We are going to redo it now and try to work out where we can make savings.

What are some of the problems you’ve encountered when trying to budget? Saying NO to my dependents ….. they are used to getting money for this and that as if I am a Pez machine.

How did you deal with them? I told myself to stop feeling “bad” that I was saying NO and then I told my dependents that I was doing them a favor. We have talked about money quite a bit over the past 2 months. Being honest with them about being on a budget and having to be careful with money has opened up some good conversations.

That’s how I operated too lol. At 21, I had a very good job with a computer corporation. I remember specifically thinking “OK, I made $x, I have $x going out on debt repayments with $40 left over each paycheck. That means I can go charge something else to eat up that $40 excess”. How is that ANY way to live?? I hadn’t even factored in food or utilities – my paycheck was literally gone before I got it. Looking back on my inadequacies regarding money, I really didn’t know any other way. My family had always lived hand to mouth and times were often extremely hard, so that is how I set myself up. My heart is in my boots right now as I realize how reckless I’ve been for so long.

Good for you for getting your budget going before the “real” job hits. My husband and I made the mistake of waiting for the real job. And when his income went up, our spending also went up.

I remember when I first started school, I knew exactly what my loans would pay out and I didn’t budget. I just paid my rent and utilities for the 4 months and went off about my business with the rest. I figured if the utilities and housing was paid for, I didn’t need anything else. I always ran out of money for food and gas before the next disbursement check and used the credit card because there was no choice. Then I fell into this horrible cycle where i paid the card but was left with no money and went back to using the card again. I told myself it would be better when I started a real job.

Well, the real job didn’t start with a budget so I was in even worse debt. I think it was after being severely and painfully overdrafted that I started developing the Excel spreadsheet I use now.

It doesn’t work perfectly. I still go over the limit for eating out but everything else stays well within the limits and I accommodate for the unexpected bills. It is a better balance and since my income and expenses are more or less fixed for the next year or so, I can plug in numbers and avoid purchases now to accommodate later expenses.

Sadly, I still know the real job is coming up in a year and a half. My income with quadruple once I am out of training. I hope the current budget training will serve me in good stead to better manage my money so I don’t keep waiting for the “real job.”

As the PR manager for Quicken, I hear from a lot of folks that Quicken Personal Finance Software isn’t for everyone. Many don’t need all the heavy tools, and are looking for an easy, online solution that requires very little work. We just launched Quicken Online in January and we’re getting great feedback from folks about how easy it is to use. One of the things I love about it is that it automatically categorizes your spending in minutes after connecting to your bank. This helps you see quickly where/how you’re spending your money. You can try it for free for 30 days by visiting http://www.quickenonline.com – if you like it, it only costs $2.99 a month.

Anyway, I hope this information is helpful.

Jodi Reinman
PR Manager, Quicken