Great Budget Template or Program
Hello, Fellow Brownstoners! I am a first-time, single, 20-something homeowner. In effort to keep my finances in check, I would like to create a budget to keep track of expenses, i.e. home, personal, etc. Ideally, I would like to be able to track what I budget against what I actually spend for each line item…
Hello, Fellow Brownstoners! I am a first-time, single, 20-something homeowner. In effort to keep my finances in check, I would like to create a budget to keep track of expenses, i.e. home, personal, etc. Ideally, I would like to be able to track what I budget against what I actually spend for each line item on a monthly basis. Would anyone mind forwarding a great template or perhaps budgetting program suggestion. I thought about using Mint.com, but the thought of having all my financial info in one place freaks me out. TIA (thanks in advance)!
Heard great things about mint.com, myself.
As a first-time renovator (and certified control freak), I encourage you to try not to obsess over the line-by-line budget. There’s a lot in this process you can’t control, and even more you can’t foresee. Everything will cost twice as much as you budget, no matter how closely you watch the money. And it will be really time-consuming to track every penny.
Not trying to discourage you from due diligence, just trying to help you not go insane.
Buy a copy of Quicken.
We’ve used mint.com for over a year with no tragedies. Very user friendly, very secure, meets all our needs (which are the ones you listed as your own).
check on google docs they have some good budget templates that you can customize, and they’re free.