do you have a budget and follow it...

[Husky_mom]

I have not read fully what catlady posted.. but I had to reply or I´d forget

I have a similar thing.. haha.. I "have" a basic account (in my head of course).. but I actually have like 20 others which I have to have in mind to split money into..

I have added a couple more to that since I joined here.. hehe

I usually divide them for:
dog/bird food
insurance
school
one store credit of my own.
debts (which actually are for me but that way I make sure to pay me LOL)
extras (emergencies of any kind)
savings (this has 3 subaccounts :P)
and what I get from vacations and savings from work (which usually are for christmas gifts)

newly added
swaps
camera fund

the rest hubby pays LOL... but I too try help every now and then specially with electric, water, gas, gasoline..

I would love to get a computer program to get all my "accounts" sorted.. because I´m thinking of getting paid by debit card.. and I KNOW if I have the money there..well... it´ll be as good as spent..

[chocolatepuppy]

I'd be embarrased to post the way I keep track of our spending. Catlady, I am amazed at your budgeting! Good for you! I will have to reread all of these posts and take some hints.

[Catlady711]

Shortly after hubby and I got married it was determined that I was the better one to handle the checkbook and I have been doing it for decades. In our early years I, too, worked with "imaginary numbers" in the checkbook. That little system used to drive hubby crazy because he never knew our real balance. LOL! He would never be able to understand your system Catlady!

Well to be fair to hubby, the amount written in the checkbook register is actually the correct amount. It's just that to figure out what is alloted for each catagory you have to check the computer or one of the post it notes in the checkbook. I don't know that anyone could sit down at my cpu with the paychecks and figure out how to do the budget the way I do and that does worry me at times. If I could just figure out a simpler way that would satify my need to have every catagory separate and still be understood by everyone it would be better, but so far this is working.

Catlady, I am amazed at your budgeting! Good for you!

Thank you! Now if only my hubby would agree with that. lol

Next on my list is seeing if I can widdle down my electric bill. I could still cut back on entertainment, but that's a last resort.

I can't say all of these ideas work or are a good thing even (some are kinda whacked at times), but the majority of stuff on this website are great money savers. http://www.stretcher.com/menu/topic-d.htm#energy