Being in control of your own budget!

I think one of the first (and essential homesteading/farming) skills we all need to master is being in control of our personal budget....how can we make money and save money if we are not in control of our own finances?

So when people say to me 'what skills do I need to have to start a homestead?'...I say 'Be able to budget and stick to it!'. I get funny looks most of the time! (what about gardening and composting and fencing and building and animals etc etc etc). Budgeting really is not hard - and in todays world of great online tools its easier than ever. But why is it that people baulk at being in control of their own money?

So I have started a series of blog notes on budgeting (and a simple online course) to help those who are "Budgeting Challenged"

This is a starting point: http://startoffhomesteading.com/controlling-your-budget/

If I can help people to get into the homesteading/farming world...then i will! One dollar in their pockets at a time

Budgets are optimistic on both the income and the expenses. At the end of the day, if you don't know what the actual cash flows are, the budget is useless. Based on 10 years of using it, I'd highly recommend Quicken. It's simple to track expenses if you used plastic, either debit or credit. If you use cash, you need to keep a record of where you are spending it and enter the detail manually.

Mike Haych wrote:Budgets are optimistic on both the income and the expenses. At the end of the day, if you don't know what the actual cash flows are, the budget is useless. Based on 10 years of using it, I'd highly recommend Quicken. It's simple to track expenses if you used plastic, either debit or credit. If you use cash, you need to keep a record of where you are spending it and enter the detail manually.

Great advice Mike! Any tool that will help people be more in control works.

I build 'conservative' budgets....with padding and 'fat' so I am positively surprised more than disappointed when I look at the final figures! And thats also a way to forces a little more savings each month

I completely agree with you. Whenever someone tells me I can't do something I think....why not. I have the money. This won't break me. It might break you, but not me.