Comments on: Budgeting 101 – Why Budgets Fail

By: Spend Less Than you Earn | Suburban Dollar

Spend Less Than you Earn | Suburban Dollar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:42:59 +0000

[...] Creating a budget and planning out your spending and income will help you to realize where you can cut costs and maximize your use of money to ensure you are spending less. Building your budget takes more than just sitting down one day and throwing some numbers on paper, you need to first analyze your spending, then set your budget, and maintain your budget properly. [...]

By: Amber

Amber — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:15:50 +0000

I think not accounting for irregular expenses is a big budget killer. I have about a dozen sinking funds that cover expenses that I don’t incur every month.

Much of it is psychology and knowing what mind-games and tricks will keep you in line. My favorite is cash. Tracking is reduced to recording the cash withdrawal and knowing how much is left for that category is reduced to opening the envelope and looking! Psychologically, the fear of running out of cash keeps my spending in check. I could always get more cash or use my debit card, of course (and I have), but I was always keenly aware of what I was doing as I was doing. There was no surprise when I sat down with Quicken a week later.

By: MoneyEnergy

MoneyEnergy — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:44:33 +0000

Nice list, it seems wise to boil it down to those two points. Much of it is about psychology and then just management; keeping it simple enough to follow what you’ve set out. Start simple, then gradually make changes as you need to. Nice post!

By: The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights, #6 - Are You Cashing in on Going Green? | Greener Pastures: Personal Finance

Thu, 07 May 2009 09:22:03 +0000

[...] kyle from Suburban Dollar presents Why Budgets Fail. [...]

By: the weakonomist

the weakonomist — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:40:28 +0000

Thanks for including my tweet!

By: MLR

MLR — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:57:59 +0000

Thanks for the include, sir!

Budgeting has so many downfalls, and you, along with us tweeps, outlined a lot of them!

MLR

By: Budgets are Sexy

Budgets are Sexy — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:33:55 +0000

I second the “do what works for you” part all the way brotha. once you got something up and running, it is SO MUCH EASIER to stay on track every month – it’s that first time creating the budget that’s the hardest

By: Wojciech @ Fiscal Fizzle

Wojciech @ Fiscal Fizzle — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:39:42 +0000

If I had to choose from my top 10, it would be “not accounting for irregular expenses.” Thanks for including my link!

By: How to Fix Your Budget | 7 Budgeting Pitfalls

How to Fix Your Budget | 7 Budgeting Pitfalls — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:37:33 +0000

[...] Budgeting 101 – Why Budgets Fail (@ Suburban Dollar) [...]

By: SaveBuyLive

SaveBuyLive — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:28:41 +0000

You need to go into a budget knowing that it is a work in progress.

When I started budgeting my first budget was bad, really bad. I knew it would be, but I needed a place to start from. I think my budget is pretty mature now, but hiccups still occur. I take them in stride and try to either fix the budget or fix the spending problem.

One key point you mentioned was that you have to actually make a point to USE your budget. I have a friend who tracks all their expenses and then complains that they are spending too much. I ask if they use a budget. Then I get a quizzical stare as if using a budget involves some kind of complex arcane knowledge.