Staying Social while on a Budget

When working with people and their budgets, the first thing they notice is how much they spend eating out. “Oh my gosh,” they say, “I need to stop going out with my friends!”

Well yes. And no! In this post I will go over how to be social even when you are sticking to a budget!

First, I’ve said it before and I will say it again, setting a budget doesn’t mean you cut out a bunch of spending. Having a budget sets goals and boundaries, and gives you PERMISSION to spend on certain areas that YOU’VE already decided. Second, if you set unreasonable goals (like never eating out when you are accustomed to ALWAYS eating out) then you will mess up and likely mess up hard. Go ahead and eat out with friends, go see the newest Marvel Movie (seriously, do!), just make sure you keep control of the spending while you do.

Dinner Out

Handsome Man and I love to go out to new restaurants, it is silly, but it is one of my favorite things to do for a date night. I plan ahead and make sure to save money while we do. You can cut coupons, go during happy hours, drink water or soda instead of booze, join email lists to get deals, or grab a coupon off of Groupon! There are lots of ways to save while eating out. I also know that while I try to pack my own lunch for work, sometimes I am running late and don’t get to it. I give myself $45 a month in my budget for eating take out while working.

And speaking of eating when working…

Getting Food with Coworkers

This one is hard! Especially if, like me, you work right next to a bunch of great food places. You don’t want to always turn a coworkers invitation down, eventually they’ll stop asking! I’ll dig more into how to bow out gracefully later. I include anything I order with coworkers in my $45/month budgeting. Most days I bring my own lunch, but sometimes my buddy Kev is like “Want Noodles?” and the answer is Yes. I ALWAYS want Noodles (RIP, Bangkok Curry).

Friends with Expensive Tastes

Having a lot of friends is wonderful, it can also be expensive. Especially with all the burdens of Adult Life, and not being able to see them very much, when you DO get to see them you want to do something fun and special! This can mean movies (~$20/ ticket alone, ~$12 for popcorn and a small drink), dinners out (~$20/meal if you only have a soda), amusement parks (~$40/entrance fee, $10+ for parking), clubs (~$5 cover charge, plus any drinks), concerts (don’t even ask.). These times out on the town are so fun! And add up soooooo quickly! I would NEVER suggest that you stop doing them, or suggest you stay in like a hermit all the time. But definitely plan ahead, budget for these events, and when possible invite friends over instead! Cook a meal together, or spend the night with a Red box movie, I am sure there was one you meant to see in theaters and it got away from you.

Gifts

You’ve been invited out for a friend’s birthday, you planned ahead and budgeted for the meal and now you realize you should get them a gift! There are several ways you can take, first, the DIY route- coupons (“Dinner on Me”, “Night of Watching their Kids”, etc.), a painting or drawing if you are so artistically inclined, or a piece of jewelry if you are so talented enough to make something like that. Assuming you are less artistically inclined, a bottle of wine or whiskey could run you a $20 dollar bill maybe less if you are skilled at choosing a great beverage with a great price tag. OR! You could go in on a gift with someone else! I’ve also used this for bridal or baby showers, getting something larger for less money than if you’d bought it yourself is a great way to treat your friend without breaking your budget.

How to Say No

As I said earlier, you don’t want to constantly be turning your friends and family away. Not only could you offend them, or miss out on great bonding experiences, but they will also eventually stop asking. When I turn someone down if they ask if I want to grab a bite with them, or do something else that is out of my budget is this:

“I brought lunch today, but let me know next time you guys want to order in!”

“Aw thanks for asking, I can’t this time, but maybe later!”

“Dinner sounds great! Do you want to come over sometime? I’ll cook!”

or just be honest.

“I already used my budget for movies this month, but maybe next month we can see a different one?”

I always offer an alternative and make sure it’s clear that I am grateful for the invitation.

Going out and enjoying meals together are very important bonding occasions. There is no reason to cut them out of your life! Plan ahead, budget for the fun times, and then feel better when you get to enjoy them!

I hope this post helps you enjoy your next night out!

