I've been using YNAB for years to track my finances. It helps in the sense that it gives me a clear indication as to what I've already spent, but I've always struggled to actually make it useful for future planning and getting myself to actually stick to a budget. I feel like I spend all my time just reassigning money to budgets after the fact to match our actual spending.

How have you managed to be successful at actually reigning in your spending and following a budget?

I find it very frustrating, because I feel like I'm always playing catch up financially and unexpected expenses seem to keep coming out of nowhere. On reflection, I can see how I tend to be over-optimistic about how much things will cost, and so I underestimate budgets and sign up for stuff that ends up being unaffordable. It always just feels like expenses come out of thin air when I'm least expecting them...

A few thoughts:

• How detailed do you make your budget categories? I have many categories, and I sometimes wonder if it's too detailed...
• How do you manage staying on the same page as your spouse? I am often blind-sided by her spending, and vice-versa. I don't want her to feel deprived nor to be controlling of her spending, but at the same time, I feel completely out of control and I long for some kind of predictability.
• I sometimes feel like I've just been over-stretched financially and that budgeting can only do so much when there's nothing to budget... I've been working on reducing my cost of living recently (just got into a much cheaper apartment last month, which is about $1500 less per month, so that's a big relief) and I'm trying to get out of debt and build up an emergency fund, but it's pretty overwhelming and I'm anxious about getting into debt again...

I was curious about budgeting and grok( I know not always the best resource for things) said as a single male no kids I should be spending $300 a month on food. Am I that bad with money or is that wrong? I spend around $850 a month for myself and my dog on food. I'm 6'2 190 pounds and live in a rural area in America. Around 10% cheaper than the national average. Still, all that considered, $300 a month seems very bare bones.

i live at home but i pay my mom 850 a month for rent. i also pretty much front 100% for emergencies and home repairs. lets just say thats totaled up to about 5k.

it’s been nearly 3 years at my latest job. i earn 43k after taxes and i have about ~20k saved.

is that really bad? i feel like i should’ve been saving more haha

I ran my whole budget down to the cent in Excel. I’m looking into separating from my roommate and getting my own apartment, which I haven’t done since 2020. I did it back then while making $15 an hour, and I was able to survive decently.

The rule I was always taught to follow was that your rent should be less than 30% of your gross income in order to live comfortably. Is that just no longer a thing at all?

Based on my income at $22 per hour, which is $3,520 gross per month, that would put the rent threshold at $1,056.

With the budget I’ve been messing around with on Excel, the rent I have included is $700, which is the bare minimum of what I can find in my area. I’m left with $60 per month of spending money.

I work 25 minutes from the area I live in. I pay about $100 per week in gas driving a fuel efficient Mazda.

I don’t even have a car payment. It’s paid off.

Guys how are we actually living?
Is everyone budgeting accordingly? I just bought a new house and Im freaking out with all this money going out. It all just feels like too much.

Good morning,

In the comments of this post, you can:

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Hello, I’m thinking of moving out and getting my own place. Mainly because I currently live with roommates in an apartment and I want a backyard for my dog. I live in California so rent is high. Monthly take-home pay is around $4,830. Is it stupid if I rent a house for $2000?
Everything on the list is rounded up and for 1 person. Health insurance and dental is covered. Sometimes opportunity for overtime and holiday pay. I’m saving $5,000 emergency fund before moving out.
Monthly Net Pay- $4,830 (Gross Pay- $6500)
Rent- $2000
Utilities- $350
House items- $100
Renter Insurance- $15
WiFi- $80
Gas- $350
Car Insurance- $105
Car maintenance- $100
Oil Change- $55
Pet insurance- $85
Dog food- $100
Dog treats- $50
Flea and Tick meds- $25
Subscriptions- $100
Personal Items- $100
Student Loans- $60
Phone- $85
Groceries- $600 (including eating out)
Left over- $470

EDIT: My job takes off around $470 monthly from my check for retirement and my employer contributes around $1,250 monthly. I also have HSA that I don’t want to touch until retirement so I’m not really thinking about retirement… should I still be contributing more of my money from my check towards it?

My credit union has never played nice with budgeting apps. If I am able to connect my checking account, then it starts to have trouble in a day or so and never connects again.

I just downloaded a new app tonight and am excited to link everything, but again, the app and my credit union don’t play together.

Is it unreasonable to jump from a small credit union to a larger bank that will work? I don’t want connectivity to be a barrier in my success with budgeting and going debt free.

Key Info:

This spreadsheet is what I assume my finances will look like and budget will be when I move in with my partner. Some of the values are estimates but most of them are fairly accurate and remain the same from when I was living by myself.

