If you know me well, you know I take care of all of our family finances. It is something I truly enjoy doing and find interesting. I have shared a few financial posts that you can check out here: Financial Lessons We Learned In Our Twenties, Financial Lessons: Part Two, 5 Tips To Saving Money.
Today I wanted to share our budgeting categories and how we set up our spending. This was based off of meetings with our financial advisor and the categories discussed. It will definitely look different for every family and can be tailored to individual needs. We primarily use it to see the “big picture” in a month span. It is incredible to see and be aware of how much “spending/free money” is left at the end of the month after all bills, savings, investments, etc.
What are some of your favorite ways to track your finances? I would love to know!
Living Expenses: ANY and all bills you have (including loan payments).
Insurance: All insurance including renters (if applicable) that is paid separately/monthly. Does not include anything automatically taken out of paychecks.
Savings/Investments: Anything paid for monthly that is separate from automatic deductions (ex: 401K).
Once you write out all of your expenses you will automatically get a sense of how much you have leftover each month. This will allow you to be aware, take ownership, and come up with a game plan if needed! You do not need anything fancy to track your finances or goals. I am a big advocate of keeping it as simple as possible!
Blessings,
Jac
The Bridwells 
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