Until next time, wishing you all sugar and savings,

Taylor

Valentine’s Day on a Budget

Holidays are wonderful, fun and great excuses to spend a little extra time telling someone how much they mean to you. Particularly, Valentine’s Day! While Valentine’s day can be a lovely day for lovely love birds who are in love, it has come to be a biiittttt of a money suck. Here are some last minute ideas about how to spend your Valentine’s Day while sticking to your budget:

Handmade cards are way better than store bought. While those cards may be beautiful and do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to what to write inside, they are EXPENSIVE. $7.99 for a card? Nah, bra. I like to make all of my cards by hand, and they don’t have to be fancy! If you are stuck trying to think of what to write or draw Pinterest has a plethora of ideas and no one will know if you borrow one.
Cook something new! Cooking in may sound boring, especially if you do so most nights. Handsome Man and I eat our meals at home because we like to cook and it definitely saves money. But that doesn’t mean you have to cook the same old boring thing for Valentine’s! Spruce up the night by making a new or exotic recipe together!
Victoria’s Secret is that she is way overpriced. Kohl’s, JCPenny, and TJ Maxx are some of my favorite places to shop for cute… “adult time” wear. They have a limited selection but what they do have is still attractive and costs way less than over at Vicky’s.
Gifts. This part doesn’t have to hurt the wallet. I can think of a million gifts for under $15.00. Flowers, their favorite candy, homemade love coupons (again, Pinterest has you covered on ideas). Or you can even make the gift an experience instead! Go to a museum, an art gallery, watch a new comedy special on Netflix, or go to a book store to pick out a new read!
Groupon it! Groupon has amazing deals on classes; try your hand at something new, pottery, paint nights, a cooking class, the list is endless. Groupon also has great deals on restaurants, so if you aren’t much of a cook you could still save yourself some cash by looking up a coupon on here!
Kid’s class Valentine’s. Have a little one in school? I don’t know if it is still as popular as it was when I was little, but passing out Valentine’s was awesome! You can end up spending a pretty penny on those licensed character Valentine’s kits they sell at the grocery store. A large bag of candy, a funny pun written on construction paper, tape a piece of that candy on and you’re in business.

How will you and your loved one be spending the day?! Share in the comments below!

Until next time, wishing you all Sugar and Savings and a happy Valentine’s Day,

Taylor

14-Day Money Finder Challenge -Part Two-

Last week we started the first half of Rachel Cruze’s 14-Day Money Finder Challenge. You can read all about the first seven days here. If you’d like to join Rachel, and receive her emails and companion blog posts, you can sign up on her website here!
Today I will be going over the second half of the challenge and what I did with the days. I will also give out some ideas for how you can save even more on some of your “normal” expenses.

Day Eight- Figure out what you spend on groceries vs. eating out

By now we are all experts at working on our online banking site or app, so we’ll just log in and take a peek at where our money went before it made it into our bellies. For me, Handsome Man and I are living seperately right now so our grocery buying habits and eating out habits are a bit out of whack. Last month I spent $116.30 on groceries and $102.85 eating out. When deciding which counted as groceries or eating out, I counted anything bought at the grocery store as groceries (even if it was a snack or whatever) and everything that I got at a quick gas-station stop or restaurant was “eating out”. Working right next to a gas station has been dangerous for me.

Day eight, check.

Day Nine- Save money by packing lunch, buying generic, and planning meals ahead of time

Truthfully, I am pretty good when it comes to eating leftovers, but making dinner the night before and having that act as your lunch the next day is a great way to save! (If you can remember to grab the container -cough-HandsomeMan-cough-) I am also a snacker, so unless I want to be running over to Holiday on my break to satisfy my munching habit, I need to buy and pack ahead of time when it comes to snacks. I like Honey Cinnamon Almonds and fruit snacks, both of which you can buy generic versions of to save a few dollars.

Day nine, check.

Day Ten- Find your $20 you hid and spend it on something fun!!!