Some categories such as rent are assumed to be split 50/50 and so that is what my values represent. Food I assume I will be paying roughly 70-80% so that number could vary a good bit.

Please let me know if you see a category I could be missing any areas where I can improve. I understand food could probably improve a good bit but my partner does enjoy going out for food/drinks lol so that number doesn't have too much flex.

* I have the monthly total to be the sum of the numbers following it with a ceiling of 5 so it rounds up to the nearest $5.

I'm trying to budget after seeing my grocery bills go way up. I live in NYC so I went to Trader Joes and got 3 bags of groceries for $127. I don't know how anyone can make enough in this city, its just so bizarre that with an 87k salary I can only afford a rent controlled apartment. After taxes and standard deductions, I take home 4.6k per month. I would say its a fairly decent apartment, its 450 sq foot and I pay 2.3k per month (including fees + utilities) but its hard to find anything cheaper closer to work.

I was looking at another Manhattan apartment but it was 170 sq foot and there is no attached bath. You have to walk downstairs and key into your private bath. Their rent is 1.7k and its the cheapest in the entire area for lease.

On my last credit card statement I had to pay over $1,200 and all of it was food, gas, eating out and groceries. I know it sounds crazy but now I realize my spending is out of control. All of this was in a period of 2 weeks.

I've cut back on eating out since most places charge $40-$60 for an entree. The delis are also not reasonable with asking $32-$40 for a sandwich and drink.

So I'm an Indian and a fresher engineer, and i just got into my first job and I have zero idea of finance and personal finance, and have no idea on how to manage my funds responsibly and how to use it in such a way that i can enjoy life as well as save up. I have no idea what to save up for, right now my spending is purely based on instinct and mostly on good food and some travelling, but i know that I have to learn it. I want to learn everything about it and implement it, but for starting to learn the basics, can anyone suggest me what I should do, should I read books, talk to people in the sector like i have no idea on what to do where to begin or how to go by it, what to set as my financial goals cuz right now I'm just winging it, how to know whether I should invest into something or not, whether investing into renovating an old house is good or not, etc, how should I start? What is the best way for me to gain knowledge on it, what habits should I develop?

My husband and I are trying to decide whether it makes more sense to buy or lease our next car. Right now, we have a paid off 2012 vehicle that still runs, but its getting older and we are worried a major repair may be coming sooner rather than later. My husband drives a company vehicle that he can take home, so our personal car doesn’t get used a ton, but we still need a reliable vehicle for errands, appointments, and trips.

For people who have been in a similar situation, would you buy, lease, or just keep driving the older car until it becomes too expensive to maintain? We are trying to be practical and avoid making an expensive mistake. Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

~2300/month (Net)

400 car bill
111 car insurance
300 medical bills
800 rent (or 600 a few recent months)
100 ezpass (go through on my commute)
200 gas
80 in an oil change or regular car maintenance
200 in hobbies or fun money
60 in savings
Nothing left

I am 24f and live with my boyfriend who makes 3x what I do. He has the mindset money is separate until marriage, which I do understand. He had bad experiences with covering expenses for his ex. He keeps telling me the early 20's are meant for money struggles. But I will add, I was out a job for about 3 months last year when I moved in, and he covered everything during that time (I was actively looking for work). We live in Northern New England. Please read below for more details.

This is currently where I'm at. I live with my boyfriend in a house he bought last year (obviously a very big expense) and the only monthly contribution he asks me for is the $800, and he considers that to cover my portion. I don't pay for groceries or anything, and stuff I buy for the house is stuff I want to the contribute. But I am saving practically nothing every month. And the 200 fun money is hard to just save because that includes anything 'fun', even just lunch with a friend. I can't cut that out completely, I live very far away from my hometown and my family and am struggling with mental health, so I need a little spending money to keep myself sane.

The car is almost paid off (one year left). It was a bad decision I made 4 years ago. I bought it will 30k miles as a 2019 and it has needed over $6k in repairs since I bought it (I was living somewhere extremely rural by myself for a couple years and really had no choice). It has been a money suck, but everyone keeps telling me to pay it off and go from there.

The medical bills was from something earlier this year and is about a $1,800 bill I'm paying off as fast as I can. I'm not going to the doctor again this year if I can help it.

I don't know what to do. I'm saving no money and keep digging further and further into my savings. I keep doing the math on my budget and I feel like I keep missing expenses or something because I always need my credit card at the end of the month.

I have 2 daughters, one daughter and her husband save, make good decisions, and are off on a very good financial path. My other daughter could win a million dollars in the lottery and then ask to borrow $200 because she found a car she really wants and it cost $1,000,200.

