Monthly Budget
January 10, 2009 by: Dave Ozment
Monthly Budget – Making a monthly budget should be like tying your shoe except for somehow this simple and critical skill is not taught and rarely discussed. If you don’t operate a household budget then consider this your wakeup call. Get off the couch and participate in your life. Be an adult. Cash – the very life blood of your personal freedom – flows in and out of your hands each month. It’s worth 30 minutes every 30 days to plan and document how you interact with such a vital component of our civilized society. This version provides an example of a single month budget – all income and outflow centralized into a single view for the month.
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I know this is an old comment thread, but I’ll comment anyway. I found it surprising that the person above found your ‘monthly budget’ spreadsheet to be useless, especially since it’s nearly identical to one I created for myself a couple of months ago when we first discovered Dave Ramsey. I guess I’m a nerd, too – maybe even more so. In addition to the monthly budget sheet, I have a page for each month that tracks every dollar spent by category. The totals for each category automatically carry over to the monthly budget page ‘Actuals.’ I love doing this! I look at my online banking and my budget sheets almost every day! And I like how you said the commenter must not ‘understand it.’ I would have to agree. If someone said they didn’t like my tracking sheets, I’d have to assume that either it’s too complicated for them, or they’re just not committed enough to getting their financial house in order that they’re willing to take the time to use them. I just found your site a few minutes ago and look forward to seeing if some of your other tracking sheets might be useful. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this tool friends …
What a gracious response! Acts like that make me believe that there is a God.
Wow. a strong “thanks” for that! I appreciate your support and encouragement.
Dave
What am I missing? I’ve seen the videos and am impressed. My two children and their spouses are avid Ramsey disciples. I’m trying to do a budget and find your “monthly budget” tool virtualy useless. Is there something I’m missing somewhere?
Skeeter, I appreciate your comment and thanks for visiting my website.
I believe what you’re missing is the appropriate web site. It sounds like you’ve been watching Dave Ramsey videos. Yes, he is impressive and I very much enjoy his work. In fact, I enjoy his work so much that I named my blog as a tribute to his work. DoYouDaveRamsey.com is very different from DaveRamsey.com. Check out the “About” tab on my page to learn more about me.
As for the budget worksheet that I’ve provided. I really hate that you don’t understand it. I’ve included my commentary and explanations as to how I use it – perhaps I need to work on improving that information. I actually do use that budget sheet. I have completed monthly worksheets dating back to the late ’90s that I’ve used to maintain my budget so I know it works. If you have any questions, I’d be more than happy to address them with you 1 by 1 via email. In fact, if you’re interested, I’d be willing to schedule time with you to talk through your use of this tool. It still may not fit your tastes – hey, some folks just don’t like budgets – but I’d be surprised if it can’t be tweaked to fit your situation.
Thanks again for visiting my site and I hope nothing but the best to you as you attempt to master the budgeting process.
Thanks,
Dave