Comments on: Receipt Review: 10/12 – 10/18 http://collardsandsense.com/http:/collardsandsense.com/receipt-review-1012-1018 healthy urban living on a budget Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:16:36 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: admin http://collardsandsense.com/http:/collardsandsense.com/receipt-review-1012-1018/comment-page-1#comment-14 admin Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:41:41 +0000 http://collardsandsense.com/?p=296#comment-14 Hey Krissie! I had been thinking about starting to use Quicken to track not our groceries but some of our other variable expenses like co-pays and toiletries. I will definitely look into it now that you recommended Quicken. I used to use an excel spreadsheet, but with the time crunch I have just been tracking receipts. Aside from staying on track at the store, we put them on the refrigerator each week so we can see what we're spending. Wealth of knowledge? I'm not sure about that! I'm just learning as I go along. :) For groceries, weekly budgeting is just a natural thing for me, with the exception of groceries that last longer, which I do have to track on a longer-term basis. One part of it is that I do Weight Watchers, and that puts me in a weekly frame of mind. Then there's the work week, which also structures my thinking in a weekly way. I think if I told myself "you have $200 for the month," it would be harder for me to stay on track each week, since that is how often I plan menus and buy groceries. I also find that budgeting my groceries weekly keeps me from wasting any food. If I plan menus and buy only what I need to make them, then I end up using everything I buy. It might be helpful to budget monthly if there's a big something to save up for; that probably would have made last week easier. If I knew I was going to eat out a particular night and was thinking monthly, I could allot $25 for that and then tell myself, "Now instead of $50 per week, you have $43.75 per week." Thanks for getting me thinking! Hey Krissie! I had been thinking about starting to use Quicken to track not our groceries but some of our other variable expenses like co-pays and toiletries. I will definitely look into it now that you recommended Quicken. I used to use an excel spreadsheet, but with the time crunch I have just been tracking receipts. Aside from staying on track at the store, we put them on the refrigerator each week so we can see what we’re spending.

Wealth of knowledge? I’m not sure about that! I’m just learning as I go along. :) For groceries, weekly budgeting is just a natural thing for me, with the exception of groceries that last longer, which I do have to track on a longer-term basis.

One part of it is that I do Weight Watchers, and that puts me in a weekly frame of mind. Then there’s the work week, which also structures my thinking in a weekly way. I think if I told myself “you have $200 for the month,” it would be harder for me to stay on track each week, since that is how often I plan menus and buy groceries. I also find that budgeting my groceries weekly keeps me from wasting any food. If I plan menus and buy only what I need to make them, then I end up using everything I buy.

It might be helpful to budget monthly if there’s a big something to save up for; that probably would have made last week easier. If I knew I was going to eat out a particular night and was thinking monthly, I could allot $25 for that and then tell myself, “Now instead of $50 per week, you have $43.75 per week.” Thanks for getting me thinking!

]]> By: wwkrissiewear http://collardsandsense.com/http:/collardsandsense.com/receipt-review-1012-1018/comment-page-1#comment-13 wwkrissiewear Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:38:04 +0000 http://collardsandsense.com/?p=296#comment-13 I took a Quicken class on Monday at Barnard. They have a FREE online tool for tracking your finances... maybe something to look into? Also, do you budget just by receipts or do you track in Excel or some other spreadsheet program? And finally, how did you decide to do weekly vs. monthly budgeting? You have a wealth of knowledge I want to tap into :-) I took a Quicken class on Monday at Barnard. They have a FREE online tool for tracking your finances… maybe something to look into? Also, do you budget just by receipts or do you track in Excel or some other spreadsheet program? And finally, how did you decide to do weekly vs. monthly budgeting? You have a wealth of knowledge I want to tap into :-)

]]> By: admin http://collardsandsense.com/http:/collardsandsense.com/receipt-review-1012-1018/comment-page-1#comment-9 admin Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:51:08 +0000 http://collardsandsense.com/?p=296#comment-9 Thank you! :) Thank you! :)

]]> By: Janine http://collardsandsense.com/http:/collardsandsense.com/receipt-review-1012-1018/comment-page-1#comment-8 Janine Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:20:00 +0000 http://collardsandsense.com/?p=296#comment-8 Quote: "If push came to shove, I’d rather go without coffee than electricity–but I’d really kind of like to always to have both." Love this!! :) Quote: “If push came to shove, I’d rather go without coffee than electricity–but I’d really kind of like to always to have both.”

Love this!! :)

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