Budgeting - Super Detailed or Big Picture?

 

Hello friends! Two posts in a row! What's happening to me? 😀 Well, I thought I would come back before I forgot, to talk about the "cash envelope" thing I mentioned a few days ago, since several of you asked about it.

For those who aren't familiar with the system, it's basically just a way to divide your spending money into certain envelopes to keep you on track. The idea being that you spend what's in the grocery envelope and when it's gone, you wait until the next paycheck. It's not a new system. It's probably something our grandmothers did many years ago, but maybe it was simply called a household budget and they stuffed it into a coffee tin in the cupboard. 

Nevertheless, the idea is to stay within your limit and of course, these days people have made it into a marketable idea and are teaching others how to do it and selling the products to go with it. 

I've tried various methods over the years and carrying around a bunch of cash divided into small categories doesn't really work for me. I'm not a detail kind of person, but more of a big picture girl. 

I don't like 15 steps between point A and point B. I just want to get from one side to the other with minimal trouble. In this case, I just want to not overspend and have some money left over at the end of the month. 

So what I've done for many years, instead of creating a spending budget with tiny little categories, is created one that has a set amount for each week of the month and here's why...

I don't need an envelope titled "hair" or "nails" or "Valentine's Day," and put $2.00 in each one for the next 6 months, when that money might need to go elsewhere. I mean, yes, it's nice to get to those events and remember that you've saved and now you have $25 for some new nails. But while all of that money is sitting in those random envelopes, waiting to be used, someone is going to need to get a tire fixed or remember that a co-worker has a birthday coming up. 

Inevitably, needs arise and if it's not in the specific category, then what do you do? 

So recently I thought I would watch more videos on this topic and see if there was anything new that might work for me. But alas...no. It's still the same method and my brain doesn't like it. 

What I did learn was that there are such things as "Macro-budgets" and "Micro-budgets." Who knew?

That information was helpful though, because it explained why some like very detailed categories and some need a big-picture number to work with.

I'm the big-picture person.

Much to Dave Ramsey's chagrin, I make my monthly budget, figure out what my monthly spending amount is and divide by 4 weeks. I then come up with my figure that I need to stay within and I track what I spend each week. This is simple and easy and allows for unexpected needs that come up. This way I don't have envelopes full of cash just sitting in a binder somewhere, that might be needed elsewhere. That just doesn't make sense. Oh, and I use a credit card and pay it off every month. He would really hate that. 

I will hand it to all the ladies who work this method and are rocking it, because it takes time and patience. And now they're all on Youtube making money off their advice. I mean, that's not a bad job! 

But for me, I'll just stick to my low-key method of paying, saving, and spending. Sometimes simple just works. 

If you're still interested in the micro-budgeting methods, just look for "cash envelopes" on YouTube and you will get plenty to choose from.

I hope this helps and if you have any fun ways of budgeting, please share. It's one of my favorite topics! 

Until Next Time...

Blessings!