Last month I went to EveryDollar.com and used my sign-in info and BAM ... huge screen full of wonderful information and percentage breakdowns of how much we are spending on what. I knew that the bulk of our money was not going to Prada bags and Jimmy Choo shoes, and instead to THE BIG THREE of a big family:
HOUSING
TRANSPORTATION
FOOD
I have budgeted in Excel for many years and before that on paper. This takes it to a whole new place. Starting July 1 I logged every expense we have in our household. The first month was a learning month and it went pretty well. But it is an amazing ACCOUNTABILITY TOOL.
I like that it's customizable. I didn't want our car insurance on the INSURANCE category so I put it on transportation instead so it would give us a more accurate picture of our transportation category.
Debt pay-down ... I put in the total amount of our van payoff. After I talk to Children's Mercy Hospital about financial aid I will be able to put in the amount due for medical debt. I could not figure out how to put the $16,000 we owe on our van into DEBT and also keep it as a TRANSPORTATION cost. Also, I couldn't figure out how to add the total owed on our van at all but it would be neat to watch it go down every month. Still, it's not that imperative. I have a spreadsheet with all the interest rates and stuff and I'm sure the programmers of EveryDollar will be making improvements and additions based on feedback from people like us! There is a paid version but I'm not sure what it can do exactly yet.
Check out the percentages on this fake budget I set up:
Also crazy cool is that you can click on BABY STEPS and it shows you the steps to financial freedom. The first step is making sure you have $1,000 in an emergency fund. Okay, we have that much in a savings account but it is really earmarked for our kitchen remodel so I wouldn't count it for that.
*Programmers, please find a way to get due dates in there. Just because I can see how much I will make in a month and how much I owe in a month doesn't mean all that money comes at once. You know that, because you put Paycheck 1 and 2. But I need due dates on my bills to help figure out what expenses are paid out of which check ... maybe make it so I can click and drag items below a certain paycheck to see what I am able to pay and when? I need to know what to pay WHEN.
I 99% use this on my laptop and LOVE IT. It does so much more than my simple Excel spreadsheet could ever do to open my eyes to what we are making, what we are spending it on, and how we can pay off debt and save up for things like vacations.
Highly recommended to get your head out of the sand!