Really! Her words, not mine, so you have full permission! I bought Handsome Man and I a great big beautiful frame that was on sale, to go in our new apartment next month. This day was great for me because I am so excited about the move, I just want to buy anything and everything that I see to decorate the new space. The permission to spend this day, with the $20 that I saved, was a huge deal.

Day ten, check!!!

Day Eleven- Figure out your housing fees

This includes anything like rent, homeowners association fees, your water, gas, or electric bills, cable, internet, phone bills, etc. I personally already avoid most of these things, so I counted up what it might be for next month instead.

Day eleven, check.

Day Twelve- Find ways to save on your housing fees

There was not much money to be found here for me today. If our apartment didn’t require it, we would not pay for cable, so that would eliminate a $40 some charge each month- but they do. There are ways to bundle your cable and internet and landline (ha, landlines) if you are in the situation like we are. As for electric, turn of your lights! Water? Hurry up those showers. Turn down the heat when you are not home, or leave it down and cozy up with some blankies! I will be keeping it cool in our place and snuggling up with my puppy.

Look at that face. Check.

Day Thirteen- How much did you spend last month on insurance?

We’ve all see the progressive commercials with Flo, I may or may not have also been her for Halloween one year. This does sound a little time consuming but I know you know that there is already one place that lets you shop around for rates, so I don’t want to hear anything about not knowing where to start! Also, I am sure at least ONE of your friends from high school went on to work in insurance so feel free to give them a call to see what they could do for you. Helps you, helps them, win win.

Day thirteen, check.

Day Fourteen- WE DID IT!!! How much did you find?

This is going to be different for everyone, but overall I have to say this challenge created by Rachel Cruze is super easy to follow and even includes some fun days too! Much like the Dave Ramsey debt snowball effect, you start with small tasks and suddenly you could save hundreds. I give this challenge a 10/10 and three gold stars. Share it with your friends and get started today! (Check 😉 )

Next week I am going to dive deep into different money tracking apps to compare them for you. We’ll look at Mint, Everydollar, and a new one called Penny. See you next week!

Sugar and Savings,
Taylor

XOXO

14-Day Money Finder Challenge -Part One-

Hello Lovely Savers!

This post we will be looking into the first week of Rachel Cruze’s 14 Day Money Finder Challenge. If you’d like to join her, you can sign up on her website here!

Cruze breaks it down into simple tasks you can do each day to really look closer at what you are spending money on and where you could afford to save. Each day has a companion blog post and she gives you even more ideas on how to cut back in places you don’t even notice.

Anyone can look at where their money goes each month, but few break it down into small enough pieces that they feel they can really make a difference. I took her challenge to see just how effective her approach is and how easy it is to do for someone who has not looked at their budget before.

Day One- Figure out how to log into your bank account.

Yes, the first task really is that simple! Whether your bank has an app or if they just have an online banking option, the first task is to log in. That’s it!
I was just talking to a friend recently and she was talking about how she has a hard time keeping track of her 15 year-old daughter’s babysitting money account. I asked, “well, why can’t she do it?” She can DO that? I asked which bank she was a part of and it turns out that not only can her daughter put the app on her phone, her mom could add the app and be able to transfer money into her account with the push of a button.

Mind. Blown.

If your bank does not have an app but logging into the online deal is too time consuming or annoying, you could add an app like Mint and attach your accounts straight to a budgeting program!

Day one, check.

Day Two- What is your monthly take home pay?
Again, you may already know this. If not, look at your paychecks from last month, that’s what it is. Some people take advantage of direct deposit, so they don’t necessarily see the physical check or know the exact amount each pay period, but now you have your fancy online banking/app to let you look instantly!
If you do not have a set income each month, you can take the average of the last couple of months to help you get a better idea. That number is what you will budget with and any income over that amount will be gravy!

Day two, check.

Day Three- Do something generous today!

