Budgeting Part 3

In this section I decided that a visual would be the most helpful, so I created a video. Unfortunately, I write in pencil which is hard to see on this video but the basic information is still there. Also, my camera decided 3 minutes was long enough and stopped recording. Luck for you, I just got long-winded at that point anyway.

I find it really important to keep my receipts (not the ones for everyday purchases, but for car repairs, medical expenses, my electric bill, etc). This way, when it comes to doing taxes if I need anything they're all right there. Also, in the front pocket of my binder I keep any bills that need to be paid. In the back pocket I keep pay stubs.

I also have my own fiscal year. Our year begins on September 18. This is because that was the date I first sat down to create our budget. The 18th day of the month also marks the beginning of our fiscal month. Every month on the 18th I sit down and add what we allocated for that month in each category. For example, I'll add $50 to the electric section and $150 to student loans. For the expenses in the Yearly category, I add it the first day of the fiscal year and nothing is added for the remainder of the year.

At this point you are ready to start keeping track of your expenses! There are two more installments that I will write about, but they will not affect how you keep track of your money in your binder. Instead they will talk about debt and how to overcome it. So, get your binder organized and happy spending! Just remember, every penny you see will probably need to be written down somewhere.