A lot of it is just common sense and determining a pattern in what you do. Much like going on a diet, it's not realistic to say you're only going to spend $40 a week just in the name of being on a budget, when in reality it takes $90 to live. Also, it's no good budgeting every week based on how much you spend in a year when half of that spending happens in September.
When i use common sense and stick to my estabished spending pattern i can go off the budget for one to three months and come back to only a minor variance. If i decide to do something unusual like go to go out to every night for a week or buy a new guitar then i need to remap to understand the impact of my irregular actions.
I highly recommend using Quicken or Money to meticulously track expenses for 2-3 months once you start your new job, especially utilizing a plethora of categories and sub-categories so you can see some very detailed charts. Then you can create a budget that's statistically sure to be true to your reality.
I haven't touched Quicken since my meticulous track of 2004. Of course, i spend very differently now, but i'm already very self-aware of that through the budget. Also, i have discovered that my actual spending is the most realistic when i'm budgeting predictively (i.e. tweaking all manner of near-future expenses to aim for a specific mid/long-term spending/saving goal), and that's a pain to do in Quicken.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
You should teach a class on this, by the way. I'm 100% serious.
no subject
When i use common sense and stick to my estabished spending pattern i can go off the budget for one to three months and come back to only a minor variance. If i decide to do something unusual like go to go out to every night for a week or buy a new guitar then i need to remap to understand the impact of my irregular actions.
I highly recommend using Quicken or Money to meticulously track expenses for 2-3 months once you start your new job, especially utilizing a plethora of categories and sub-categories so you can see some very detailed charts. Then you can create a budget that's statistically sure to be true to your reality.
I haven't touched Quicken since my meticulous track of 2004. Of course, i spend very differently now, but i'm already very self-aware of that through the budget. Also, i have discovered that my actual spending is the most realistic when i'm budgeting predictively (i.e. tweaking all manner of near-future expenses to aim for a specific mid/long-term spending/saving goal), and that's a pain to do in Quicken.