I'm a budgeting amature. I'd LOVE to learn how to use a spreadsheet to budget if anyone has any good links or advice 
Right now I pay my bills weekly. I get paid weekly so it's easier to see the money go before I can use it than wait till the due date to pay up. I take 1/4 of my total rent out first in cash to be kept in my safe at home until the rent is due, I usually throw in extra cash here and there because I don't like carrying cash around so I'm often a week or two ahead. Then I have an automatic transfer taking out a total of 45 dollars and split into two different savings accounts, one I can access that it attached to my checking account, mostly for gift purchases and holidays, and one that is an interest bearing online account. After that I put $25 towards my credit card and phone bill. My utilities i can pay using tips I make from work so I don't factor that in. The only bill I have taken out automatically is my student loan payment. Everything that's left in my bank account is spending money for food and whatever else I may want or need. It's not a lot but i feel good knowing that all my bills and savings are taken care of BEFORE i spend anything else. I'm still learning so hopefully I can tweak things here and there to maximize my savings and debt management.
I am a budget freak myself! I do the old fashioned hand written budget that shows income and bills that need to be paid with each paycheck. I also account for 1 time bills that will need to be included that month (i.e.. Birthdays, professional licenses, car registration, etc). My mother did all the bills in our house even though my dad was the income so she showed me how she did things when I was a teen and I followed. I never understand and SMH at ppl who just "wing it" if they have barely enough income to cover their expenses every month. I understand those who have $1000+ leftover not caring too much about budgeting but it definitely sounds as if your GF is in the 1st category. Mom & Dad may "think" they are helping her but what will she do when they aren't there or no longer have the means to "help her out". She needs to learn now before that happens and she will be better off for it and feel so much more independent as well. You are a good catch to be willing to be patient and teach her such a valuable lesson
Yes! Budgeting is one of the few financial things I've gotten better at in the past year. I use a program that I got over the summer called You Need A Budget now and it is fantastic, but before that I did everything by hand. I have a lot of bank acounts, bills, savings goals, and general expenses/stuff I want so having everything laid out for me for the entire month is SO useful.
YNAB is nice because it makes budgeting fun (well as fun as it can get, lol) and it's easy to categorize your money. Before I budgeted I would just spend money whenever I wanted with no real plan and no foresight. This usually led to instant satisfaction now and sadness later 
Now I've learned to tell myself no and control impulse spending. I don't really have the kind of income that would allow me to budget months in advance, but about halfway through each month I'll go ahead and set up next month's budget.
@kroberts67 wrote:
@fezwhy wrote:
I have always told myself I would never live with someone that can't budget and pay bills. She has 3 months to prove she can budget or I am done.This is very wise! Not unreasonable at all, just plain smart.
+1
@jbjr12 wrote:I have never had a budget in the traditional sense. My jobs (not including the military) have always been commissioned based. Right now 75% of my income comes from commission and that check can vary wildly from month to month. And to be perfectly honest I've never wanted to be constrained to tracking every expense on a excel spreadsheet. I've tried it a few times and I am terrible at it. Some people are good at it (or can get good at it with hard work) but I don't like the feeling of only having x left to spend until another payday. I can't even force myself to keep a monthly grocery budget.
What I do instead is automatic deductions. I max my 401k. I max my HSA contributions. I have automatic direct deposits from my paycheck into two savings accounts. I have automatic funding of 2 529 plans and a brokerage account. I've tried to get all my credit cards to come due at the same time and they are always set up to pay in full. All that leaves is utilities and a mortgage. I make sure I always have "x" amount in checking to cover the mortgage and keep 1K in an overdraw savings just incase. The rest (which could be a lot or a little) is for me and my family. I spend it however I want in whatever amount I want. Sometimes I put a little extra towards the car or mortgage or savings, sometimes I put in it the brokerage account, sometimes i spend it on me or my family. I know I am not the type to be able to track every dollar (or even every ten) so I make sure I take care of the necessities before the money even touches my checking account. That way i dont have to worry about how often we go out for dinner or to the movies.
For people who are bad at budgeting (or who don't want to force themselves to do it) deductions are the way to go. If the necessities come out of your check before you even see the money you put yourself in a good fiscal situation without feeling like you have to watch every penny and without living check to check.
Same here. I don't have a formal budgeting process. I have a forced budgeting process. I put all my required payments on autopay which includes everything from the utility bills, mortgage, pension, savings, cc, etc. My food and clothing spending doesn't vary that much per month. That accounts for the vast majority of my expenditures. The heavy lifting is already done. I call this macro budgeting and I've gotten much better about this in the last 10 years.
What I have left is my mad money or discretionary funds that I use to purchase goods. Since I access my account every other day or so I know how much money I have and simply do the mental arithmetic - "can I afford to buy this?" If not, I put it off to later or save for a couple of months so I can buy. I have the luxury of a decent salary now but when I wasn't making a lot, this practise got me in trouble occassionally. Back then when I got his with an unexpected cost it hurt a lot more because I didn't have savings and I didn't have a cushion so I maxed my lone cc a lot. I suppose a stricter budget would have helped me watch the nickels and dimes more closely. If I monitored the discretionary spending like a hawk, I could probably have wiser spending habits and reduce my eating out and save a bit more. In one sense, I envy the discipline that some people have for their budgeting process but in the other I way to look at it is that I have more freedom and piece of mind to not have to worry about the small things.
Starting Score: EQ 732 October 2007; Current Score: EQ 839; TU 865, July 2022;
I do not have one......very bad I know but I do not buy if I cannot PIF .....so this is kind of my budget. Goal is not to carry a balance on any of my cards. (PIF at the latest at due date) This is my own way of budgeting I guess. 