UGH. I honestly skip almost every article I see online about "budgets".
Such a lame buzzword.
To tell you the truth, I have been doing my attempt at a budget for years. To no avail.
And I know there are lots of people like me out there who tried, failed, or totally forgot when it came time to laying down some cash (or card).
I took a "Budgeting for the Actor" class at SAG (I highly recommend all their classes btw, most are free to members and well worth the time) and they told us with uncertain income you should base your budget off your lowest month of income from the previous year. Well...my lowest month of income was $0.
Yup. That is possible.
Being basically a freelancer doesn't bode well for the numbers game. So I kind of gave up on tracking...and kinda on saving too.
Until recently.
A few months ago I had an idea. Why in gods name am I writing a monthly budget?! I am not a 9-5 girl and my income differs so drastically from week to week! I had a much more realistic idea:
A Weekly Budget.
Here's how this works.
1. Write out all your bills on paper. I am a huge advocate for pen/pencil to paper. It feels so much more real to me than typing away on a phone or computer. Include EVERYTHING. Not just rent, insurance, but also Spotify, pet insurance, LA Casting, etc. Take all those bills that you know are the same roughly every month and total them up. Divide them by 4. This is your weekly "bills" allotment.
2. Sit down on Sunday (or Monday or whatever say is the "start" of your week). Make a list of all your week's income. List out all the odd jobs, dog walking, babysitting, bartending, etc. For events that have tips involved, you can usually guess an average you will make, however I like to list these numbers below that average (who doesn't love bonus money?!). Now you have your weekly income.
3. Now make a separate list of all your weekly fluctuating expenditures. You already have a set amount for "bills". Now we need to add categories for these: groceries, gas, dinners out, birthday parties, etc. The best part of doing this weekly is you're much closer to using realist amounts. Say you have 2 work dinners and a birthday party this week. You won't need to allot as much for groceries because that's 3 meals you're not eating at home. Or say you have a doctors appointment on the other side of town, that factors into your gas money and is an extra expense (the doctor fee, RXs, etc) you can plan on.
4. Total everything up. Obviously subtract your income from your expenses (bills + fluctuating other expenses). Uh oh, expenses too high? Time to tighten the money belt on going out or that Fabletics outfit you were looking to buy this week. You can pull dollars from one column to the other, make it all feasible.
*Yes, there are weeks when you won't make enough to cover your bills and other expenses. Carry the deficit over to the next week. I recommend using a little notebook to do this regularly so you can always have it at your finger tips. IF this is a constant problem, I would evaluate your income, maybe it's time for another part time gig or extra hours here and there at existing jobs.*
5. As the week goes on, jot down in your note at the end of the day every time you spend money and subtract it from the amount you designated for each category. $5 at the valet? Write it down. $25 happy hour drinks? Write it down. $15 at Target? That was a trick question, no one spends that little at Target...you get the picture. Now you can see where your money actually goes.
Why does this work when the average budget doesn't? It gives me a much more realistic sense of my money. It will stick in your brain much better. Out with friends for "a drink" that turns into dinner? You know you only have $100 saved for going out this week, maybe you can't do it all today. These numbers are much easier to process than thinking you have $400 to spend over the course of the month and "yea whatever thats like a lot of money, another appetizer please!".
You can also make realistic savings goals. Your leftover income from each week can be put somewhere specific! I love cash envelopes for this. $25 a week doesn't sound like much, but $100 a month is a lot of money. And when it's tucked away in a drawer, it's much harder to spend.
So give it a try and let me know how it goes. If you're like me you will feel much more in control...a small victory in the financial world, and also the world in general.