Yep, really! Do something easy, like pay for the person behind you at Caribou, or get creative! There are tons of ideas to be found for paying it forward. I tipped my server overly-well and in cash, this one is tricky because some places use computer systems that will not allow credit card tips to go through if it is over a certain percentage of the bill, this is to protect the customer from accidentally being overcharged. If you pay in cash the server will not only get to keep it, but will only be taxed on what the bill would have lent to a normal sized tip. As a former server, I know how amazing it is when someone makes you feel like you did a great job.

Day three, check!

Day Four- Put $20 in an envelope and hide it out of sight.

This one will make for a nice surprise later in the challenge (or if you totally lose it, then a really nice surprise way later when you forget what it’s from 😛 )

Day Four- check.

Day Five- Write down your monthly entertainment expenses.

This could be coffee, a gym membership, movies, cable, streaming services, date nights, etc. Handsome Man and I do not belong to a gym or have cable, and I don’t really drink coffee, so the only places we really spent money on entertainment was in our streaming netflix and going out to movies. This made Day Six a little tricky…

Day five, check.

Day Six- Figure out where you could cut back in entertainment expenses.

See what I mean? If you are someone who goes out to get a coffee everyday, it is easy to say you’ll only get coffee 3 times a week, or start making it at home. But with Netflix, it is $10 a month, which we could cut back by getting rid of it completely but it certainly isn’t breaking the bank. Going out to movies, you can definitely cut back the expense of that by going to see the movies once they hit the cheap theaters, or skipping the popcorn. Handsome Man and I love movies and even though it is sometimes hard to wait that long, RedBox is also a great alternative when they won’t be coming to netflix anytime soon.

Day six, check.

Day Seven- Save on gas! How much do you think you spent last month on gas? How much did you actually spend?

This is it for the first week! I guessed that I spent $100 or so, maybe more because I went down to Illinois for a work thingy. Using my handy-dandy banking app, I was able to count up that I actually spent $211.67. Which was obviously a lot more than I anticipated, but made sense with my unusual travel. Looking at previous months I was a lot closer to my original guess. Saving on gas can be easier than you think too, a lot of stations have reward systems you can use. Holiday stations participate in Cub Rewards, where when you shop at Cub Foods, you save money on gas with a little rewards card. Super America has a rewards card that can save you $0.03- $0.05 per gallon when you swipe it, and there are a lot of other programs at local stores as well. Professional sports teams will sometimes have discounts when you see their games, for example you will receive a few cents off of gas for every run the Twins get, or for every free-throw the TimberWolves make (it works out better if your local teams are good…). There are also apps out there like GasBuddy that show you which stations have the lowest prices near you. It may seem insignificant but it adds up!

Day seven, check, check, check!

That is it for the first week of the 14 Day Money Finder Challenge, although I don’t have all of the “normal” expenses she talks about it was still easy for me to see where I can make small changes to see big improvements.

Thanks for following along today Lovely Savers, I will be back next week with the last seven days, and on Thursday with the weekly recipe. I’d love to hear what you think of this challenge and if you are participating too, comment below!

Sugar and Savings,

Taylor

XOXO

Bullet Journals and Budgets

Hello Lovely Savers!

If you are like me, you need to revamp your schedule and life organization every few months. When I was younger my poor mother tried every planner system she could, trying to help me keep my school work in order… unfortunately for me (and my wallet) this led me to an obsession with getting new office supplies every time I drove by an OfficeMax. And if the Target dollar section had any office supplies, you can bet I HAD to have them. This is not budget friendly! In all honesty, this wouldn’t work for a lot of other reasons too, I would lose track of things trying to transfer information to the new system every time I switched.

That was until I discovered Bullet Journalling!

At first I thought Bullet Journalling would be just a creative way for me to have a calendar and schedule that I’d be able to change up to fit my needs as necessary, now I know I can put everything I would ever need in there!

Fun fact about me, I am no good at keeping my important stuff on my phone or a google calendar, I just don’t operate that way. I like to have everything written down, pen to paper. I know that is not the usual these days, so if you’re better at keeping an ongoing calendar and spreadsheet online, the more power to you! I now keep everything in my Leuchtturm1917 Notebook I got off of Amazon.

