status in u.s and u.k..my hubby is canadian..i come here nearly six months a year to u.s on my visa waiver program..
16 people like this
72 responses
@sherrir101 (3670)
• Malinta, Ohio
2 Feb 07
Budgeting is very important to us. With our disability checks we don't make that much. So we try to pay bills ahead so we can have some extras. It doesn't happen often, but it does sometimes. We have just moved 5 months ago and are now able to get budget on our gas bill. Which helps tremendously.
1 Feb 07
Budget is a way of life for me. I have been on a budget since I was a kid. If I can't afford something I will just save up for it. I only get a small household allowance every month and once that is gone, I am broke. So, the beginning of the month I pay my few bills and then save the rest.
2 people like this
@nilzerous1 (2434)
• India
1 Feb 07
I have just stopped doing budgets, I just fail to follow it. I used to chalk out lots of plans, and organise monetary affair even couple of months ago. But now I think these are all wastage of time. I spend more time online to earn more and care least for budgeting. So far and so long there is money in my pocket I continue to spend, and once finished, I wait for the next payment to arrive. That's how life is going on for me at present.
1 person likes this
@yanjiaren (9031)
1 Feb 07
aah now we are moving on to the big spenders lol
@apky12 (769)
• United States
1 Feb 07
Budgeting is very important to me but it's hard for me to stick to to tell you the truth. I love shopping. I have been good about sticking to my budget with bills but when it comes to credit cards, I'm not very good about it. I get it down and then I figure hey it's down, I can bring it up.
1 person likes this
@yanjiaren (9031)
1 Feb 07
all these sensible people lol i like it..
• India
1 Feb 07
yes it is definitely important for every body as it helps u to make an assesment of ur assests ...it is really important in life...many people go broke if they dont follow it....
2 people like this
@Anniedup (3651)
• Richards Bay, South Africa
16 Feb 07
I think it is very important to budget even if you earn a reasonable salary. It keeps you focused and disciplined on your savings and goals. Especially if you've got to save hard for something like you. Each month you can see your progress toward your goal and in itself it becomes a motivation. Although, because I've been there, sometimes it can also be very disheartening
1 person likes this
@BittyBiddy (2903)
• Ireland
4 Feb 07
I'm very bad at budgeting. I don't really know how to. I know I need to, but it just doesn't happen. And I belive in spending my money as it's not going to be any use to me if I "go" tomorrow. My husband is much better at handling money. He knows how to save for a rainy day, whereas I don't.
1 person likes this
@suny1946 (275)
• China
2 Feb 07
yes,it is
1 person likes this
@babyhar (1335)
• Canada
16 Feb 07
Budgeting is very important to me because it helps me and my other half see how much money we have left over for other things. I find this important so that we always know how much money we need for groceries, savings, etc. Usually I will sit down with a blank sheet of paper and work out what needs to be paid on this payday. It allows us in the end keep up to date on our payments and how much we need to save as well for different things. I think this is the smartest way to manage money because it allows you to see where the money is dwindling. I know that when I budget the amounts of money we need for certain things it is not just for the heck of it. There is a larger, more important reason to me doing it in the first place. I have a set amount of money that I like to have at the end of budgeting which becomes the pool of money we take from. My other half will take from it when there's something he has to pick up after work or even after supper. It will also provide us with money where if I need something like a new pair of sweatpants or he needs socks we can pull it out of there. We'll also take from that one pool of money if we want to order out or if we need something we didn't get when we originally went shopping. I will also put aside a set amount of money for our savings. Right now it's gotten pretty high. I wish sometimes I could put it somewhere that i knew was safer than just in an envelope. Honestly in a perfect world I would put it in an account where it could gain some interest and not have any fees charged to it. That way at least I knew it wasn't just sitting there. The majority of the savings we have put aside is going to be used to get a place to live. Also, if there are any specific things we need I will put money aside in another envelope. I will place it either in our basket of envelopes with the others or I will place it under my other half's wallet if he's going after work to a supermarket. I've always done this while my other half was sleeping and then I'd leave it for him when he woke up and that was that! The only other important things I think of budgeting for right now is all of our utilities. We have an envelope for our complete amount of utility money and we always make it a habit of placing some more money in it when it needs it or even when we just have the extra money. All of these different deductions for different things have to be taken care of each payday in order for us to stick to our budget. Once and a while I will do this budgeting with my other half, but I would like to do that with him more since he goes to work and makes the money for us. So, in conclusion, budgeting is important to me for the fact that without it, I believe our bills would not be up to date and that we would not have half the savings we do now. I try to make sure that we stick to the budget I come up with because I only have our best interests at heart. I want us to be okay and I believe because of my budgeting we're well on our way to a bright future! Thanks for allowing me to share! xx
1 person likes this
@samraf (725)
• India
1 Feb 07
yes yes yes yesss budgeting is very very important in my life , belive me it is the core part of my life and it is going very good. i just have to take care of the budget from the months before i got plans to doin next month and i already did arrange all the money in saving this month. so it is very necessary for me to budgeting. Regards, Sam
1 person likes this
@yanjiaren (9031)
1 Feb 07
thnakou for sharing..you sound like an accountant lol
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
1 Feb 07
Budgeting is very important to me. That seems to be all I do around my home. I am constantly trying to figure out how to pay this and that and how to buy this and that. I always try to plan ahead for an emergency need for moeny also. All homes need some kind of budget because money sure is easy to spend and hard to come by.
1 person likes this
@yanjiaren (9031)
2 Feb 07
thanks everyone..
4 Feb 07
I love making budgets. I make a budget for the year, then put that into months. I work out exactly how much money I can spend each month, after I pay my rent at the beginning of the term (I'm a student). From that, I then work out how much money is for food, how much for going out, and how much for clothing, etc.
1 person likes this
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
1 Feb 07
yes for me. not necessarily a full form budget but just simple calculation on how much money we can spend before we spend it plus I only buy what I need no matter what people said.
1 person likes this
@yanjiaren (9031)
1 Feb 07
thanks guys for your input
@raj_neo07 (151)
• India
2 Feb 07
well, budgeting is important to anyone and everyon one of us. it really means a lot.
1 person likes this
@banta78 (4326)
• India
2 Feb 07
Yes budgeting is important for me. I feeling we need to make the budget so that we know exactly how much we need to spend during week,, month. as one has to pay monthly bills like electricity, phone, cable...bills. Besides one has to take into account price hikes of essential goods & services, interest rates fluctuations, insurance etc. Besides one must try and save for future too as it is essential in todays' uncertain times or if we to save for buying something important like house.
1 person likes this
@Bbilal (1998)
2 Feb 07
Money - Money is useless. check out the picture
Definetly yes! budgeting help us to save the money, it is the easiest way to make a month sucesfull! Budeting is necessory to every one out here.
@Bangalorean (1282)
• India
2 Feb 07
Thatz a secret for financial stability
1 person likes this
@cultoffury (1283)
• India
2 Feb 07
Budgeting is very important, though I am so poor in it. But in your case it seems inevitable, you better keep you wordly needs at bay and save for the best. Seems you have a "global" family, hope your wishes come true.
1 person likes this
@fox123 (285)
• Philippines
2 Feb 07
yes it is important to me...but its my wife who does the budgeting mostly...im jsut good as a provider to them..
1 person likes this
• Philippines
2 Feb 07
VERY IMPORTANT! I have this small notebook with me that has the record of my monthly payables/bills like the house rental, electric bill, water bill,etc. I also see to it that I have something to save. By budgeting one can be sure that he is not overspending and having unpaid bills in the future.