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Originally Posted by ProjectX  I've made my own way of budgeting using excel but somehow it doesn't seem to be working. What I mean is I don't seem to be saving as much as money I wished to or spending on the right things. |
An Excel sheet or another nifty program isn't going to help you with discipline. I can already see you're wasting money on 'outside' food.
Mistakes happen though.
I discovered my partner had spent over $130 last month on 'outside' food (basically just $8 a day lunch money.) So this month we opted for making tasty lunches at home.
That is: favorite sandwiches, soups and fruit costing no more than $30 bucks for the month. Imagine that, we just saved $100.
Last month I decided to stop eating sushi at those pick-and-go bars in convenience stores to save up for a guitar. I didn't realize till the first couple weeks after that I was going to save over $150!
Wow, that's a possible $250 we both saved.
Even a $4 dollar chips and pops at your corner store every day is going to add up. Plus, it'll kill your body. Why waste your money on that crap?
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So basically what I'm looking for is something that can project future savings and profits and costs more easily.
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Honestly, if you straighten out your desire to compulsively buy things (food/nick knacks) then you're going to have a lot more money to start out with. THEN work on budgeting that extra $$ into paying off loans, stocks or whatever.
Don't put it all into savings, btw. Better to have your money gaining better interest than 'rotting' in a bank. But do keep some 'security money' (3-6 months if you can budget that) for emergencies.
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Also to assign how much money I want to spend on each item in the future. for example I want to spend $70 on groceries every week, and I don't want to go over budget. And when I do the software will warn me.
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A tip for budgeting food is to buy in bulk what you use a lot of and try to get by with what you don't really need. If you have a Membership-Only bulk store in your area then hook up with a friend who has a card and go shopping with them. You'll save a lot.
Also, make sure to only buy treats you REALLY love and make that a special reward when you do something positive in your life. An excess of favorite things can eventually become boring.
Want to save even more on groceries and you have a small freezer or fridge? Try cooking everything you need all in one day into portions and then stick with that for the month.
Welcome to 30 Day Gourmet's Freezer Cooking Online Manual. . .
Don't forget to head out to your local market and buy chemical free fruits/veggies that you can get cheap (especially if you're a good haggler.)
And don't see the program you're looking for as the only big hurdle in your way to budgeting. That's just looking outside of the problem. Work on your self discipline, get motivated to saving money, write energetic goals for things you love and the money will flow in with much less effort than trying to force yourself to NOT do something.