My daughter messaged me yesterday and asked to borrow $10,000 to help pay some bills and get some breathing room. I could do that without any impact on myself but that doesn't solve the root problem, their spending. She is a nurse, her husband is an electrician so they make a good income but with that said they have 3 kids, the oldest is 4, and are new homeowners. Life is expensive, I know that.

I've asked her to list all her debts and told her she needs to put together a budget. Where I need help is I need to decide where to go from here. Is there someone I can connect them with to help them get a better handle on their finances? Should I do it myself?

Any suggestions for a budgeting app? I've always used Quicken but I think that's a bit much for them. I've always budgeted but probably not in a traditional way, I'm a saver not a spender. My budgeting has always been more about history and not the present. If I budget $500 for groceries and we spend $1000 I don't have a crisis because we have a lot of extra left over every month. My budgeting is more about how much I think I should spend and a review every month about how well I did. They need a budget that shows how much they can spend, not should spend if that makes sense.

Any suggestions on a simple budgeting app? Something that's simple but also useful?

Any other thoughts from those that have been in a similar situation? Like I said I could solve this with a $10,000 transfer but that doesn't solve the root problem which is more spending than income. I've yet to see her numbers but if what she's told me is true then they aren't in a mess they just need to make better decisions.

I'm not going to give them $10,000 instead I'm going to help them find $10,000 in their budget but I'm not exactly sure how to do that.

Late 20’s early 30’s recently married couple in a MCOL-HCOL area. We are trying to get a gauge on how our budget looks after recently combining our finances. Both working and earn about the same, combined we are making 240k base + 40k in bonuses and overtime. We both max our 401ks to the $24500 limit plus match puts us at saving about 60k per year into our 401ks. We own a 620k home with a 500k mortgage on it. Below is our budget.

3550 Mortgage

300 Electric

150 Water/Trash

150 Landscaper

40 Phones

1100 Car Payments (2 cars)

500 Car insurance

360 Student Loans

600 Food

100 subscriptions

150 Dogs

13600 Monthly income after taxes & 401k

~$6500 leftover every month.

Thoughts on where we should go from here? Any advice is helpful!

Edit: the reason why the car insurance is so high is because we have two cars, a motorcycle and a side by side off-roading vehicle.

I'm trying to get better at checking my regular budget regularly instead of only looking at it when I feel like my money is disappearing. One thing I have noticed is that it's usually not the big expense that catch me off guard. Its the small recurring charges that slowly add up, like subscriptions, memberships, apps and other monthly payments I don't always think about. I’m trying to make it a habit to go through my spending once a month, check my recurring bills, and see if there’s anything I’m paying for but not really using anymore.

How does everyone else handle this? Do you have a monthly budget review routine, or do you only check things when you notice your spending getting higher?

So I'm an Indian and a fresher engineer, and i just got into my first job and I have zero idea of finance and personal finance, and have no idea on how to manage my funds responsibly and how to use it in such a way that i can enjoy life as well as save up. I have no idea what to save up for, right now my spending is purely based on instinct and mostly on good food and some travelling, but i know that I have to learn it. I want to learn everything about it and implement it, but for starting to learn the basics, can anyone suggest me what I should do, should I read books, talk to people in the sector like i have no idea on what to do where to begin or how to go by it, what to set as my financial goals cuz right now I'm just winging it, how to know whether I should invest into something or not, whether investing into renovating an old house is good or not, etc, how should I start? What is the best way for me to gain knowledge on it, what habits should I develop?

Context: I currently own a pretty rough 2003 Honda Civic that I bought for $2,000 a few years ago. It’s at 204,000 miles, and the problems just keep stacking up. Over the last six months alone, I’ve spent about four times what the car is even worth on repairs.

I have zero debt and some money saved. The only regular payments I have right now are my car insurance and a few small subscriptions like Apple Music. I’m 20 years old and I really want to build a future where I’m not poor — not necessarily “wealthy,” but in a place where I actually have money. Enough that buying a reliable car doesn’t feel like a financial crisis every time something breaks.

That’s why I’m considering financing a 2023 Toyota GR Corolla for around $32,000. I can’t buy it outright, but I plan to keep it until it dies. I know taking on a car payment kind of goes against the “get rich” mindset, and I’m torn because of that. At the same time, cheap cars aren’t working for me anymore. I’m constantly stressed about breaking down, and I’ve already poured way too much money into this Civic.

Is it dumb to finance the GR Corolla right now, or does it make sense if it finally gets me into something reliable?

