Anyone not have a Budget?

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SRenaeP
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by SRenaeP »

Gill wrote: Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:13 pm Maybe it’s my nature, but I find it hard to comprehend how anyone could not at least estimate what they can safely spend and compare that to what they in fact spend. It seems that regardless of one’s income or wealth there are still limits to what one can safely spend. I wouldn’t sleep nights if I didn’t feel was living within my means, regardless of the extent of those means.
Gill
I guess it depends on how you define budget. I helped set up two checking account system for a friend. She calculated her fixed expenses plus desired savings then has the appropriate amount from her paychecks deposited into checking account #1. All bills/savings/investments are auto-debited from that account. The remainder goes into checking account #2. She can safely spend whatever is in that account at any given time. The end. Of course, this level of simplicity probably only works when there aren't other parties (SO/kids) involved.
bac
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by bac »

No budget, unless the seat of my pants counts. I have a very good grip on my expenses and income, and rarely have they gotten out of sync. Besides, I live well below my means, so there's plenty of wiggle room.

In the ancient past, when I was preparing to buy a house and money was tight, I sketched things out on paper, but didn't keep it going for any length of time.
J295
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by J295 »

No budget before or after early retirement

Have a good 30,000 foot view of income and expenses

Kept track of expenses in detail for a number of years before retirement
LFKB
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by LFKB »

Words to live by..."You can't go over budget, if you don't have a budget"

I don't have a budget. I spend as much as I want on frivolous vacations, nice dinners, concerts, sporting events and so on but I make enough that there is still ample savings at the end of the year that support my retirement goals.
hicabob
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Location: cruz

Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by hicabob »

Never had a budget, but since I was a little kid, I've always been good at keeping a tab in my head which I suppose acts in a similar manner as a budget. I suspect many Boglehead types do the same.
H-Town
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by H-Town »

masonstone wrote: Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:56 pm I don't have a budget for monthly expenses and I tend to maximize savings and only buy essentials (Which include dining out). Part of this does lead me to not spend on anything I don't find essential. Anyone else in the same boat?
It boils down to: "What isn't measured isn't managed."

Do you have a goal to be financial independence / retire early at 40s / work on your own term? Do you want to look at what you do and see how you can achieve your goals faster?

Information is power. Knowing what my family and I spent on and what are important to us help me make decision to improve our lives, and also increase our net worth.

Of course many people can get away with saving 15% - 20% of their gross income and be able retire comfortably at 60. However, I'm not in that boat.
Time is the ultimate currency.
AlwaysWannaLearn
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by AlwaysWannaLearn »

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Last edited by AlwaysWannaLearn on Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
remomnyc
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by remomnyc »

I had a very strict budget when I was living paycheck to paycheck. As my income increased, I traded in my expense budget for a savings budget. As long as I maxed out my 401k and saved 20% of my take-home, I spent the rest as I pleased. The last time I asked if I could afford something was when we bought our home. Since then, my question has always been do I want to spend that? Since I retired, I again have a budget, which is my 3.5% withdrawal rate.
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Earl Lemongrab
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by Earl Lemongrab »

Gill wrote: Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:13 pm Maybe it’s my nature, but I find it hard to comprehend how anyone could not at least estimate what they can safely spend and compare that to what they in fact spend. It seems that regardless of one’s income or wealth there are still limits to what one can safely spend. I wouldn’t sleep nights if I didn’t feel was living within my means, regardless of the extent of those means.
Even if you don't budget, you have (or should gave) an intuitive idea of about what you're spending. I'm not sure you really understand frugal people. When I spend, every item is evaluated. Expenditures don't "sneak up" on me. I never have any doubt I'm below my means, even now when I'm on pension instead of salary.

I don't go out and buy things I don't need or that I have evaluated carefully and decided that it's a "want" worth paying for. Even things I need or want I am concerned about the price. Some things are "preapproved". Like I decided years ago to have some bagels from the bakery section of the supermarket each week. Likewise with a certain number of bananas.

These are items that don't keep all that well, so I buy my allotment each week when I shop. The price doesn't matter because I decided that the items were within acceptable range. Naturally I was delighted when the store added a new policy that items in the bakery case become $.50 at 7pm. I always shop in the evening anyway.

When I recently switched to cable internet, I needed a wifi router and I elected to add an extender to work with my PC. I went online and looked at sources for "best budget XX". When I decided on a model, I researched the best value for buying it, then did it.

Other than food, I just don't buy much in a typical week. Even in the fall/winter when I am going to the hockey games and spending on tickets/concessions/after-game eats, I know what it's costing. But it's not a shop-around situation. I'm either in or out. I choose to be in.

I don't think money has worried me in years. I've been living below my means since I was on my own at 21.
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wabbajack
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by wabbajack »

LFKB wrote: Wed Jul 18, 2018 5:50 pm Words to live by..."You can't go over budget, if you don't have a budget"

I don't have a budget. I spend as much as I want on frivolous vacations, nice dinners, concerts, sporting events and so on but I make enough that there is still ample savings at the end of the year that support my retirement goals.
I like this idea. It's an offense and defense game. If you make enough then you have a great offense. And as long as you don't muck up too badly on defense, you'll be fine.
basspond
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by basspond »

No budget here either. Just a high savings rate (over 30%).
youdiditr2
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by youdiditr2 »

I don't have a budget.

I max out my 401k, my Roth, and my HSA, then the left I spend as needed.

No need to stress myself out as long as I'm maxing out on retirement savings, $40k plus.

I'm scared at looking at my annual credit card spending though!
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AtomicCash
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by AtomicCash »

I track expenses to the penny every month by downloading CSV files from my credit card and bank, and categorizing them. But I've never had a budget.

Now that I'm in retirement, I "pay myself" with a transfer to my checking account based on a very conservative SWR. As long as I have money in my checking account, I'm good to go.

As many have already stated, this system works well for a frugal individual. I think someone not so frugal would benefit greatly from a budget.

Marc
infotrader
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by infotrader »

Never have a budget. I always pay myself in terms of savings and retirement account. I think what I really need is to spend what is left.
Ruger
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by Ruger »

I don't have a budget, but I do keep a spreadsheet where I keep track of every penny I spend. At the end of the month I check to see if I have brought more money in than I have spent. So far so good, but if I ever start trending to spending more than comes in, I'll start cutting expenses.
llcoolln
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Re: Anyone not have a Budget?

Post by llcoolln »

Do not track a budget but track two things:

Target to not exceed x amount for credit card bill per month
Bank account balanced at 1st of the month

Everything goes on a credit card and if things do not go on a credit card, then I keep a mental tally (pretty rare). We live below our means and our target amount on the credit card leaves wiggle room. We always bump up a bit in the summer and for holidays. Otherwise we are very consistent. Since we lbym, I don’t sweat the high months. I know we can live comfortably in our target spending amount. We also adjust our spending if we have higher unavoidable expenses.
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