Life on a Budget

It’s the time of year where everyone starts to think about what they are going to do for this year’s vacation. Even though you live on a budget you still need to live your life, right? And that means taking a break from your job to relax and have some fun. I know many people feel they just can’t afford a vacation this year. But a week of rest and relaxation doesn’t need to ruin your budget.  Try taking your vacation close to home.

Take a week off and spend the entire week doing things that you wouldn’t normally do or never seem to find the time to do. Here are some ideas to have fun this summer while staying in a budget:

1. Go to the local zoo
2. Visit an aquarium.
3. Take a day and go to the local amusement park.
4. Check out what is going on in your local towns and try something new. Some towns have free concerts or movies in a local park.
5. Have ice cream for dinner
6. Set up a tent in the backyard and sleep under the stars
7. Go for a picnic
8. Create an “Olympic” day for your kids and their friends
9. Go for a hike
10. Go for a bike ride
11. Have a movie marathon day of your favorite movies or watch a trilogy (great if it’s raining)
12. Go to the beach/lake
13. Go to the town pool
14. Go fishing
15. Go bowling
16. Stay at a local hotel for one night
17. Go to a matinee
18. Go out to lunch
19. Order in take out
20. Volunteer
21. Sunbathe
22. Read
23. Roast marshmallows
24. Go to bed late
25. sleep late in the morning
26. Go to a flea market
27. Make a new recipe
28. Spend a day in the nearest big city
29. Go for a car ride to discover a place you haven’t been
30. Visit friends and family
31. Sit around a fire pit and tell stories
32. Take a factory tour
33. Mix up the meals - try breakfast foods for dinner
34. Have a slumber party in the living room - get out the sleeping bags!
35. Make crafts
36. Have a game night
37. Don’t watch any tv
38. Stay in your pajamas all day
39. Go to a minor league baseball game
40. Have a talent show
41. Learn to cook

What other ideas do you have?

Do you live on a budget? I mean literally track your finances and know where you spend your money every month? Do you know how much you spend on dining out? new clothes? food? Do you know how much money you bring in each month? save? invest? A lot of people say they live on a budget but I often wonder how many of these people actually track their finances and know where their money is going.

The best way to save money is to know how you are spending it

If you don’t already know the specifics of your spending and saving then now is a great time to start. Saying you live on a budget is one thing, it’s another thing to actually track your spending and analyze it on at least a monthly basis. Once you get your numbers into a program, whichever you choose to use, you will begin to see whether your spending is higher than your income. Or if you have any extra money that you could be investing or saving in an emergency fund?

What can I use?

Below are some software programs and websites that can help you keep track of your finances. Most of them provide the same basics of accessing your accounts, budget creation, analyzing, alerts and goal tracking.

Software

Examples: Microsoft Money, Quicken, Quickbooks

Pros: Safe and secure on your personal computer
Cons: There is ususally a cost associated with buying the software.

Websites

Examples: Mint.com, Quicken.com, rudder.com

Pros: Online, which means as long as you have access to the internet you have access to your finances. These sites are free to use.
Cons: Online. (yes, a pro and a con) These sites claim to be safe but of course, anything online has some sort of risk so use these sites with educated caution.

Spreadsheet

Another way to track your spending is to create something unique and personalized in a spreadsheet such as in Google Docs or Microsoft Excel. In addition to using a software program, I also have a spreadsheet to keep track of my budget. This is my personal favorite because when I look up numbers and type it in myself it sinks in more than if I were looking at a bunch of numbers, graphs and bar charts on a screen. By importing some of the data myself I also feel more accountable for keeping on top of my spending and I can easliy compare my month to month spending. It is also very easy to personalize and adjust to see what the overall impact would be if a fixed income or cost changes. The downside to this method is it takes a little more time every month to analyze and you need some basic knowledge of the spreadsheet program.

Overall, the most important thing is to have something. Anything. Whatever gets you to analyze your spending habits is a good thing. But remember, just making a budget is not going to help, you also need to look at your numbers, analyze them and make sure you know exactly what is going on.

UPDATE: Download an example Spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel 2007)