If you’d like to know more about Bullet Journaling itself, I recommend looking up BoHo Berry– she has a great Bullet Journal 101 section on her blog. Here, I am going to talk about keeping a budget specifically.

Here is my upcoming budget for February, I am a visual person and I like to color in the sections as I spend them. Right now this does not include my rent or utilities but that will change come March/April.

February Budget

Keeping my budget all in one place, in a notebook I carry everywhere, allows me to keep track of every dollar I spend. It is just too easy to nickel and dime yourself if you don’t!

I also make a point to write down my income every time I get paid (I work a lot of random jobs so it is nice to have it all in one place), and a place for what I’d like to save as well!

I mark the sections in increments I know they go in, for example, my Chiropractic appointments are $5 each time and I go once a week, vs. my gas is easier to keep track of $10 at a time.

My bullet journal is also used as a habit tracker, I keep track of the habits I want to do/encourage myself to do daily, like checking in on my finances. I also keep a “No Spend” area in there that I get to mark off when I go a whole day without spending money!

Habit Tracker

The bullet journal system is great for keep tabs on your goals and the time you spend in certain areas of your life. Next month my goal is to spend more time on my personal development!

Color coded!!!

And of course, my planner. Which is the best part because you can add whatever you like! For planner ideas, I suggest BoHo Berry again, or pinterest!

Thanks for tuning in this week Lovely Savers, next week I will be working on the 14-Day money finder by Rachel Cruze and keeping you updated on how it works out the first week!

Sugar and Savings,
Taylor

XOXO

Date Ideas- Winter/Spring Edition 2017

Hello Lovely Savers!

This post was a long time in the making, we started these dates last spring with the intention of publishing this post a lot sooner. However, with the hiatus, it got postponed to now. But what a better time than right before Valentine’s? I hope that this post is able to give you some inexpensive date ideas, whether to be used during the upcoming holiday or just as a way to change up the usual dinner and a movie idea!

Date 1: Museum Adventure
Local museums, like our local Walker Art Museum, like to encourage many patrons with free family days! We had a great time just walking around, truthfully modern art is not our favorite subject, but we had fun anyway spending time together.

Date 2: Animal Shelter

Animal Shelters thrive on volunteer support, you could spend the afternoon volunteering or just stop in to give the animals some love! Fair warning though, those little puppy eyes are hard to resist. If you are going, make sure you put it into writing whether or not you intend to bring a new family member home.

Girlfriends make pretty good puppy eyes too.

Date 3: Pizza night!

Pizza a’la Handsome Man!

No no, we’re not talking Dominos. Spend the evening making dinner together, like your very own pizzas! Choosing ingredients, and possibly debating over the thickness of crust or variety of pre-made sauces, can make the meal even more fun!

So here they are, just three date ideas for while it is still cold outdoors or even later in the year when you need a change of pace.
Handsome Man and I will be sure to come up with some more cheap date ideas as it warms up here in Minnesota.
Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the recipe post on Thursday!
Until then, enjoy these adventures as a fun date or as a treat to yourself, you deserve it!

Sugar and Savings,
Taylor
XOXO

30 Days to $1000 Challenge- Review

Hello Lovely Savers!

Today I am breaking down my experience with Coffee and Mascara’s “30 Days to $1000” challenge. I highly encourage you all to read her blog post about how she came up with this idea, she also talks about how she made it less daunting for herself, because believe me- it’s daunting!

Credit- Coffee and Mascara

I first saw her challenge on pinterest, and after some financial set backs in 2016 I was looking for a way that would help me rebuild my $1000 emergency fund. $35 dollars a day? Doesn’t sound too hard! Yeah, well maybe I shouldn’t have tried this during the Holiday season… The first week started out GREAT, I saved $245 and I was feeling awesome. Then a few more days passed and some more gift shopping happened, and I skipped one or two days just to make sure I’d be able to cover- blah blah blah. Excuses.

