Lori
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« on: April 08, 2007, 08:28:21 AM » |
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Hi all! I was looking to start living with a budget. I saw Dave Ramsey has one you can sign up for and pay 90.00 a year. I also have Microsoft Money for free. Do I really need Dave's plan or can I work with what I have? I know some of you have used Dave before. Any ideas?
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Poverty is the only thing money can't buy.
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Pink Lighthouse Lounge
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« on: April 08, 2007, 08:28:21 AM » |
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Lazy Gardens
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« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2007, 12:41:29 PM » |
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You can do it on scratch paper.
A spreadsheet like OpenOffice (free from openoffice.org) or Microsoft Office ($$$$!) works well.
Basically you just need to make sure you have your fixed expenses accounted for so you can see what's left for other stuff.
They probably have budget worksheets.
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Justine
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« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2007, 01:21:41 PM » |
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At the encouragement of the ladies on this board i did look into Dave Ramsy. He has some good ideas, however i would not invest $90 into a budgeting program. Lazy Gardens is right, you can do it on scratch paper or if you have Microsoft Excel, I did mine that way. I lived on my own for a while before i moved in with my fiance, and with the mountain of debt that i have, i have never been off of a budget. Budgets should not only be for when you are broke though, it should continue on forver.
In my excel spreadsheet i include everything i can think of. Both of our incomes, all of our expenses including gas, meals out, spending money, and of course the bills, bills, bills. I am working on getting out of debt and if it werent for MK and my"inventory decision" i would be in a lot better shape. BUT i am able to at least manage by having a strict budget in place.
If you need help setting one up in excel, i can send you a template of mine. Just pm me.
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Mlle Wisen Timer
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« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2007, 01:29:05 PM » |
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As a Dave Ramsey believer, I don't think you need to spend the money on the program. Taking what he teaches is a great start, and you can download a budget template (that's where I got mine) from Microsoft: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/results.aspx?qu=budget&av=TPL000. Microsoft Money is a great tool. Import your bank accounts information for the last year and look at your spending categories and habits - that really helped me see where I can cut back and how much is actually going to who. That history will also help you create a budget for the future, realistically placing the right dollars in the right buckets. Good luck! |
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Julie
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« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2007, 10:31:08 AM » |
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You can get one of his books, Financial Peace or Total Money Makeover, and those should give you all the info to get started on his program. I got TMMO from the library. Was the $90 for a budgeting program alone? I know there are 13 week classes you can take and I think those are about $90. That includes the class, books and materials and stuff. A lot of churches are offering them. The class is worth $90 but I wouldn't pay that much for just a budget program. faint I would start at the library.  |
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"Whatever side I take, I know well that I will be blamed." ~ Keith Richards "The more people I meet, the more I like my cat." |
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Lori
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« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2007, 10:59:29 AM » |
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Thanks Judi, good idea. I will go tomorrow.....if we don't haved to row,row,row our boat!
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Marquise
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« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2007, 01:53:25 PM » |
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For what it's worth, I use Quicken to do my budget. I have all of my accounts in there (checking, etc). I assume it would be a lot like Money.
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CrapColoredGlasses
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« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2007, 02:01:21 AM » |
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Hi girls!! I actually am signed up through my church to do the dave ramsey Financial Peace University. The $90 we had to pay was for the 13 week sessions as well as for our kit. The kit includes the workbook with all the forms you could ever need on making a budget, investing, getting a car for free for the rest of your life, etc. It also includes a hardback of his book "Financial Peace Revisited", the 13 weeks worth of seminars on cd for your car plus 2 bonus cds, and envelopes for his envelopes system. I just went to my first class last week and it was so AWESOME! It really opened my eyes to how much I spend. I think it's well worth the expense and since I went through my church and there was a fairly good group they offered us scholarships so the kit and classes only cost me $40. I would highly recommend him to anyone. I do think you can access all of the forms you would need for creating a budget by clicking the link below. This is from his website www.daveramsey.com and he does have a lot of free tools on there to use as well. Like I said I would highly recommend him to anyone but I do understand not being able to afford the classes. You might see if your church or community center would host a class for several people and then you can get a discount. I also believe if you sign up on his site to be a teacher of the class you can get your kit for free but I don't know that for sure. Enjoy ladies!! Here's the link to the forms I was talking about: http://www.daveramsey.com/media/pdf/fpu_monthly_cash_flow_plan_forms.pdf |
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Mlle Wisen Timer
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« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2007, 09:23:55 PM » |
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I've been going through this same program, but I'm doing it on my own and got the kit on eBay. It's a great program and the CD's that come in it are wonderful - I imported them to my mp3 player so I can listen even at work.
Let us know how it goes for you CCG, I think you'll really enjoy it and it'll change the way you see money!
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Lori
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« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2007, 05:44:04 AM » |
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Oh! Ebay! Great idea, Mlle. I'm going now. I spent two days going over a budget, getting bills in order and just really trying to get a real picture of my debts. One I can hols in my hands. Most of that time is looking for the right plan. Thanks for the help guys. I will let you know when I am debt free.....that may take some time.  |
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Poverty is the only thing money can't buy.
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« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2007, 02:55:15 PM » |
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I also checked out Total Money Makeover from the library and in the back of the book there are a bunch of forms. DH and I made photocopies of them and went about it that way.  I agree with everyone else about Dave Ramsey being great. He's my favorite financial adviser! |
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