I spent the weekend creating and updating a budget so that I can be aware of what money is going in and coming out of my bank accounts – especially since I will be abroad for the next few months.
One of the things that I did was put a list together what the big ticket items would be and then parse out the smaller things to be able to combine them into line items of like nature.
I will confess – a lot of things on there are educated guesses. I did some research and looked into what websites and blogs and federal government. sites said that I would need/pay. I tried to be conservative and keep numbers low, because I want to save money and be thrifty, but also because I want to make sure that I have as much fun as I can now, squeezing every single cent out of the opportunity that I have been given.
Once I created the final list I sent it to my parents to see what they said and to my advisor at school to get her opinion. I trusted both of these parties with my info because they have technically been where I am going before. Unfortunately, I got two very different answers and honestly it made me feel more unease than I did before.
So, I turn to you all: How do you create budgets? Are you a yearly, monthly, or quarterly person? Do you ever plan to stay strictly on budget or is it just a guide as you move though life? How do you determine where to fall in line with what you pre-determined and where to toe it? Finally, do you make budgets for everything or are you one who only makes it for the most important things (groceries vs trips vs houses)?
I look forward to your answers!
In God We Trust or Til Debt Do We Part
or however the saying goes lol.
Welcome Home Love 