I rallied and kept going but $245 was a lot of money per week, and I found that even after I tried to cut corners to save more toward it, it was still a lot of money. I was sitting here, thinking, “how much money did she start with?! WHAT DOES THIS LADY MAKE PER HOUR?!”. Then I decided to actually read her post and felt like an idiot, because she wrote her post only one week into starting this. Well of COURSE she felt great, week one was a cake walk! It was every week after that was so annoying!

Well slow and steady wins the race so I started again, now I had over $500 saved, which in truth was pretty great considering I’d started with nothing. However, once again I had to peter out, because I needed to watch the amount in my checking account while all the purchases for Christmas went through.

So to review, ‘30 days to $1,000 Challenge’ awesome in theory, not so achievable in practice unless you already have some excess in your checking account and just can’t bring yourself to dump it all at once into savings.

Next Monday post- Inexpensive Date Ideas! Wanted to make sure you have time to plan before Valentine’s!

Sugar and Savings,

XOXO

Taylor

Hello 2017!

And hello to you again, Lovely Savers! Sugar and Savings kind of went MIA last year after being hacked and the momentum never really picked up again to restart. However, here I am today to tell you that we are back! 2016 was one rollercoaster of a year, through trial and error (ok, maybe a LOT of errors) I learned one heck of a lot. Sugar and Savings is taking on a new form this year, I am sure that the events of 2016 will be regaled for you in the blog posts which will be posted every Monday. THEN on Thursdays I will be posting a recipe that can be made for a cheap meal or snack, just as another way to help you all save!

As promised, we still have some of the older blog post ideas coming up- Inexpensive (or free!) Date Ideas! – along with a lot more of different savings plans I got off of the Pinterest universe and tried for you! I also came into bullet journaling last year and I can’t wait to share with you all how that has impacted my budgeting and time management!

Happy New Year, lovely savers! I will see you all Monday!

Happy New Years from us to you!

Grocery Shopping for One

Hello Lovely Savers!

When I was in college, I was your typical student: tired, hungry, and broke. When my health started to decline I needed to be creative with what I could do to keep myself healthy. McDonalds was out of the question, and eating Pizza Luce was going to be way too expensive for my wallet. But shopping for one is really hard! Especially shopping for one AND trying to be healthy! Microwave dinners are convenient, but they are not great for you and they end up being more expensive than making your own food and keeping the leftovers.

My freshman year at school I didn’t have a car, so I didn’t get good at shopping until later when I was able to go to the grocery store more often.

Let’s start with what to buy! I started by making a board on Pinterest called “Always Hungry, Always Poor”.

If you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re going to have a hard time getting through life.

I have a bunch of recipes on there that are very easy to make, even for novice chefs, and the ingredients are easy to find (no bat-wings, or frog-legs here).

…So not ALWAYS super healthy…

Now we’re at the store! I’ve picked out a few recipes for the week and written down all of the ingredients I need for them! I like to start in the very beginning. PRODUCE.

SaS Blog 6 produce

Pro-Tip: Buying fruits and veggies by weight is WAY better than buying pre-packaged or pre-prepared. You can pick out the freshest items, only buy as much as you know you’ll eat (no wasted food!), and they usually taste better and last longer than anything with preservatives mixed in.

SaS Blog 6 Beans

I love green beans, they are super cheap and super versatile. I would buy pounds of these each week when I was in school.

Then the aisles! I go through each aisle because I’m OCD. But really, I go through to make sure I don’t miss anything on my list.

My roommate was never good at comparing prices, she’d grab what she knew she liked, which is sometimes good because you don’t want to waste food. Then there are basics: there is usually a specific brand of noodles on sale each week, and honestly- they are noodles- they all taste the same.

Wall of Noodles

I pick up my breakfast cereal and move on!

Now let’s look at our protein options… I personally don’t buy a lot of meat, because I find it expensive, but also I’m not the best a preparing it. When I DO buy meat, I try to go for the deals! Chicken is usually less expensive and arguably better for you, but sometimes the grocery stores will have deals on cuts of beef and I love me a good steak dinner.