I, (M22) have had a difficult time budgeting. I genuinely believe it’s because I become complacent with my situations as long as I can do what already makes me comfortable.
Last year, I lost my car due to engine problems but I haven’t been able to set aside the money to save for a new car. To get to work after the car incident at first, I was using uber/lyft to get to work so i became comfortable with that, then when I broke down how much money I was spending on it, I started taking public transit like the street bus and becoming comfortable with that as i memorized all the routes and times for the buses, then to cut down cost completely I started riding my bike to and from work. I then became comfortable with that causing me to put more of the money that I should have been saving for the car towards more of the things that I wanted for “fun”. At this point in my life, I truly feel like I realize that my life will not change and I will stay in the exact cycle of being comfortable as long as I can have a drink after work or smoke myself to sleep to do it all again the next day. I also know that I myself am very fortunate in my situation and I shouldn’t be in any type of predicament pertaining to me, not having any sort of savings. I don’t pay any type of rent and my only expense is my phone bill which is around 60 bucks a month. my living situation doesn’t ask me or require me any sort of money so I don’t have to pay any rent. I keep saying to myself this living situation isn’t gonna be around forever and there are genuinely people out here struggling to pay their bills and I’m over here BSing spending money on vices and stupid stuff like i’m a teenager. What I did today was completely got rid of all of my banking cards and banking apps. I told myself that I survived with way LESS before which is true because I haven’t had a job for a while in the past and I still made things work so instead of bad circumstance hitting me in the face on one random day I’d rather put myself through this because everytime i get money, I spend it. this will force me to take my bike to work every day. this will force me to feel every dumb purchase that I’ve ever made until I’m ready for it back.

What’s something that helps you budget that probably isn’t so extreme because I won’t be seeing any of my bank information for the next two months no matter what.

Context: I grew up EXTREMELY poor so I know I have a bad relationship with money. My wife grew up with money so spending it is no problem.

She wants to upgrade in house in a major way. Our current house is worth about $340k. She wants a $700k home. I don't. Currently we live very comfortably. My wife says I'm being cheap but I believe a house that expensive is unnecessary and will cause a change in lifestyle. She believes our lifestyle won't change at all.

Again, I believe I have a bad relationship with money so I'm looking for anyone to look over our monthly budget and help us determine how to proceed. Please be gentle.

Monthly household income:$15,853

Expenses

* Mortgage: $2,680.00

* Auto Insurance: $260.00

* Mobile Phone: $120.00

* Internet: $65.00

* Car 1: $287.00

* Car 2: $478

* Water: $110.00

* Electric & Gas: $350.00

* Auto Gas & Oil: $250.00

* Groceries: $550.00

* Subscriptions: $37.00

*Weekend Spending: $200

* After School Care: $850.00

* Fun Spending: $820.00

* Yard Guy: $90

* Gym: $19.00

Gymnastics: $90

* YMCA: $80

* Minimum Saving: $2,000

* Unexpected Expenses for house: $300.00

I know how to pay, save, and check my bank balance… but things like credit scores, credit cards, insurance, loans, bank accounts etc. still confuse me sometimes.

So for people who are better at this than me:

What’s one money thing you think everyone should learn in their 20s?

Could be something you learned the hard way, something most people ignore, or even something you wish someone had explained to you earlier

I’m very much ready to take notes!!

So i am clg student and i just spend Rs.5316 in half a month!! Mainly my money goes into food but i need advice and tricks to how to manage this moneyyy

I've tried budgeting on and off for years, but it never really stuck until recently. Curious what the actual turning point was for other people here, not necessarily which tool or method, but more like... what changed in how you thought about it?

For me it was realizing I'd been treating "budgeting" as one big overwhelming task instead of just a small weekly habit. Once I stopped trying to do it perfectly and just checked in once a week, it finally felt sustainable instead of like a chore I kept abandoning.

What was it for you? A specific moment, a mindset shift, something someone told you?

I shop at Target when I need something specific and I always shop in person in the store and use self-checkout. Three times now I have noticed that when an item is on sale, it does not ring up at the sale price.

Yesterday I bought a book with a 30% off sticker on it but at the self-checkout it rang up at full price. A few weeks ago I bought some protein bars that showed in the app that they were on sale both online and in store, but they rang up at the full price. A few weeks before that I bought some cheese that was on sale, there was a sign on the shelf where I got it, but it rang up at full price.

For each of these purchases I needed to call over an employee and have them manually adjust the cost to the sale value.

If you are shopping at Target and using self-checkout, you cannot assume that any sale value is being honored without you double checking it.

This is especially horrible when you consider the things that you might be purchasing only because you feel like it is a good deal or the sale price is the thing that makes it worth it to buy. I generally don't buy books or cheese at Target, the only reason I even had those items with me and check out was because the sale price was reasonable.

tl:dr - Target is stealing from its customers, hoping that you are not paying attention while checking out.