Has anyone used this budgeting method before?
How have you (if you’ve done it) or how would you alter it to work for you?
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This is the first time I have heard about this type of budgeting but it makes a lot of sense.
For a lot of people, it can be a struggle to know what to do when there is extra money somewhere and a lot of times, that money can get spent frivolously.
This type of budgeting method seems like it would be very helpful in eliminating this issue.
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get a walmart/American express prepaid card. cost nothing to replenish , and only 5 bux to open , it is accepted a lot of places. and you can put your extra money there ( no cost ) at walmart finance center , 24/7 also if you have a job you can have salary deposited there . from there you can make allotments to savings as well.
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Mastercharge?
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Yes, and I honestly find $0 based budgeting to be challenging. I need a little more wiggle room. I did, however, spend a few months (not in a row!) tracking every penny that was spent and it was the most helpful thing I could have done for my finances. I was able to do this because it was time limited. I could not have successfully done a $0 based budget month after month although it is a great tool to get things ‘under control’.
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This sounds like something I might be interested.
it is called " BLUE BIRD by Am EX. to the best of my knowledge it is still available , my daughter started using it to build a credit history once done with school. she now banks with our credit union, and is doing well. it is not accepted EVERYWHERE, but she does most of her "paying " online and not had any trouble .
I do the ZERO Balance budget every MONTH. What ever is “left over " goes straight into an interest paying savings account. ( 0,15 %) ha ha ha ha. SHOULD i have un-expected bills i can go there and get things paid for . To leave " extra money” in the account is too dangerous , i may spend it on " stupid " stuff. LOL . However for entertainment value ( everyone needs entertainment and fun), I do have a separate " budget for stupid stuff " LOL.( 10 bux per payday, biweekly for me ) so 20 bux a month OR 240 bux a year. for winter or summer clothes or stupid stuff !!
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This sounds great. Right now, I have none left over.
Haha… If I made 2500 / month, I’d be in heaven,! Seriously, I raised my son on less than 1000 / month. I guess I was, and I am, using the Zero Budget method without knowing? LOL
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Zero based budgeting can be challenging. I have built a buffer into my checking account of $100. That $100 is $0 for me. I don’t spend it normally. It is there to protect me from accidental subtraction errors or I forgot to record a utility coming out, etc. Keeps me from ever accidentally overdrawing the account.
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@annieb I can see how a $100 buffer would be helpful as opposed to nothing.
@AnnieB That is an excellent idea…a great place to start…I would like to do that.
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I have recently started this method! I am going old school with envelopes. It has helped a lot to curb my spending by giving each dollar a purpose.
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Based on my (admittedly slim) knowledge of zero-based budgeting, why wouldn’t that $100 wiggle room just be a budget category in and of itself that you assign the money to?
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This type of budgeting makes a lot of sense, because I would probably spend the $100 on something frivolous and wonder at the end of the month where did that extra money go to
I record the $100 as CARRY OVER FUND. It moves from month to month unless there is a subtraction error. This way, it is recorded as out of my checking account, even though it is still there.
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I currently make just at or sometimes just under my monthly costs (a side hustle is a topic for another discussion). Does zero-based budgeting work even if you sometimes have more jobs than dollars to give them to?!
I LOVE zero based budgeting! I get paid bi-weekly and the night before payday I fill in my spreadsheet for the next two weeks. It’s basically set up like a check register. I start with my paycheck amount, and subtract EVERYTHING that I know I’ll spend in the next two weeks, bills, savings, gasoline, sinking funds, taxes groceries, entertainment…everything, until it reaches zero. I even know how much I budget for gasoline for the two weeks and when I go for gas I put in half that much this week and see if it’s possible to spend less next week before payday. As my pay period progresses I highlight the true amounts as I spend. ANYTHING that’s leftover on the next payday gets transferred to my designated savings account!