SaS Blog 6 Deal

Now onto dairy! I go for the cheapest milk, the cheapest eggs (which are actually sometimes cheaper at the gas stations, keep your eyes out for that!), and whichever brand of cheese I have a coupon for!

Mmmm…. Cheese….

I do love juice, but I try to not buy it, because it is a lot of sugar and I know I’ll drink it too fast!

Well… I mean… if it’s on sale…

Then I pop over to the frozen section for an emergency “I have literally no desire to cook” meal.

SaS Blog 6 frozen

And we’re done!!! I didn’t buy very much, but that is because I don’t want to waste food when there is only one person going to be eating it. If I can go to the store once a week, I’ll save a ton of money by not buying unnecessary foods or foods that will go bad before I eat them. Also, I can feel good about all of the foods I bought, watching your budget is a great way to avoid things like chips and cookies.

Thanks for coming along on shopping day, next I’ll be doing a fun post about dating when you’re on a money saving mission! You’ll also get to meet “Handsome Man” who I am sure will be in several future posts.

Sugar and Savings,

Taylor

xoxo

Budget!

Hello friends!

I must apologize for my absence, I was in the process of opening my latest show I directed. It was a Murder Mystery, but the real mystery was whether or not I’d make it through the opening while dealing with some… let’s say Diva-ish… personalities. On top of all the drama that comes with- well, drama- I got the flu! Which is no fun to say the least!

We made it through the opening night and my cast was spectacular!

But I am back now, and ready for some more Sugar and Savings. Many people have been asking how I created my budgeting system. I did, and continue to, use Mint for tracking my bank activity and also my credit score. However, I felt that Mint never gave me enough options for how to really look at an overview of my month. Everyone looks at information differently and of all the programs I tried, I found Mint to be the easiest to navigate, easiest to categorize spending, and it syncs with your bank information for free! As a Dave Ramsey fan, I did try Everydollar.com but I found it hard to use, it was difficult to figure out how to add categories, and it does not sync with your bank information for free. You have to pay. Which I question, because if Mint can do it for free… why can’t Everydollar? But I digress.

Even though I keep Mint for double checking purposes, I more regularly use my bank’s app and my own personal budget pages I created on Google Drive. By making my own, I can customize my categories, how much I may spend on something in a given month, and what my savings goals are for that month. SaS Blog 5 1

Here is what my overview sheet looks like: It isn’t a full picture of what I might spend money on in a given month but it serves as a basic starting point for each month.

SaS Blog 5 2

This is what each month starts to look like: I write my categories, what I budget for spending in that category, and make my little total calculations.

My categories are Home (home supplies: toilet paper, soap, toiletries, etc.), Food (groceries, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.), Medical (prescriptions, etc.), Fern (my puppy! Her food, treats, vet trips, grooming, etc.), Gas/Auto (Gas, car maintenance), Parking (I have to pay for parking at work, so this one gets it’s own category), Shopping (my downfall…), School Loans.

SaS Blog 5 3

I like to break it down by categories because I have a variable income, and this allows me to see before the month starts whether or not I need to make changes.

Then I use my bank’s app to keep track of any spending I do, then I put it into it’s category, and list it by date. I also make a note on each purchase so I know where it was and what it was for. So if I over spent in the shopping category (which… is often…) then I can see what I was spending money on. One month I could spend a lot on gifts for others, and some months I fall into my retail therapy clothes shopping habit…

SaS Blog 5 4

I make totals at the bottom so I can see the whole picture and see how much I have left in each category.

Also, when my income is so varied, I keep track of that right next to everything. If I’m making less than I thought, then I know I should be conservative in my spending.

So that’s what I do! I really like my budgeting sheets, it took me a long time to get them to be just right. Everybody is bound to need something slightly different, so this is just an option when you find you don’t quite fit the mold of online systems.

Thanks so much for checking in with Sugar and Savings! Coming up soon I will be going over “Grocery Shopping for One” and date night ideas for cheap!

Sugar and Savings,

Taylor

xoxo