Since arriving back Stateside in early July, I haven’t been that great at sticking to a budget. The little $5 things have been killing me. What is sad is that I preach against not budgeting so much that I should be great at budgeting. Well, the thing is (excuse coming in 3…2…1..), I am great with a budget when budgeting. But, if I don’t focus on a budget, I suck, financially at least.
So, I started focusing on Mint for my budget again. I was considering using one of the Budget Templates referenced on Budgets Are Sexy but decided to stick with what I know and what has worked best, Mint. I have used Mint for quite some time now and it has been very beneficial to multiple benefits to my financial situation.
This time around, I am hoping to stay much more motivated for a longer period of time. I love budgeting, but sometimes you just (excuse #2 right…now) want to avoid thinking about money for a while. That is completely stupid, moronic, and irresponsible. And sometimes I am just that.
But telling you that I am budgeting again isn’t going to help you in any way. So let me provide you with some great sites on budgeting and financial tips. That way you too can refocus after a summer of living it up…
Mint – I love their budgeting tool. It alerts me as to whether I am ‘On Track’, to Slow Down’, or ‘Over Budget’. The updates from my financial accounts are simple enough and I know are offered likewise on most budgeting tools. I just like the simplicity and lack of time wasted inputting all kinds of information.
BudgetsareSexy – Best Free Budget Templates and Sites – J. Money provides some great links to narrowing down what fits best for YOU. I do love this link her provides and it has definitely gave me some great suggestions. It never hurts to read something new as there is usually a good tidbit of info to steal.
EnemyofDebt – Great site by Brad Chaffee that tells his common tale about getting focused and establishing a financially stable future. I have linked to his budget tool for convenience.
FeedthePig – HAHAHA!!! That’s the first thing that happened when I saw this hilarious site. The second thing that happened is that I realized there was some great advice and suggestions. If you haven’t been able to find a site that can relate well to your lifestyle, this site definitely provides such in the Me,Save? section.
ManvsDebt – Adam Baker came out with the BEST FINANCIAL ARTICLE EVER just the other day. I have loved his site a lot, but that article put it his advice up there with the best of them. The funny thing is that the BEST FINANCIAL ARTICLE EVER as well as everything else on his site is straight forward and in your face without being rude. Everything he says makes sense and we usually know, but he outlines everything really well.
There are thousands of financial sites and tools to use to budget properly. But these are a few I suggest and have helped me improve my financial situation.
I would love to hear about some great site that has been helpful to you. Go ahead and comment by clicking here and we can all check it out.
Don’t forget…You can get The Power of LESS by Leo Babauta of ZenHabits for FREE ….CLICK HERE to find out how
Have a great budgeting time…
Dave
LifeExcursion
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I will look at them, but as my income and expenses are simple I think I’ll probably end up sticking with using Excel. I’m saving quite substantially by just being frugal while living a content lifestyle.
Thanks for the post.
.-= Gordie Rogers´s last blog ..Be A Lifestyle Design Super Freak: Part 4- Create Vision Boards. =-.
That’s awesome Gordie. Whatever is working keep doing that. Never mess with what’s working right.
Dave
LifeExcursion
Thanks for sharing that list. I think you’ve made some very useful points about budgeting.
.-= Srinivas Rao´s last blog ..The power of being present =-.
Glad you enjoyed Srini. Life is usually about simplicity and hopefully these will help you financially.
Dave
LifeExcursion
Thank you so much for sharing this list. Although I have been doing pretty well budget-wise, I’ve been in search of a good monitoring tool!
-Dena
.-= Dena´s last blog ..Cut the Fat, Transform Your Life =-.
I’ve been the same. I always tell myself I’ll budget ‘this’ month and keep records of all my transactions, but always end up forgetting about it a week or two into the month. I’ll have to check out Mint to see if it works for me.
.-= Ken Kurosawa´s last blog ..5 Lessons I Learned From a 300 Million Dollar Man =-.
Mint is a great site and I saw today they got bought out for like $140 million. That means they are worth something to someone so they must have some positive features. Or at least that would be another of my selling points. Check it out man…
Dave
LifeExcursion
Ugh. Budgeting? Do we really have to talk about money?? No, just kidding. I totally understand that way of thinking though- when you don’t want to think about it or deal with it, that seems to be the most self destructive option financially.
Feed the Pig sounds hilarious… I’m off to check it out.
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Take an Excursion Towards a New Life =-.
It can suck but if you look at what Brad at enemyofdebt has done by budgeting you will be ultra motivated. I always feel so much better about my finances and self when budgeting….Karen, for me, try out Mint for a month and let me know how it goes.
Dave
LifeExcursion
Dave -
Unfortunately, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. When I am actively budgeting, I am on-point and feel in complete control. When I am lax, my spending increases and, for some reason, the money in my account goes down (I don’t get that part but oh well). Great article – I have heard of Mint before but need to check it out.
Another cool (and free) resource you may want to check out is BudgetPulse. It’s a pretty straightforward personal finance manager and I like it so far…
Paul
.-= Paul Norwine´s last blog ..Graduating to a Full-Time Blogger – Reviewing the First Month of PaulNorwine.com =-.
I will def check out BudgetPulse…Thanks Paul
Dave
LifeExcursion
.-= Dave´s last blog ..Back on a Budget =-.
Dave, check out http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/ it’s on my daily hit list…awesome well thought out advice. I consider financial actions like the ones you’re talking about and the one’s at get rich slowly the building blocks to bigger and quicker moves in making money. It’s a slow start, and we often have a hard time seeing far down the line, but it’s worth it!
.-= Robert´s last blog ..Life Designed | 70 days in, What have I done?! =-.
I, like you, do enjoy getrichslowly. It is a great site for advice. Thanks for commenting Robert!!!
Dave
LifeExcursion