10.02.2012

number crunch :: family budget

First, you may be wondering why I started this blog, work overtime, and pinch every penny
Meet Lil Man
Now after that dose of cuteness it may be hard, but on to business....

I suck at math.  It's true.  Just ask my advanced math teacher from high school.  I also had no clue how much money my little family had, nor did I realize how much money we owed on anything.  In those days being a stay at home mom was just a little pipe dream.  Nowadays, I'm serious about this.  Time to crunch numbers.

First you need to see what you bring in vs. what you spend each month.  That's where my handy dandy spreadsheet comes in.  Just download my spreadsheet HERE.  Once you download the spreadsheet, you will need to take the file out of protected mode (a little message should pop up near the top and prompt you to do so when you open it in Excel).

Once out of protected mode you can begin to fill in your numbers.  You can change the items as well.  Lets say your child is no longer in diapers so that is not an expense for you, but you do have homeowners association fees.  Just replace "diapers" with "HOA fees".  I also left a few places there for other expenses.  Do NOT change anything in the area where you get your totals or your disposable income, this will take away the formulas and the spreadsheet won't work.  If you mess up too badly just delete and download the spreadsheet again.

Once you have everything filled out look, at your disposable income.  If there is a negative beside that number, you need to seriously evaluate your spending as you are spending more than your are taking in.  If there is not a negative number then you are doing ok.

Now the fun part.  Play around with the numbers.  See how much extra money you would have if you got rid of cable.  Want to be a stay at home mom?  Put your income at zero and see just how far your partner's salary would get you.  This really puts things in perspective.

Monthly Budget Spreadsheet

Now go grab your calculator.

3 comments:

  1. Awe lil man is so adorable! They really are the reason for everything :) Thanks for this sweet budgeting spreadsheet. I have my own way of tracking our budget in Excel right now, but it's not working out too well, so I'm gonna give this a shot. We need to find ways to save big time.

    I'm loving your blog lady. Looking forward to getting to know you better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I have had a few other blogs in the past, but this one seems to be the right fit. So I'm just gonna keep blogging away and see where it goes. That spreadsheet is what got us to get rid of cable tv (well we got rid of the digital/dvr stuff) and also our landline phone (who uses those anyway?)

      Delete
  2. Hello there! Following now from Find + Follow Friday. :)
    I am a SAHM. We knew after our daughter was born that I would stay at home. We just took the plunge and went for it, and have been learning as we go.
    It isn't always easy. Sometimes we are behind. And we have had to sacrifice quite a bit at times. But it has all been worth it. <3
    I hope you will stop over at my blog. I share my frugal tips- mostly grocery & cooking related- over at www.thefrugalfoodiemama.com

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...