otherbarry, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago)

I haven’t been following any specific method, just a budgeting spreadsheet that has evolved over time - though my own method works out similar to the “Pay yourself first” method mentioned in that link. Basically a spreadsheet with columns for each month & the rows document required expenses/bills, then savings goals, then slightly less-required expenses & discretionary spending. Some people do similar using “buckets” of spending goals & that works too.

Been doing it for a while so at this point already know my expected monthly/yearly costs & even have a year out projection of where the savings goals will land at the end of 2024. Of course keep in mind life happens, no amount of budgeting will get you out of surprises. It’s always best to have emergency savings.

For what it’s worth spending flowchart from the Personal Finance communities helps out a ton when planning things out e.g. lemmy.ml/post/1161162 from !personalfinance

EDIT: Speaking of the other communities you may want to visit !personalfinance / !personalfinance while you’re on this topic :)